Holman Ranch 2013 Kelly’s Press Pinot Noir, Carmel Valley

Great Pinot Noir can be found in California outside of the strongholds of Carneros and Sonoma. Case in point: this Pinot from Carmel Valley.

Grapes From Scenic Carmel

We have news for you. Carmel, California, isn’t just a scenic California seaside destination. There’s some mighty good wine from this region too. Some of our favorite wine from the region comes from Holman Ranch, a stunning 400 acre property that includes a fully restored historic stone hacienda, overnight guest rooms, vineyards and wine caves, olive grove, horse stables and two tasting rooms.

The winery on the property was completed in 2012 and is completely underground to take advantages of the natural cooling and humidity. The 3,000 square foot area maintains 58⁰ F temperature year-round.

Ideal Pinot Microclimate

Holman Ranch is located 12 miles inland from the Pacific. The warmth of the inland valley and the cooling of the marine layer provides an ideal microclimate for Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. The vineyards are between 950 and 1,150 feet in elevation on soil with good drainage.

No pesticides or herbicides are used on the vines. Holman Ranch is certified sustainable and organic – all pluses in our eyes.

Pork Chop and Pinot

Last week Green Dragon proclaimed that we were going to have pork chops for dinner and I needed to select a good wine to pair with the meal. Kelly’s Press seemed the ideal match.

The meal included stuffed pork chops with sage stuffing with brandied apples and baked potato. Pinot Noir is a great pairing with pork. A heavy red like Cabernet Sauvignon can overpower a pork dish and a white wine, if too meek and mild, could disappear.

Kelly’s Press is the lightest of the Holman Ranch Pinot Noir offerings. I previously had sampled, and greatly enjoyed, the Heather’s Hill and Hunters’ Cuvee. It was time to see if Kelly’s Press was a good match with our meal – and how it stacked up to other Holman Ranch Pinot.

In the glass the wine is light garnet with a medium body. The flavor profile is herbal with cherry highlights. As you might expect, the tannins are very light. There is good acidity that gives the wine a playful spirit.

Together, Kelly’s Press and the pork chops bonded perfectly. The sage dressing pulled out the herbal notes in the wine. The brandied apples weren’t a very good pairing – and probably wouldn’t be with any wine. The apples, though delicious, were too sweet and we needed to munch on another part of the entrée before sipping the wine again.

Holman Ranch offers an enticing portfolio of Pinot Noir. In addition to those mentioned above, it also offers a very good Estate Pinot Noir. If you are rambunctious, you can purchase a vertical of 2010, 2011 and 2012 Pinot Noir. The pinnacle of their Pinot Noir is Jarman, which prices out at $80.

Kelly’s Press retails for a nice price of $26. It represents a great value and is a super addition to your dinner table.

Full disclaimer: This wine was received as a marketing sample.

2016 Wine Index Shows Countries With Most And Least Affordable Vino

Not only is it hot in the United Arab Emirates, but the the cost of buying a bottle of wine there is the highest amongst 65 countries in the just released Wine Price Index.

Where Is The Least Expensive Bottle of Wine?

The 2016 Wine Price Index, a comprehensive study comparing the cost of wine in 65 countries worldwide, has just been released. The study was commissioned by peer-to-peer motorhome rental platform SHAREaCAMPER. I hadn’t heard of SHAREaCAMPER before, but the sharing economy sure seems to be working for Airbnb, so why not?

We continue to search for the wine best value out there. While visiting Spain and South Africa, the prices were startling good. They are on the list of good values, but the Wine Price Index has countries that do a lot better. SHAREaCAMPER points out that wine travel is becoming one of the biggest travel trends of 2016 and so this information can help travelers choose wine travel destinations that suit their budget.

The Index averages and compares local and imported wine prices in each country, allowing travellers and wine lovers a bird’s eye view on the consumer wine industry across the globe. The United Arab Emirates was the most expensive destination for average wine costs, while Paraguay offered the least expensive wine options.

The US ranked in position 35 with an average cost of $15.23 for a 750ml bottle of wine, factoring in both local and imported wines. This compares to Paraguay, which offered the least expensive wine at an average price of $7.55 per bottle, whilst at the other end of the ranking United Arab Emirates calculated at a cost over five times higher, at $39.02 per 750ml bottle. US citizens consume an average 11.40 litres (just over three gallons) of wine per capita annually, ranking 33rd in the world for litres consumed.

The study revealed the 10 most affordable countries to buy wine are:

	Country	Average Local	Average Imported	Overall Average	Consumption (liters per capita annually)
1	Paraguay	$5.87	$9.24	$7.55	6.40
2	Serbia	$8.12	$8.65	$8.38	28.80
3	Czech Republic	$6.56	$10.32	$8.44	7.40
4	Argentina	$9.53	$8.21	$8.87	32.30
5	Panama	/	$9.27	$9.27	1.45
6	Malta	$10.73	$8.59	$9.66	17.70
7	Turkey	$8.57	$11.31	$9.94	1.00
8	Bulgaria	$9.64	$11.98	$10.81	13.70
9	Nepal	$5.19	$16.56	$10.87	0.02
10	New Zealand	$9.81	$12.21	$11.01	25.80

Full results of the research can be found on the SHAREaCAMPER website here. You’ll get to see the ratings for Germany, Spain, France and other countries.

 

The Biggest Guzzlers? Luxembourg

Further findings from the ranking include:

• The top five most expensive countries to buy wine overall were the United Arab Emirates at $39.02 a bottle, Singapore at $38.54, Maldives at $35.88, Israel at $30.22 and South Korea costing $29.20.
• The country with the most affordable local wine is Nepal costing an average of $5.19 a bottle, whilst the most expensive was Venezuela, at an average of $25.94 a bottle.
• The country with the most affordable imported wine is South Africa costing $6.08 a bottle, with the most expensive being Israel with a bottle costing $45.32 on average.
• The country that consumes the most per capita annually was Luxembourg at 61.30, followed closely by Portugal at 55.40, and France at 53.60 liters.

“Wine tourism connects travelers with local culture and is consistently a great source of wonderful memories.” said Florian Dahlmann, CEO of SHAREaCAMPER. “It may be the romantic or the relaxing aspects of the drink, but we see a consistent and growing number of our travelers picking wineries as a premier destination.”

To create the ranking, SHAREaCAMPER began with a list of 20 of the top producing wine regions and then added other countries of significance. They then averaged the cost of several bottles of locally produced white wine and several bottles of locally produced red wine from numerous outlets within the country, including at least one winery and one national supermarket. The cost of up to 10 imported wines largely available across the globe was then averaged, sourcing these costs from national supermarkets, restaurants and hotels. Where no local wines were available, only the imported wine cost was taken into account to create the final ranking. LitersLitres per annum figures were taken from reports by the Wine Institute and International Organization of Vine and Wine using the most recent publicly available statistics. All prices were calculated by standardizing the sizes of wines to a 750ml bottle, and with monetary transactions true to exchange rates on October 4th 2016.

Apothic Inferno Ignites Complex Flavors

Apothic Inferno is a small batch, limited production wine that is aged in used whiskey barrels. Does the wine live up to the hype?

What’s The Buzz?

I didn’t realize that Apothic Inferno is creating a bit of a frenzy until I visited my local wine shop. I was in Walt Churchill’s Market in Perrysburg speaking to the wine manager Mario Salpietro. The conversation turned to the new release Apothic Inferno. He mentioned that he was able to score a small supply of the wine – but many other stores were having difficulty getting it at all.

Apothic Red took the everyday wine world by storm a few years ago. It is a nice drinking red blend that delivers taste well above its price. Since then Apothic has had a number of brand extensions including Apothic White, Apothic Crush and Apothic Dark. In this age of Millennial wine marketing, however, a wine’s time in the spotlight can be limited as purchasers move on to the next “big thing.”

Apothic Inferno and Burgers

Apothic Inferno is a red blend – the particular grapes I wasn’t able to discover. I’m sure there must be Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel – probably Merlot as well. But the claim to fame of this wine, is its whiskey soul. It is aged in used whiskey barrels for 60 days.

We think that is fabulous. I like the idea of craft beverage makers sharing resources. It seems very sustainable. There are whiskey barrel beers and some spirits aged in wine barrels. The proof, though, is in the bottle.

We weren’t sure what to pair with this “flaming” wine, so we opted for some gourmet burgers made with pork. Green Dragon and I sat down with a bodacious burger and a full glass of Apothic Inferno.

I was a bit skeptical, not expecting to have an out-of-body experience with a $16.99 wine. The Inferno immediately won us over. Medium garnet red in the glass, the whiskey barrel heritage is evident in the bouquet. 

On the tongue it is very expressive, with a touch of smoky sweetness. As we sipped and noshed on the burgers, Green Dragon declared that this is a wine she would buy again. There are layers of maple flavor and a great deal of depth. It’s an interesting wine that piques the curiosity.

Apothic Inferno is hot, hot, hot. It may not replace a 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet – but it delivers drinking satisfaction by the boatload.This is a limited production wine, so we recommend that you purchase multiple bottles when you find it. There’s no guarantee you’ll see it in the store again.

Full disclosure: We received this wine as a marketing sample.

Best Fruit, Best Regions Key Two Hands Aussie Shiraz Success

In Australia the Syrah grape is known as Shiraz. The warmer temperature and ideal growing conditions allow full ripening and a bold, blockbuster style.

Australia Rocks Shiraz

We are enormous fans of Syrah. Whether it is from the Rhone region or Washington State, it is a grape that delights us with often earthy and brambly flavors. In many New World countries, especially Australia, the grape is called Shiraz. It’s unclear where the name came from. Perhaps it was believed that the grape originated in the Persian city of Shiraz and somehow migrated to France.

Shiraz is an iconic Australian wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon is to Napa Valley. The Shiraz in Australia is bursting with berry rich flavor, whereas Syrah in other countries can be bottled with heavy tannins. If you, like me in days past, had a mental image of Australian Shiraz as being a sweeter red wine – it’s time to make that thought go “poof.” We explored a pair of Shiraz from Down Under during a recent Wine Studio online learning program.

Two Hands Winery Aims To Highlight Terroir Differences

Two Hands Winery was founded in 1999 by Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz. Today, Two Hands is owned by Michael, together with Colorado native Tim Hower. The goal then and now is to make the best possible Shiraz-based wines from prized growing regions throughout Australia. Determined to be different than the formulaic style of Shiraz sold internationally, Two Hands turned the focus on spotlighting the regional and vineyard characteristics. In short, they are focused on the fruit.

Two Hands has several wine ranges. The Flagship is their top tier, with a strict classification process that only allows the use of the best barrels of wine in production. The Garden Series is a super premium range from six of the finest Shiraz growing regions in Australia. In addition to the Single Vineyard series, the Picture Series is the point of entry with unique and regionally distinctive wines.
We explored two bottles from the Picture Series paired with handcrafted pizzas.

Angels and Dudes!

A hallmark of the Picture Series is the irreverent attitude. The two wines we sampled were Angel’s Share and Gnarly Dudes. The Cabernet is dubbed Sexy Beast.

Angel’s Share refers to the small amount of wine that evaporates from oak barrels during aging. Medieval winemakers assumed that angels were watching the process and they took their share. Luckily they left enough for us to enjoy with our pepperoni, green pepper and Colby cheese pizza.

Angel’s Share is from the famed McLaren Vale appellation. In the glass, the wine is dark red with a purple edge. This is a vibrant wine that bursts upon the palate. On the tongue there are deep cherry flavor notes. There is also an herbal aspect to the wine punctuated with notes of spice.

The wine is aged for 12 months in a combination French and American oak. The ABV is 14.5%, but this is a beautifully balanced wine with no feeling of extra “heat.” It retails for about $42.

Green Dragon cooked up two other gourmet pizzas, a thin crust barbeque chicken and spinach pizza and a basil, tomato, feta Mediterranean pizza. Clearly we needed more Shiraz!

Gnarly Dudes was inspired by the Cohen Brothers movie The Big Lebowski and is also named for the gnarly old Shiraz vines used. The grapes are from Barossa Valley, Australia’s most famous wine region. In the glass, as you can see in the above photo, the Dude is a much darker purple. While the Angel’s Share was all about red fruit and herbs, the Gnarly Dudes is rich and plush with deep blackberry flavors. This is a refined and integrated wine.

The aging is done for 12 months with 15% in new French oak and the remainder in one to six-year-old French oak barrels. The alcohol is 13.5%. Not only did the Dude stand up to a spicy pizza, it had great length –with a finish that lingered mightily. This wine retails for about $32.

From the first sip, the care that went into the growing of the fruit and the winemaking are evident. Both Shiraz are solid enjoyment from the word “go.” They are available in the US and can be found online. 
Full disclosure: These wines were received as a marketing sample.

Split Personality? Dry Creek Vineyard Crafts Two Very Different Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc is a sprightly wine, bright with acidity. The wine maker’s touch can produce elegance or electricity.

Deciphering Fumé Blanc

Are you a wine lover who is puzzled when greeted with a bottle of Fumé Blanc? It’s from California, but the exotic jargon may cause shoppers to stroll down the aisle. Don’t make that mistake!

Fumé Blanc is Sauvignon Blanc. The term was originally coined by Robert Mondavi’s winery. Some credit this marketing effort with propelling Sauvignon Blanc to become the second most popular white wine variety in California (behind Chardonnay). The term sometimes means an oaky style of Sauvignon Blanc.

Dry Creek Vineyard has a long history with Sauvignon Blanc. Winery founder David Stare loved the fresh Sauvignon Blanc of France’s Loire Valley. He became the first person to plant Sauvignon Blanc in the Dry Creek Valley AVA. Forty years later, Fumé Blanc continues to be the flagship wine of Dry Creek Vineyard.

There is no oak aging with the 2015 Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc. It is fermented in stainless steel and is crisp and balanced. On the nose there are citrus notes and a waft of minerality.

On the palate there is a refreshing rush of honeysuckle and apricots. It is a light wine with a vibrant acidity. It impresses with clean and pure flavors.

A perfect wine for hot weather – or to stir up sunny memories during a chilly fall. At $14, why stop at buying only one bottle?

Sauvignon Blanc Musqué Anyone?

With 40 years of pioneering Sauvignon Blanc in California, Dry Creek Vineyard has a few tricks up their sleeve. They produce five different Sauvignon Blanc wines including a dessert wine. They have a pair of single vineyard releases including the 2014 Taylor’s Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc Musqué.

So what exactly is Sauvignon Blanc Musqué, you may ask. It is a Sauvignon Blanc clone. A clone is a subvariety of a particular grape that may have slight differences in aroma, flavor, vine health or ripening ability. For example, there are hundreds of Pinot Noir clones. Don’t confuse it with a “cross,” which is when two different grape varieties are cross-bred.

This wine comes from Taylor’s Vineyard on the western bench of Dry Creek Valley. It receives no oak aging to preserve its fresh fruit flavors.

In the glass it is pale yellow and swirling releases a grassy aroma with whiffs of citrus. It is a medium-bodied wine with a bit more restraint than the angular New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. There is a nice flowing acidity with crisp grapefruit flavors. The finish provides a pop of acid on the tongue.

The Musqué adds complexity compared with the typical Sauvignon Blanc. The flavors are deeper, the body fuller and a richer texture. This wine also has the potential to age for about five years – something that isn’t typical for most white wines. It would be interesting to see how the flavor profile changes in a few years.

This duo of wines shows the possibilities of Sauvignon Blanc. The Fumé is a crowd pleasing wine for any occasion. The delicious Taylor’s Vineyard Musqué provides a more adventurous experience. It still is a strong value at $20. Regrettably, the 2014 vintage has been sold out – but this wine has been produced each year since 2011, so expect a new vintage in the not too distant future.

Full disclosure: We received these wines as marketing samples.

Lodi Wine Dinner Displays Diversity of Unique Region

We enjoyed the wines of the Lodi California AVA so much, we just had to “revisit” them for a special wine dinner.

Yep, Lodi Is More Than Zinfandel

Forty percent of California Zinfandel hails from Lodi, where more than 20,000 acres of it are planted. That’s not a bad thing, there is some incredible Zin from Lodi. But as our recent visit to Lodi for the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference proved, there’s a world of exciting winemaking going on there – and it all doesn’t start with the letter Z.

Lodi is predominately a red wine region with about two-thirds of the vineyards devoted to reds. There are more than 100 grape varieties including all of California’s leading grapes plus those from Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy and the Southern Rhone. You can find out more about Lodi in our recent article.

We were so blown away by the quality of Lodi wines, that we jumped at the chance to participate in a virtual wine tasting by Snooth. As is our style, the Green Dragon prepared an amazing wine dinner and we were joined by good friends to sample the wine before the online activities started.

Lodi White A Stellar Start

A great discovery from #WBC16 was that Lodi has some superb white wines. Right at the top of the list are wines by Acquiesce, Lodi’s only dedicated white wine winery. The vines are lightly watered and thinned. Grapes are handpicked and whole-cluster pressed to optimize fruity characteristics.

Our meal kicked off with the 2015 Acquiesce Belle Blanc. Belle Blanc is a blend of 45% Grenache Blanc, 45% Roussane and 10% Viognier. This is a Rhone-style white from the Lodi Mokelumne River AVA. The grapes come from Tablas Creek Winery in Paso Robles, which is well known for popularizing Rhone varieties in California. The grape clones are from cuttings from the famous French Chateau de Beaucastel in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

While the winemaking team at Acquiesce were busy obsessing about making great white wine, Green Dragon was in the kitchen whipping up a superb dish. Our first dish was an organic beet salad with crispy chevre crouton accompanied with a swordfish skewer.

This was a golden combination! The Belle Blanc had a warm, tingly apple flavor. The Roussane brings more substantial body to the wine and Viognier adds its wonderful honeysuckle aroma. It is a balanced and food-friendly wine. This is a limited production wine of only 288 cases produced under the stringent Lodi Rules certification. Only $26? Are you kidding me? It is worth that for the elegant bottle alone.

Grenache In The House

Our next wine was the 2013 Grenache from McCay Cellars, and our friends pronounced this wine simply as “dynamite.” Michael McCay and his family have farmed in Lodi for more than 20 years. Michael’s winemaking style includes natural fermentation, a layered “Old World” style, and a concentration on Rhone varieties.

What do you pair with a Lodi Grenache? The Green Dragon opted for butternut squash soup with pork tenderloin, cranberry gravy and wild rice. The cranberry gravy is a favorite of mine – it is a blend of cranberries plus onions. Sounds a bit off-balance perhaps, but it works in a delightful way.

Our guests Maria and the Cabernetor provided important tasting notes as we worked through this gastronomic masterpiece. The McCay Grenache is garnet colored in the glass. Cabernetor proclaimed this as a highly flexible wine that could stand up to an even heartier entree.

The wine has delicious notes of red fruit and cola. It is 100 percent Grenache finished in natural oak with native fermentation. It undergoes malolactic fermentation, which enhances its rich, smooth texture.

This is another “micro-production” wine with 309 cases produced. It is a wallet-friendly $32 and punches above its weight class.

Italy Comes To Lodi

I don’t think I’m the only one to be surprised to hear of the Italian grape variety Nero d’Avola growing in Lodi. The Lange Twins 2014 Nero d’Avola is their first vintage of this grape. We hope to taste many more.

The winery is a fifth generation family farm. Randall and Brad Lange (the twins) have focused on ecologically responsible winemaking and this bottle is certified sustainable. Nero d’Avola is an Italian variety with roots in Sicily. Historically it was used to add color to light red wines, but recently has made a name for itself as a stand-alone wine.

The wine did not have to stand alone at our table, as it was accompanied by chicken cacciatore over egg noodles. Our crew gave this first vintage an enthusiastic thumbs up. It was a more robust wine than the previous Grenache and opens with rustic and earth notes. While the Grenache was all about red fruit, the Nero had deeper notes of black cherry.

Aging is done is both French and neutral American oak barrels. This allows the fruit to show nicely but adds a light touch of oak. Aging is for 18 months. Currently this wine is exclusively available at the winery.

Klinker Is Not A Klunker

We’ve been fans of Klinker Brick Winery for many years. In fact, we met Farrah for which the Klinker Brick 2013 Farrah Syrah is named at a wine tasting a number of years ago. The wines are all flavorful and tremendously over-deliver on quality for the price.

Speaking of over-delivering, Green Dragon prepared a delicious herbed rack of lamb with oven roasted Asiago cauliflower to pair with the Syrah. Lamb is a classic pairing with Syrah, so we were anxious to begin sipping away.

The Farrah Syrah is also from the Lodi Mokelumne River AVA. It is aged in French oak for 15 months. The alcohol percentage is 14.9%, on the upper end for fine wines.

This is a smoky, beautiful wine. We detected licorice and spice flavor notes. It’s balanced and smooth – a great match for our grilled food.

As this quartet amply demonstrates, Lodi is a diverse wine region. It offers many pleasurable surprises for wine lovers. We suggest you explore this area – a bottle at a time.

Full disclosure: These wines were received as marketing samples.

2016’s Best and Worst Foodie Cities

Think New Orleans or New York are pretty great cities for foodies? Certainly in the top 10? Not the case according to a recently revealed survey. Spoiler Alert: Steer clear of North Las Vegas.

And The Winners Are…

To find the best and cheapest foodie scenes in the U.S., personal finance website WalletHub compared the 150 most populated cities across 21 key metrics, ranging from “cost of groceries” to “affordability and accessibility of high-quality restaurants” to “number of food festivals per capita.” 

Factored into the ratings were key metrics (at least to us) including average beer and wine price, number of restaurants per capita, number of food trucks per capita, number of craft breweries and wineries per capita, access to healthy food options and number of food festivals per capita.

I would have put Seattle right at the top trailed closely by San Francisco – but alas, it wasn’t my research project. Both cities were in the top 10, but they lagged behind the leader. Incredibly enough (or perhaps not) the winner is Orlando!

Here’s The List of the Top 10 Cities:

1. Orlando, FL
2. Portland, OR
3. Miami, FL
4. Tampa, FL
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Cincinnati, OH
7. St. Louis, MO
8. Salt Lake City, UT
9. Richmond, VA
10. Seattle, WA

Interestingly, Seattle just edged out Rochester, NY. The Big Apple languishes at number 54. In case you wonder, New Orleans came in at 34 – below cities like Grand Rapids, MI, and Cleveland.

There are some great gems on this list, including Richmond, Cincinnati and St. Louis. These are cities that don’t automatically come to mind as culinary capitols – but they have vibrant food scenes.

There Is No Joy In Mudville – The Bottom 10

For every joyously celebrating “best foodie” city, there is a flip side – the worst foodie cities. Here is the list of the bottom 10.

141. Garland, TX
142. Fayetteville, NC
143. Jackson, MS
144. San Bernardino, CA
145. Aurora, IL
146. Fontana, CA
147. Montgomery, AL
148. Grand Prairie, TX
149. Moreno Valley, CA
150. North Las Vegas, NV

I’m not sure how North Las Vegas will react, but the Texans in Garland and Grand Prairie won’t take kindly to this blemish on their civic pride. However, Laredo, Texas earns points for having the lowest average prices for beer and wine of the cities measured.

Fun Foodie Facts

Here are some interesting insights from the survey results:

• Laredo, Texas, has the lowest grocery cost index, 79, which is two times lower than in Honolulu, the city with the highest, 158.9. 
• Orlando, Fla., has the most restaurants per 100,000 residents, 1,176.38, which is 9.8 times more than in Santa Clarita, Calif., the city with the fewest, 120.09. 
• Santa Rosa, Calif., has the highest ratio of full-service restaurants to fast-food establishments, 1.74, which is 3.1 times higher than in Jackson, Miss., the city with the lowest, 0.57. 
• Portland, Ore., has the most coffee and tea shops per 100,000 residents, 103.92, which is 29.5 times more than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the fewest, 3.52.   
• Miami has the most gourmet specialty-food stores per 100,000 residents, 117.46, which is 14.5 times more than in Gilbert, Ariz., the city with the fewest, 8.08. 
• Cincinnati has the most grocery stores per 100,000 residents, 128.29, which is 13.8 times more than in Santa Clarita, Calif., the city with the fewest, 9.32. 
• San Francisco has the most cooking schools per 100,000 residents, 6.36, which is 28 times more than in Raleigh, N.C., the city with the fewest, 0.22.

To see the full results of the survey, visit this WalletHub link.

How To Host An Amazing Blind Wine Tasting

What is a blind tasting? How do you host one? What food should you serve? Here are the tips you need for a successful event.

What Is A Blind Tasting?

First of all, there are no blindfolds involved in a blind tasting. A blind tasting allows you to focus on the wine without the preconceptions that a bottle and the label might impart.

When you see a 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet from Stag’s Leap, your mind immediately sends a signal, “This is going to be an incredible bottle of wine.” If you see a bottle of Merlot and sip it, your sixth sense says, “Yeah, this tastes like Merlot.”

Take away the visual cues and it is a different ball game. Unknown wine regions compete on an equal footing with the big boys. Varieties like Cabernet Franc become more difficult to identify.

With a blind tasting, the bottles are concealed. This heightens the mystery and creates an outstanding social event.

Setting The Stage

The tips suggested here are straight from a recent smashingly successful blind wine tasting hosted by our good friends Glorious T and the Cabernetor. They are sensational party hosts and took their game to a new level with this event.

A key step in the blind tasting is the invitation. In this case, guests were asked to bring a single-variety wine (no blends) costing between $15 and $25. In several cases, guests brought a bottle of red and white. Part of the fun is guests guessing what each wine is. If you have a blend of seven exotic wine grapes, no one will have a clue. Guests were also invited to bring an appetizer to share – although in this case Glorious T got into a cooking frenzy and prepared almost all of it with the help of her friend Michelle.

You may have friends or their “plus one” who don’t know that much about wine. Provide a brief explanation about what is taking place – with the emphasis on fun.

Preparing The Vino

The anticipation is ruined if you see Joe walking in the door with a bottle of Cabernet for all the world to see. Not a whole lot of suspense there. Most guests get it and bring their bottles in a paper bag.

Cabernetor and I set up a staging area for the wine on their dinner table. While guests went into the kitchen to mingle, they handed off their bottles to us. Each red wine was placed into a cloth bag or a paper bag with a number. A few years ago, I got a nice blind wine tasting kit. It included five cloth bags each with a letter in the word WINES. So we had those “alphabet” wines and once we got above that number, Glorious T had printed some fancy numbers. Adding those to a paper bag added a touch of class.

The white wines were a different story. They were served out on the patio and were chilled in a large bucket of ice. Those were wrapped in aluminum foil and numbers were added.

Cabernetor and I were the only ones who knew all of the wines. The guests didn’t even know which bag contained their bottles. Insider tip” - be sure the foil or bag covers as much of the neck as possible – some wineries have their name on the neck or it is so distinctive it gives the identity away.

We were also on standby in case the wines needed to be supplemented with different bottles from Cabernetor’s cellar to provide variety.

The Event Unfolds

Each guest was given a cool tasting sheet that Glorious T found on Etsy.com. (This site also has other supplies for blind tastings.) The evening began with eats and mingling before official kickoff.  

As you can tell from the aerial photo by Cabernetor (he climbed up on a chair), the food was out of this world. It was a feast for the eye as well as the stomach. The appetizers were designed as one or two bites that could be paired with different wines and could be handled easily.

You will want to have a variety of foods. We would suggest shrimp, seafood and/or puff pastries for pairing with whites. One the red side, you’ll want some savory apps, perhaps some mushrooms, meatballs or olive dishes supplemented with spreads, dips and cheese. Don’t forget about the chocolate and sweet bites too.

With a house filled with guests and lively discussion, it was on to the white wines.

Blind Wine Tasting Unwrapped!

On the deck, the tasting began. We had a smaller number of white wines, but no shortage of discussion. The wines were indeed single varieties – but they included Torrontes, Kerner and Gruner Veltliner! It was a tasty way to get things going and the wine favorites were as controversial as the presidential debates. This was merely the opening act.

When tasting a dozen or more different wines, as we did, having bountiful good food is crucial. It’s also important to let your guests know that they don’t have to sample every wine and that they should start with small sips. Let them know dumping is OK too. At the end of the evening, you’ll want to make sure they get home safely.

There was quite a battle to select and identify the favorite red. Again (and I plead guilty) there were some offbeat reds, including Tannat, Dolcetto and a wine I brought from Turkey (Kalecik Karasi). Surprisingly, no one was able to successfully identify the Kalecik Karasi! We also had a couple of Cabernet, a Zin and Pinot Noir.

After all identified their favorite, the bottles were revealed. The top choice? A Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon from Wellington Vineyards. This sub-$20 bottle crushed the competition with its great value and taste.

Whether it is a small group or large, a blind wine tasting can add spice to your next party. We close with a loving look at all that great food!