In the 1970\u2019s, just after the famous Judgement of Paris showed how great California wines had become, Steve went wine tasting for the first time.\u00a0 He remembers well the sensation, as he was driving along Route 29 in the Napa Valley, that he was in a wine shop only it wasn\u2019t labels he was passing by but wineries.\u00a0 Domaine Chandon, Heitz, Louis Martini \u2013 all these famous places along the road!\u00a0 And every place offered something to taste and for free. It was wonderful.<\/p>\n
In our travels, we have re-experienced that sensation many times and so can you.\u00a0 Each visit to a wine-growing region unknown to you brings back that same sense of an adventure about to unroll.\u00a0 Even with a GPS, you don\u2019t really know where you are going.\u00a0 Very often, most of the wineries are not very well known to you.\u00a0 Maybe you have never heard of any of them.\u00a0 What should you do?<\/p>\n
One option is to take a tour, but we do not recommend it.\u00a0 Tour operators are interested in volume, not quality.\u00a0 They choose wineries that can accommodate large groups, with wines that appeal to the mass market.\u00a0 It is better for them to offer wines that everyone can enjoy somewhat than expensive wines and expensive tastings that are oriented to connoisseurs.\u00a0 It is bad enough when 30 people show up at a winery all wanting to be served at once.\u00a0 It\u2019s even worse when you\u2019re in that group.\u00a0 You have no time for conversation, for learning, for savoring something unique.\u00a0 And you definitely won\u2019t be offered that special wine they keep below the counter for those who are willing to spend more time to really understand a winery\u2019s production.<\/p>\n
The best bet is to get to the region you\u2019re visiting and stop at the first winery you see.\u00a0 It may be a lucky hit, with knowledgeable people, lovely d\u00e9cor and fine wines.\u00a0 But even if it isn\u2019t, it will have two things you want: a map and someone you can ask: \u201cWe\u2019re new here.\u00a0 Which wineries do you suggest we try?\u201d\u00a0 Almost without exception, we have found that wine people love to talk and love to give advice.\u00a0 Your taste may not be the same as theirs, so you might want to say, at your next stop, \u201cThe people at Chateau X recommended your wines.\u00a0 What can you recommend that might be a little different?\u201d\u00a0 A truly helpful server should ask you, \u201cWell, what kind of wine do you like?\u201d and then direct you to light whites, heavy reds and everything in between.<\/p>\n
Of course, this gets a little trickier when the region you are visiting is in a non-English speaking country.\u00a0 Fortunately, English has become the world\u2019s second language so you can usually have a passable conversation.\u00a0 We have also engaged in a fair amount of arm-waving, map-pointing and general looking lost.\u00a0 It has always worked and we have often been directed to some of the most amazing wineries we have ever visited.<\/p>\n
The great likelihood, when you\u2019re tasting in a region you\u2019re not familiar with, is that the wines aren\u2019t going to be exactly what you think they\u2019ll be.\u00a0 For example, a California Syrah is different from a French Syrah which isn\u2019t the same as an Australian Shiraz.\u00a0 Moreover, a Southern Rhone Syrah is different than one from the north.\u00a0 You need not only to be open to these differences but to relish them.\u00a0 That\u2019s what wine tasting is all about<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a search for novelty for its own sake but rather to enjoy different winemakers\u2019 expressions of the soil, the climate and the traditions of each locale.\u00a0 When you taste something unexpectedly wonderful, you\u2019ve gotten a sense of what makes wine so fascinating: the variety, the personality, the subtlety and the achievement that each new harvest brings.<\/p>\n Sometimes, you\u2019ll find wines made from grapes you\u2019ve never heard of.\u00a0 Did you ever have an Insolia?\u00a0 It\u2019s a wonderful white grape from Sicily that makes some of the most elegant white wines we\u2019ve tasted in a while.\u00a0 How about Pinotage?\u00a0 Cannonau? Canaiolo?\u00a0 Open your mind when you open your mouth and you\u2019ll get the most out of your visit.<\/p>\n Finally, make comparisons with wines you know, but only after you\u2019ve finished for the day.\u00a0 If you say to yourself, \u201cThis is like XYZ Vineyards back home\u201d you\u2019ll always have the taste of XYZ on your mind and on your palate and you\u2019ll find it hard to judge the wines you\u2019re tasting on their own merits.<\/p>\n So, wherever you go, follow the open road.\u00a0 It leads to Wine Country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the 1970\u2019s, just after the famous Judgement of Paris showed how great California wines had become, Steve went wine tasting for the first time.\u00a0 He remembers well the sensation, as he was driving along Route 29 in the Napa Valley, that he was in a wine shop only it wasn\u2019t labels he was passing … Continue reading The First Time<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=176"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":177,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176\/revisions\/177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}