{"id":2417,"date":"2023-07-27T14:57:47","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T14:57:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2417"},"modified":"2023-07-27T14:57:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T14:57:47","slug":"vineyard-tastings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=2417","title":{"rendered":"Vineyard Tastings"},"content":{"rendered":"

The model for most of our wine tasting experiences over the years was having a drink in a bar.\u00a0 We would stand up and taste selected wines.\u00a0 More recently, especially in Napa Valley, the model has been restaurant style.\u00a0 We sit at a table and servers bring us wines to try.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another model that we have encountered more rarely but have enjoyed quite a lot: a wine tasting in the very vineyards where the wine comes from.\u00a0 This way of wine tasting is often, but not always, combined with a tour of the winemaking facilities.\u00a0 There is quite a lot of variety, in fact.<\/p>\n

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The vines of Chimney Rock<\/em><\/p>\n

For one thing, many wineries are situated in the middle of or adjoining their vineyards.\u00a0 There is nothing to stop anyone from picking up their glass and wandering out among the vines.\u00a0 This is especially fun during the days just before the harvest, when the tasting can be paired with a few stolen grapes.\u00a0 Once, on a slow day at Chimney Rock<\/a> in Napa, our server went with us and showed us around the vines.\u00a0 (We understand that this winery now offers a vineyard tour with a tasting, though we have never taken it.)<\/p>\n

Chappellet<\/a> is a winery that incorporates a brief walk through the vines as a part of its regular tastings.\u00a0 From experience, we can say that this is a more pleasant experience from March through November.\u00a0 It gets cold up on Pritchard Hill in the winter.<\/p>\n

Most American vineyards are rather protective of their properties, but in many places in Europe, it\u2019s easy to walk through vineyards on your own.\u00a0 So we have sometimes made ourselves a picnic, bought a bottle of the local wine and sipped while eating and walking.\u00a0 Those Burgundy wines aren\u2019t bad, y\u2019know, and actually being there added to their luster.<\/p>\n

Some wineries, including the recently reviewed Black Stallion<\/a> in Napa Valley and Dry Creek Vineyard<\/a>\u00a0in Sonoma County have model vineyards so that visitors can get a sense of what the vines and, in season, the grapes actually look like.\u00a0 These are not the ones that wind up in your glass, but learning to recognize the vines, leaves and grapes is valuable anyway.<\/p>\n

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Winemaker Jon Priest explains Etude\u2019s way of making Pinot Noir, at their flagship Heirloom vineyard in the Grace Benoist Ranch.<\/em><\/p>\n

We recently had a unique vineyard tasting experience.\u00a0 Etude<\/a> hosted a members-only tasting in its Pinot Noir vineyards in Carneros.\u00a0 Interestingly, although the Etude winery is in Napa County, their premier vineyards in the Grace Benoist Ranch are in Sonoma County.\u00a0 We were bussed from the winery to the vineyards and had a barbecue lunch under some shady trees with about 35 fellow members.\u00a0 The vineyards for the wines we were served were right nearby!\u00a0 There is a thrill for wine lovers to marry the sights, smells and tastes of the wines we enjoy with the sights and smells of the vineyard.\u00a0 Added to the pleasure, we were joined by the winemaker, Jon Priest, who explained what we were looking at in terms that satisfied both the wonkiest of wine lovers as well as those who cared far more about what is in the bottle than how it got there.<\/p>\n

As noted, there are a lot of ways to combine wine tasting and vineyards.\u00a0 We heartily recommend taking one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The model for most of our wine tasting experiences over the years was having a drink in a bar.\u00a0 We would stand up and taste selected wines.\u00a0 More recently, especially in Napa Valley, the model has been restaurant style.\u00a0 We sit at a table and servers bring us wines to try. There\u2019s another model that … Continue reading Vineyard Tastings<\/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\/2417"}],"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=2417"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2420,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2417\/revisions\/2420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}