{"id":1669,"date":"2020-10-30T18:08:32","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T18:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1669"},"modified":"2020-10-30T18:08:32","modified_gmt":"2020-10-30T18:08:32","slug":"seated-tastings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1669","title":{"rendered":"Seated Tastings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Because of the restrictions necessitated by the pandemic, all tastings in California\u2019s wineries are by appointment and they are all seated, outdoor tastings.\u00a0 [As we went to press, California allowed some indoor tasting.]\u00a0 If the weather is right, these can be quite enjoyable.\u00a0 But they are different than bellying up to the bar and trying what\u2019s available that day.\u00a0 Seated tastings were beginning to be a trend even before Covid-19, with distinct plusses and minuses.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seated.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-1670 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seated-300x211.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"637\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seated-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/powertasting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/seated.jpg 413w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 637px) 100vw, 637px\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So, in the spirit of the times, we\u2019d like to offer a few tips for seated tastings.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Some tastings are just for you.<\/strong> Assuming that you are travelling with your significant other, that means the tasting is made up of the two of you, a table, several glasses and bottles and the server.\u00a0 It is very difficult in these circumstances for the two of you to share candid appraisals of what you are being served.\u00a0 You probably can\u2019t even be comfortable frowning after sipping and then pouring the wine out.\u00a0 If you came intending to try their famous Cabernet Sauvignon and they insist on starting you with the Chardonnay, you\u2019re stuck.\u00a0 So just remember that\u2019s the way they do it and move ahead.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Other tastings are with a group.<\/strong> It may feel like a party, but it\u2019s not a party.\u00a0 A little polite conversation is always acceptable, but your opinions are best kept quietly to yourselves.\u00a0 We two know each other\u2019s tastes and may say, \u201cI think this is your style\u201d.\u00a0 But when some previously overserved stranger is intent on singing the praises of a Sauvignon Blanc that turns you off, reply with \u201cGlad you enjoy it\u201d and turn your attention to the person you came with.<\/li>\n<li><strong>It\u2019s harder to have any little special somethings.<\/strong> One of the benefits of being an informed wine taster is that good servers often have something hidden away that they save for people who they think will appreciate it.\u00a0 It\u2019s tough for a server to reach under the bar when there is no bar.\u00a0 What has worked to our advantage on a few occasions is to ask for something that isn\u2019t on their list (a dessert wine, for example) and if it\u2019s available, the server may bring you a little at the end.\u00a0 But it\u2019s difficult to do that when there are still people at nearby tables.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The best seated tastings make you feel special.<\/strong> As is often the case, the pleasure of a tasting comes down to the quality of the server.\u00a0 We have experienced a server who just radiated that we were her tenth seated tasting of the week and she couldn\u2019t wait for Friday afternoon.\u00a0 But we have also had more than a few who drew out our interest in wine, shared theirs with us, and generally made us feel more like a guest than a customer.\u00a0 Of course, it helped that they were serving very good wine, which is often the case with seated tastings.\u00a0 We left with a warm feeling not just for the server, but for the winery itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Because of the restrictions necessitated by the pandemic, all tastings in California\u2019s wineries are by appointment and they are all seated, outdoor tastings.\u00a0 [As we went to press, California allowed some indoor tasting.]\u00a0 If the weather is right, these can be quite enjoyable.\u00a0 But they are different than bellying up to the bar and trying &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1669\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Seated Tastings<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1669"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1671,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1669\/revisions\/1671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1669"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1669"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1669"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}