lgsjr – Page 2 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

When a Winery Changes

In these on-line pages, we have from time to time bemoaned the loss of a winery or the decision by some winemakers to discontinue making wines we used to love. This past year has seen a number of winery closures in California, notably including Paraduxx and Newton in Napa Valley. (Fortunately, new owners bought Newton and are re-opening it. Still, this is another example of change in Wine Country.)

For the wine tasting visitor, these losses – and to be fair, additions as well – are not novel events. Wine production has been changing as long as wine has been made. We can imagine some ancient Roman bemoaning that he couldn’t get his favorite wine from Pompeii anymore. But it does seem that the pace has picked up in recent years, driven by changes in wine drinkers’ tastes and the decline in sales of alcoholic beverages overall.

Photo courtesy of Cellar Tracker.

So how should you adapt to all this alteration, transformation and shift in the wineries they come to visit and taste?

Buy up what’s still available. The fact that a winery has chosen not to make a particular wine indicates that that particular label didn’t sell very well. Yes, you loved it but not enough other people did (or at least not at that price) to make it economically feasible to continue making it. For that reason, there may be a lot left in inventory. When you visit the winery only to find that wine not on the list, just ask if you can still buy some. If so, take advantage of the winery’s misfortune while there’s still time and buy, buy, buy.
The wine may come back. We remember when Joseph Phelps stopped making their Rhône blend, Vin du Mistral. It was one of our favorites and then, in 2021, they made it again for one vintage. Let’s hope that enough tasters ask for it at their St. Helena tasting room that they’ll bring it back again.
Find out why the changes occurred. There may be other reasons why a certain wine may not be available, beyond market conditions. There may be new ownership or a new winemaker. If this is the case, the name on the label may be the same name but it is no longer the same winery. In most cases though, the vineyard is still there, growing the same grapes. It may be a good idea to shrug off the differences in winemaking philosophy and see what the new winemaking team can do with what you were familiar with.
Embrace change. Remember that every wine changes, from harvest to harvest and over time due to global warming, among other reasons. That’s one of the reasons to go wine tasting at all, to find novelty and development in the wines of a region that you’re already familiar with. For example, we often bought a premium Merlot from a Sonoma County winery. They decided to rip out the vines and plant Zinfandel instead. We regret that we’ll never taste that Merlot again, but we buy a whole lot of their Zins these days.
Get over it. Nothing lasts forever, especially not wine.

Lucca, Italy

Tuscany is one of the most popular destinations for wine tasting travelers. It’s where Chianti comes from. And Brunello, Vino Nobile and Vernaccia. And while they’re in Tuscany, many visitors also want to see Florence, Siena and even Pisa, just to see the tower lean. We’d like to offer another Place to Visit: Lucca.

Some may have heard of the city because it’s famous for producing some of Italy’s best olive oil. Others may know it as a well-preserved Renaissance town, still surrounded by broad walls. And it is near the area where Bolgheri, the king of the Super Tuscans, is made from Bordeaux grapes.

The broad walls of Lucca.

Today, Lucca has its fill of tourists, but not as much so as its more famous Tuscan cities. And it is well worth visiting for a day. The city is rich in historic sites (and sights). The walls were built to protect Lucca from its rapacious neighbors, Florence and Pisa. As gunpowder changed the nature of war, the Luccans reinforced their walled city with broad earthen ramparts. The walls worked; the city was not attacked. Of course, they don’t serve a defensive purpose today, but visitors can promenade among the treetops along the walls today.

The piazza in front of the Church of San Michele in Foro.

Inside those walls there are two very notable churches. One is San Michele in Foro, erected on the site of what had been the forum in Roman days. It is a massive structure dominating what is still a wide piazza and the principal meeting spot in Lucca today. The other is the city’s cathedral, which also has a bit of history. There has been a church on that spot since the sixth century. The cathedral there now was “only” finished in 1204.

As mentioned, Lucca attracts many tourists. There is a parking lot near the main gate into the city leading onto a long, narrow street that leads eventually to the Church of San Michele in Foro. It is a long strip of stores catering to visitors. That’s not to say that everything is tourist claptrap. The leather goods of Lucca are esteemed as are the woolens made, no doubt, from sheep raised in the hills around the city.

The Piazza dell’Anfiteatro in Lucca.

Perhaps the most popular place for visitors to Lucca is the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, an oval-shaped space that was once the amphitheater where residents of Luca (as Lucca was in Roman times) saw plays and concerts. The theater has long been destroyed but the piazza retained its shape. Today, it is surrounded by restaurants, each with its umbrellas and outdoor tables. The owners of each one of them will tell you that they alone serve the true and ancient cuisine of Lucca.

One Luccan specialty is a pasta that they call Tordelli Lucchese. It’s a relatively thick ravioli filled with beef and/or pork, local spices and vegetables, served in a hearty meat sauce. Even on the warmest days, a bottle of local red wine is de rigeur. And to eat it where Roman actors once declaimed Plautus adds something unforgettable.

Benovia Winery

As these things often do, our interest in Benovia began in a restaurant. We wanted a Pinot Noir to go with dinner at Willi’s Seafood in Healdsburg, California. Our server suggested Benovia, saying it was the only wine that had been on their list since the restaurant opened. We were impressed by the wine and decided to visit their winery in the Russian River AVA the next day. We did call in advance, since their website says tastings are by reservation only. We were told they could squeeze us in.

The Benovia “ranch”.

The road to Benovia is not as picturesque as in other parts of Russian River, more industrial than rustic. As we approached the winery (in November) through the vineyard, we noticed that there was still fruit on the vines. Or more accurately, there was fruit rotting on the vines. Evidently the sales of lesser-known premium wine are depressed. The owners decided it was smarter to feed grapes to the birds than to make wine that wouldn’t be sold. To say the least, this is a sad trend.

The interior of the Benovia winery, with our server named Izzy.

Beyond the vineyard, we encountered a large factory-like building and then, just beyond it, a rambling ranch house. On entering, we found an empty tasting room, with one group of people sitting on the patio. Squeeze us in, indeed! Nonetheless, we were welcomed warmly and were seated in front of a fireplace (no fire) in a living room setting. In fact, that typified our visit to Benovia; it’s like visiting friends with a nice house and good taste in wine.

Benovia is a relatively recent arrival in the world of wine, having opened in 2005. The owners purchased the vineyard around the winery, as well as several other Russian River terrains. As a result, most of their wines are estate made, which we always consider to be a plus. Of course, since they’re situated in an area famed for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, that’s what they make. They also sell a few wines made from other grapes, which we didn’t taste.

The wines served at the tasting were a good representation of Benovia’s wines. In many tastings, visitors are offered the bottom of the winery’s list. A tasting at Benovia spans their price points. The wines served are a mix of single vineyard Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, from both Russian River and Sonoma Coast. Power Tasting doesn’t review wine, but we can say that our favorite was the Pinot Noir from the Martaella vineyard, which was the one we drove through to get to the winery.

Benovia is a small winery, producing only 4,000 cases, an amount that is being reduced due to market pressures, as described. We hope they survive the slump, because we enjoyed the tasting experience there and we also like the wines we tasted, including the one that we had at dinner.

Many Sonoma County wineries are the result of generations of farmers who grew grapes for making wine. Benovia isn’t like that. It’s more 21^st century, a winery opened by people who made their money elsewhere. That’s not necessarily bad and if they are committed to quality winemaking, we’d like to see them encouraged.

The Backroads of Sonoma County

The main stem of Sonoma County is Route 101, which connects Sonoma, Glenellen, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Healdsburg and Geyserville. To the best of our knowledge, there are no wineries actually on Route 101, so to go wine tasting we have to get off the highway and drive the back roads. Some of them are fairly major roads with plenty of other cars on them, such as Dry Creek Road and the Sonoma Highway (Route 12) in Sonoma Valley.

Sonoma County scenery. Photo courtesy of Backroads.

Then there are even smaller roads right off these that are essentially paths to a single winery. Drivers don’t just happen to pass by; these are destinations. Some of these small roads, and even some parts of the larger ones, are attractions in themselves. They are wonderful country lanes with foliage that it seems only California can offer. Even deep into autumn, there are leaves on many trees, some changing with the season and others green all year long.

Oh, yes, there are vineyards as well. Almost all of Sonoma County is hilly, so coming around a bend only to see row after row of vines along a hillside never fails to take our breaths away. To be fair, there are some roads in flatlands that are often home to feedlots and other industrial uses that aren’t quite as pretty.

There are two ways to wind up on these back roads. One is intentional. If we want to taste Pinot Noirs in Russian River, we will surely take either River Road (nearer Santa Rosa) or West Side Road which is actually the extension of Mill Street in Healdsburg. Either one offers lovely views and a lot of wineries to stop at. But then we often branch off. Gary Farrell, for instance, is on a private road leading up to the winery, with some emphasis on the word up. Paul Hobbs is set among vines at the end of Holt Road. The general point is that getting to these wineries offer beautiful scenery.

Sometimes, though, we just get lost. Over the years this has happened fairly often, because getting from one winery to another required spreading out maps and in many cases guessing that the next turn was the correct one. The sights were still lovely, but it was more difficult to appreciate them on wracked nerves. The advent of internet-based driving instructions has alleviated some of the agita, but not entirely.

The trees of Sonoma County after dark. Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Tourism.

Worst of all is driving these back roads after sunset. That lane that was gorgeous in daytime becomes a terror at night. During the day we don’t notice how narrow the streets are; in the dark, they must shrink. With headlights on, all we can see is the upcoming 20-miles-per-hour switchback and ditches to the side. Those trees that were scenic in the afternoon become the backdrop for Psycho once the sun goes down. We have survived to tell the tale, but it was awfully scary.

We advise you to get off the main Sonoma County highways and enjoy the scenery in the countryside. But do so while the sun shines.

Tasting in Sonoma County – A Status Report

The pandemic is in the rearview mirror in Sonoma County. So are the fires of 2017 and 2020. There are some landmarks that will never be replaced but there is plenty of building and expansion, especially regarding tourism. Which is to say, wine-tasting tourism. There are new restaurants in the obvious places, such as Healdsburg and Santa Rosa, but also in tiny Geyserville. All in all, times are good.

Healdsburg Plaza. Photo courtesy of Sonoma County Tourism.

But there are a few cracks in that pretty picture. Wine consumption is in decline in the United States and worldwide, according to reports in Decanter magazine and the Guardian. As a result, some wineries are feeling a financial pinch. One winery that we know and enjoy is letting fruit rot on the vines, because the cost of picking them wasn’t justified by the wine they couldn’t sell.

Mature grapes rotting on the vine.

The crackdown on immigration is also having an effect. It is no secret that California’s agricultural industries are built on the backs of immigrant laborers. The inbound flow of workers has ceased and many already here are afraid to show up for work. Raids on vineyards have left many people afraid to come to work.

For the most part, none of this is evident to the average wine taster. There appear to be more wineries opening their doors (or are we just noticing more that we used to drive past?). Restaurants are crowded, even off-season, although there seem to be more locals dining there than in summer. As an overall statement based on an admittedly limited sample, Sonoma County is maintaining and even expanding its place in the world of fine winemaking.

Almost without exception, Sonoma County wineries have adopted the seated-tasting-by-reservation model that appeared after the pandemic. This does enable the wineries to gauge the amount of staff they need on any given day, although we did enter quite a few where two servers were chatting with each other because we were the only visitors at the time. To be fair, the ones that have always been tourist favorites, such as Domaine Carneros (in Napa Valley, just over the county line) or Dry Creek Vineyard are as crowded as ever. And we were able to simply walk into almost all tasting rooms without a reservation.

Certain things haven’t changed and probably won’t. Dry Creek still is the place to go for Zinfandel; Russian River for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; and Alexander Valley for Cabernet Sauvignon. The rolling hills are gorgeous in every season and expansive fields of vines will always tug at our heartstrings.

And one thing seems even more pronounced. The people we meet at the wineries are so friendly! They seem equally appreciative of the life they lead amidst the vines and of the visitors who enjoy the wines they produce. We encountered none of the snobbism that typifies other (not to be named) regions in California. From temporarily employed servers to winery owners whom we met, they all seemed genuinely pleased to see us and share their wines with us. That alone is sufficient reason to visit Sonoma County in these troubled times.

Editorial: Bring Back the Bars

Seated tastings are the norm in California wineries these days, especially in Sonoma County and Napa Valley. We understand the rationale from the wineries’ perspective. Perhaps some wine tasters prefer to be waited upon, rather than simply having their glasses filled. We are not really opposed to seated tastings, but we would like to have the opportunity to choose.

The bar at Limerick Lane in Russian River. They also offer seated tastings. Bar tastings are less expensive.

Of course it’s nice to sit rather than stand while tasting wines. (Bar stools do alleviate this problem.) This is, after all, the way most of us enjoy wine at home. But there are drawbacks as well.

We don’t get to chat with other tasters. We’ve frequently met nice people this way, and they also enjoy wine tasting or they wouldn’t be there. Sometimes we could get a different take on certain wines than just our own.
At the bar, we could sip and pour off wines at our own pace. If, for example, we only wanted to taste a winery’s Zinfandels, we could focus on these and leave the Merlots and Syrahs untasted. This enables us to sample a winery’s wares in less time, so we could visit more of them, without overconsuming alcohol.
There is less pressure to join the wine clubs when we were at the bar. In part because we were moving long more swiftly, the server usually didn’t bring it up unless we asked.
The bartender/server is always present. The waiters at sit-down tastings come and go. Sometimes they are at another table, which happens in a bar setting as well. But other times they are chatting with their colleagues and we have to wait to be served.

We don’t want to take away seated tastings from those who enjoy them. But we’d like to have the choice to sit at the bar and be served as well.

Dealing with Reserved Seated Tastings

Wine tasting these days in California, at least in Sonoma County and Napa Valley, almost always consists of sitting at a table, with a server coming by to pour wines on a preset list. Depending on the winery, it can feel like an elegant way to taste or an arduous process of tasting what the winery wants you to taste versus what you want. Also, almost all of the wineries say that you must make a reservation and that tastings will last 90 minutes. That can be rather limiting if you want to make a day of sipping (not drinking) fine wines.

There are some tips to regain control of our wine tasting experiences.

Reservations may matter. Yes, there are some places that are serious about the reservation policy. For the most part, these are wineries that make very high-end (i.e., expensive) wines and often entail a tour as well as a tasting. Do a little homework in advance if you’d like to try one of these. A rough rule in this regard is that the ones where you must be on the list to be admitted will say “By appointment only” rather than specifying reservations. Ramey in Healdsburg is one of these.
For the rest, reservations don’t matter. We have pulled into wineries with signs outside saying “Only by reservation”, to find an empty room with a bored employee waiting for customers. There are even signs popping up these days saying, “Walk-ins Welcome”. We think that the restrictive policies were meant to manage labor cost of servers but have resulted in keeping visitors away. Maybe a phone call while you’re on the way would be polite; still, if there’s a winery you want to explore, just go in. The worst that can happen is you’ll just get back in the car.
In-town tastings are more likely to be open. These too are likely to be sit-down affairs, but so many rely on walk-ins that there is rarely a need to reserve in advance. Most of these are relatively unknown, so the curiosity of passers-by is their marketing strategy. There are also some well-known labels in the towns. For example, if you walk around Healdsburg, you might encounter Hartford Family or Siduri, which have significant reputations. But there are also some relative unknowns, such as Lurton, which also serve pretty fine wine.
You don’t have to follow the list. If you see that there are wines offered on the tasting list that you are uninterested in, skip them. If, for example, you only want to sip red wines, say so. In that case, you’re likely to get not only the listed wines but a selection of others that they make. And if you’re only interested in a varietal, you may go through their entire inventory of that grape.
Hurry the server along. In some cases, they want to leave you to yourself. In others they want to chat. If your interest is tasting and then moving along, keep the server filling your glasses. Of course, if you prefer solitude or conversation, ignore this tip.

Ask for all the wines to be served at once. This not only shortens the interaction with the server, it also gives you a chance to compare wines side-by-side. Also, it’s pretty to see so many glasses of wine in front of you.

Saini Vineyards

It all started at Baci, a restaurant in Healdsburg. [If you visit Healdsburg, we recommend you dine at Baci. Ask for Lisbeth, the owner and the hostess, and by the time you finish dinner you’ll feel like you have a new friend.] We thought that Zinfandel would go well with our meal but didn’t recognize any on the list of locally made wines. When we asked the waiter for a recommendation, she immediately said, “Saini”. We ordered a bottle and loved it, so the next day we drove to the winery to see what else they had to offer.

The Saini tasting room.

We found an attractive wooden building, at once rustic and modern, a theme that is continued inside. The first two things we saw as we entered was a long granite bar, perched on wine barrels, above which was a huge, elegant chandelier. The other was a small brick shack, of which more later.

The chandelier above the bar has more than 1600 Swarovski crystals.

There is a high likelihood that you will meet a member of the Saini family when you visit. We got to meet the owner John Saini (pronounced SA-ini), his daughter-in-law Laura and his grandson Angelo. Three generations at one time! John is there often and sometimes leads tours of the vineyard. We had a chance to chat with him and his business manager, George Christie. We learned how his grandfather established the vineyard in 1917 and planted vines that are still producing. He had built a brick shed for storing his wines. When the current tasting room was built, it was hoped to incorporate the old shed, but it was structurally unsound. So they demolished it and rebuilt it into the entrance of the building out of the original bricks.

John Saini with his grandson Angelo.

It is evident that family means a lot at Saini. But it’s more than genealogical heritage. John Saini refers to George and Lisbeth of Baci as “family”. We happened to be there for a member event, and all those guests were family, too. We believe we are now, too. That sense of connectedness – to the soil, to the vines, even the trees and the Dry Creek neighbors – suffuses the Saini experience.

The sense of family is even there in the wines. The list includes Nonno’s Bianco and Rosso (Nonno being Italian for grandpa). There’s Valentina Marie’s Rosé and Angelo’s Paintbrush, a blend of just about every grape they grow. Even the trees get into the names: Apple Block and Olive Block Zinfandels, the latter being the one we tried at the restaurant and still our favorite. Overall, there is an Italianate tinge to the wines, one more connection to the Saini heritage. We can’t guarantee that anyone else will get to meet so many family members as we did, but it’s a high likelihood that every visitor will encounter the warm welcome we got at Saini. We at Power Tasting don’t review wines, although we can say we enjoyed what we tasted at this tasting room. We do write about the wine tasting experience, and all we have to say is that we left Saini Vineyards with big smiles on o

Plaza Mayor

Among the things that any first-time to Madrid must do is to visit the Plaza Mayor. That’s sort of like saying that first-time visitors to New York City must see Times Square. There’s no way any visitor would miss it. It is the principal meeting place in Spain’s capital city and it has had an interesting history.

The Plaza Mayor in Madrid, at night.

There has been a marketplace in that spot since the 15^th century. It wasn’t always called the Plaza Mayor (Major Square in English). The name has changed in the winds of Spanish politics; for instance it was called Plaza de la Constitución off and on depending on the strength of the monarchy. It has stayed as the Plaza Mayor only since the end of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, but it seems the name will stick.

Today it is a grand square completely surrounded by four-story buildings. Mostly they are occupied as private residences, except for the plaza-level, which is almost completely commercial. The plaza is a magnet for tourists and so it is filled with people every day, all year long. Where there are tourists, there are sure to be vendors spreading a blanket and selling handbags, tchotchkes and Real Madrid tee shirts. There are also acrobats and street musicians, about the same as may be found in almost every popular tourist destination, worldwide.

That said, the Plaza Mayor is a marvel of architectural harmony, designed as we know it today by Juan Villanueva, who also was the architect of the Parado museum and other grand buildings in Madrid. In the middle of it all is a statue of the Spanish king Philip III on horseback. It is quite a pleasure to sit under one of the restaurant umbrellas surrounding the plaza, sipping a glass of wine and munching on tapas. Just taking in the hubbub is a part of the Madrid experience.

It is also worth exploring the shops that surround the Plaza Mayor. There is an arched portico around the square and the shops are easy to access, even if the day is hot or rainy. Many of them are full of tacky souvenirs, but there are some interesting ones, such as the hatmaker and vendor of Spanish almonds.

The Mercado San Miguel. Photo courtesy of Tourism Madrid.

Just outside the northwest corner of the Plaza Mayor is the Mercado San Miguel. It should be experienced on an empty stomach. It was an actual food market for nearly a century, until the growth of supermarkets rendered it obsolete. In 2009 it was re-opened as a mammoth gourmet tapas food hall. The game plan for a visit there is to walk around and locate the food to buy. This is difficult because everything looks (and is) delicious. One person hunts down some empty stools at the long tables that are located throughout the hall. Another person finds the bar and purchases glasses of wine. Then they take turns buying portions to share from the various kiosks. When sated – this can take hours – they repair to the bar and finish off the meal with their grand selection of sherries.

Freixenet, Today

This article is meant to be the companion piece to “Freixenet, Back When”, published in the Experiences section of Power Tasting’s April 2025 edition. As published, we had consistently misspelled the name of the winery, which we have since corrected. And while we’re at it, the name of the winery is pronounced FRESH-eh-net. We apologize to our readers and to the people at Freixenet.

There are often wine tasting destinations near big cities. Napa Valley is an hour or so from San Francisco. It’s a few hours’ drive from New York City to Long Island’s North Fork. Wine is being made inside Vienna’s city limits and nearby as well. And just outside Barcelona, there’s Penedes, where Cava is made. An easy train ride from Barcelona to the village of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia brings you directly to Freixenet.

The Freixenet winery.

In case you weren’t aware, Cava is Spain’s sparkling wine. At Freixenet, it is made the same way as French Champagne, except that the primary grapes are Macabeo, Paralleda and Xarelo (or Xarel·lo, as the Catalans spell it). Their wines range from the well-known Carta Nevada and Cordon Negro to some interesting wines at the other end of their spectrum, such as Gran Reserva Brut Nature (with no dosage) and an Extra Brut. They also have a rosé sparkler that is made of the Trepat grape. Finally, there is a dessert sparkling one made from Malvasia grapes.

Reproduction of a Freixenet advertising poster of another era.

All these are the wines served on their wine and cheese tour, which we recommend. If you do take the train there, you will find the winery right at the station. Externally, it looks very much like a Spanish hacienda, which we guess isn’t unintentional. The area in front of the winery has some ancient presses and a golden 1950 Chrysler. Once inside, the reception area is sleek and modern, decorated with art that recalls Freixenet’s history. There’s also the Freixenetmobile, in the form of a bottle of Cordon Negro.

The Freixenetmobile.

The tour begins with a film about Freixenet’s history and current presence in the world. Not only are they the best selling Cava, the company sells more sparkling wine than any other producer globally. They have a long history, having been founded in 1914. They survived the Spanish Civil War that took the lives of the founder and his son. His widow kept Freixenet going through the Franco years. In 2018, they were bought out by the German Sekt maker, Henkell, so now they are not just Spanish but international

If you’ve seen how Champagne or California sparkling wine is made, there’s not much new on the tour of Freixenet. One fun extra is an array of antique bottling equipment. The high spot, naturally, is the tasting. There, Freixenet flexes its muscles a bit and shows of what Cava is capable of. As always, Power Tasting doesn’t review wine, but we can say that we did enjoy what we were served and were quite delightedly surprised by Freixenet’s range.

Sadly, their better Cavas aren’t available in the United States and only sparingly so in Canada. So there’s nothing else to do than travel to Spain and take the Freixenet tour.