May 2026 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

Tastings at the Wine Shop

It’s almost commonplace these days: We walk into a wine shop and there’s someone standing behind a little podium with a few open bottles of wine and a rack of glasses or more often small plastic cups. “Hi. Would you like to taste a little wine from <fill in the name of a wine region>?” The wine might come from anywhere, from California to Georgia (in Eastern Europe, not the American South). Our answer is generally, “Sure, why not?”

To be honest, the great majority of the time the wine on offer isn’t very good. We rarely say, “Wow! Let’s buy some.” Although there have been a few occasions when we have done that.

There are also some tastings held in wine shops that are a great deal more sophisticated. A representative of a winery arrives with bottles – sometimes cases – of various wines from their vineyards and sets up behind a makeshift bar. In these instances, shoppers sip one wine after the other, just as if they were in a tasting room somewhere in Wine Country, except that there is no charge for the tasting.

*Annie Shull, proprietor of Raptor Ridge Winery, serving at a wine tasting.*

We were recently in St. Paul, Minnesota and stopped by a shop called Solo Vino. The proprietor is Chuck Kanski, a friend of long standing. We always go to Solo Vino when we’re in town, to say hello and buy a few bottles. That day, he was hosting a wine maker from Raptor Ridge Winery in Oregon. She had brought a selection of six whites of various styles. We can sincerely say that we gained a pretty thorough understanding what her winery produces.

So far, we’ve been talking about free tastings. Then there are some stores that really dig into their inventories and offer a serious comparison tasting. We well remember an event at New York City’s Morrell wine store tasting of Châteauneuf-du-Pape; it was truly an education. There’s a store a short walk from our home called Le Dû. They just had a tasting of Iberian wines from all over the peninsula. We don’t remember the price for that CdP tasting, but the one at Le Dû cost $60.

There are many wine shops that have those gas-filled cases that pour a few ounces at the touch of a tap. We’ve enjoyed them at Union Square in New York and some SAQ stores in Québec. The selections are generally not extensive but often have high-quality wines on offer. There’s usually a fee for each pull of the tap and for the amount that pours out.

Finally, travelling in European corners of Wine Country, we have often encountered dégustations (or degustaziones) in towns like Béziers in France or Montalcino, Italy. Enterprising owners of local wine shops select a few bottles and open them as a sales pitch to get visitors to buy some more. The wines are all representative of the famous wines made there, but the quality is hit-or-miss. It all depends on the integrity of the proprietor. We’ve found that if we are truly interested, there’s something special just under the bar.

The overall point is to take advantage of wine tastings where you can find them. We often find them where we’re going to shop anyway.

“Value” Tastings

Over the years that we have been involved in wine tasting, there’s one thing we can say for sure: It has gotten a lot more expensive. On our earliest trips, tastings were free and you got to take the glass home with you. These days, the fees for the opportunity to sip top-tier wines can run into the hundreds of dollars per person.

There are several reasons why this is reprehensible, even if it is necessary for the financial health of the wineries. For one thing, there doesn’t seem to be any correlation between the cost of the wines being served and the fees charged to taste them. If a bottle of “elite” wine costs, for instance, $100 then why does a chance to try four or five small pours – equivalent to about a glass – cost $125? We think it’s more a snob effect: Charge a lot and keep out the riff-raff. But they are also keeping out visitors eager to learn about fine wine as well as people with educated taste but more meager pocketbooks.

For those unwilling to pay the big bucks, there are alternatives that provide plenty of interesting wine tasting but don’t require a second mortgage to indulge in them. We term these “value” tastings.

Take the least expensive option offered in the tasting room. They say you should buy the worst house in the best neighborhood you can afford. The same may apply to wine tasting. For example, Beringer, a winery that we have enjoyed greatly over the years, charges $150 to sample the best of their current and library wines. But they also have tours and tastings that range from as low as $35. You won’t sip the best on the less expensive tastings, but you won’t get plonk either.
Or try the opposite approach. There are occasions where the best house in a lesser neighborhood works just fine. And there are wineries that don’t have the same cachet as the biggest names in the valley but are capable of making some better quality wines. Many of these are only available at the tasting room, so you can take advantage of them while you are there.
Manage your expectations. If you enter the tasting room looking forward to an exceptional wine adventure at a low price, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you anticipate some good wine served in a pleasant environment by knowledgeable people, you will likely have a good time.
Ask a lot of questions. If you are a newbie to wine tasting, the questions will probably be rather elementary, which is just fine. A decent server will use the opportunity to explain some basics about wine making, different varietals and how to get the most pleasure out of a glass of wine. On the other hand, if you have some experience and are interested in gaining knowledge, the server may just discover a little bit of some better wines that just happen to be open and give you some little extras.

Twomey

When we talk about Twomey, we need to be very precise. For one thing, it’s just Twomey, not Twomey Cellars or Twomey Vineyards. There used to be two Twomey wine tasting experiences to be enjoyed, one in Calistoga in Napa Valley and the other in Sonoma county, on Westside Road in Healdsburg. Today, only the Russian River site remains.

Then there’s the issue of heritage. Twomey is owned by Silver Oak, renowned for their Cabernet Sauvignons. Our first encounter with Twomey was when they focused on Merlot, but somewhere along the line they switched to producing Pinot Noirs, which does make more sense for a winery located in Russian River. So, they took over a tasting room from a boutique winery called Stonegate, and that’s where they offer tastings to this day.

A tasting at Twomey begins with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It seems that every winery in the area that specializes in red wines offers a little bit of white, just to show that they can. (Maybe it’s a California law.) The rest of a tasting focuses on Pinot Noir. More than that, each of the wines offered is from a single vineyard, which is a hallmark of Twomey’s wines. That said, we found a distinct style to Twomey’s various offerings. It’s not that they all taste the same, but there is a similarity. Since they grow or source from Oregon to the Central Coast, we infer that the hand of the winemaker is more dominant in their wines than is the terroir.

Many Sonoma County wineries buy their grapes from commercial vineyards and vinify the grapes themselves. It was once said that in Sonoma County, the farmer is king. That is still true to an extent, but there are also many wines that are made from estate grapes. Twomey’s wines fall into both categories. Their Sauvignon Blanc and the Pinot Noirs from Prince Hill Vineyard in Oregon and Monument Tree Vineyard in Anderson Valley are made from their own grapes. That doesn’t necessarily make them better. We preferred the wine sourced from Gary’s Vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands, but then we are generally very fond of SLH wines.

*The Twomey tasting room in Russian River.*

The tasting room is a modern building of steel, wood and glass. The panoramic windows give onto a wide terrace, where tastings may be had in good weather. And beyond that is an expansive view of the northern end of the Russian River region. It would be easy to say “Forget the wine; come for the view” but the wine is worth a visit as well.

Maybe it’s because of the look and feel of the tasting room, but we found a tasting at Twomey to be a little cold and distant. The servers were professional and prompt, but not overly talkative. Now, there are some tasting rooms where we have wished that the server would just be quiet and let us enjoy our wine. But maybe Twomey’s staff have over-corrected in the other direction.

And, wonder of wonders, they still give you the glass with your tasting, and handsome glass it is!

Barcelona vs. Madrid

North American sports fans are used to regional rivalries: the Yankees vs. the Red Sox, the Canadiens against the Maple Leafs, Army vs. Navy. But there is probably none so famed, so deep in the fiber of the fans than FC Barcelona playing against Real Madrid in football (or futbol as they call it or soccer as we do). There is even a name for this annual game, El Clasico, the Classic.

In the spirit of this contest, coming up on May 10 this year, we offer a comparison of the two cities for wine tasters who’d like to include urban stops along with visits to vineyards.

Attractions – Any trip to Madrid must include a stop in the Plaza Mayor, the main public square dating back to the 16th century. Barcelona offers the Sagrada Familia, the monumental church designed in the 19^th century by Antonio Gaudi, nearly complete today. (One point for Barcelona.)
Art – In Barcelona you can visit museums dedicated to Picasso and Miro, which are wonderful. But Madrid has the world-renowned Prado for art of Spain’s imperial past and the Reina Sofia Museum for 20^th century art, plus the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection. (One point to Madrid.)
Architecture – As we have written in a previous issue, much of Barcelona was created at the beginning of the 20^th century by Modernist architects, not the least of which was the aforementioned Gaudi. There are some interesting buildings in Madrid, but nothing to compare. (One point to Barcelona.)

*The Sherry Bar at the Plaza San Miguel in Madrid.*

Food markets – Madrid has the Mercato San Miguel. Barcelona has the Boqueria. The former is more of a food court with lots of stalls where you can try local Spanish food and wine, plus an extensive selection of Sherry to taste. The same is true at the Boqueria, but it is still just as much of a place to buy fruit, vegetables, fish and meat. (Slight edge to Barcelona, half a point.)
Restaurants – Both cities have great restaurants and both have places for tapas wherever one goes. We preferred the ones we went to in Barcelona but that’s simply a matter of taste. (A draw, no points awarded.)

*A performance at the Tablao Flamenco Cordobes in Barcelona.*

Flamenco – We happen to be aficionados of this quintessentially Spanish dance form. We have seen performances in tablaos (the petite theaters where flamenco is danced) in both cities. Every time we see the most talented Spaniards dancing in their own cities, we leave saying, “That was the best we’ve ever seen!”. (Another draw, no points awarded.)
Language – Surprise, surprise: They speak Spanish in Spain. But in Barcelona they also speak Catalan, which is a somewhat close language but not the same. In general, visitors can get around in English, but if you learned Spanish in school, this can make Barcelona confusing. (Slight edge to Madrid, half a point.)
Proximity to wine tasting – The most famous Spanish wine regions are the Douro and Ribera de Douro. Neither of them is close to either city. However, Catalunya is nearby Barcelona, especially the Penedes and Priorat sub-regions. There’s nothing comparable in easy driving distance of Madrid. (One point to Barcelona.)

So, if anyone has been keeping score, the edge goes to Barcelona. That’s our appreciation, but we urge you to visit both cities and decide for yourselves.