Shared bottles are the best bottles.
"I didn't know if I'd have a job to go back to."
That's something Sally and I heard over and over from winery employees, restaurant servers, and other customer service professionals we encountered in Napa Valley. We were visiting three weeks after the devastating 2017 fires.
My wife and I consistently heard one message while we were in Napa. "We're open for business. Please come to visit."
A family wedding in the Texas Hill Country town of New Braunfels gave us the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with the local wine region. With Sally's mom, Mabeth, generously handling the driving duties, the three of us set out to taste some wine.
We were lucky to find two gems on a three winery tour. Not bad for any day of tasting.
We're big fans of themed wine parties. It's a fun and easy way to enjoy some good wine with friends without getting too fussy or pretentious.
This wine party featured Cabernet Sauvignon, and featured bottles we had picked up on our travels. Each had its own unique story.
Our friends blind-tasted the wines, and we paired them with a cheese course and then a steak dinner.
Myles, the main character in the movie Sideways, famously uttered his contempt for Merlot in a classic scene. That reputation was probably well-deserved at the time, as the market had been flooded with a lot of cheap, crappy wine.
Not anymore. Our friends, Alisa and Ken, recently hosted a blind tasting that proves Merlot is worth a try.
It's fun to focus on one varietal.
You really don't appreciate how different wine from the same grape can taste until you try several examples side-by-side. This can make for a fun party.
Here's one way you can do it that's relatively easy.
Sally and I recently enjoyed wine tasting in the town of Los Olivos with some friends. If you've tasted wine from Santa Barbara County, you know it well.
If you haven't yet visited Los Olivos, you should. Here's an overview to help you plan your visit.
Too many people are concerned with what wine should taste like.
That’s really nonsense. The only way to do it is to trust your taste buds. Focus on color, smell, and taste. If you like it, it’s good.
Blind tasting is a great way to strip away the noise. Your preconceptions can’t influence your perceptions. It’s just you and the wine.
Wine can be a lot of fun when you abandon all pretenses and trust your taste buds.
One thing we enjoy is blind tasting wine with friends. We like to pick a particular varietal to explore and serve several bottles to our friends without telling them the year, region, or winery. The only way to judge the wine is by is color, smell, and taste.
We recently hosted a dinner party to share some bottles of Zinfandel we had acquired.
The severe drought that San Diego and much of California is experiencing might have a happy side effect: more good wine.
How we’ll get there takes a bit of a detour through our local farmlands.
