Often, when we talk with friends and acquaintances about our love of wine tasting, we get the question stated in the headline. Of course, it’s an impossible question to answer, much akin to “Which one is your favorite child”, which we often tell the people who ask. Sometimes they mean to ask which is our favorite wine and we have to answer with the unsatisfying reply, “It depends”. With what food? What time of year? How do we feel that day? It’s easy to say, “Those Rothschilds sure make mighty fine wines” and be done with it, but that’s just dodging an answer. The best we can say is that we can’t answer that question and explain why not.
Others, perhaps more interested in wine tasting themselves, ask “What is your favorite winery to visit?”. Of course, that’s just a backhanded way of asking which wine we prefer, but we admit there is more to it. A wine tasting visit incorporates the wines, the servers and the winery itself.
A fairer question is what region of Wine Country do we prefer? Even that is a tough one. We have visited Napa Valley more than any other locale over the years, both for the quality of the wine and the fact that in our earlier years of wine tasting, it was the only place to go, or at least it seemed that way. But we also have visited Sonoma County often and we enjoy the more relaxed attitude there. Long Island’s North Fork is a drive for us, not a plane flight. And can life be any better than sipping Champagne for a few days in the place where it’s made?
A fairer question, one that we often turn the conversation to, is what is our favorite type of winery to visit for tasting. The ideal winery has architectural beauty, without going completely over the top. It’s even better if the building has some historical interest as well and is surrounded by grape vines. The servers should be informed and interested in educating as well as pouring. And, oh yes, the winery has to have excellent wine.
These days, it’s too much to hope that a tasting of top-tier wines would be inexpensive. Seated tastings are what we generally find in the US, and they’re becoming more common in Europe as well. At our ideal winery, sitting at a table by ourselves, not with the server, who is being helpful but not too intrusive. And if they can find a few little “extras” that just happen to be behind the bar, so much the better.
There are a few wineries that come to mind that meet all or most of the specifications we have in mind. Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley is one; Dry Creek in Sonoma County is another in California; Biondi-Santi in Tuscany and Château Mouton Rothschild in Bordeaux fit the bill overseas. Anyone who loves wine and wine tasting should try to visit these and others like them in their lifetime.