“What is the best Wine Shop…?”

“What is the best Wine Shop around here?” I suppose that was a fair question at the end of a 30+ person private wine event that I had the privilege of getting to co-host, some of attendees being new to our area. I took a moment to answer with: “There are a couple,” then expanded on my answer.

It would be too easy to say that the best shop is “X”. Often to correctly answer a question you must ask a question, so after giving my initial answer I asked: “How do you like to buy wine?” After getting his response I then gave him a brief run down of where I thought he would get the best bottle with the best experience. The last part of that sentence is the key! But before diving in and answering what makes a good wine shop we must define what a wine shop is.

That is actually harder than it sounds. One possible definition is a shop whose merchandise is comprised of 51% or more of wine. Yet that can take several locations out of consideration that could deserve a look. For me, a better way to define a wine shop is based on expertise and experience. Some of the best places can have a small, but unique, wine selection with great knowledge on that selection. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love a big selection, but no one knows everything about every wine. I love being surprised by a recommended wine that turned out to be fantastic, a wine that I would have otherwise not picked on my own. That level of knowledge and expertise often leads to a great experience, both in buying and consuming. Finding a store with huge selection of wine that also has a staff (or just a single staffer) with a vast level of knowledge is very, very rare.

A great example of being suprised by a wine that was a recommendation, one that I would not have bought on my own was Cantine Coppi Core Rosato Negroamaro from Salento, in Puglia Italy that was at Aragon Wine Market. Aragon is small but has a very good selection and a very knowledgeable staff, making my list for one of our area's best wine shops. The Negroamaro was a Rose but very unique with a complexity of flavor and feel that you don't get out of almost every other Rosé, making it a Wine of Note!

So I go back to my question of “How do you like to buy wine?” Do you enjoy going into a big box store and finding your own treasure bottle or do you like a more intimate venue with a staff that can point out something great?  We are blessed to have several good wine shops locally, but we also have a few that I would NOT recommend.  Sorry, I am not going to go over them here.  Ask me at the next wine event if you are curious on my opinion. 

Wine Too Hot or Too Cold?

Several of my wine friends recently returned from trips to Italy. Most were on separate trips and all of them sounded like they had a great time. One was recounting their journey through Tuscany and brought up the temperature of some red wine that they were served…and how cold it was. “Is that normal?”

No.  9.9 times out of 10 I get that question posed in the opposite way: “How cold should [that] wine be?”

“Red wines should be room temperature, right?”

I have preached the Sermon of Wine Temperature from my swirling pulpit for quite a while; Almost all red wines should served between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit (18-20 Celsius). That “Room temperature” is the temperature of a bottle coming out of a wine cellar. Most wine cellars are around 60 degrees. The bottle is brought out and opened, allowing for some aeration as the temperature raises to around 65 degrees or so. Then the wine is poured into a glass that is close to the temperature of the room you are actually in, probably around 75 degrees, or even higher if you have been holding that glass for a while. Hopefully you see where this is going.

We, especially along the Gulf Coast, have a chronic problem of serving red while too hot!  When red wine is poured into your glass then the glass should feel cool to the touch, not cold, with NO condensation. If the outside of your glass starts to condense with water, then your wine is too cold! White wine SHOULD cause your glass to form condensation, assuming you are in a similar climate to that on the Gulf Coast.

It is okay to put your bottle of red wine in the fridge.  Assuming your bottle of red is around 75 degrees you can put it in for a short time, 30 or so minutes, opened, and it will be ready to drink almost immediately upon exit. Or, if you leave the bottle of red in for longer, with your whites, then it will just take longer outside of the fridge to be ready.  Wine is served wrong either because of ignorance, laziness, or a combination of both.  Don’t let that describe you.

I had the chance to go to two of our local wine events this past week: a tasting at Beyond the Grape that was supporting the Pensacola Opera, and the monthly tasting of our local chapter of the American Wine Society. Beyond the Grape featured a fun full tour of Italy with some fantastic charcuterie boards and the AWS chapter taught a class on Spain, followed by an awesome Paella! The Crowd Favorite at Beyond the Grape was a fascinating Cabernet Franc from Umbria (Paolo e Noemia d’Amico Atlante), and there was a Wine of Note at the AWS tasting, Pazo La Moreira Albariño.

Other than the white wines, ALL of the red wines, at both events, were served too hot!  There are very few rules in Wine…but; Rule #1, don’t serve hot wine!  Temperature matters.  Wine served at the wrong temperature makes it taste worse no matter how good that wine was supposed to be, and life is too short to waste it on bad wine.

Aragon’s 5 Oct 23 Wine Tasting

It’s refreshing how I can still be surprised by a wine at one of our local tastings, and funny how stories evolve. Just the prior evening to this tasting I had a decently long conversation with two young, enthusiastic, aspiring wine connoisseurs about how difficult it is to find a good Bordeaux that is less than $50. Good, I mean very good, Bordeaux wines are expensive, often very expensive.Most cheaper Bordeaux’s, even in the $30-$40 range, have some sort of off flavor. It can range from tart-acid to basement gym sock. I’m not kidding. I blame Bordeaux for ruining many new wine drinkers, because of the perceived price and possible taste.First reason; new wine drinkers have all heard of Bordeaux and think it’s a wine to “splurge” on. So they look at the price and “splurge” on a $45 Bordeaux from Graves. They go to some event, or have friends over and really talk up this Bordeaux. The bottle gets opened, and poured, too hot, and tasted. Now comes the second reason, the taste. Our new wine tasters encountered a palate of old basement gym sock with hints of red currant (which they have never heard of), oak and wet leaves. Other than the gym socks the rest of that description is right off a bottle of Bordeaux!!!The result of that experience, at best, is not liking ANY French wine. At worst, back to beer! Because of the “Bordeaux Effect” I often dissuade new drinkers from Bordeaux unless they want to really splurge. So it was with great surprise to taste a Bordeaux, from the outskirts of Saint-Emillion, that was very good, and one that costs less than the mythical $20! And everyone liked it! 2018 Chateau de Pitray, from the Cotes de Castillon sun-region of Bourdeaux was approachable with aromas of cranberry and raspberry, and a taste black plum, licorice, and blueberries, finishing with dry spice cake. And no gym sock!The key to this wine were the grapes, and while that seems so obvious, it is the lack of a grape. No Cabernet Sauvignon! Instead, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Merlot. Yes, Malbec, one of the original, and legal Bordeaux varietals.Even after having had Chateau de Pitray’s 2018 I talked a fellow wine drinker a few days later off of going to the store to get a Bordeaux. “Go for a mid-Rhône” was my suggestion, after discussing her taste preference. This Wine of Note, while such a refreshing surprise, was too much of a rare encounter to change my future recommendations, being that it is very possible to never see another like it again.

Two Fun Birthdays with Wine

“Where did you find this?” “How did you know they would go well together?” “Where can I buy this?!?”

Those were the three questions I got repeatedly at a big birthday Wine and Food event I put together Saturday night for 40 people.

“Perfect.” “Is there more?”

Those were the top two phrases that were said last night at birthday Wine Dinner #2 that I was privileged enough to be part of. The birthday girl for this dinner is one of the most highly respected wine enthusiasts in our region, so like any die hard wine lover she had firm guidance of what wine she wanted.

The twist for both birthday parties was that they were both surprises.

The first party involved a lot more people than the second and many of them were just beginning their wine journey. Three or four only drank beer. It’s okay, I [over] planned for that. If anyone wants some cold beer please let me know, I will give it away! Anyway, so my wine choices for the first party had to run the gamut of wine, beginners to the experienced wine connoisseur and pair with all of the food. Sadly I was so busy I didn’t get any pictures of the ten different wines I had chosen.  They were all empty and in the recycling by the time I got back to them! It was a GOOD time!

Party 2 gave me a unique opportunity to “surprise” my dear friend, who had no idea I was involved. She had given wine directions to her husband, who is a wine connoisseur in his own right, to pick two or three bottles for just the two of them.  But we had 14 more people coming, so we needed several more bottles than just two or three she had requested!  Yet her direction gave us a blueprint. We included the three bottles that she had requested, as part of the ruse, and then got to work picking the rest needed for the birthday dinner.  

Simplicity is key most times. This was no exception.  We needed two “big” wines, a white and a red. Our white wine pick was Fulldraw 2020 by Drift from Paso Robles; 80% Clairette Blanche, and 20% Grenache Blanc. The easiest way to explain this wine was that it could do, and did do, just about everything you want out of a white wine! Wow! The red pick was Shafer’s 2010 Relentless from Napa; 96% Syrah, 4% Petite Sirah. Drinking this red was the equivalent to calling in an air strike using a MOAB. The MOAB (GBU-43/B for my military folks) is the Massive Ordnance Air Blast, the biggest non-nuclear weapon in the US Arsenal. Simply put, it [the wine] could not miss! It was “Perfect” with everything that came from the kitchen!

I have to thank my amazing friends for helping me with these events! Catering for party 1 was done by Kingfisher Restaurant with amazing desert fruit bowls from Bear Fruit Essentials, and everyone LOVED all of it! Party 2 was held at Union Public House in their new restaurant. The staff was excellent and the food fantastic!

If you are interested in doing a fun wine event please reach out to us and GulfCoastWine will be happy to give you a wine experience that you will not forget!

The Weekly Wrap Up

The folks who know me mostly know what my actual “day” job is. I make it a point not to talk about it here because it has nothing to do with wine and it tends to become the topic of a conversation when it is brought up, even when I rather talk about wine. But the summer heat has finally ignited the earth’s engine and things have gotten busy.

So, a single recap of our wine tastings last week. The quick summary: I went to five tastings. They were all fun and each had some good wine!

Yet two wines really stood out last week and achieved the Wine of Note status, a white and a red. One from So Gourmet’s every-other-Wednesday Sunsets on Main tasting, and the other from the Bottle Shop on Baylen, which was featured as the mystery wine.

The first was an Italian White Wine from Puglia. Edda Bianco Salento 2021 is made with 60% Chardonnay, 20% Fiano, and 20% White Muscatel. Do not let the White Muscatel fool you, this is NOT a sweet wine and not any typical Chardonnay! It starts by filling the nose with yellow flowers and then filling the palate with savory stone fruit, good acid and a nice mineral finish. A great white to have for just about any occasion where you want a white wine!

The next was Col Solare's 2013 Red Blend from Columbia Valley Washington. Sourced entirely from Col Solare’s estate on Red Mountain, it is 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 2% Syrah. It is damm good! A mix of red plum, black cherry, tobacco and earth, strong tannins and a nice finish. Even though it wasn’t part of the “official” tasting line up Friday night, you can buy it at the Bottle Shop, and I would, and did!

Two Wines of Note in one week! A solid performance from our local tastings. Yet this should not surprise anyone. The most amazing part; the people at the tastings are as fun as the wine! Bring a friend who might be apprehensive about coming out and let them join the party! Everyone stay safe this week!

Aragon’s August “Cru” Tasting

What makes a good “summer” wine? That question comes up a lot during our long summers. We have discussed and defined these “summer” wines, aka “porch pounders,” in previous posts. Served chilled, with hints of tropical and stone fruit, lively acid, leaving your tongue refreshed with a great feel are the basis of a good summer wine.We encountered such a wine this past week at Aragon’s August Cru tasting. Mille Rêves 2020 Vouvray Chenin Blanc had all of those qualities; a great bouquet of white flowers on the nose, a palate that started with nectarine and finished with green apple cider. All of the tasters agreed that this was a great “summer wine.”While the wine was good, the best part was catching up with an old friend, one who shares the same passion of wine that I do with a lifetime of experience behind it. It is a common occurrence at wine tastings; meeting people just as interesting and complex as the wine you are tasting. To me, sharing a profound wine with equally profound people is the perfect pairing!

How to take a chance on a Bottle of Wine

Getting back into my schedule after returning from my trip has proven to be more difficult than I expected. Several missed tastings has been the main casualty, along with my health.

Now that I was finally feeling better I was able to finish my week on a pretty good note while visiting some friends this weekend. An elaborate dinner was planned, so of course I brought a bottle of wine. I have tasted most of the wines that I have in my archives, but a few I took a chance on. The bottle that I brought to share this evening was one of my “Take a Chance on Me” wines. I will probably hum that Abba song for the next bottle!

Due to forces outside of our control, the elaborate dinner turned into a simple cookout. So, after some needed time in the cool healing waters of The Cold Hole of the Magnolia Springs River and a 1/2 mile swim it was time to open the wine I brought.

Is it truly fair to call my bottle, which I hadn’t tasted, a “Take a Chance” wine? It was from a great location, known for growing exceptional grapes of this particular variety, made by a good winemaker. Not expensive but not cheap. I felt pretty confident.

Showing up to a gathering/party/dinner, etc., with a bottle of wine is always a test, especially when everyone knows you as “The Wine Expert” (which I don’t like to be called). I had the wine at the correct temperature (66 F for this hot day) and gave it about 30 minutes of air. My friends’ wives tasted it with me. The first response from one of them was a joyous cuss word, ending with some surprise. I just laughed!

I actually rather enjoy the “pressure” of bring a wine to social gatherings. Nailing it is pretty common for me. Not always, and not to sound arrogant, but when you go to a lot of tastings, begin to pay attention to what you are drinking; the flavors, the feel, and then geek out a little on some wine knowledge, then being confident on a wine that you haven’t tasted should not be a alien concept.

The pictures on this post are the Crowd Favorites from both Aragon on Thursday and The Bottle Shop on Baylen Friday (1 from Aragon, 2 from Bottle Shop). What was my “Take a Chance on Me” wine? Ask me at the next tasting. See you then.

Quinta do Vale Meão

Translated to mean “of the valley in the meander,” Quinta do Vale Meão is situated in some of the best terrain in the entire Douro River Valley. Quintas are wine houses in Portuguese, Hacienda in Spanish. The Quinta here is on a peninsula where the Douro River makes a 90 degree turn from west to north, then 180 degree turn south, and then a 90 degree turn back to the west towards Porto.What makes the vineyards here so exceptional are, basically, everything. The soil is rocky, forcing the grapes to send their roots down deep, resulting in profound complexity. The climate is dry and sunny but with good ground water. This is essential for disease prevention and good growth…mature grapes at harvest. This combination allows for the best possible product.I chose to visit Quinta do Vale Meão for three reasons. First, I have never been and have always loved their wine. Second, they produce extremely high quality wine and are located not far from my small vineyards. Third, they export most of it to the United States, so we can actually find it back home! Like almost all high quality Douro red wine, it will need age, a minimum of seven years in my opinion. Ten, up to Fifty is even better! It is worth the wait!They produce two relatively easy to find levels; a very good “Tinto” (red table wine) around the $25 a bottle range, and a high end Estate-Grand Reserve level. Expect to pay $100 plus a bottle for those. And of course they make Port Wine, with some of the best Vintage Port in the industry. Good luck finding those, as I was only able to obtain one bottle on this visit for myself.If you find yourself in the high Douro, near the Spanish border, definitely reserve a tour and tasting. They also have a helicopter pad for true ease of movement. Next, on to Spain and some grapes grown inside an internationally recognized nature preserve, very much off the beaten, touristic, path.

So Gourmet 7 June Tasting

Wine tastings that allow you to compare different levels of a single grape/style are extremely fun and educational. You can compare such things as “sourced” grapes vs “estate” grapes, find out if you liked that extra aging, and then determine if it is all worth the price.This past week So Gourmet featured a line of Tempranillo wines from the Spanish region of Rioja, all from the same producer. With the exception of a semi-sweet wine (which was very unique) the others compared the different quality of grapes and the benefits of aging those grapes.Age doesn’t help every wine, so aging wine doesn’t guarantee it being better, and there are several types of aging; in the barrel and in the bottle are the main two.In this case, the Wine of Note, had both forms of aging. Finca Penamayor Gran Reserva from 2005, at only $40, is a deal! I know that’s a little more than most people like to spend on a bottle, but if you peruse down the Spanish wine isle at your favorite wine shop and look at Grand Reserve Rioja wines that are 15+ years old you are going to see some much higher prices.This wine had all of the things that you look for in a good Rioja; that deep red fruit flavor that is equaled with soft leathery tobacco and round tannins. Drink or have with dinner, this is a do-both wine.So be sure to check out our calendar and Instagram for wine tasting previews. If you see tastings that can focus on a great comparison then you should make every effort to go.  As the Spanish say; "Bali Bali!"

Treasure Hunting

Do you hunt? A very open ended question to be sure. This is a wine article so you would assume that I am asking if you hunt for wine. If you read this week's first article on Wine Hunters then you might already have an answer.Well, now I am asking in a much bigger sense. All of the great explorers of the world were hunters; both in the traditional sense of chasing wild game, and the metaphorical sense, hunting for what lay over the horizon.I consider myself a hunter in all senses of the word. It is a mindset, an ethos. I am as equally excited for the pursuit as for the end achievement. The hike up the mountain is as enjoyable as the unparalleled view from the top.I am also intrigued by the rare and often overlooked in life. I also very much enjoy history. Wine has A LOT of both. As I traveled this week I had the chance to do some wine hunting, and with history as my guide I was not disappointed.The results were two very obscure, rather rare wines, both from Portugal. The first was a 1997 Carcavelos. A fortified wine from the smallest DOC in the world and a favorite of Thomas Jefferson.There is a book written by John Hailman titled “Thomas Jefferson on Wine” and includes a letter from Jefferson to Richmond Va. merchant James Brown requesting a quarter cask of wine. Jefferson writes “I would prefer good Lisbon, next to that Carcavallo.”Why was Jefferson hunting for Carcavelos so long ago? Carcavelos is NOT Port! It’s profile lies somewhere between Madeira and a aged Tawny Port. It is fortified but with a very unique character. Its profile is very complex; with raisin and citrus, earth and salty air, it dances across the tongue while wearing boots. My Carcavelos is made solely from the Ramisco grape and comes from the tiny region just west of Lisbon near the jet-setting coastal town of Cascais. The entire DOC only totals some 25 acres!!!The next is a 2009 Colares, also made from Ramisco. What makes Colares so unique is that it is some of the only wine in the WORLD that comes from ungrafted vines. The soils here (northwest of Lisbon) contain a lot of sand and were resistant to phylloxera, and therefore were never killed off.Colares doesn’t have anything similar to it in taste. It is like drinking a wine that came from the core of the earth, deeply complex with the hints of red cherry and acid. It is profound, a wine for the consummate wine hunter that will satisfy the deepest of wine geek in any of us.A good week of hunting for me, two true treasures! As I look forward to enjoying the fruits of my labor here are some words of wisdom from Thomas Jefferson: “I have lived temperately. ... I double the doctor’s recommendation of a glass and a half of wine each day and even treble it with a friend.”Cheers to the next hunt!

A Nebuchadnezzar!!!!!

This was quite a week of wine! There were six wine tastings in four days! Our local chapter (the Emerald Coast Chapter) of the American Wine Society had a great monthly tasting featuring California Cabs. Yet the highlight of my week was a friend’s birthday party who is a huge wine lover.

I have seen, and drank, a lot of wine. I have seen those big bottles of wine and have even had some. None of it was memorable. But I have never had wine out of the biggest of all wine bottles, until now.

Pictures do a better job of conveying the shear size of a Nebuchadnezzar bottle of wine, the biggest commercially made bottle on Earth! It holds 15 liters, or 20 bottles (normal 750ml bottles) of liquid, and when that liquid is an amazing wine, hold on. Literally, you could drown in this thing.

The wine; Anderson’s Conn Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012, from Napa. It was fabulous! A Wine of Note! No further tasting notes needed. A perfect wine for a special occasion. Fill a Nebuchadnezzar with that wine and you have a wine party to remember, and we all will!!

Aragon’s 11 May Tasting

It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all of the different wines of the world. The complexity of the wine world is a motivation for me, yet the opposite is true for many others. There are thousands of each kind of wine. How do you sort through them and find one you like? Can you even keep them all straight?If this overwhelming feeling explains your experience in the world of wine then I can help. The easiest way to sort through all of the wines that stare you down in the store is to NOT do it.Don’t guess your way down the wine isle, unless you like drinking experiments and wasting money. Picking the prettiest bottle has been proven to get you a sub-standard wine. Ask a vetted and qualified wine expert, we have a bunch of good ones around town. Want an even better way to sort through the world of wine and buy one you like? Taste it first!WOW, what a concept. Go to a wine tasting. If you like it then buy it. Guaranteed that you will like it again back home for dinner or at the next party with friends.If anyone reading this can prove that they bought tonight’s Wine of Note by just randomly bouncing down the wine isle on their own then I will buy them another bottle! Seriously.Taboadella Villae Branco 2021 is a white blend from the Dao DOC region of Portugal. Made from three indigenous grapes; Bical, Encruzado, and Cerceal, it has the citrus notes of a Sauvignon Blanc, the minerality of a Soave, and the body of a Chardonnay. It can go with any crustaceans, white fish, chicken, soup, or alfredo sauce dish.One question from a taster was “So what is it similar to?” Nothing, it is unique with aspects of several that are familiar. Thats the reason it is a Wine of Note. So don’t get overwhelmed by all of the wine out there, leaving your wine purchase to chance. Buy wine that you have tasted and liked, or recommend by a vetted wine expert. You will have a lot more fun that way.

“Sunsets on Main”

Downtown Pensacola has some amazing spots to eat and drink! One of the original downtown wine tastings recently returned to our calendar. “Sunsets on Main” by So Gourmet (the upstairs of Bodacious Brew & Olive) offers 4-5 wines, Free, on Wednesday evenings.This week’s tasting featured a wine easy to overlook yet so unique; Mettler Vineyards Estate grown Albariño, from Lodi California.Lodi still does not have the name recognition that the likes of Napa, Sonoma, or even Paso Robles have, especially for a WHITE WINE! Yet to the wine enthusiast Lodi is never over looked!The Albariño grape is native to northern Portugal and Spain, where some magical expressions of the wine can be found. That area is extremely rocky, mountainous, and has large temperature variations. Lodi could not be more different; flat, segmentary soil, and lacking big temperature swings but with very hot summers. This is why Lodi is known for world class BIG Zinfandels.So what happens when you bring this northern Iberian grape down to the Central Valley of California? A basket of crisp apple, ripe pear, and melon, with hints of citrus and a touch of mineral acid.What a surprise! A great wine for our quickly approaching summer and pairs great with my Red Snapper tacos. Unique, all of the tasters liked it, can be had alone or with dinner; that equals a Wine of Note!

Aragon’s April Cru Tasting

I will keep saying it: Make it a point to go to the local monthly and special wine tastings!Everyone has a lot going on in their personal lives, and I understand not getting out regularly to our local wine tastings, I get it. But if you can get to one every now and then go to a venue’s once-a-month or special tasting. They are so worth it!Aragon Wine Market has a tasting every Thursday. 3 out of 4 are free. The 3rd Thursday is their “special” Cru tasting.  You are going to get higher quality wines, food, and live music.Why I go? Higher quality wines! This evening didn’t disappoint with a Wine of Note, our highest category of wine! A white blend from the oldest winery in South Africa. Constantia Uitsig Natura Vista, 2019, is a blend of 72% Semillion and 28% Sauvignon Blanc. What made this wine so unique?This was the best “seafood” white wine that I have had in a LONG time! With its vineyards right on the coast of the Western Cape, it had a wonderfully flora nose with a layered palate consisting of a complex mix of pear, citrus, and salinity.This white can be paired with any shellfish, any white flaky fish, cooked in almost any way. Unique, everyone liked it, and a great overall wine equals a Wine of Note. Look for the once-a-month and special tastings on our calendar.  Hope to see you at the next one!

A great evening, and some even had an “Experience!”

“It was an EXPERIENCE!!” That’s what a fellow taster told me when I asked her why she liked tonight’s Cabernet Sauvignon. I had the pleasure to attending tonight’s Special wine tasting with my partner at Gulf Coast Wine, Bob.The Bottle shop featured Etude Winery from Napa, located at the southern end of Napa Valley. Like many Wineries around the world, Etude (French for “Study”) has vineyards not just in Napa Valley but also in Carneros, Santa Rita Hills, and a few other prime California wine areas. Just like the Special tasting earlier in the week at Aragon, all of the wines were very good, some were even great! What we are all after is an experience, but not just an experience, but the “Experience!” The Experience is life changing, can be other-worldly. It is talked about almost elusively. The wine doesn’t need to be expensive or rare. The wines that have given me an “experience” might not give you one. But when you have one of those wines you remember it, remember the feeling, hopefully the taste. I have never heard of a beer drinker having an “experience” from their favorite beer. More power to you if you have.Did you go out to the Special wine tasting? Did you find excuses why you could not attend? Too busy, too expensive? I understand all of that. But what are you after in life? I am after many things, one of them being the never ending search for “an Experience!”

Go to the “Special” Wine tastings!

I have said it before in previous posts: If you see a “Special” wine event, especially if it is a tasting featuring someone from a winery, do your best to go! These are not events to be afraid of! You are not going to be ridiculed, you do not need to “know” wine, these “Special” events are just plain fun! Most of them are during the week, which can be difficult, but if I can give any recommendation in the world of wine it is to go to the special tastings.Aragon’s Special wine tasting was on Tuesday, not on their normal Thursday. If you are having trouble keeping track of wine events look no further to OUR wine tastings and events calendar! And if you know of an event that is not on our calendar please let us know, you can email us or send us a message on Instagram and we will update our calendar.So back to wine. Aragon featured Famille Bourgeois Winery this past Tuesday. Famille Bourgeois has vineyards in the Sancerre Region, in the Loire Valley of France; and in the Marlborough Wairau Valley of New Zealand, specializing in Sauvignon Blanc in both areas. Their wines are certified “Biodynamic” which is the E.U.’s organic certification, but actually better. People like to lump things together; like all Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand tastes like Grapefruit. It happens all the time, to everything, not just wine. It is human nature, and it can very quickly lead to “bold wine statements” (see my post on bold wine statements). Their two wine families, Domaine Henri in France, and Clos Henri in New Zealand, were a great example of how you cannot just lump things together. We even started the tasting with the reds because the whites were so high in acid (something they intentionally did) that if we did the whites first your palate could have been toasted by the time you got to the reds. All of the wines tonight were unique and almost everyone enjoyed almost everything. So hopefully we will see you at the next “Special” tasting!

“Wow, that was good!” Aragon’s Women in Wine.

The majority of wine makers, vineyard owners, even wine distributors, are male. These facts don’t mean that men are better at any facet of the wine world than women. Tonight was a good example of that as Aragon showcased some great wines made by women. The first wine, a Champagne, was not just the crowd favorite, it was a Wine of Note. Tasters liked it SO much that they sold every bottle in the store and several tasters ordered extra cases!!! Not extra bottles, cases!People who know me know that I am not a big lover of sparkling wines. I have a few that I like, but generally prefer to have the non-bubblies. But, holding to the rules of wine tasting, I always taste everything. Wow,Castelnau Champagne Brut NV, was good. NV, non-vintage, means that the wine maker took a few of her best and favorite years and blended them. A true Champagne, from the Champagne region of France, had medium bubbles, not exploding out of your mouth, giving it a velvety mouth feel with hints of white nectarine, a dash of green apple and citrus. I am on the waiting list to get a bottle once they get more back in. Definitely a Wine of Note. Conclusion: More women need to be in the world of wine!

Napa Valley Day 2, Part 1 Laura Michael Winery

Sometimes you have more success going solo. Other times it pays to be part of a team. My Napa wine adventures on day 1 were a solo affair. On day two I was able to take a few members of my team to enjoy an amazing wine experience. My first choice to begin their Napa wine journey was Laura Michael Winery, just outside the town of Calistoga.Calistoga sits at the northern end of Napa Valley. The valley here is less than two miles wide. Fires wreaked havoc in this area in 2020, so be weary of any Napa wine wearing a 2020 on its label. The Winery, owned by wife Laura and husband Michael specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and a 50/50 Zinfandel Petite Sirah desert wine, which is my favorite. In a previous post I talked about how you can taste the business culture of a winery in their wine. How do they treat guests, conduct their tasting, etc. And again, do everything that you can to make reservations, but I am always interested in how a winery handles the ones that just show up. Michael and Laura are some of the nicest people in Napa, and will do their best to try and accommodate you. They are knowledgeable and just great people to share a glass of wine with! Laura Michael’s is the refreshing antithesis of the big, impersonal, touristy wineries that everyone thinks that they “must” visit in Napa. Thank you to Laura and Michael for a great visit!

Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 2. Gandona Winery and Vineyards.

Wow! It is all I could say as I drove back down the unmarked, potholed, steep and winding driveway back into the valley. I had done a significant amount of research before going to Napa this year. My first visit was a year before, at which point I realized how little I knew even though I had done a lot of research prior to that trip as well. So I had a decent plan of where I wanted to go after my tasting at Robert Craig. I also did not have any reservations (an outcome of my fluctuating work schedule) which is bad and good. Good, in fact, great in this case.

Disclaimer. Unless you have some serious connections, of which apparently I do now, DO NOT expect to just walk into this experience!! I HIGHLY recommend having reservations for anywhere that you really want to visit!

SO, at the end of my Robert Craig tasting, KC (read part 1) asked where I was going next. I told him my ideas and rough plan. His next question; “Do you have any reservations?” “No.” I answered and explained my crazy work schedule that can change day to day. So he recommended a Winery owned by a man from Portugal, and not just Portugal, from the Douro, which is where my mother is from! A quick phone call to the Winery was not answered so he said to try and drive up (up is the key word) there and maybe you can find someone. A Wine Safari, I liked the idea.

Gandona has no fancy sign, is mostly unmarked, off of the main roads inside Napa Valley. This is not a place that you would just happen upon. Even with Google and Apple Maps it took me 40 minutes to find, even after they both said that I “have arrived at your destination.” Determined, and after driving up, up, up, up the third unmarked, rutted and potholed driveway, I reached the top and found it! There was only one other vehicle in the small gravel parking area. I stepped out and start walking towards the winery which had its big barn-like door open when another gentleman walked out. This gentleman, Adam, turned out to be The wine maker at Gandona. After a “Who are you and why are you here” question session; with me, very humbly, explaining my story he invited me in. And I am not trying to sound like some kind of elitist here, but it was during this “who are you” questioning that everyone else would have been turned away. Take the time and make reservations if at all possible.

As I walked in to the winery with Adam we discussed their wine making philosophy, and their techniques for different varieties. He showed me their wine presses, their different wine storage areas, and their barrel room. Outside we toured the main estate vineyard, discussed the soil, the different valley winds, the specific clones of their varieties. Note: and to not get into the weeds here; after the phylloxera outbreak in the mid 1860s, almost all European grape varieties in the world are clones and or hybrids. Back inside we got back on the topic of his wine making approach, especially with Port Style wine. Gandona is one of the few vineyards growing a Portuguese Native grape Touriga National, one of the main varieties in Port Wine. Gandona makes a Port Style wine, a vintage no less. You cannot call a wine a Port Wine unless it is from Portugal. It must be labeled “Port Style,” or just “Dessert” Wine. I had the privilege to try their 2014 vintage Port Style wine and it was incredible! Definitely a Wine of Note. Finally I was lucky enough to buy some as they do not sell to the general public. If you are interested you must contact them and sign up to be on their allocation list for a chance to buy some.

At the end of my three hour visit and tour of Gandona I thanked Adam graciously. He ended the visit with “Yeah, we don’t do this kind of thing [visit], but you didn’t seem entitled to it, it was a pleasure.” Thank you Adam! Stay turned next week for Day 2 of Napa.

Napa Valley, Day 1, Part 1. Wine Tasting at Robert Craig

There are SOOOO many great wineries to visit in Napa. For me, a combination of research, recommendations, and dumb luck have shaped my Napa experience. My visit to Robert Craig’s tasting salon (fancy sounding I know) was possible with a combination of outstanding friends and research.The tasting room manager and Certified Wine Educator (CWE) KC gave me a superlative experience. It has become the bar to measure all other wine experiences to. As the two of us tasted through a sample of their wine portfolio I was given an education in the soil of that vineyard, how that affects the taste; the climate that year, and how that affects the taste; the vision that their wine maker had for that vintage, and, of course, how we get to that point of wine to mouth. It was enlightening, even to someone who others call a “ wine expert.” I generally don’t like being called that, because I don’t think that I am a wine expert, and I know that there are very, very few true experts out there.As renowned as Robert Craig’s wines are, I was amazed to find out that the entire operation only has eight employees, and that includes the owner!! Bob Craig (who passed several years ago) was a partner with the world famous Robert Mondavi before setting out on his own many decades ago. The winery, Robert Craig, specializes in mountain fruit. They have vineyards on top of all of the surrounding mountain tops. Therefore a tasting with them gives you a sample tour of the best that the Vacas and Mayacamas Mountains can offer. In the end I left with two bottles that are not available in stores; a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon, both from their Mount Veeder estate. You can drink both of them now, but they will only get better with time. These two wines, today, would be the Wine of Note at any tasting! After a few more years in the bottle they will be right where I want them to be, and I will share them with my friends who recommended the visit, and think back to KC and my amazing time!