Dare to Pair Workshop

If there is one thing I enjoy talking about almost as much as wine...it's food. And what goes really well with food? Wine. So naturally, I'm internally wired to enjoy any type of event that involves both of these entities. I recently had the opportunity to coordinate a food and wine pairing workshop in Atlanta in partnership with the The Cask Room in Decatur, Ted Field of Domaine Wine Distributors, and Chef Andrew of Me, My Chef, and I.

The Cask Room in Decatur, GA hosted this special tasting event

Back in my days of managing the winery in Virginia, some of my absolute favorite events were those during which guests had the opportunity to explore how wine and food can enhance each other for an entirely new experience. I would select wines to serve with menu items prepared by our in-house chef while creating five-course gourmet dining journeys. Chef and I would discuss every single flavor to be incorporated in his dishes to fully understand the nuances of taste that would be highlighted on the palate. In one of my previous Blog posts, I elaborated on how I often enjoy pairing opposites and/or contrasting flavors to surprise dinner guests, and these vineyard dinners were no exception. Chef would introduce each course followed by my explanation of why each wine was hand-selected to pair with each dish. Guests seemed to truly enjoy the impact of these complex characteristics combing in new, exciting ways.

But...how often to you open five bottles of wine for yourself to taste with your chicken stir-fry on a Wednesday night? If you do, that's awesome, and please invite me to join you next time. If you don't do that often or ever,  then you rarely have the change to explore how multiple wines interact with the flavors in a single dish. This is exactly where the inspiration for the "Dare to Pair Workshop" was born - I wanted to allow our guests to pair five distinctly flavored dishes with various wines all at the same time to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly amidst the pairings.

The newly-opened Cask Room served as the perfect host site for this event, and the owners were thrilled about the opportunity to offer such a unique tasting event for a select group of food and wine enthusiasts. Their dining space is modern and intimate, and their Enomatic Wine Dispenser System allows for multiple wines to be showcased at one time and be available for guests to serve themselves at their own pace.

The opening welcome by "A Cork in the Road"

Having interviewed Ted of Domaine Distributors earlier this spring for one of the "Twenty-ish Questions" posts on the Blog, I knew he would be the perfect open-minded distributor with whom to collaborate on this innovative tasting format. He was able to select five wines in his portfolio for loading into the dispensers at The Cask Room, one of their established clients, that would showcase a wide spectrum of palate characteristics for the pairing adventure. To provide our cuisine, we recruited Ted's culinary-inclined business partner, Chef Andrew Tokas of Me, My Chef, and I. As a personal chef in Atlanta, Chef Andrew expertly plans and prepares cuisine according to the desires of his clients. He relies on his understanding of how tastes and textures compliment the progression of a meal from start to finish, and his background in Classic French, Italian, and New American Cookery provides a perfect backbone for pairing his creations with wines from those regions.

 

Once we had all of the contributors on board, we advertised the event featuring our mouth-watering menu of food and wine to be presented. The format was such that each guest would receive all five dishes at the same time as each course represented the five basic tastes:

The delicious food waiting to be paired with the wines one-by-one

SALTINESS: Ham & Cheese Quiche

SWEETNESS: Nutella Crepe

BITTERNESS: Dandelion Salad

SOURNESS: Sweet & Sour Soup

UMAMI: Chicken Liver Pate (...Chef Andrew's specialty!)

Upon arrival, each guest received their own Enomatic Wine Dispenser card (aka a wine-acquiring credit card) which could be inserted into the machine at any time to redeem their two-ounce sample of the five different wines. The intent was for each guest to try all of the dishes with each of the wines and record their reactions to the pairings on their personal tasting chart designed by Yours Truly (the resident scientific research nerd).

Nerdy? Maybe. Helpful to guide each pairing reaction? Definitely.

We gave a brief welcome and an explanation of how to navigate through the pairing workshop using their charts as a guide, then our guests were given the reigns to begin their own pairing exploration by pouring their wines in any order and tasting them with each dish.

The Reds loaded and ready for pre-programmed tastings from the Enomatic Dispenser

The following wines were offered...

WHITES:

1) 2013 Pardo Tolosa Mizaran Macabeo (La Manch, Spain): Defined acidity, pale wheat in color, medium/light body, and flavors of limes, pear, apricot, pineapple, and sea salt.

2) 2013 Finca El Refugio Verdejo (Castilla, Spain): This 100% verdejo is bright, clear, and pale yellow in color with subtle aromas of pineapple, melon, and grass with hints of lime on the palate.

ROSE:

3) 2012 Finca El Refugio Syrah Rose (La Mancha, Spain): Made from 100% Syrah, this wine is garnet in color with flavors of cherries, apples, minerals, and taffy.

LIGHT RED:

4) 2013 Zeni Bardolino Vigne Alte (Bardolino Classico zone): 50% Corvina, 40% Rondinella, and 10% Molinara blend with soft tannins, medium purple color, and notes of cherries, violets, blackberries, and clove.

BOLD RED:

5) 2008 Lafon La Revelation (Bordeaux, Cotes de Blaye): A medium-bodied blend of 60% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Malbec with deep purple color, defined acidity, and hints of leather, toasted wood, plums, black cherries, cinnamon, and chocolate.

The Whites and the Rose locked, loaded, and ready to dispense vino

We concluded the session with a group discussion sharing the favorites and the not-so-favorites amidst the pairing options. Guests ultimately voted that the Bardolino, the lighter-bodied red wine, was the most versatile of the wines such that it paired moderately well with all five dishes. My personal favorite pairing was the Revelation with the Chicken Liver Pate, and I was most surprised by the Nutella Crepe and Rose pairing for it's unexpected harmony. It is my hope that each guest left the event that afternoon with a revived sense of adventure to continue exploring their palates and discover their preferences as their wine and food interact.

Thanks to The Cask Room, Domaine Distributors, and Chef Andrew for being adventurous business partners. And thanks to our lovely guests for attending! I look forward to coordinating more events like this in Atlanta so we can keep eating and drinking for fun. Salud!

What the Heck Do We Serve at Our Wedding?

It seems conveniently appropriate that I’m writing a blog post about wedding wines while recovering from a friend’s Bachelorette party last weekend in Nashville. I was already planning on addressing this topic long before the weekend of pre-wedding debauchery ensued, but now it seems even more logical as I’ve been recently reminded about the traditions and festivities of forthcoming nuptials. It’s only been 14 months since I celebrated my own wedding reception, but now I’m fresh with excitement as my friends approach their own celebrations.

Not surprisingly, a significant aspect of our wedding reception planning process was deciding which wines we would be serving to our guests. Not only does my entire immediate family have a not-so-subtle reputation for being wine nerds, but I was also getting married only one year after stepping down from my position as tasting room manager at a winery in Virginia at which I had assisted in providing wine for 40+ weddings.

We facilitated a lot of wedding wine at Cross Keys Vineyards in Virginia 

Essentially, I had a bit of a reputation to uphold (no pressure?) but I also wanted the wine choices to be a memorable component of our wedding celebrations for our guests. Unless you are a wine nerd, however, the latter is not a typical aspiration for most people planning their weddings. But regardless of how emotionally connected you will be to the choices of the wines themselves, selecting what to serve will likely be an aspect that needs to be addressed. Furthermore, most people have never needed to serve wine to 100+ people in one night, so it’s not surprising that several of my friends and colleagues have recently asked me for advice while they are approaching this somewhat daunting task.

I’m hoping this post provides brides-and-grooms-to-be and their families with a little inspiration to tackle the wedding wine selection process. To offer some additional insight, I contacted a few industry colleagues in the Atlanta area to also comment on this topic with professional advice which is featured below.

Wine was so important that it was also used as centerpiece decorations for our reception.

For me, it helped to set a few guiding principles before embarking on my decision process:

1) Find a balance between the cost and the quality of the vinos so that selections won't bust the cap on a budget.

2) Be mindful of the fact that within a crowd of 130+ guests there is a guaranteed diversity of palates and preferences.

3) Make sure my father and fiancé also like/approve the wines.

4) Provide a selection of flavors and acidity to compliment the southern comfort food being served on the buffet.

5) Showcase regions or countries which encompass some sort of sentimental significance to me and my fiancé.

Main goal = please the crowd with palate-friendly vino. 

Setting these goals made me realize that I wanted to focus my attention not so much on the prestige or the popularity of a label but rather on the crowd-pleasing impact of the wines. And so, with a mission accepted, we began the 6 month tasting escapade searching for our coveted “wedding wines”. My father became my sidekick and consultant – we texted wine labels to each other with “you need to try this” captions; we bounced ideas back and forth about flavor profiles; and we even conducted a blind tasting experiment with our family to do unofficial research on their palate preferences. After months of investigating prices, visiting wine shops, and pairing food, we came up with a few key characteristics of our desired wines:

1) Easy-drinking
2) Fairly fruit-forward
3) Smooth tannins
4) Reasonably priced
5)  2 reds, 2 whites, 1 bubbly

Now the fun part – narrowing it down aka taste, taste, taste. We started by picking wines from places or regions to which either I or the family had visited that now had sentimental significance (California, Washington, Oregon, Argentina) and then aimed for two reds (a bold/oaky and a smooth/fruity) and two whites (a crisp/acidic and a fruit/off-dry). For the bubbly, we wanted something neither too sweet nor too dry so it could be enjoyed by almost everyone in attendance during speeches and toasting at the reception. We also decided that we would be serving a selection of four domestic beers and a liquor of choice – bourbon (in honor of the groom, of course) - to

supplement our wines and round out the bar.

We asked guests to write notes for wine bottles representing anniversary years 

NOTE: We had the flexibility to work with our caterer and bartender team directly choosing our
wines – this is not always the case depending on the catering company or the venue. We were able to customize our wines aside from their standard “house” selections as long as our wines could be purchased at their preferred vendor, Total Wine. It’s important to clarify how much personalization is
even possible before you start worrying about making selections because some venues/caterers already have a pre-set menu that is provided to their contractors (clients could only serve our
winery’s wines at their weddings, for example). Additionally, some vendors may already have suggestions for what wines they carry will pair best with the food they are serving. If you’re not constrained by a vendor nor through a catering company, however, then just make sure you are legally able to buy/serve at your selected wedding venue...because ain’t nobody got time for fines on their wedding day.

The Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC and our caterer, The Crazy Dutchman, allowed us to personalize 

So after all the planning, tasting, and consulting…we announced our hand-selected Wedding Wines:

1) Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling – not too sweet, not too dry, and a “crowd-pleaser” in every sense of the word because even people who say “I don’t drink wine” will like it. It paired perfectly with the fried chicken, and it brought back memories of touring their winery with my dad the Thanksgiving
before the wedding.

2) Maipe Chakana Torrontes – more full-flavored than the Riesling, slightly more acidity, and an ode to my time spent studying aboard in Argentina. The aromatics of peach and apricot paired well with the roasted vegetables and shrimp ‘n’ grits.

3) Sterling Vintners Meritage – the smooth, easy-drinking red Bordeaux blend from California paid tribute to all of our family visits to Napa/Sonoma. It paired with everything! A blend is typically a good bet for serving to folks who may not normally choose red wines.

4) Trapiche Malbec Oak Cask – full-bodied, oaky, smoky, deep dark red to pair with our lasagna…I drank this the whole night which also led me to having wine lips and teeth by the end of the evening (oops?) #sorrynotsorry

5) BUBBLY: Cristalino Brut Cava – an all-around middle-of-the-road sweetness for everyone to enjoy at a super affordable price

So now for more insight...

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Katie Spain of d’Vine Wine Bar & Shop in Dunwoody, Georgia writes...:

The one thing I would recommend throughout everything is that simplicity is key. In choosing how many wines to serve vs beers vs cocktails, again simplicity! You don’t want to overwhelm guests in their choices, and offering only a small selection will help keep cost manageable. I would say no more than one sparkling wine, two whites, and two reds. I would make sure the sparkling is light and easy-going so that everyone can enjoy it. Same goes for the whites and reds - you want to try and keep everyone happy, which means typically going one light and one heavy with no extremes. Another thing to always be mindful of is that it’s the bride and groom's day, and that while you want
to please your guests, make sure you choose things that you’ll enjoy! Or you can always also choose to have your own wines, that you love, off to the side.For actual wines themselves, I’m going to give you two different examples of each type that I would recommend. One thing that I love about us at d’Vine is that Bob [the owner] and I strive to find amazing, fun alternatives and classic examples of all different wines that are all very cost effective. On top of that, we also offer discounts on full case purchases (10% off with a credit card, or %12 off with cash).

Our recommendations...

Sparkling:

1) Veuve du Vernay Sparkling Brut – France $10.99

Pale straw in color, fresh, fruity, and floral on the nose. The palate is full with delicate apple and pear fruit flavors complimented by smooth velvety bubbles.

2) Cleto Chiarli Sparkling Rosé- Italy $15.99

From the oldest producer in all of the Emilia-Romagna DOC (Chiarli was founded in 1860). a sparkling rosé bearing a purity of red fruit ranging from bright red currants and strawberries to bright and brambly fruits of the forest. Chiarli’s Brut de Noir Rosé has a lovely creamy texture and bears remarkably fine and persistent bubbles.  [One of her ABSOLUTE favorites and she is personally serving it at her own wedding.]

White:

1) Aveleda Vinho Verde- Portugal  $10.99

Vinho Verde, or “green wine”, is so-named because it is a young wine crafted for immediate consumption.  It is a Portuguese light, fruity wine.  This wine is fresh and crisp with a small touch of effervescence. We use this wine in a large portion of the parties we host here! It’s a real crowd pleaser!

2) Sean Minor 4 Bears Sauvignon Blanc- California $13.99

This Sauvignon Blanc is a golden straw color and displays aromas of lime, melon, grass and a touch of passion fruit notes. On the entry, the juicy grapefruit acidity integrates well with a medium body mid palate mouth feel.  The kiwi, green apple and peach flavors evolve into a hint of minerality that adds complexity to the finish.

3) BackStory Chardonnay-California $9.99

This Chardonnay is made with grapes from California’s best growing areas. It is a crisp wine with citrus notes, a fuller-bodied buttery undertone, complimented with a smooth finish.  Pair with milder cheeses, fish, and dishes with creamy butter sauces.

4) Chateau Roustan Blanc- France $10.99

This white table wine is from Costiѐres de Nîmes in the Rhone Valley in France.  It is made from 60% Roussanne, 20% Grenache Blanc, and 20% Viognier.  This wine is dry, with an aromatic toasty nose and hints of peach on the palate.  Pairs well with salmon, poultry and salads. This is a great choice if you are not a Chardonnay lover because it will please you with the great fruit forwardness, but it is also pleasing to Chardonnay lovers with its slight buttery finish.

Light Red:

1) Scarlet of Paris Pinot Noir- France $10.99

A wonderful Pinot Noir with great fruit flavors.  A sleek wine with raspberry, cherry, and plum undertones. This wine is silky, flavorful, and complete.  From the Languedoc region, Southern France.

2) Ottone 1 Barbera- Italy $13.99

100% pure Barbera grapes from the Piedmont region of Northern Italy, this medium to full bodied red is simply bursting with big fruit flavors.  Ruby red in color with a soft-but-sound nose including black raspberry, raspberry, cherry, and hints of strawberry. This wine has a rounded body and is filled with luscious cherry, berry, and even dark jam flavors.  The finish, though not too long, is crisp and pleasing.

Heavier Red:

1) Cypress Cabernet Sauvignon- California $10.99

The 2013 Cypress Vineyards Cabernet is dark purple in the glass with a youthful red hue. The aroma is an attractive mix of ripe black cherry and plum, with a bouquet of vanilla, black tea and smoky cedar. Round on the palate with a dark-fruit impression, this Cabernet Sauvignon is serious enough for the connoisseur, yet a good choice for anyone who simply enjoys a good glass of red wine.


2) 6th Sense Syrah-California $15.99 (A little pricier but well worth it!)

At first whiff, you’ll take in ripe dark plum with just a hint of pepper and toffee notes. Rich, juicy, fruit come on with a mid-palate of Christmas cake. This wine shows depth, focus, and a nice spicy finish.

These are all wines that I’ve used in the past that go over extremely well with crowds. I tried to make sure I recommended at least one wine in each spectrum. There will, of course, be those one or two people who want a Malbec, or Merlot, even a Zinfandel. However, it will be impossible to please everyone. Your best choice will be to pick wine that will please the masses and yourselves. While I personally feel that wine is important, not everyone does, and a wedding at the end of the day is a joyous, loving affair about the couple coming together!...but it doesn’t hurt to have great wines!

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A friend and sales consultant for a well-established large distributor in the Atlanta metro area writes:

It’s tough to give suggestions on wedding wines because it all depends on the venue and what they offer. I’ve worked with some venues that will order anything, where others are so strict on what’s “available”.

If the venue allows anything to be served, I like the following wines for crowds:

Spring/Summer Wines – heavy on the whites & roses (about 70%)

1) Raventos I Blanc - One of the finest sparkling wines in the world! Also very reasonably priced.

2) Quinta de Aveleda Vinho Verde - Tame and yet has interesting flavors.

3) Zenato Pinot Grigio - Tell me someone who hates Pinot Grigio? Nobody. They may not love them, but nobody hates them.

4) Lois Gruner Veltliner - this varietal tends to be a crowd pleaser. Great balance of acidity, pepper and great texture.

5) Lawson Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc - Crisp, light, and refreshing

6) Bieler Rose - Love me some rose in the spring!

7) Mossback Central Coast Pinot Noir - Central Coast tends to be lighter bodied

8) Brutocao “Quadriga” Red Blend - This is a single vineyard wine from Mendocino for under $20 retail!!!

9) Noble Tree Sonoma Cabernet - This is a steal for the cost.

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Thanks to the two industry colleagues for their recommendations and insight! Cheers to many happy weddings.



Wedding photography credit: Studio 519 Atlanta Photography

A Day in Napa Part 2: Did We Just Visit 6 Wineries?

Before you start reading this, have you read “Part 1” yet? If not, I highly recommend that you go back to the home page, find “A Day in Napa Part 1”, click it, and read it first because you will find joy in the chronological order. If you have read “Part 1”, then you know that I left you hanging with our bliss of tasting the top-quality wines at Venge Vineyards as our first stop of the Honeymoon winery adventure on the first day in Napa. From there, we didn’t think it could get much better (and honestly, in terms of wine, that may have ended up being true) but we set off in our rental Prius heading south down the Silverado Trail with a loaded itinerary of wine tastings ahead of us. I spent several hours (…days?) emailing with winery reps and calculating distances on my GPS to create an efficient route that maximized tasting time and minimized travel backtracking – this is the key reason we were able to ultimately visit six vineyards between 10am and 5pm.

Stop #2 was a short 10 minute drive down the road: Duckhorn Vineyards. We had made a 12pm appointment with their Trade Relations Manager, but after calling ahead that we would be arriving a bit ahead of schedule we were welcomed with friendly hospitality. They, however, had more than one parking spot and the place was already packed. I had visited Duckhorn back in 2006 with my wine-loving parents, so I was looking forward to retracing some steps from my early days of becoming a wine nerd. I remembered having such a private, personal experience in their tasting room and being fascinated by the whole process of a wine tasting appointment. Their label is now widely available all over the country in contrast to some of our more off-the-beaten-path appointments later in the trip. I do think it’s very important while visiting Napa, though, that you create an experience which takes to you both the big names and the small producers so you can enjoy a variety of settings.

Pulling off the road at Duckhorn Vineyards

We were promptly seated on their outdoor patio – sunshine! – and greeted by our tasting guide and reserved table setting. The wine tasting cards were strategically placed in order so that you felt as if you were about to embark on the Yellow Brick Road of wine happiness. We took in the gorgeous courtyard scenery and noshed on the breadsticks (classic wine tasting nourishment) while our guide set up or glasses for the tasting flight which included the 2011 Stout Vineyard Merlot, 2011 Atlas Peak Merlot, 2010 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2011 Patzimaro Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. I preferred the smoked caramel and cedar tones of the Atlas Peak Merlot as my favorite of the line-up, but it was evident upon first sip that we took a step back in terms of quality and complexity compared to our first stop at Venge. This discovery led us into an interesting discussion about production size/strategy of a growing vineyard and the potential decline in complexity of a wine to appeal to a larger audience. Not to say that this always happens, but all of the tastings in this flight lacked the complexity and bold layers of those earlier in the day which perhaps lends itself to a wider palate appeal for mass production. But, after a few words about this observation with our guide, he signaled for us to wait one more moment because “he had something we might like”….

Outdoor reserved seating for a tasting appointment at Duckhorn

Boom, behold the concept of “the bonus pour”: The act of bringing a wine to the table which is not listed on the tasting notes nor expected by your guests. It acts as a way to showcase a reserve or special label to someone who may be interested in trying the higher end price-range of the winery’s collection. In our case, it was first the 2011 Goldeneye Pinot Noir which meets the needs of the bright, fruity Pinot Noir people (like husband) and also those of the earthy, dirty Pinot Noir folks (like me). It was quite impressive compared to the first wines and took lead as our favorite of the bunch….until yet another bonus pour came our way: 2010 The Discussion, a $135 estate grown red blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot. Barrel-aged for 26 months in 100% French Oak barrels, this wine is blended each vintage using the very best barrels of wine from the finest blocks in the vineyard. It was filled with rich flavors of licorice, dark berries, and plum leading to a finish of silky tannins and cherry spices. It may officially be called The Discussion, but I considered it Duckhorn’s “Redemption” for what seemed at first to be a middle-of-the-road tasting profile. We ended up leaving empty-handed, but if you’re looking for a beautiful, quaint setting and a chance to experience a mainstream label, Duckhorn is worth a consideration for your itinerary.

The second of two "bonus pours" during our seated tasting 

Slightly sunned and feeling intrigued by the contrast between the first two stops, we drove onward to Stop #3: Freemark Abbey. Just two minutes around the corner from Duckhorn located in the Howell Mountain AVA known for standout Cabernet Sauvignons, we arrived for our 1pm appointment with Tasting Room Supervisor, Clint, to redeem a complimentary friend-of-the-industry cabernet comparative tasting. This was a last-minute addition to our itinerary after my dad had texted a photo of their wine label to me while he was on a work trip in Vegas attached to the caption “you need to try this”...so, obviously, I made an appointment immediately because I know better than to miss out on one of dad’s wine suggestions.

They set us up at the rounded tasting bar as we prepared our palates and noses for the unique opportunity to taste four different Cabernet Sauvignons back-to-back. I live for this type of nerdy wine experience because you get to geek-out on all the nuances that may not be apparent if you taste the wines on different occasions. I lifted the first glass and gave my nose plenty of time to fill with the aromas of dark cherry and plum from the 2011 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, their flagship (and the one my dad most likely consumed at the restaurant in Vegas).  It was layered with slight clove-like spice and a hint of green pepper on the palate for an overall pretty solid balance. Smooth, easy-drinking, yet complex with a long finish, it's clear why it's their most widely distributed wine. Onto the 2010 “Bootleg” Cabernet Sauvignon (which got it's namesake from mistakenly being blended with a bit of Syrah in 2002), I got a smoky, caramel tone on the palate along with dusty cedar and sweet oak spice on the nose which likely are expressed from the addition of Cabernet Franc and Merlot.



If I had to pick favorites, I’d say the two anchors of the tasting flight would have to flip a coin to fight it out for my vote. The 2010 Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, made from 100% single vineyard fruit, showcased bold tannins and a full fruit mouth feel while the 2010 Cabernet Boshé, made from coveted high-quality fruit that used to be sourced out to a neighboring producer, presented with a HUGE fruit nose and an interesting pop of green olive flavor on a deep, fruitful finish. It was apparent upon completing this tasting that we were in the care of true Cabernet Sauvignon producers, and I would highly recommend selecting this tasting flight during a visit if you’re into this grape and what it has to offer.

So at this point, three vineyards deep in Napa, we thought: FOOD. I had proactively prepared for this feeling of hunger to strike and had secured a pitstop in downtown St. Helena on our route. We grabbed delicious made-to-order sandwiches at Giugni W F & Son Grocery, a cash-only local deli on Main Street, to take for a picnic at Stop #4: Louis M. Martini.

Quick stop at a cash-only deli on Main Street in St. Helena to grab sandwiches for a picnic

After emailing with their staff prior to our visit to make sure that they allowed us to bring our own picnic food onto their property (read: ALWAYS ask in advance, some places do not allow picnics), we posted up at a table in their outdoor courtyard and inhaled the fresh sandwiches as if we’d been exhausted from drinking wine. We did, however, enjoy pairing our picnic with the wines in their standard tasting: 2012 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2011 Cellar No. 246 Meritage (81% Cab Sauv, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 2% Petit Verdot, 2% Cab Franc). Similar to Duckhorn, Louis is a big-time producer and widely available in retail stores across the country. They have smooth, full-flavored wines and are rooted in tradition of providing consistent quality to their consumers. My favorite was the the 2010 Monte Rosso Cabernet Sauvignon - their version of the "bonus pour". For the mere awe of sitting in the courtyard of a well-known label, I suggest making a visit to Martini as a “large producer experience” in the Valley.

Standard tasting to compliment our outdoor picnic seating at Louis M. Martini

Adequately fueled after our picnic, we had just over an hour before our final tasting appointment of the day…and when in Napa, you use all extra time for wine tasting, right? Keeping with our plan of not backtracking on our route, we continued south to Stop #5: Caymus Vineyards. This is one of those labels that you drink with family during holidays and special occasions because it makes you feel fancy without extremely breaking the bank. It’s not a weeknight wine in our household, but I can count numerous family celebrations which were highlighted by a special bottle of Caymus on the dining table. The fun part about stopping at their tasting room is that you have the chance to try wines from their various labels under the Wagner Family of Wines. We didn’t have an appointment, but instead cozied up to the busy tasting counter – this place gets packed on weekends, so I’d suggest to plan accordingly and try to stop earlier in the day to avoid any major crowds at the walk-up tasting bar. Our standard tasting option included the Mer Soleil 2013 Reserve Chardonnay, the Belle Glos 2013 Las Alturas Pinot Noir, the Emmolo 2012 Napa Valley Merlot, and the 2012 40th Anniversary Caymus Cabernet.

Posted up at the Caymus tasting bar for their standard multi-label tasting

Other than the lovely candied, ripe fruit found in the Caymus Cab (which had just been the star of my family’s Christmas Eve dinner feast in Minnesota) and the off-dry sweetness on the Conundrum white blend (which wasn’t being tasted the day we visited), I had never tasted the other labels before and was delighted by the contrasting variety. The Chardonnay was barrel fermented with hints of banana and coconut on a rounded palate while the Merlot showcased a standout flavor of caramelized plums. Overall, the staff was knowledgeable and the setting was stunning – this is a place that we may want to re-visit next time and schedule a more in-depth appointment to truly explore their labels and library wines.

By now the sun was setting, but it felt like we had slowed down time at various points in the day in order to soak it all in. We headed into downtown Yountville for our final appointment of the day at Stop #6: Ma(i)sonry. They specialize in curated wine flights showcasing small, craft producers who are often too small to have their own tasting room. What that translates to you as a guest? You arrive for an appointment, get matched to a personal wine host/hostess, and receive their expert guidance in picking 3 wines that meet your tasting preferences. We were greeted and seated in their courtyard which doubles as an art gallery, given blankets and a heater which kept us warm as the sun set, and welcomed with a complimentary glass of 2013 Arriviste Rosé from Blackbird Vineyards.

Ma(i)sonry in downtown Yountville offers guided tastings and doubles as an art gallery

They offer 3 tasting tracks based on the pricing of the bottles eligible to be selected: The Classic ($25) featuring wines under $70, the Connoisseur ($35) featuring wines under $120, and the Collector ($45) featuring wines up to $200. The two columns worth of artisan wines had my head spinning with choices, so I decided to rely on our guide, Brooke, for assistance. I told her a bit about the characteristics of my typical go-to type of vino but added that I was willing to be a bit adventurous and try something new. Husband, on the contrary, went with a less-is-more approach saying, "I want 2 huge reds and a white." We also wanted to try 6 different wines between the two of us so she had the opportunity to show us a wider variety of their offerings. The best part? I wasn't familiar with any if the winemakers or labels so it was truly like embarking on a new journey.

If I recall correctly (because let's be honest...note taking at the 6th winery was not as thorough as I would've liked...) we tasted the following vinos: 2012 Chester's Anvil Zinfandel (which ultimately came home with us as our favorite of the night), 2010 Coup de Foudre (ooo la la "Love at First Sight") Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011 Juslyn Vineyards Perry's Blend (cab sauv, merlot, cab franc, & petit verdot), 2012 PharaohMoans Syrah (yeasty, doughy, and soft?), 2013 Tor Kenward Family Wines Torchiana Chardonnay (only 300 cases are produced), and 2009 Tuck Beckstoffer Wines Semper Ellenbach Vineyard Pinot Noir (aged 21 months in 80% new French oak...drool). We felt so cozy in the courtyard and treated with the utmost care from the staff. I would highly recommend this unique guided tasting experience to anyone looking for a way to discover spectacular small-batch wines. We felt like we found a hidden gem in the Valley, and we recently opened our spicy, structured Zinfandel to cheers for a special occasion this spring.

And that....was Day 1. I will be working on documenting Day 2, which was dedicated to Sonoma, but there may be a slight delay to capture other tastings and topics of current time. It's pretty magical to think that somehow all of that winery goodness was packed into one, beautiful day which ultimately ended with what anyone would want after drinking vino all day: PIZZA.

Pizza and bubbles at Redd Wood of Yountville as a finale to Day 1

But not just any pizza...white anchovy pizza from Redd Wood and a bottle of "on the house" bubbly because wine country just knows how to make people happy.

A Day in Napa Part 1: Venge for the Win

Once upon a time (ok, it was more like two months ago), I wrote a wine blog. Then life happened and I sort of abandoned it. This hiatus, however, was completely unintentional, and I’m going to emerge from the silence one blog post at a time. If you’ve been following along on Twitter or Facebook, though, you know that things have really taken off since the blog launched. I’ve been running around this city attending as many wine tastings, meeting as many wine industry folks, and chatting with as many fellow wine bloggers as much as possible (read: drinking lots of wine) to really dive into what I can offer to this project. It’s been fulfilling to hear feedback from readers as it helps me formulate a plan for producing content going forward on this journey. And Twitter? Well that’s just been way too much fun because connecting with wineries, wine shops, distributors, restaurants, and bloggers happens at any time of the day in a little wine-lover community bubble.

First time I'd ever seen such a clear view crossing the Golden Gate Bridge - where was Karl the Fog?

I feel like there’s so much to catch up on and so much wine nerdiness to share, so let’s go back to the end of February when my husband and I flew to California for our Honeymoon. I’m going to split the stories and winery visits up into multiple posts so I can hopefully provide the depth and detail that each place deserves. We worked diligently for a solid two months in advance to plan our route and appointments emailing with hospitality managers and hospitality reps. Our picks were strategically selected in an attempt to soak in a variety of vineyard experiences. For my husband who had never been to wine country, it was important to include big producers, small producers, off-the-beaten-path producers, and I-see-these-every-day-in-Kroger producers in our itinerary. Our plan of attack (yes, that’s how a wine nerd visualizes a trip to Napa) was to spend one full day in Napa followed by another full day in Sonoma. 

Our "Moon House" in Glen Ellen

Renting a lovely cottage on VRBO in the quaint town of Glen Ellen about 15 minutes north of Sonoma Square and just down the hillside from Beringer Vineyards allowed us to start from a centralized location both mornings for departure into both sides of wine country.

The blooming mustard created a golden hue in the vineyards

After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on a crystal clear day, we arrived to find miles of vineyards popping with the golden yellow hue of blooming mustard – simply stunning.  This is a spring phenomenon that I’d only read about briefly prior to our trip, and it felt like such a treat to see it in person. We couldn’t wait to hop in our rental Prius and head out over the winding roads to the Napa side of the Valley on our first morning of the adventure. First stop? The famed Bouchon Bakery in downtown Yountville to properly fuel up for a day of sipping vino.

NO LINE at 8am and enjoyed a life-changing bacon cheddar brown sugar scone on the outdoor patio

Second stop (aka first winery stop and topic of today’s post): Venge Vineyards. And ultimately, this first stop won the award for our favorite stop of the entire trip. Looking back, I honestly think we could’ve purchased one of every bottle from this vineyard to take home with us…but because it was our first stop of the trip/day, we couldn’t possibly rationalize boxing up everything they had to offer – it was the bliss of being our first tasting appointment, right? We were in a Honeymoon fantasy state of mind, right? It couldn’t possibly be as outstanding as we thought it was, right? …no, guess what, it really was that awesome and we should have taken it all home with us). 

The callbox upon arrival makes you feel super fancy and special

This is a can’t-miss-must-make appointment when you visit Napa next time. It’s located at the northern tip of the Valley near Calistoga, so it’s also a perfect place to start your route for the day and then proceed to wind southbound through the wineries. They specialize in “dry farming”, a technique which relies only on natural annual rainfall for growing grapes that puts stress on the vines to ultimately reduce the skin to juice ratio for more intense flavor development. Winemaker, Kirk Venge, is third-generation in this talented family of viticulturists. In fact, Kirk’s father, Nils Venge, was the first American winemaker to receive a perfect “100 points” from Robert Parker for his Groth Reserve Cabernet in 1985. So yes, there’s some serious history of delicious wine in this family and they are worthy of securing a place on your wine visit itinerary.

Bone Ash Vineyard outside the lovely tasting room which has just one parking spot out front

We made our appointment for 10am (vacation rules of wine drinking for breakfast apply?) and after being welcomed through the callbox at the private gate entrance, we parked our Prius in the one parking spot outside the tasting room. Our host, Bradley, welcomed us in and told us to make ourselves “at home” which, well, was easy because the facility actually used to be a home. The windows next to our table faced the rolling estate vineyards, and the space felt like we were enjoying the comfort of a living room. Then…he started pouring the wines and that’s when we knew we had truly arrived in wine country! The 2013 Maldonado Vineyard Chardonnay kicked things off with an almost tropical finish followed by the 2013 Pinot Noir from the Bacigalupi Vineyard (…if you’ve seen the movie Bottle Shock then you’ll appreciate knowing that this vineyard contains 50% of vines which produced the wine served during the Judgment of Paris!) which expressed bright, clean, fruit tones. I personally prefer a bit of Oregon-style, dirty, earthiness in my Pinots, but my husband was a huge fan of the clean, bright, fruit on the nose and finish on this one. Their 2013 Scouts Honor Proprietary Red (a blend of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Charbana, and Syrah) was the epitome of a “pizza pasta wine” with spice on the nose and a food-friendly smoothness.

The setup feels like school but then they bring wine and you know it's better than school

Next up on the tasting flight was the 2012 Oakville Estate Vineyard Merlot…and this is when time stopped for a moment and I heard angels sing. Bradley got a kick out of my not-so-subtle reaction to the fantastic plums and roses on the nose, the strong tannins on the palate, and the jammy, long finish. He had decanted it for an hour prior to serving it to us which likely enhanced the complexity of this huge vino. My husband had never experienced a true Napa Merlot like this before, and his face was also priceless. For all the bad publicity this little varietal has gotten in recent years, it’s exciting to find incredible expressions of the grape coming to fruition again and knocking our socks off.

Learning about Cab vs. Merlot is like learning about Sagas vs. Short Stories

The tasting finale pour was the 2012 Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon and again, wow. Just wow. The grapes for this vintage were collected from six different locations including the Bone Ash Vineyard located right outside the windows of our table in the tasting room. There was so much spice layered into the dark fruit with a balanced lacing of vanilla and caramel on the palate. Unlike the Merlot, however, this Cab lingered for what felt like hours on the tongue with an almost raisin-like finish. If I recall, I looked up from my glass with the biggest smile on my face and told Bradley that this was the best wine I’d tasted in a very long time (and I don’t think this was just because I’d consumed an entire wine tasting flight before 11am). I was also just so happy to find two common red varietals being expressed so truly to varietal standards. In a moment of pure genius, Bradley described the difference between the Merlot and the Cabernet Sauvignon as the difference between a “short story” and a “saga” – brilliant! I can almost still taste the saga-like finish of the Cab as I type this two months later…

Needless to say, we took that Cab home with us as the first of our “Honeymoon Wines” from the trip. But because taking wine home on the airplane is not as easy as it used to be, Bradley also hooked us up with a wine shipping box that could be checked as luggage at the conclusion of our adventure. We tucked that gorgeous bottle of Cab snuggly in one of the canisters, packed the case box in the trunk of the Prius, let Bradley take a photo of us on the porch in front of the Bone Ash Vineyard (had to), and headed out down the private road for more adventures.

And that is the type of magic that can happen before noon when you’re in Napa. A successful “Stop 1” at Venge Vineyards. If we would ever get off the waitlist to be in their Wine Guild which is limited to 1,000 members…I’d be one happy wine nerd. Til then? Well, we wait for the perfect occasion to pop the cork on that one bottle of the coveted Cab.