Getting the Most from your Tasting Trip

We’ve compiled some etiquette points to help you get the most pleasurable experience from you tasting trip. Note that none of these prohibit having fun, getting excited or falling in love. So have a good time, learn lots and go discover that one truly outstanding wine that you have dreamed about. It is out there.

Scents don’t make sense
A huge, big no-no is wearing scent to a wine tasting room. This includes perfumes, after-shave, cologne, scented body lotions, etc. Smell is such an important aspect of wine tasting, and it is courteous to not interfere with other tasters’ (and your) ability to smell the wine.

Adding tobacco notes to your notes
Don't smoke anywhere near the tasting room. Smell is important and no one wants to smell smoky wine aromas. Additionally, smoking before or during a wine tasting will affect your taste of the wines.

Altoids, "Curiously Strong"

Mints and gums before a wine tasting will alter your tasting notes.

Sometimes it hurts…
The tasting table or bar will have a “dump bucket” for unfinished wine. It is acceptable to not finish a glass of wine. (I know, sometimes it hurts. But we all understand.)

Spit like the pros spit
If you have the opportunity to spit, it’s okay. That is what the professional tasters do.

No thanks
It is perfectly okay to pass up wines in a flight if you do not want to taste the full flight.

It's the law.
Tasting rooms will not serve patrons that are obviously intoxicated.

You're not eating soup at your Aunt Martha’s house. Slurp, it's okay.
Wine tasters are making that sound to draw air into their mouth and aerate the wine to enhance the taste. Slurping is acceptable.

Shhhh…
Don’t announce what your thoughts of the wines are before everyone has tasted the wine. Allow everyone time to taste the wine and contemplate its flavors.

Seconds?
Don’t ask for a second taste of a particular wine, unless you have indicated that you intend to purchase the bottle of wine.

I can’t hear myself drink
Don’t be too loud and rowdy when with a group of friends. This ruins the atmosphere of the winery/tasting room, and disrupts others’ concentration when they are processing the wine experience.

Discretion is the better part of valor
Refrain from saying any negative comments about the wine, please keep them to yourself, especially if you are tasting wine at a winery. Keep in mind that every wine has its own style. On this trip, I tasted a very expensive, very well respected wine that I actually paid a $15.00 fee to try a flight of two wines to try. I was thinking, “I wished I called for my stunt palate.” This wine was on our short-list because it got a lot of respect from some important opinion leaders. I didn’t like it. No one but Taster A will know my thoughts. Deep in my heart, I know that the wine was technically correct, well balanced, very young, and meant to be aged for a decade.

Thanks, but no thanks
Don’t feel guilty if you do not purchase a bottle of wine. Buy only the wine you like, and do not feel obligated to purchase wine just because you visited a tasting room, especially if you paid a tasting fee. If you spend a good deal of time with the staff, ask a lot of questions, have been given great service, a purchase may be indicated.

Sharing
When a fee is charged, it is usually okay for two people to share one glass and pay only one tasting fee. We have even be asked if we wanted two tastings or if we were sharing by our pourer.

Goodie basket
Pack some food! There are plenty of places to picnic. Slowing down the day not only keeps your head on straight, but gives your palate a chance to chill out. You’re in wine country, enjoy yourself! Treat yourself to time outside.

Slowing down
Most tasting room do’s and don’ts warn about drinking too much wine. On my first tasting trips, I found that I would get a buzz although I only consumed two to three ounces of wine. Then it came to me, breathing in the alcohol vapors were going “straight to my head”. Slowing down the process and taking notes like we have done on this trip has really made a difference.

The Fear of Flying
Flying wine home? Check the www.tsa.gov website for the latest rules regarding alcohol. Many wineries have special gorilla proof wine boxes for check-in baggage and there are some great wine carriers available on-line and at wine accessory stores. At the time of this posting, you can carry on a corkscrew.

Can’t ship there from here
Many wineries have “clubs” and will send wines to you home. Some states will not allow shipments. Our state is one of them. Ask the associate. DO NOT try to bypass the laws of your land. You shipper will be in deep doo-doo and you may lose your wine if you try to sneak a bottle or five into a box and bring it to the post office and you get busted.

Did that a pinot blanc go blank?
Taking notes is a good thing to do! This slows down the process, gives you a chance to remember that very special Pinot Noir and why you thought it was so great. It is really validating when you compare notes and come up with the same perceptions. Then when you buy a bottle or ten and drink that wine five years from now, you can see how it has changed. (Okay, you know that I am not a buy now, enjoy much later kind of guy, but you get the idea!)

Heitz Cellar, an Unforgettable Flight

We decided to take a trip over to Napa and find Heitz Cellars, a producer to very fine Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petit Verdot wines. If you wish to explore truly well crafted wines, make the trip to Heitz. We feel that Heitz Cellars was one of the most important stops we made.

The reason for our trip was to experience wines that were not accessible to us because of geographical distribution, wines that do not fit our budget, and wines that have limited production. Above all, we wanted to experience for ourselves the marriage of terroir and craftsmanship. This one stop satisfied all of these points.


Heitz Cellars has a beautiful tasting room with good acoustics with a friendly host. We were made to feel welcome and invited for a tasting. (This sounds like a no-brainer, but this can set the tone of the tasting experience.)

We tasted:
2005 Chardonnay, Napa Valley
2005 Petit Verdot
2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, Trailside Vineyard, Napa Valley
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, Bella Oaks Vineyard, Rutherford
1998 Cabernet Sauvignon, Martha’s Vineyard, Oakville

The Chardonnay was crisp, and very well balanced between fruit and oak. This is not your Kendall-Jackson type oak bomb. This wine is more a celebration of the Chardonnay grape gracefully flavored with French oak…but with a very light touch. Aromas and flavors of lemon, apple pear, peach, pineapple, slate, mineral and vanilla. Crisp taste with a short to moderate finish. Just Yum.

The Petit Verdot is a nice fruit forward, tart wine with tree fruit flavors with nice soft tannins. I picked up strawberry, blackberry, cherry, plum, current, earthy notes, smoke and chocolate. Our pourer suggests red Italian sauces, French onion soup and Cajun food.

Next were the featured cabs. As I evaluated each cab, I began to understand what a truly unique winery Heitz Cellars is. Heitz cabs are aged in oak for three and one half years, one year in American oak and the remainder in French. This gives the wines an unbelievably smooth wine with structure for aging.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon “Martha’s Vineyard”
Heitz Cellars

AVA: Oakville
Alcohol: 14.2%
Price: $110

Color: Ruby red
Intensity: Deep
Aromas: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, violet, smoky
Flavors: Strawberry, blackberry, cherry, current, jam, mint, eucalyptus, anise, black pepper, Allspice, cedar, sandalwood, tobacco
Body: Full, dry
Acidity: Moderate
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long

Summary:
Like all Heitz cabs we tried, the oak and toast are subdued. Well aged tannins balanced with fruit and mint. The fruit still shines through as when it was young, but shows great maturity. This was a privilege to be able to taste.

Joaquin's Inferno; a Trip to Benziger Family Winery

On the 10th of October, I wrote a about Benziger Family Winery and their Sonoma County 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon. Benziger is located in Glen Ellen, California on the north end of Sonoma. During high traffic periods, use the less busy, Arnold Road which parallels Highway 12. This will take you through a scenic area and past the small shops in town.


A trip to the Benziger Family Winery has much to offer. We suggest that you pack a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds. There are tables under the canopy of ancient eucalyptus and oak trees. The chatter of Acorn Woodpeckers and California Quail entertained us as we snacked on cheese, crackers and strawberries after our tasting. The grounds are lush and well maintained in a natural setting.


The Tasting Room
In the tasting room, you will find a well stocked gift shop and a generous amount of tasting bars. Greg, one of the servers, offered us a choice of two flights, The current offerings flight and the high end "Biodynamic, Reserve and Single Vineyard Tasting" flight. This high end flight listed eight wines of which five could be chosen. The tasting fee was $15.00, but this was well worth it.

We have enjoyed Barzinger wines at home, so we were eager to try the reserve wines that range from $29 to $80 per bottle. This was indeed going to be a treat. On the list was Benziger's flagship blend, 2004 Tribute. In 2001, Tribute was their first Biodynamic wine. It is an absolutely wonderful, intensely flavorful blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and classic Bordeaux varieties.

Greg escorted us to a second tasting room off to the side of the gift shop for the reserve tasting. This removed us from the hustle and bustle of the main tasting room. There were a few smaller tasting bars set up to accommodate parties of one to four comfortably and allowed Greg to focus on us, our interests and our questions.

The difference with this flight of wines is that these are the reserve and single vineyard offerings. These wines are made in small lots, on the order of hundreds of cases. As a result, these wines are sold only in the tasting room and to club members. All of this may sound like wine snobbery, but keep it in perspective. We are interested in learning more so we can share more. And lets face it, the more you know, the more successful you will be when you go to the wine store or when you are handed that skinny black book by the waiter.

Greg asked us what our interests were. We are interested in Sonoma red wines, and the purpose of this trip is to learn more about the region's wines. We like Cabs and Zins, we don't know much about Pinot Noir and would like to try them.

Here is a tip.
When traveling as a couple, it is okay with most tasting rooms to try different wines and to try your spouses wine. (As a courtesy, I will ask the server first so that I do not put the winery in a position where a law might be violated.)

Between the two of us, we tasted the following:
2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Shown Farm
2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Obsidian Point
2004 Tribute
2004 Estate Zinfandel, Joaquin's Inferno
2004 Petite Sirah
2005 Port, Sonoma Valley

Greg, our server, was very gracious, made great suggestions on pairings, told us stories about the vineyards and helped put Benzinger's wines in perspective with comparable wines around the world. He also spent extra time with us.

I cannot say enough about what we see going on at Benziger Family Winery. If time permits, we may return to try the other flight. With this, I wish to share my tasting notes for the 2004 Estate Zinfandel, Joaquin's Inferno.


Zinfandel, "Joaquin's Inferno"
Benziger Family Winery

AVA: Sonoma Mountain

Color: Dark ruby
Vintage: 2004
Production: 89 Cases

Total Acidity: 0.69
Alcohol: 15.5%
pH: 3.68

Aromas and Flavors: Jam light smoke black pepper, allspice, cherry, choke cherry, elderberry, boysenberry, pomegranate
Body: Full
Tannins: Suede
Finish: Long and spicy

Summary: This wine is one that you want to take some time with. Aromas evolve from the glass and come off in layers. The finish is long, fruity, tannic, then goes spicy. This makes for a fun glass of wine and will have you going back to your glass to see what comes next.

Greg told us about the vineyard that became know as Joaquin's Inferno. The vineyard is behind the visitors center and has a very steep slope with about a 200 foot elevation gain to the top. Joaquin is reported to hate that Zinfandel vineyard because it is so steep he has fallen several times. Thus, the wine was dubbed Joaquin's Inferno in his honor.

No Wimpy Wines

Arriving in Sonoma

Upon our arrival in Sonoma, California, we were anxious to get started on our tasting journey. A quick stop in the center of town is where you will find a square with lots of shops, eateries and tasting rooms. We needed to get our bearings, so a walk around the square was in order. We need maps!

Pick up a free copy of Wine Country This Week, from the Information Center. You'll get an idea of what is going on in the California wine scene and get some great ideas on where to go and what to do. You can pick up a copy of the Sonoma wine guide, it does have a map, but if you try to use it, your navigator will be arguing with your driver. Plus, if the winery did not purchase advertising, it may not have a dot on the map. (This may be my perception.)

So what should you do? Go to Sonoma Wine Hardware (map) on Broadway. Inside you will find a glossy map of Sonoma and Napa. On the back it has just about every winery listed and their tasting hours with addresses. The inn that we stayed at had a map published by Sonoma County. Between these two maps, you will be able to get around the Sonoma and Napa wine regions.



Our First Tasting, Ravenswood Winery
As I mentioned, we were anxious to get in our first tasting. But it was getting on towards 4:00 by the time we arrived. Since we had our "free map" from the info center, we didn't pick up a copy of the map from Sonoma Wine Hardware. It was then that we were hopelessly looking for our first target. We did find an easy target, Ravenswood Winery (map).

We chose Ravenswood because we know that we can purchase their wines in our region. They have two flights, the regular production wines and the "Vineyard Designate Wines". The latter will cost you $15.00 however it will give you an opportunity to try some wines that you may not be able to access in your locations. Many are sold exclusively through their wine club or at the winery. (We got to keep the glasses.)

Ravenswood Winery's slogan is "No Wimpy Wines". Their wines are big, bold and distinctive. We also were able to compare the wines from the Alexander Vally, Russian River, Sonoma Valley and Pickberry Vineyard. This is really fun because terrior does matter in quality wines.

The Tasting Room is well appointed with good acoustics. I prefer tasting rooms that you can have a pleasant conversation with the server or with my friends. If I cannot hear myself think, I have a hard time figuring out what is happening with the wine.

The staff was wonderful. They answered questions, told us about the vineyards, about the history, and generally were having a great time. They let us take notes, take time to appreciate their product and were very helpful. They enjoyed teaching us about their products. It was a fun atmosphere where we could be students learning to taste. And they appreciate working with people that are truly willing to learn.

Here are my tasting notes from just one wine from the flight.

Big River Zinfandel
Ravenswood
Zinfandel 100%
Growing Area: Alexander Valley

Vintage: 2005
Price: $32.00 Retail $25.60 Club
Color: Ruby Red
Intensity: Dark
Aromas and Flavors: Jammy spicy cedar, raisin black pepper, choke cherry, elderberry, dandelion, strawberry, mint
Body: Full
Finish: Moderate
Tannin: Suede to leather

Summary: Just what you would expect from a well crafted Zinfandel. The wine evolved in the glass, on the palate and offered new perception surprises, one after another. I spent a good 10 minutes with my one ounce pour. Walked around the shop, talked with our server and just let the wine evolve. The Alexander Valley is a premier growing region for bright, complex Zinfandel grapes. Yeah, we brought a bottle home with us.

Tasting Room Tips

Taking notes is a good thing. The tasting room folks know you will be visiting other rooms and really appreciate it when you make an effort to remember their wines. Our Ravenswood server recounted to us a visitor he recently had return from a year ago. The visitor asked, "Can you help us remember what wine we bought from you last year?" The server asked helpfully, "What can you tell me about what you bought?" "Oh", replied the visitor, "It was a red wine." "Well, that is about 80% of what we sell. What else can you tell me, was it a Cab, a Zin?" "Oh, I don't know, it had a white label with three black birds in a circle." Great, they just narrowed it down from 80% to 79% of the wines ever sold by Ravenswood!

Ravenswood was a wonderful tasting experience. A fun tasting room with some nice wine accessories and a great staff. Ravenswood has some great big wines. We are grateful that we can get them locally in our area.