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.