lgsjr – Page 30 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

Taittinger

At the end of a long boulevard in Reims sits the Taittinger headquarters. It sits on the site of a former Abbey of St. Nicaise that was destroyed by some zealots during the French Revolution. Nothing remains of the Abbey, or at least not above-ground. The ancient monks were winemakers themselves and they dug their cellars below their Abbey’s grounds, utilizing in part cellars created in the Fourth Century by the Romans, who were quarrying stone for buildings in the town. So while all cellar tours are pretty much the same, a visit to Taittinger has quite a lot of history to it.

Stairs used by the monks of St. Nicaise to enter the cellars

Taittinger is one of Champagne’s largest houses, based on the number of cases produced. Their wines are noted for their elegance and floral notes. It is also the parent company of California’s Domaine Carneros. Although anyone can reserve a tour and tasting, we used our membership in Domaine Carneros to obtain a private one.

Note that this storage cave contains 99,000 bottles of Comtes de Champagne

Today, the cellars in Reims are used solely to mature their top Champagne, the Comtes de Champagne. Deep below ground (18 meters or nearly 56 feet) you will see stack after stack of bottles that they age for at least 10 years. It is quite imposing.

But there are some things that you will not see. For one, you won’t see the facilities for storing their other Champagnes, such as their Brut Reserve or their rosé. For another, you won’t see the location where they actually crush the grapes and vinify their wines. And you won’t see the Château de la Marquetterie that appears on their bottles, just as the Domaine Carneros winery appears on the labels of the American sparkling wines. The château is actually in a small village called Pierry. You cannot visit it, but you can look at it.

Château de la Marquetterie in Pierry

What you can see in the caves in Reims is a lot of history. It does look yellow, because they use sodium lights to do the minimum damage to the Champagne. You see stairways that the monks used to descend into the cellars. You see beehive shaped vaults where the Romans excavated stone. And you see the convocation area where the monks gathered centuries ago.

After touring you do get a chance to taste the Champagne. The least expensive tour gets you a glass of the Brut Reserve, while the top-priced tour includes that wine plus the Comtes de Champagne, both white and pink.

Every trip to Champagne should include a visit to one of Grandes Marques, of which Taittinger is one of the leaders. Alas, some of these are rather industrialized; the historical interest of the Taittinger caves gives you a reason to choose this one.

Oh, and by the way, Americans. It’s not pronounced TAT-in-jer. You should say tet-ahn-ZHAY. It’s good to know if you go.

Zýmē

Located in the heart of the Valpolicella region in northern Italy, Zýmē (http://www.zyme.it/en/winery/) offers a rather unique wine tasting adventure. First, though, the name needs explanation. Zýmē is a Greek word for “yeast”, which aside from being a critical ingredient in wine is, according to the winemaker, Celestino Gaspari, a symbol of naturalness, a leading value of this winery. It’s pronounced ZEE-may and is located in the village of San Pietro in Cariano, not far from Verona.

We have to be truthful and say that the winery you will visit is not the same one we did. Zýmē has recently opened a new winery, very modern on the outside and ancient in the interior. When we visited not very long ago, it was literally a hole in a hill and the winery itself was in a cave. The cave-like atmosphere is still maintained but it is now carved out of an 15^th century limestone quarry. Like the prior winery, walking through the cavern is a unique and rather thrilling experience. The pictures accompanying this article, courtesy of Zýmē, are very reminiscent of what we saw and give some idea of the impact of a visit there.

The décor provides the wine tasting experience, but it would matter little if the wine weren’t interesting as well. Power Tasting does not review wines as such, but we can say that Zýmē makes excellent wines in the Valpolicella style from the corvina, corvinone and rondinella grapes. These are only to found in the Valpolicella region. But Zýmē goes further, making wines from rarely encountered grapes as well as more common ones not usually found in that region.

This level of quality might be expected once one knows the background of the winemaker. Signore Gaspari worked for many years at Quintarelli, thought by many to be the premier Amarone maker. In fact, Giovanni Quintarelli was his father-in-law. Zýmē’s wines have a different character than Quintarelli’s but you can tell in a simple tasting that they are made with craft and pride.

In addition to the traditional wines of the region, Zýmē makes a wine called Oseleta, from 100% grapes of the same name. According to Wine-Searcher, there are less than 20 hectares of these vines anywhere in the world, almost all grown near Lake Garda. Once almost extinct, Zýmē now makes this unique wine, keeping a distinctive taste, unlike anything else we have tasted, alive for future generations.

Another special wine made by Zýmē is Kairos, a Greek word (again) for “the opportune moment”. This wine is a power hitter, weighing in at 15% alcohol and is made from the kitchen sink of grapes: Garganega, Trebbiano toscano, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syraz, Teroldego, Croatina, Oseleta, Sangiovese and Marzemino. There has to be something in this wine to please everyone…or no one.

The Valpolicella region is not exactly unknown, but is generally not as well-regarded as Tuscany and the Piedmont. That’s a shame, because there are some really spectacular wines to be tasted there. And if you do go, you really should not miss a visit to Zýmē.

N’Ombra de Vin

Here is another in Power Tasting’s irregular series on great wine bars of the world.

Italy has some of the most beautiful cities in the world: Rome, Venice and Florence come to mind. Milan, the country’s financial and fashion capital, was victimized by too many wars and lost many of its antiquities. It still has some beautiful things – such as the Duomo, The Last Supper, La Scala – but it boasts modernity rather than an ancient patina. Today, what typifies Milan is a very sophisticated lifestyle and all of us, as visitors, are invited to partake of it.

Milan revels in its wine bars and we love one in particular. All over the city there gathering spots where fine wines are served and a great number of the populace assemble in the early evening for a glass of wine, a bite of food and the Italian national pastime, chatting. Our personal favorite is N’Ombra de Vin on the Via San Marco (https://www.nombradevin.it/). Evidently there are others who favor this spot, because it is packed every evening.

As for the name, well, it doesn’t mean anything in either Italian or English. “Ombra” is Italian for shade or shadow and of course “vin” means wine…in French. Let’s just say that the name means “In the shadow of wine” in some combination of languages and that works pretty well.

And indeed, N’Ombra de Vin is all about wine. It was originally and still is a wine store. Not exactly originally; that is, the owners claim that the building goes back to the 5^th Century and that in later years Napoleon’s army and Mozart himself frequented the location. Who’s to say? But in 1973 it definitely became a wine store. In later years, N’Ombra de Vin added an Italian tapas bistro and a music venue, as it continues today.

We got there early.

But for our purposes and for those who jam the joint from 5:00 until at least 8:00 every night, N’Ombra de Vin is about the institution of the apertivo. The list of wines by the glass is a compendium of the great winemaking regions of Italy. It changes frequently but there are always a few excellent Tuscans and Barolos and also many wines from lesser known corners of Italian Wine Country.

And the prices, at least for those of us used to New York wine lists, are amazingly low. We well remember having healthy pours of Quintarelli Primafiore for 14 euros ($15.50) a glass. It’s one of our favorite wines and it’s $50 for a bottle. Imagine what that would cost in an American bar, if you could find it.

Snacks, on the house.

Along with your drinks there you will be served little complimentary plates of snacks. There will be olives, cheeses, bites of pizza, nuts and whatever they feel like adding that night. We always get to N’Ombra de Vin prior to dinner and we always eat too much beforehand.

The third great attraction is the crowd. If you want a seat outside – and you do want to be outside if the weather permits – get there early. N’Ombra de Vin will be empty at 5:00 and overflowing by 6:00. If you’ve been touristing around Milan all day, you’ll appreciate sitting down. But the locals all seem to want to stand and mingle. It seems that everyone knows everyone and you’ll feel like you’re at a cocktail party with a lot of well-dressed people (they’re Milanese, of course).

Milan is often the port of entry to Italy these days, so no matter where we’re going, we land there. And if we have even one evening in town, we make a bee-line for N’Ombra de Vin.

Mt. Etna

It’s unusual to have wine tasting, a natural wonder and history all in one place. But Mt. Etna, on Sicily’s east coast between Taormina and Catania, fits all three descriptions. On any clear day – and most days in Sicily are fair – you can see steam wafting out of the top of the mountain. Mornings are best for viewing, before the peak gets shrouded in emissions.

Mt. Etna looming in the distance, from Taormina

There are many tours available. Unless you are an avid hiker in rather severe conditions, it’s best to take one of them. Some tours are rather strenuous but others, such as the one we took, are for people who would rather take a brisk walk. Much of the mountain is forested and quite pretty but the parts you’ll be most interested in seeing are those where there is hardened lava from previous eruptions.

And oh, yes, Etna does still erupt. Leaving aside the ones documented in Roman antiquity (or even further back) there have been major blasts as recently as 2017 and 2018. The former injured ten people. The latter was accompanied by an earthquake that injured a few people as far away as Catania. Your tour guide will show you lava deposits and note that this one was from 1928, that one from 1997 and that one over there was 2002. Fair warning: The solidified lava is granular and has some sharp edges. One of the people on our tour slipped and was pretty badly scratched.

As a tourist, you won’t be suddenly surprised by lava spewing during your visit. The mountain gives fair warning by rumbling and burping before it blows. The local authorities will keep you away from anywhere near Mt. Etna. You’ll get some great photos if you’re there for an eruption (we know someone who was there in 2002) but your vacation will smell a bit of sulphur and smoke.

The remains of an inn buried in lava from the 2002 eruption

The people in the villages around Mt. Etna take the possibility of eruption with stoic acceptance. If it happens, they take it in stride and visit their families somewhere else. In the meantime, they’re preoccupied with making wine. (And olive oil and sausages and pistachios, but let’s focus on the wine.) They make whites from Carricante, Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia and Minnella, all of which are virtually unknown outside of Sicily. As good as they are – and we find Sicilian whites very good indeed – they are best known for Etna Rosso, red wines made from two different clones of the same grape: Nerello Mascalese and Nerello Cappuccio. The majority of the vineyards are on the northern and eastern slopes of Mt. Etna.

To be a DOC Etna Rosso, a wine must be at least 80% Mascalese and many are 100%. These grapes make mellow, tannic wines. If you like to taste the minerally characteristics of grapes grown in lava, look for the Cappuccio. If like us you don’t care for that taste, try to avoid that blending grape.

How NOT to Be a Wine Snob – Part 2: Italy and the Rest of Europe

The popular American view of European wine lovers is that they are all snobs. Equally, many Europeans think that Americans, wine lovers or not, are hicks. Of course, neither typification is true, but there are just enough people who fit either category to give life to the stereotypes. It does no one any good to show a European that Americans can be wine snobs also.

In our experience, those Americans who try to show themselves as superior in their wine knowledge compared with their friends are a bit more restrained when they are in European sectors of Wine Country. For one thing, many don’t speak the languages and so are somewhat intimidated themselves. (English-speaking countries in Europe don’t have wine worth discussion. Beer they do have and the folks there can be pretty snobbish about their bitters.)

Cartoon courtesy of the drinksbusiness.com

For another thing, most Americans probably don’t have the familiarity with the wines of Italy, France or Spain than they do with those of Napa Valley. So there’s only so much lording it over others that they can get away with. Nonetheless, you don’t want to be one of those people who gives Americans a bad name overseas.

Don’t try to speak like a local. Unless you are truly multi-lingual, don’t fake it. Most of the servers speak English, as do a great many Europeans today. It’s okay to use terms like bianco and rosso, or blanc (don’t pronounce the “c”) and rouge but full sentences aren’t required.
But do learn a little of the local language. Contrary to the previous tip, it’s still a good idea to be polite and ask if the server speaks English before launching into a request for a tasting. It’s not that difficult to learn “Parla inglese?” or “Parlez-vous anglais?” Imagine if a foreigner came up to you and started spouting away in Italian or French. You would probably just walk away. So if they reply that they don’t know English, you’ve at least established the ground rules for some pidgin communications abetted by hand signals.
Don’t compare what you’re tasting with American wines you’re familiar with. Even in France, where the grapes are the same as in California, Washington and New York they just don’t taste the same. And in Italy, Spain or Germany you may be tasting wines from totally unfamiliar grapes. You can’t win. If you say that the wines you’re tasting aren’t as good as he ones back home, you will have instantly proven that you ARE a snob. And if you say that the American wines are worse, they’ll wonder why you’re comparing at all. After all, they had all those grapes first.
Be appreciative. In the States, if you don’t like a wine, you (should) pour it out quietly and move on. In Italy, for example, you may be tasting very unfamiliar wine. It might take you a little while to become accustomed enough to a wine to know if you like it or not. So even if you don’t immediately like what’s you’re sipping, show that you appreciate the opportunity to taste it.

How NOT to Be a Wine Snob – Part 1: Acceptable Snobbery

This is the first in what will be an irregular series on wine snobbery and how to avoid it.

There is a difference between being a wine snob and being a wine lover. Many people enjoy just a glass wine or two with dinner. Some of them (and you are one if you are reading Power Tasting) get pleasure from reading about wine, travelling to Wine Country to taste wine and talk about wine with their friends. Wine snobs do all those things too but the essence of their snobbery is that they want to be and be seen to be superior in their wine knowledge compared with their friends. Worse yet, for those of us who appreciate wine tasting, is that they also like to lord it over total strangers standing next to them in winery’s tasting room. You don’t want to be one of those people.

Courtesy of theguardian.com

Before we can talk about how NOT to be a wine snob, we ought to have an understanding of what typifies such a person. This becomes problematic, because there are certain things that all wine lovers do that might be considered snobbery by those who only occasionally get involved with wine. So it makes sense to consider the things that might be seen as snobbish by some people, but which we think are acceptable.

The way you handle your glass. It’s all right to hold your glass by the stem, not the bowl. In fact it’s the correct way and you should do so. Let’s go a few steps further: You should swirl the wine in your glass and you should smell before you sip. If the uninitiated think you’re being snobbish by doing these things, they’ll just have to live with it. Give them time; they’ll learn.
Showing tempered enthusiasm for wines you like. You can say, “Gee, I really liked that Pinot. It’s powerful but not overwhelming”. Going on and on is just rudeness. Snobbery is to say, “Ah yes, it reminds me of the ’05 Pommard I tasted last season when I was in Burgundy”.
Pouring out wine. There are two reasons you might discard some wine. The first and most obvious is that you don’t like it. The other is that you’re being conscious of the alcohol you’re taking on. Either way, if you’re discreet and just move on to the next, that’s acceptable. Some folks who are new to wine tasting think it’s incumbent on them to finish every drop. It’s not. Snobs make a show of their displeasure.
Asking to compare two similar wines side by side. At a winery renowned, say, for their Cabernet Sauvignons, it’s not only acceptable but downright sensible to taste them in parallel rather than serially. The server doesn’t care and you get a better sense of what that winery is doing. Even – no, especially – a wine tasting beginner will benefit from tasting wine this way. As long as the wine is sipped and not guzzled, it gives anyone a chance to become a knowledgeable taster, not a snob.

Dining at The French Laundry

Power Tasting is not in the business of reviewing restaurants and we won’t be starting to do so now. But it is not saying much to state that The French Laundry, Thomas Keller’s flagship restaurant, with its three Michelin stars, is the best eatery in Yountville. Maybe in all of California. Possibly the United States. We’ll leave it to others to say where it stands in the world’s gastronomic pantheon. In this edition of Power Tasting, focused on Yountville, we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about our experiences there.

We’ve dined at The French Laundry a few times. The first was just a short while after it opened in 1978, prior to Mr. Keller’s involvement. We were on a wine tasting trip with friends, passed by on a Saturday afternoon and walked in, asking if we could still get lunch. Try doing that today! The contents of that meal are lost in the fog of time, but not the overall experience. We were seated upstairs by a window, looking out on the farms – not vineyards – of Yountville, including one just across the street. The fare on the menu included chicken from this farm and lamb from that one…and the farms were in walking distance.

The French Laundry today. Photo courtesy of thomaskeller.com

Today, The French Laundry is on a section of Washington Street that is largely residential, but shopping, hotels and tasting rooms are not far away. The only remnant of yesteryears’ farms is the French Laundry’s private garden just opposite the restaurant. Last year, Thomas Keller has completely renovated the restaurant, spending $10 million to make it very modern.

In 1998, we dined there after Mr. Keller had taken over. The highlight was that we were invited into the kitchen to meet Chef Keller. The stainless steel surfaces gleamed and a small army of cooks scurried around making last minute dishes and making sure that all was in good order.

The French Laundry’s kitchen. Photo courtesy of thomaskeller.com

In 2014, we were riding on the New York subway when we saw Mr. Keller across the car, on his way to Per Se, his East Coast equivalent of The French Laundry. A few weeks before, the New York Times had published an article about Mr. Keller and a favorite recipe he used to make for his father. We tried it at home and loved it. We all got out at the same station and we took a few minutes to speak with the chef, extol his restaurants and cookbooks and say how much we enjoyed the recipe of his that had appeared in the newspaper. He was very friendly and talkative. On the basis of that “deep, personal relationship” we wrote Mr. Keller requesting a table at French Laundry for a wine tasting trip we were planning several months hence. It worked.

As it happened, the dinner coincided with Lucie’s birthday that year. When we arrived, the staff wished her a happy birthday, and that wish was repeated on the custom-printed menu we were given. Again the meal was astonishingly good, but then something totally unexpected occurred. The power went out in Yountville and the restaurant was shrouded in darkness, but only for a few minutes. The staff brought out stout candles and placed them all around the restaurant and along the stairs. French Laundry is beautiful as it is; by candlelight it’s extraordinary.

Yountville

Not so long ago, Yountville was a sleepy farming village where freight trains stopped to pick up produce and drop off supplies. We always hoped it was named for Milwaukee baseball legend Robin Yount, but it actually got its name from one George Yount, who was reputed to have planted the first vineyard in Napa Valley.

There are many reasons why it grew into the tourist mecca it is today, not least being the explosion of interest in California winemaking. But if Yankee Stadium is the House that Ruth Built, then Yountville is the Town that Thomas Keller Put on the Map. Beginning with French Laundry, he has added Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery and Ad Hoc to his restaurant empire, all along Washington Street in Yountville. Keller has recently opened La Calenda, a Mexican restaurant in the location that used to house the late, lamented Hurley’s.

With all that, Yountville is now the culinary capital of Napa Valley. After his time as chef at Domaine’s Chandon’s Étoile restaurant, Philippe Jeanty opened Bistro Jeanty, a veritable reproduction of a country French bistro. Richard Reddington added Redd and then Redd Wood. And on and on. It’s hard to find a bad meal in Yountville.

With the restaurants came the diners and the shoppers. Washington and Yount Streets abound with boutiques, topped by the V Marketplace, a shopping center with the full line of Napa Style accessories, housewares, wines, restaurants and galleries that give Napa Valley its fashion tone (and fill your mailbox with catalogs).

Photo courtesy of Yountville.com

There are also a number of tasting rooms along Washington Street. As with all in-town tastings, there are some that are well worth a stop and others that are best passed by. Unfortunately, there is little way to know in advance which is which. In Yountville, we have enjoyed Priest Ranch and Beau Vigne, which is not to say that some of the others aren’t worthwhile.

As a visitor to Yountville, a great way to enjoy it is to make a day of it. This is especially good advice on a weekend, when the roads and wineries on Route 29 are jammed. Begin with breakfast at Bouchon Bakery. You’ll stand in line for coffee and croissants but the wait will be worth it. Sit outside at one of the little tables and think about all the places you will go today. Well fortified, you can try a winery and look into a gallery or two. Then it’s time for lunch. Why not a pizza at Redd Wood or a salad at R & D Kitchen?

A few more wineries in the afternoon and some serious boutique-ing come next. Be smart about the alcohol you consume; still, it’s nice to know that you don’t have to get behind the wheel to go from place to place. An aperitif at the bar at Bistro Jeanty will give you the chance to mingle with a few locals. Then it’s off to dinner.

Yountville at Christmastime. Photo courtesy of Yountville.com.

As noted, the choice of restaurants is broad, but if you want to be in with the in crowd, queue up for a table at Ciccio. Run by the owners of Altamura Vineyards, Ciccio doesn’t take reservations and it is always packed with people who have the patience to dine there.

A final word: visit Yountville at Christmas season. They wrap every tree on Washington Street in little white lights and the town becomes a fairyland. It’s magical. And the crowds are less in December as well.

Domaine Chandon

For us, it is impossible to think of our experiences of tasting wine in Napa Valley not to think about Domaine Chandon. It was the first place we visited on our first wine tasting trip to Napa Valley. The site was beautiful; the education about making sparkling wine stayed with us forever; and the wine was first rate. This was in the late 70’s and everything was new and wonderful, only enhanced by the haze of time.

It was the beginning of an avocation that has led to this e-magazine.

There are differences between that experience and the one you can have if you visit Domaine Chandon today. At that time, the winery included a restaurant, Étoile, that closed in 2014. Back then, the restaurant was the seat of haute cuisine in Napa Valley, and people flocked there to taste real French food (!) in America, washed down with real French Champagne (!!).

But real Champagne comes only from the section of France by the same name. Domaine Chandon is a subsidiary of the French company Moet et Chandon and so they never describe their American product as Champagne (with or without a capital c). Their labels eschew any description at all, except to say that they are Brut (or rosé) and Méthode Traditionelle.

The tasting room overlooking the gardens.

The educational experience at Domaine Chandon is also diminished from the olden days. Then, a guide walked you through the winery and explained double fermentation, dosage and how they got that big cork into the bottle. Today, you can walk through yourself and read the plaques as you go, but it’s not the same thing. After the tour you were invited to sit in the charming little garden under umbrellas and they would bring you a glass of sparkling wine, a little bowl of spread cheese and croutons.

After all about what it was, Domaine Chandon is still worth a visit today. There are far more sparkling wines to taste than in the past, including Pinot Noirs that were not even thought of then. The tasting room offers many wines to compare, including the Bruts from around Napa Valley. Depending on the day, they may open wines from Yountville (the mother ship), Carneros or Mt. Veeder. Their top wine was and is Étoile, in Brut and rosé, as well as the top of the top, the Tête du Cuvée (which is rarely available for tasting but is, of course, sold there).

The grounds are gorgeous, a sprawling campus with fountains, ponds and greenery that invite a long, lazy afternoon, sipping Champa…, oops, sparkling wine. And Domaine Chandon makes that easy with a spacious veranda and seats around the gardens.

Unfortunately Domaine Chandon is to an extent the victim of its own success. It was the first French winery to open in the United States and it has been a landmark for more than 40 years. So people arrive in great numbers, especially on beautiful summer weekends. If you are there on a busy day, you will be given your tastes but will feel rushed and you won’t be able to engage in much conversation with the server. Maybe a rainy day in November is the best time to visit. Our last experience at Domaine Chandon was not enjoyable because of all those inconveniences. It was also so crowded that getting to the bar to ask for another tasting was almost impossible.

But try it, take in the beauty of the site and of the architecture of the tasting room and enjoy the wines. You’ll become a part of California history.

Bringing Wine Home from Europe

Worldwide terrorism has changed our lives in many ways, none of them good. There are many losses greater than the difficulty in bringing wine home with you from your European vacation. It used to be easy: get a case that would fit in the overhead rack and tote it along with you on the plane. Needless to say, that won’t work these days, especially if your destination is in the United States. So what can you do if you want to bring back home some of the wines you tasted?

Ship them. This way works but is in general a bad idea. It costs a lot to ship a case of wine across the Atlantic and it can’t be sent directly to your home. It goes to the airport into customs. You have to go deal with the functionaries there, pick it up and pay the duties. This is a lot of money and a lot of work just to be able to say you bought it at the vineyard.
Put some in your luggage. This works but the technique is limited and risky. Each person coming into the US is able to bring two bottles, so a couple can carry four. If – some if – you have room in your valise for four bottles, you are trusting the gentle handlers out on the tarmac not to toss, drop or otherwise maul your bags. Good luck. If you are going to stash a few bottles this way, you can buy resealable padded plastic bags that protect your clothes but also take up more space. We often pack some bubble wrap and enclose the bottles ourselves. Place them between layers of soft clothing if you carry them this way.

Do you want your wine to be in this pile?

Buy a case and take it home as luggage. You can buy a case (meant for shipping with styrofoam or cardboard) in a store or at a winery and fill it up as you go. Then, on your return trip, check them in. You will definitely have to pay duty on the number of bottles over your limit when you get to the US, but that may not be onerous. You still have to contend with the aforementioned baggage handlers, so definitely mark the case as fragile. But you have to lug the case with you in your travels and then carry it through the airports on your trip. And some airlines or airports won’t accept cases of wine, because of the fear of terrorists.
Buy it back home. If you’re at a winery and you particularly like a wine, ask the person serving you about the name of their American distributor(s). The bigger and better known the winery, the more likely they are to have one. You can call them on your return and find out where you can buy the wine in question in the States. Unfortunately, that great little find you found in an unknown little village may not have an American representative. Worse yet, if they do export, these wineries are more likely to sell only their higher volume, lower quality wines on the world market because they don’t press enough of their top wines to attract a distributor. You won’t find that special gem at home.

There is one other alternative. Appreciate the wines you taste in Europe while you’re there. Savor the tastes and the aromas and the memories. That’s one of the beauties of travelling through Wine Country in the first place.