September 2024 – Power Tasting – The Wine Tasting Experience

The Wine Tasting Life Cycle

There is a cycle to life from infancy to youth to adulthood to old age. In information technology, we speak of a systems development life cycle. The Museum of Modern Art in New York recently presented “Life Cycles: The Materials of Contemporary Design”. Well, there’s a life cycle for wine tasting – at least for wine tasting visits – that enthusiasts ought to think about. Here are the phases of that cycle.

Anticipation. For us, we start looking forward to our next visit to Wine Country almost as soon as we return home from the last one. Of course, Wine Country is a large place, so we first have to decide where to go next. We generally try to go to California at least once a year, but that state is a large place with many wine-tasting destinations itself, so we have to choose.
Planning. Once that decision is made, we have to plan our next visit. If we’re going to a place we’ve been before, do we return to old favorites or try to find new ones? If we’re heading to somewhere new, we have to study maps and lists of wineries, most of which are just names to us. In that case, we need to consult the internet for reviews, recommendations and some descriptions of the wines and wineries in the region we are to visit.
Tasting. This is the best phase of the life cycle but, alas, the shortest (unless you are a professional wine taster). So we savor every moment of it. Everything tastes a little better when we look at a vineyard while we sip, but we think we retain enough objectivity to recognize quality from plonk. If we’ve done a good enough job in the planning phase, there isn’t any poor wine at all.
Remembering. This is the longest phase. Some people – not us – have good enough taste memory that they can precisely recall what they tasted. We rely on the bottles we shipped home, the clubs we’ve joined, the wines that we order in restaurants and a general recollection of what we liked and what we didn’t.
Sharing. A corollary to remembering is sharing our memories. We have some friends who are interested, but we recognize that most people don’t care about the interesting Pinot Noir we tried in some faraway place that they’ll never see. Of course, sharing is what Power Tasting is all about, so we hope you enjoy our memories.

And so it starts over again, as is the nature of cycles. Every wine tasting trip is unique, even if we return to the same regions and wineries repeatedly. Sometimes a wine tasting trip is akin to visiting family and old friends. There are few surprises but there are always changes, some subtle and some rather more extensive. As with wine, there are excellent years and less good ones. (Rarely are there truly bad ones.) Then there is the excitement of visiting new friends, who over time become old ones. Yet another cycle.

Castles on the Loire

There are some mighty rivers in this world that have had historical importance. There’s the Mississippi, the Nile and closer to home, the Hudson and the St. Lawrence. In France, there is a river that is long but not mighty, the Loire, with history all along its route. It rolls along quietly with very limited navigability. But from the late Middle Ages into the Renaissance, France was ruled from various spots along the Loire.

Many of the castles where the kings and nobles lived in those days are still there, open for public visits. And oh, by the way, they make wine in the Loire valley, mostly light white wines such as Vouvray, Muscadet and Sancerre. There are some reds, the best known of which is Chinon. But about those castles…

There are nearly 50 of them and it seems that you see a château (French for castle) every time you turn a corner. They are hard to miss as you travel around the Touraine region. (The region is centered on the city of Tours, hence the name.) We haven’t visited them all but have seen quite a few. These are our favorites.

Blois Castle, with Francois I’s staircase. Photo courtesy of France This Way.

Blois. This was a royal château, occupied off and on by a number of French kings, the most notable of whom were Francois I and Henri IV. It’s where Jeanne d’Arc went to be blessed before setting out to war. Each noble and king added or renovated a little here and there, so the result that can be seen today is massive. Much of the architecture is Italianate, due to the wars fought by the French in Italy during Blois’ heyday. Its most famous feature is the spiral staircase erected by Francois I.

The roof of Chambord castle. Photo courtesy of the Domain National de Chambord.

Chambord. While this is the largest château in the Loire valley, it was originally Francois I’s hunting lodge. Unlike many of the other castles, this one was never really used for defensive purposes. Architecturally, it is the most decorated, with towers, turrets, buttresses and curlicues that don’t seem to have any particular function. It is worth walking around the roof, to see all the fanciful additions that make Chambord more beautiful. The double helix staircase in the interior is said to have been designed by Leonardo da Vinci.

The chapel of St. Hubert at Amboise, where Leonardo da Vinci is said to be buried. Photo courtesy of the Orange County Register.

Amboise. And speaking of Leonardo, his remains are interred at Amboise, another royal château. He was lured away from France by, yes, Francois I who was a patron of the arts as well as a warrior king. The history of the castle goes back to the High Middle Ages, when it was quite definitely used for military and defensive purposes. It looms over the village of Amboise, where we have had some pleasant lunches.

Chenonceau castle. Photo courtesy of L’Indre par Velo.

Chenonceau. We have saved the best for last. Chenonceau spans the little river Cher, with arches allowing the river to pass beneath it. One of the pleasures of visiting Chenonceau is rowing under the château. An interesting fact is that the Cher formed the border between Nazi-occupied France in World War II and so-called Free France to the south. Jews and other persecuted people would enter in the north and escape from the other end of the château. There are two notable gardens on either side of Chenonceau. One was built for Catherine de Medici, queen of France and wife of king Henry II. The other was built for the king’s mistress, Diane de Poitiers; she got the bigger, nicer garden but was forced to give it up when the king died.

Kunin Wines, Take Two

A few issues back, Power Tasting featured a winery, Margerum, that had moved from the refined area of Santa Barbara to the raucous Funk Zone. Here, we report on Kunin Wines (www.kuninwines.com), which went the other way. Some years ago we featured Kunin in their old digs (now occupied by the Santa Barbara Winery). We are pleased to say that the wine is just as good, maybe better, and the vibe is way, way cooler.

We last visited Kunin in early 2017. Tragically, the founder, Seth Kunin died later that year. His widow, Magan, joined in time by their daughter Phoebe, took the reins. Maybe we were just in a better mood in the new tasting room; maybe the vintages were better this time; or maybe Magan has just improved the wines. Whatever the reason, we enjoyed the wines even more this time.

The new facility is in the Presidio section, once the center of Spanish colonial administration in Santa Barbara. In fact, some of the old buildings are visible out the window. It’s a storefront, with an adjoining cheese shop. You can buy some cheese or sliced meats to accompany your tastes, if you so choose. The tasting room is small and sparsely furnished, with a few stools at the bar, and a few chairs and tables in an open room.

The Kunin tasting room, with a server ready to pour.

Crowd control is not the problem it was in the Funk Zone, because there are no crowds. Most of the uptown wineries have tasting rooms on the main drag, State Street. Kunin is a few blocks away. We hope that they attract dedicated tasters, because we suspect that foot traffic is sparse.

Kunin still makes Rhône style wines with Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre taking the pride of place. (We hate to hear them called GSM, but that seems to be the American way.) But Kunin also produces wines from a variety of grapes not often found in the US. These include Carignane, Cinsault and Counoise. Whites are made from Viognier and Chenin Blanc. Many are estate wines, but Kunin does have several single vineyard sourced wines.

Two wines available for tasting are somewhat different. Kunin has two wines that they call Pape Star, which are their take on Chateauneuf de Pape. The white is a blend of Grenache Blanc and Rousanne, which we don’t think any other American wineries make. The red is made of Grenache, Mourvèdre, Counoise and Carignane. These wines are a tribute to the great wines of the Southern Rhône. But make no mistake; they’re unmistakably California Rhône-style wines that don’t need to tip their proverbial hats to their French cousins.

There’s also a real oddball wine that they call MV Special K. MV means multi-vintage; Special K doesn’t mean breakfast cereal. Moreover, this wine is a blend of different vineyards from around Santa Barbara County. It’s usually reserved for Kunin’s club members. If it’s not on the tasting list, ask for it politely. If they have it open, we’re sure they’ll pour you some.

If you’re wine tasting in Santa Barbara, make a point of visiting Kunin. Don’t let them be lonely.

First Times

We are not original in noting that there’s a first time for everything. In past issues, we’ve recounted our first times wine tasting in Napa Valley and other sectors of Wine Country. Since those early days in our wine tasting career, we’ve been to many other winemaking regions and there is a commonality among visits to all of them.

Vines in Australia’s Barossa Valley. Photo courtesy of Cluster Crush.

There is always an emotional thrill knowing that we’re about to embark on an adventure. We know our way around Long Island’s North Fork, for instance. We know what the wines are like and where the grapes are grown. So when we set off for France, Italy, Australia or South Africa – or certain areas in the US as well – we know that we’re going to be seeing sights we haven’t seen and taste wines that we may never have heard of.

That can be a little scary, too. How do we get to and around these parts of Wine Country, some of which are not as well mapped as, say, Sonoma County? Which are the wineries not to miss (and which should be skipped)? Are we going to get lost? These fears can be overcome with some research and a guide. But no matter how much can be gleaned on-line, the internet doesn’t know our tastes. And if we’re going to be sipping wines made from unheard-of grapes like Corvina, Pinotage or Fer Servadou we have no idea what we’re going to get. As for guides, we’re always worried that they’re in the pay of certain wineries, not necessarily the best ones.

In a way, every wine tasting trip is a first one. Even if we’ve been to the wineries in a region multiple times, we haven’t tasted that year’s wines nor do they always have the same wines on the menu.

The only sensible way to approach each visit is with an open mind and taste buds. We’ve had the experience of being disappointed at a winery that we had previously enjoyed, but we’ve also been delighted to find that a label we hadn’t cared for in our local wine shop also makes some fabulous wines that they keep for their tasting room.

That sense of discovery is the rationale for wine tasting. After all, we don’t have to spend the money on transportation and hotels. We could take a virtual tour down the aisles of a store, buying and trying as our fancy strikes us. Heck, we do that anyway. But we don’t get to see the vines, appreciate the architecture, smell the country air and, most important, meet the people behind the bottles.

So when we set out for a trip, especially one overseas, we know we’re going to encounter people, places and foods that we haven’t experienced before. As first-timers, we expect to learn a great deal. The people of those places are generally friendly and eager to spotlight not only their own wines but those of the region.

Once in Valpolicella we were offered a tasting by a winemaker who spoke no English. Our Italian was very limited. But the signore was able to say AMARONE and RIPASSO at the top of his lungs, so we got the point. It’s little stories like that that make first-time adventures in Wine Country worthwhile.