You've Got [Wine] Mail

When I joined Twitter back in January, I never thought it would result in a box of wine being delivered to my doorstep. But in a beautiful, roundabout way…that’s exactly what happened. Twitter has been an integral game-changer for building my brand and connecting with fellow wine enthusiasts. I’ve also been thrilled about the many direct contacts I’ve had already with wineries, distributors, retailers, restaurants, celebrities (ok, no, not yet this one…but my friends have…so it’s possible?) simply by typing out a message made up of 140 characters @ their account.

I love social media, and I absolutely love Facebook, but this whole Twitter-verse thing opened up more opportunities to constantly stay up on the latest wine events/knowledge/news/gossip. What this translates to is that ever since I activated my Twitter account, well, I’m never bored. There’s always someone to talk to, always something to read, and always someone tasting a new wine that intrigues me – cue story leading to wine mail:



One day, while scrolling through my Twitter Feed, I noticed a photo by @SLHousman (Sherri Housman, a wine blogger and Certified Tourism Ambassador of Sonoma County and #SonomaChat) containing a wine label that was unfamiliar to me along with the description, “tastes of dark cherries, blackberries, wet stone w/a great earthy finish!”….I almost drooled. That combination of flavor would blow my mind, so I responded with a nerdy wine comment followed by, “I will need to search this out and try it.”

Thanks to the magic and instantaneous interaction brought to us by Twitter, both Sherri and the winery replied to me within the hour. Meadowcroft, the Sonoma County winery, asked if I was local because they would love to pour their wines for me (wait, what?) and asked that I message them directly. It's a times like these that I find myself wishing for a teleportation device or, better yet, a reason to move to California. When Meadowcroft’s Twitter account told me that they don’t distribute to Georgia, I thought that would be the sad ending to a once-exciting pursuit of wine. But what came next? Boom:

Did a winery just offer to send me their wine simply because they want me to try it? Is this real life? Is this some kind of twisted social media initiation lesson resulting in my identity being stolen once I give them my credit card number to pay for the shipment? Oh yes, my mind definitely went there coupled with all the other thoughts of disbelief that this was some kind of sketchy internet business. I emailed with them back and forth a few times, but when they never called to get my payment information, a cloud of concern and doubt rolled in. Thankfully, however, this turned out to be one instance in which my gut feeling of doubt was completely unsubstantiated because after checking on the status of the shipment and expressing my concern to provide payment after the delay, they 1) apologized (they are small and had a busy weekend!) and 2) offered to send the wine for the cost of only a tasting fee.

A week later, a box of wine arrived at my apartment, and I was still in shock from the kindness, generosity, and outstanding customer service.

The best kind of mail is WINE mail.

So what do you do with the first complimentary bottle of wine shipped to you for review? Well first, you freak out and tell all your friends and family because you still can’t believe it (…check…) then you invite your favorite wine friends to join you for a celebratory tasting night to review the wine and provide feedback to the winery.

Even the cat had to lick it to make sure it was real.

After rounding up the party group, I wanted to make the tasting experience as blinded as possible for my friends in hopes of gathering the most honest, genuine opinions. Thus, I refrained from disclosing information about the winery, the growing region, the varietal, the cost, etc. We settled in around a table with note pads and snacks from Trader Joe’s – because, let’s be honest, they seriously have some of the best wine tasting snacks i.e. Fig & Olive Crisps – and I poured the wine evenly into our glasses. I had strategically invited a diverse spectrum of wine experience to this tasting night because one of my favorite things to do is to knock down any preconceived notions that wine tasting is an unapproachable activity or worse, something that only “wine people” can enjoy.

Trader Joe's has the perfect wine-person-on-a-budget snacks for wine tasting nights.

Before we began, I emphasized that there is no “right” or “wrong” answer tonight. I encouraged each person to write everything they smelled, tasted, thought, felt on the paper in front of them without speaking to one another. I also instructed a few basic steps to follow while tasting:

1. Hold up the glass – what colors do you see? Does it change in the light
2. Put your nose in there – what does it smell like? Fruit? Spice? Earth? Minerals?
3. Take a sip, and slide the wine to the back of your palate – what do you feel as the wine hits your tongue? Is it heavy? Is it soft? Does it linger after it’s gone?
4. Take another sip, a bigger sip, and swish it around a bit – what does it taste like? Does it taste like something at the beginning and change to something else at the end? Is it fruity? Is it spicy? How does it feel  - Thick? Thin? Soft? Sharp?
5. Based on the flavors and smells, what type of food would you want to eat with this wine?
6. And finally, perhaps most importantly…do you like it? Would you buy it again? Rate it on a scale of 1 (the worst) to 5 (the best).

Look, smell, taste...repeat.

And with the conclusion of my demo, the tasting commenced. There was giggling, there were inquisitive looks, and there were smiles…but there was also a sense of empowerment. I noticed a sense of confidence among my friends as they enjoyed a freedom to explore the wine for their own personal opinions.

Once everyone had time to log their thoughts, I collected the papers and we shared our ratings and tasting notes in an energized discussion of the results. We all noticed different flavors and smells, but surprisingly there was a common consensus in the ratings and the identification of an easy-drinking quality of the wine that improved as it sat open to the air.

Gathering tasting notes in a blinded exploration.

Here are the notes, in all their short/random/scatterbrained/raw glory:

TASTER 1: Dark fruit nose, tastes like a zinfandel, great balance, light front palate, light bodied finish with bright acidity, tight flavors at first but a burst of flavor at the end, dark cherries, slight oak, not typical Cabernet finish, would go well with a salty/meaty dinner like roasted vegetables, needs time to breathe and tastes better/softer in second glass. RATING: 3.5

TASTER 2: Dark, bold/strong, smells like grapes, tastes improves the more I drink, would go well with steak/potatoes. RATING: 4

TASTER 3: Dark, full body, good legs, smells like hints of cherries, smooth, mild taste, it’s fruity, it’s safe, would be a good table wine for pasta. RATING: 3.5

TASTER 4: Chocolate, zesty, smooth, easy to drink, I like the label! RATING: 4

TASTER 5: Color – deep red, low clarity. Nose – blackberry, baking spices, pie crust (?), jammy. Mouthfeel – medium thickness. Taste – Medium-plus acidity, mildly tannic, tastes young, spicy, blackberry, medium finish, hint of earth. Is it a California Zinfandel? Or maybe a Pinot Noir? Pairing – Mexican, Italian pasta with red sauce. RATING: 3 ….but if I knew it was a Cabernet? 2.

Case in point, wine is a personal experience. Each person will enjoy a unique expression of flavors and smells, so it’s having the opportunity to explore exactly what types of qualities are preferred that will maximize that experience to the utmost enjoyment. I look forward to facilitating more tasting exploration classes in the future, and hey, maybe more wine will start showing up on my doorstep. No? That's not how that works? Yeah, probably not, so I will continue to purchase my bottles at retailers like everyone else while always remembering this occurrence as an awesome story in my wine blogger adventure.

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Thank you to Meadowcroft Wines for the top quality customer service and wine shipment. Meadowcroft, the owner’s family name, means “the fertile field on the meadow” and the honeybee on the label symbolizes their hard work, a journey of mastering discipline, and the process of transforming grapes from single vineyards into wine.

www.meadowcroftwines.com

Tasting Room
23574 Arnold Dr./Hwy. 121
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 934-4090
Info@meadowcroftwines.com