lgsjr – Page 5 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Of course, there’s a wonderful Rhone wine called Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It comes from the vineyards around a Provencal village called, well, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In French, it means “the Pope’s new castle”. The town was there before the Popes arrived in the 14^th century, due to the Babylonian Captivity that split the Catholic Church over matters of…oh, you probably don’t care. It seems that the 14^th century Popes didn’t actually live there (they were in nearby Avignon) but one of those Popes built a castle and town has been named for it ever since. The castle survived for many centuries until more than half of it was destroyed by the German army at the end of World War II. The remains dominate the village to this day.

The castle ruins atop the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

The village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape is located on a hill, with winding streets that lead up to and around the castle ruins. If you visit Châteauneuf-du-Pape your objective will likely be to go wine tasting; there is no denying the appeal of these fine wines. But the renowned vineyards and tasting rooms are located in the flatlands around the village, not on the hill itself. We don’t want to drag you away from wine tasting – never! – but we do recommend that you save a little time to visit the village itself.

You can and should walk up to the top of the hill to see what’s left of the castle. If you’ve seen Greek or Roman ruins, you know that there is a melancholy poetry to what is left of destroyed ancient buildings, and so it is in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Moreover, you have the views from there of some of France’s greatest vineyards, stretching out to the horizon.

There are other attractions, such as an old church, a pretty fountain, tasting rooms, wine stores and even a wine museum. Still, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is just a small French village, with less than 3,000 residents. But it is a village with money, derived from the wine trade. So it is a spic and span village, ready to welcome visitors. It looks very much like the French village you dreamed of, which so few actually are.

Photo courtesy of Booking.com.

If you come to Châteauneuf-du-Pape for wine tasting, complete the experience with a stellar meal. There is no shortage there of restaurants, cafes, bistros and watering holes. After a few hours of tasting wine, or maybe the next day, you’ll be ready to settle down with some Provencal cooking and a bottle of, well, Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

In good weather, you can dine outdoors with those vineyard views and, on a clear day, of the Rhône river just beyond. Buttery croissants in the morning; pâté and cheese for lunch; local leg of lamb roasted or venison stew for dinner. Yum! Of course, this being in the heart of French Wine Country, there is haute cuisine to be had as well. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a small village, but it boasts eleven restaurants listed on Michelin’s website. Almost by definition, all these restaurants have fine cellars to match their cooking. What more could you ask for a southern French experience?

Melville Winery

You can visit wineries in Bordeaux that are still owned by original families, but the Rothschilds of today, for example, are the descendants of the founders. Even in Napa Valley, Robert Mondavi, Warren Winiarski and their like are no longer with us. But one of the things that makes wine tasting in Santa Barbara County, the Santa Rita Hills in particular, is that the founding fathers (and mothers) are still making wine in their namesake wineries.

One such is the Melville Winery, owned and operated by Chad Melville. The winery even offers a private tour and tasting with Mr. Melville himself. You won’t get that at Château Latour!

Located in the Santa Rita Hills not too far from Buellton (although the address is in Lompoc), Melville’s tasting room is located in and beside a handsome, mission-style yellow building. A tasting at Melville has the vibe of a garden party far more than that of most wineries. Oh, they do have an indoor room that’s cozy in a rustic sort of way, but the real Melville experience is to have your tasting on their wide, capacious lawn. [Melville also has a tasting room in Santa Barbara, which is a totally different experience.] Although we were told that they occasionally receive tour groups and they say they can accommodate 150 people, it’s difficult to imagine it ever getting rowdy at this winery.

Rather, visitors either recline in Adirondack chairs or gather around widely spaced tables under white umbrellas. They sip their wine viewing the vineyard and the mountains beyond. So very civilized, especially considering the completely opposite experience in some tasting rooms, not least in nearby Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone. Guests can even bring picnics.

We were a bit surprised by the wines they serve at Melville. Santa Rita Hills is rightly famed for Pinot Noir, which they do serve. But we also tasted Chardonnay, Grenache and Syrah. There’s nothing wrong with those grapes, but they weren’t what we expected. We think this may say a lot about changing climate, even in such a contained space as the Santa Rita Hills, or maybe a broader audience for the wines made there, some of whom may not be Pinot Noir fans. That said, of the wines we tasted, the Pinot Noirs were our favorites.

For a long time, it has been possible to taste quality wine in California far afield from Napa Valley and Sonoma County. It seems to use that Santa Barbara County, and the Santa Rita Hills in particular, are coming (or have come) into their own. There are wines we have tasted there, especially Pinot Noirs, that are the equal or better than any we’ve had in that state. Now, we think the winemakers in the Côte d’Or can sleep well at night, but overall we find the Pinot Noirs made in the Santa Rita Hills to be more Burgundian than we have tasted elsewhere in the US.

Melville is an exemplar of the region’s arrival. Power Tasting doesn’t review wine; our specialty is the wine tasting experience. We can say that a visit to the Melville Winery is a lovely way to while away an afternoon with some well-regarded wines.

How Much Alcohol?

We have noticed, in recent years, that the amount of alcohol in the wine we’re tasting (and drinking at home) is increasing. Now there could be a few reasons for that. Maybe our tastes have just turned towards more alcoholic and therefore more flavorful wines. That’s possible, but we don’t remember a shift in the wines we buy, so it’s unlikely. Perhaps the winemakers for our favorite labels have all decided to make more alcoholic products. It’s even unlikelier that all of them would do that at the same time. A more reasonable answer would be that accelerating climate change has made grapes ripen faster, making more sugar in the process. More sugar turns into more alcohol, so there’s a probable solution.

California always produced a lot of high-impact wines; 14.5% is not unusual. But wines north of 15% are more common, and those from areas such as Paso Robles venture into the 16% to 17% range. Even Bordeaux wines that weighed in at 12.5% for decades are now creeping up into the 14% level.

This situation does create a problem for people going wine tasting. If each bottle contains a higher percentage of alcohol and tasters consume the same amount as they did in the past, they’re taking on more of an intoxicant. Here are some tips for dealing with the increased alcohol when visiting wineries.

Ask to see the label of the bottle being served. This is a good idea anyway, since there’s a lot of information on a label. One such bit of data is the alcohol level. Don’t rely on the server to tell you; they usually don’t know. One problem is that the amount of alcohol is often printed in a teeny-weeny font, and it can be anywhere on the bottle, front or back. It’s hard to be unobtrusive when looking forward to it.
Calibrate intake based on the amount of alcohol. For a particularly big boomer (we’re looking at you, David Coffaro) maybe have two sips of each wine instead of three. Or if you’re there for, say, the Cabernet Sauvignon it might make sense to skip the Pinot Noir that the winery is not particularly known for.
Choose wineries to visit with the amount of alcohol in mind. If the plan is to visit a few places that specialize in Zinfandel, for example, it’s clear that there will be big alcohol involved. That grape is so sweet anyway that wines made from it are usually quite potent. So maybe another winery ought to be one that specializes in sparkling wines, which generally are lower in alcohol, in the 12% range or even lower.
No, white wines are not lighter than reds. Plenty of Chardonnays pack a punch. There’s a Chardonnay from Lewis Cellars, for example, that weighs in at 14.7%. So white wine lovers have to be just as careful as those who prefer a meaty Merlot.

Veuve Clicquot

In 1805, François Clicquot died. He had inherited a Champagne house from his father, and his widow (veuve in French), Barbe-Nicole née Ponsardin was left to run the company. And wow did she run it well. Under her direction, the company sold the first vintage Champagne, the first rosé Champagne and generally established sparkling wine from that region as the premier luxury drink.

If you visit the company now named for la Veuve Clicquot in Reims, you’ll learn all about the Grande Madame (yes, their top wines are named for her). You’ll get to see the cellars where the Champagne is aged and you’ll get to try some rather interesting examples of the Champagne-maker’s art. You won’t see vineyards or even well-tended gardens. The entry to the winery is simple and architecturally uninteresting. The caves are everything.

There is no tasting room as such. All visits include a guided tour of the caves with a sample of Champagne at the end. The caves are large openings within the tunnels, some of which date back to Roman times. Others were dug under Mme Clicquot’s reign. Many of them are decorated with sculptures and other artwork. The guide explains the making of Champagne, including the process of riddling, which Mme Clicquot also invented. (Riddling is the manual turning of the bottles to capture the dead yeasts from second fermentation in the neck of the bottle, to be expelled, leaving a clear beverage.)

The tour is interesting for a first-time visitor to a Champagne house (or even the better sparkling wine makers in the New World). Once you’ve seen it and heard about it, there’s not a lot of new information to gather. We will say that we appreciated the knowledge of the guide who showed us around and her ability to answer questions that weren’t on the script.

Guides serving Champagnes in the caves.

Veuve Clicquot offers four tours. One is of their basic Yellow Label and lasts an hour. Another similar tour focuses on rosé Champagne. We took the one that offered more interesting wines to taste and lasted an hour and a half. We must say that we were impressed by the depth and differences among the wines served. There is also a two-hour tour that includes aged bottles. The prices for the tours range from 36 to 160 euros. These prices have increased a bit since we visited only a few months ago.

So is it worth it to visit Veuve Clicquot. Yes, it is. For one thing, when you are there you are on the spot in which Champagne as we know it today – clear, sparkling, elegant, festive – was invented. For another, if you take a tour other than the Yellow Label one, you’ll get to experience otherwise unavailable wines in the caves. There is a lot to be said for authenticity. You can buy a bottle of Veuve Clicquot at home and you will enjoy it. You can also buy a postcard of the Mona Lisa. Same wine, same picture, but not the same experience.

Overtourism in and Near Wine Country

There was a recent article in the New York Times about the crowds that are overwhelming certain popular tourist locations, such as Dubrovnik and Venice. So this month’s Places to Visit article isn’t about a single destination, but rather about the crush of visitors in many of the sites that are fun for a day away from wine tasting. The subject brings up the famous aphorism attributed to Yogi Berra: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

Dubrovnik in the summer high season. Photo courtesy of the New York Times.

It is clear that wine tasting, as an avocation, is increasing in popularity, which in turn means more people in the wineries. At the same time, many wineries (especially in California, but also elsewhere) have moved to tastings by appointment, so they are able to control the amount of visitors and limit the staff required to serve them. All the same, traffic on the main arteries (Route 29 in Napa Valley, Main Street on Long Island’s North Fork, Via Traversa del Monti leading into Montalcino) can get rather busy. And then if you want to stop for lunch, say, around the square in Healdsburg or in the village of Chateauneuf du Pape, parking is nearly impossible.

Who are all these people?!?!

Well, they’re us…all of us. The same people who enjoy sampling fine wines where they are made also enjoy fine dining, fine art and many of the finer things in life that make popular vacation spots so popular. Maybe there has just been an increase in the number of cultured people in society. Or maybe there are enough people who have the money, time and interest to go wine tasting in the more popular corners of Wine Country.

We think that the travel lust that was suppressed during the pandemic has sprung back. People are taking the trips they didn’t take in 2020, 2021 and 2022. We also believe that while the global economy hasn’t been kind to everyone, those who are might be interested in sipping Merlot in California or Bordeaux or Long Island are doing well and travelling more often.

A Napa Valley vineyard in March…out of season.

There are a few things that can be done to avoid the overcrowding. One is to travel out of season. If, for example, you would like to combine a trip to the Loire Valley with a few nights in Paris, there are going to be fewer fellow visitors between November and March than when the weather is warmer. However, it’s not as pleasant to see naked vines nor to exclude sitting in an outdoor café in winter. There are trade-offs for many things in life.

There is another way of looking at the problem. There is an austere beauty to seeing vineyards under a coating of snow. It’s pleasant share Christmas or the first inklings of springtime with the local folks. You get to feel more alike a local and less like a tourist. And out-of-season in the vineyards is often the height of the cultural season in cities. Trade-offs aren’t always bad.

Editorial: Not All Wine and Roses

The February edition of Power Tasting focuses on some of the problems we see with wine tasting today. Simply put, going wine tasting has become too expensive, at least in some areas. The levels of alcohol in many wines is increasing and popular tourist destinations in and near Wine Country are too crowded.

Power Tasting is generally about the pleasure of tasting wines in the places they are made. It’s something we enjoy doing and we seek to share that appreciation with other like-minded readers. So why are we pointing out some of the issues regarding wine tasting today?

We fear that wineries, especially those that consider themselves “top end” are creating a situation in which younger, less experienced visitors to Wine Country may be deterred from going. This may be acceptable to the wineries in the short term because more mature visitors are likelier to spend more money there. Wine tasting has become a revenue source for the producers and they want to optimize the return on investment in facilities and staff.

Trading today’s profits for tomorrow’s growth is usually a bad strategy. There is a need for a new generation to take up wine tasting – and by extension wine drinking – to become reliable customers, over time. We are highlighting some of the problems regarding wine tasting as a call for change. Not reversion to a different era in winemaking, but an eye towards future growth.

Is Wine Tasting Only for the Rich?

An article a few years ago in Forbes magazine, entitled “Napa Valley Wine’s Average Price Now Over $100 Per Bottle” (https://www.forbes.com/sites/karlsson/2023/08/31/napa-valley-wines-average-price-now-over-100-per-bottle/) was expanded on by a tour group. The new one is entitled “Is Napa Valley pricing itself out of the market for wine tourism and for wine?” (https://www.bkwinetours.com/travelog/napa-valley-pricing-itself-out/).

Photo courtesy of Blue Dollar.

The latter article crystalized in our minds a serious problem. We have been making wine tasting trips for all our adult lives. We understand that the days when wineries gave free tastings and even gave you a glass are long over. And really, there never was a good reason why they should give away their products, but now it seems to us that the pendulum has swung way too far the other way. Today, “the average tasting room tasting fee in Napa Valley is $128 for a “reserve tasting” and $81 for a “standard tasting”. And if you should choose to buy a bottle, the average price is $108.

We suggested that the pendulum has swung too far, but that’s probably incorrect. Pendulums swing both ways and we don’t see prices falling anytime soon. If a couple visiting Napa Valley wants to try, say, three wineries in a day and choose the standard tasting that comes to a cost of $500 or more. There are too many people for whom this is an unbearable vacation expense.

Why would the wineries in Napa Valley choose to restrict their market this way? For one thing, the figures quoted are distorted by the many top-end producers in that region who would prefer to limit their visitors to potential buyers who can afford to buy wines that may exceed $200 per bottle. They are not even eliminating a younger crowd, not with Silicon Valley so close by. Software zillionaires may be young but they are well paid. They may not appreciate “fancy” wines, but they do know how to spend their money on luxury goods.

Of course, there are many places in California to go wine tasting, so perhaps the rest of us can leave Napa Valley to the rich. But Sonoma County wineries’ average tasting fees are $72 for a reserve tasting and a standard one at a comparatively affordable $38. Other California areas, particularly Santa Barbara and Paso Robles are catching up. Some European destinations, such as Bordeaux and Champagne aren’t much less expensive.

Of course, it is still possible to search for less pricy wineries to visit and to vacation in less well-known areas of Wine Country. Wine is made in all 50 states, but not all the others can match California’s variety, quantity and especially quality. Perhaps a recession will bring prices down, but that’s a rather steep price to pay for more affordable wine tasting trips. Or maybe as the costs become too much for too many, the wineries may try some alternatives, such as seasonal pricing, encouraging visitors to come in the deep of winter or summer weekdays. We won’t count on it, but we will probably visit Napa Vally much less frequently.

Avoiding Excess

We love wine. We love tasting it, drinking it with meals, talking about it, reading about it and writing about it. But we can’t overlook the fact that wine is a product that contains alcohol. So when people go wine tasting, they need to be aware of the effect that the alcohol is having and will have on them.

Photo courtesy of Metro Parent.

Here are some tips that can help wine tasters to avoid excess when they are visiting wineries.

Know your capacity and limit the number of wineries you visit in a day accordingly.. Before the era of seated tastings, visitors could step up to a tasting room bar and sample only one or two wines that they were interested in. Now, especially with the higher cost of wine tasting, each winery tends to serve more. Take that into account in choosing your destinations and keeping the number within a reasonable range.
Sip, don’t drink. There is probably no more important advice to wine tasters than this. If you are wine tasting, you only need a sip or two to know what a wine is like and if it’s for you. Oh, there’s still wine in the glass? Pour it out. That’s what those buckets are for. Professional wine people don’t even swallow; they put some in their mouths, taste it and spit it out. They have to, because they taste so many in a single session. Learn from the pros: You’re there to taste, not drink.
Share a tasting. A good way to limit your intake without cutting into your tasting pleasure is to share the wine. The server will not mind you asking just for one glass even if you are two people, saying that you will share the tasting. After all, you are going wine tasting not wine drinking. Believe us, no one will care that you are being prudent and you will appreciate your time in Wine Country all the more.
Consider in-town tasting. There are excellent locales for wine tasting (such as Santa Barbara, Montepulciano or Los Olivos) where you can visit a tasting room, walk to the next and all the nexts after that, finally walking back to your hotel. You can slacken your inhibitions a bit because you won’t be driving. Of course, a day in town followed by a drive back home doesn’t work.
Let someone else drive. If, in an honest analysis, you realize that almost any amount of wine is going to impact you too adversely to drive, plan in advance not to get behind the wheel. Maybe there’s someone in your party who won’t taste and can be the chauffeur. Or you could take a tour. In lots of places, you can call for an Uber or you can hire a car and a driver for the day. Just don’t be a risk to yourself and others around you.

Vienna

As noted in a previous issue, Vienna was built as the capital of a vast empire across central Europe. Although Austria today is a small country that has far less impact on world affairs, the architectural glory of that empire is still on display. Moreover, Vienna was a major cultural capital and it remains so today. There are actually vineyards within the city limits and others in the nearby suburbs, so wine tasting and touring can be accomplished in one visit.

A visitor to Vienna is struck by the architecture before anything else. It seems that in the center of the city every building is decorated like a wedding cake, with statues, pillars and Baroque curlicues. Many of the buildings are as they were in the 19^th century or earlier, but a significant number of them were damaged in World War II. They have been repaired so seamlessly that it’s nearly impossible to tell that there was ever any harm done.

St. Stephen’s cathedral.

Two churches exemplify Vienna’s architectural glory. St. Stephen’s cathedral is a gothic wonder of spires, turrets and arched windows. It was mostly constructed in the 14^th century and has survived many wars since then. As the German army withdrew from Vienna in 1945, it was spared destruction but was quite damaged as the Soviet army entered the city. Not far from the cathedral is the less ancient St. Peter’s church, built in the 17^th century. It’s not a cathedral, but it is a marvel of Baroque and Rococo architecture, especially the interior.

The interior of St, Peter’s Church in Vienna.

Vienna is justly renowned for its cuisine, but surprisingly most of the city’s most famous dishes were imported from other countries in the Austrian empire. Wiener schnitzel is probably the best known dish, but it’s a take on veal cutlet Milanese. Goulash is from Hungary and the sausages eaten everywhere are very much like frankfurters. The original Viennese dish is called tafelspitz, which was popularized by the long-lived emperor Franz Josef. It’s a slice of rump roast that’s been boiled and simmered in broth until it’s very tender. It’s served in a copper pot and in its broth, along with potatoes, stewed apples and sour cream mixed with chives.

Typical Viennese desserts.

And of course, there are the desserts that Vienna is famous for. The best known are apple strudel and Sacher torte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There are some famous coffee shops that we wrote about in a previous issue, but you can get a cup of coffee (or even better, hot chocolate) almost anywhere. There are bakeries, chocolate stores, ice creameries and cafés all around the town. The Viennese sure love their sweets.

Vienna was for several centuries the center of classical music. Haydn, Mozart, Mahler and the Strausses (father and son) called Vienna home. The city boasts two great classical orchestras, the Vienna Philharmonic and the Symphony Orchestra. If they aren’t performing when you’re there, there are numerous groups performing in concert halls and churches every night.

The entry hall of the Vienna Kunsthistorische (Historical Art) Museum.

The Vienna Historical Art Museum displays great Austrian art as well as works from other places in Europe where Austria ruled. Visitors are as overwhelmed by the interior architecture as by the art works.

Finally, there are establishments called heurigers. Most of them are in the more rural sections in and around Vienna. Frequently associated with wineries, the heurigers serve lots of wine (beer too) and huge buffets of roasts, sausages and salads. This isn’t elegant Viennese cuisine but rather hearty buffets.

Editorial: Ten Years of Power Tasting…and Counting

This issue marks the tenth anniversary of Power Tasting. What has happened to wine tasting in that period of time mirrors what has gone on in the wider world. The pandemic changed everything. Prices have gone up…a lot. Tasting room workers have been harder to find. On a more positive note, there are more places to taste more quality wines. The need for reservations has limited crowds at the wineries. And the high cost of tasting in the more famous wine making sectors of Wine Country have pushed the attractiveness of lesser known areas.

Every month for the past ten years, we at Power Tasting have shared experiences, spotlighted wineries, explored interesting places in and near to Wine Country and gave tips on how to make wine tasting trips more rewarding. And we intend to keep doing the same things. For the rest of the year, Power Tasting will repeat what we did in the year of our fifth anniversary. We’ll reprise one article a month that we feel still holds the most interest for our readers.

We’d like our readers to celebrate with us. Power Tasting invites you to submit comments about our articles or about your experiences in wine tasting. We’ll quote you on an irregular basis. If you have stories about interesting wineries, events, adventures, sights, advice or just your love of wine tasting experiences, please share them with us and your fellow readers. We’re looking forward to hearing from you at lgsjr@powertasting.com.

And Happy New Year to all!