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Wine Tasting Room Etiquette

By Brian on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011 | No Comments

By Kathleen Sullivan

Many small, boutique wineries are family-run businesses. Chances are quite good that you will meet one of the winery’s family members while visiting a winery. When visiting a wine tasting room consider yourself a guest. The owners and staff are proud of their facility and wines. They want everyone to enjoy their visit. Expectations in tasting rooms are different than at wine festivals or in busy bars. After visiting 125 wineries in the last nine months and talking with numerous wine hosts and visitors, we have created a selection of ideas to keep in mind when visiting a winery and vineyard.

The atmosphere in a winery tasting room is one of a subtle sophistication. While shorts and athletic shoes are acceptable so are semi-dress clothes. Do not arrive at the winery chewing gum. Gum will distort the taste of wine. Heavy perfume and aftershave will also not permit you or others near you to taste the wine effectively. Sense of taste is highly influenced by the sense of smell. Loud outside voices are not appropriate. Conversational tones are perfect and fit in well with talking about the wines you taste and meeting others who have common interests.

Tasting rooms can be crowded on weekends. Weekdays are generally slower and wine hosts have more time to talk about the wines you taste. In either case, if the tasting room is busy, do not elbow your way to the tasting bar. On busy days, some wineries will set up tasting tables or bars outside the tasting room. Give yourself plenty of time at a winery. Relax and enjoy the wine tasting and the ambiance of the tasting room. If the tasting counter is busy, consider stepping back to discuss wine with other like-minded people. This gives others room to step up for a tasting. Many wineries have gift selections to browse while tasting wines. Take your time tasting and browse the displays.

The tasting representative pours the tastings in a particular order based upon the style of wine. If you choose not to drink a particular wine that’s fine. Gently cover your wine glass with your fingers to indicate you do not want to taste a wine. It is so much more subtle than declaring, “I don’t like that wine.” Not all wine drinkers like all wines and wine hosts understand. Visitors do not need to announce to everyone that they dislike a particular wine.

Another major faux pas is to pick up a bottle and pour your own tasting. Allow your wine consultant to pour the wine. Many wineries will offer to sell you a glass of wine if you would like more. If you ask to taste a wine for a second time, it is a common courtesy to buy a bottle of the wine.

What should you do with the wine in your glass you have tasted? If you do not want to drink or taste the rest of the wine in your glass, you can pour it into a spit bucket. It is perfectly acceptable. In addition, it is a good idea to spit your wine into the bucket. Even though tastings are small, they do add up after a number of tastings. If you are unsure about spitting, practice at home. A frequently heard suggestion is to practice in the shower.

Do you think wineries are being stingy when they set out tiny crackers or tiny bites of cheese? Remember this is not your lunch. The purpose of the crackers, dips or cheese is to cleanse the palate and to help one decide how the wine pairs with food. Some wineries have restaurants, so if you want lunch visit the restaurant.

Do you want to enjoy a picnic lunch? Many wineries encourage visitors to bring a picnic lunch. Frequently picnic or patio tables are available. Ask in advance if it is okay to bring a picnic lunch and where to picnic on the grounds. Do not bring wine from another winery or any other kind of alcohol. Laws restrict wineries and many wineries are not permitted to have any other alcoholic beverage on their premises. Besides, if you were going to someone’s home for dinner, it would be tasteless to bring your own entr

Wine Labels Decoded

By Brian on Tuesday, September 20th, 2011 | No Comments

By Ken Finnigan

Even for the avid wine drinker, deciding on a bottle of wine can be a daunting task with so many varieties of wine on the market today. Wine labels don’t help either with the various terms in foreign languages and the small print. Sometimes reading a wine label makes you feel like you need a secret decoder ring, but rest assured that this is not to confuse you the customer, but rather to help you. The information on the label is there to tell you about the wine and also the winery and conditions of production. Once you have an idea of what to look for on a wine label, deciphering it shouldn’t require much effort.

The Brand Name: This is the name of the company that has produced the wine. Most often this is the name of the winery or bottler if the winery has several different brands.

Vintage: Most wines will carry the vintage somewhere on the bottle, although this is not a mandatory requirement and will not be on all bottles. A vintage is the year that the grapes used were harvested. Most wine producing countries have laws that require at least 85 percent of the grapes used to be harvested in the specified year of vintage although in the United States this figure can be as high as 95 percent.

Appellation of Origin: This is the geographical area where the grapes were grown, for example “California” or more a more specific vineyard. Most countries have strict laws regarding an appellation classification, which is why like the vintage; at least 85 percent of the grapes used must be from their specified region.

Wine Type: This specifies the grapes used to make the wine. Again this can be as broad as “Red Table Wine” or as specific as Merlot or Chardonnay. Most wine producing countries allow the use of some non-varietal grapes in the blend. In Europe and Australia, at least 85 percent of the wine’s content must be from the named varietals, while in some parts of the United States this figure is much lower at about 75 percent.

Producer and Bottler: What this part of the bottle signifies varies greatly depending on where the bottle of wine originates from. If grapes are harvested and bottled at the winery it is considered to be “estate bottled” and the label will state this using Mise en bouteille(s) au Chateau (French), Gutsabf

Lodi Wine Country

By Brian on Monday, August 15th, 2011 | No Comments

By Kathy Howe

Located in a rural area east of San Francisco by the Sacramento River Delta, the Lodi Wine Country is characterized by its warm sunny days, cool breezy nights, and sandy soils. These conditions make this region a prime grape growing area. 18% of California’s wine grapes come from Lodi.

Visitors to the Lodi Wine Country will appreciate the rural atmosphere and friendly tasting rooms. Wine tasting is usually complimentary. While sampling wine in this area, you may notice the abundance of Old Vine Zinfandel. Lodi is fortunate to have many old Zinfandel vineyards, which are at least 50 years old. Old vines have fewer and smaller grapes that produce more intense flavors, color, and sugar. The wines are typically more full bodied and complex than younger vines.

Wineries are scattered throughout Lodi and nearby communities. From Interstate 5 go west on Turner Road into Lodi. Your first stop will be Jessie’s Grove Winery. This winery is in a secluded spot where you can taste wine, picnic and even enjoy a concert on summer evenings. They have a big buttery Chardonnay and many other fine wines to sample.

Just around the corner on Davis Road, you will find The Lucas Winery. Taste some their wines and enjoy a short tour of their vineyard and barrel room. Back on Turner Road continue going east to reach the Lodi Wine & Visitor Center where you can explore their exhibits, pick up maps, and sample Lodi wines for a small fee. They serve wines made from Lodi grown grapes. Since many wineries from outside the area purchase wines from Lodi, you could well be tasting wine from wineries throughout California.

Wine and Roses is right next door to the visitor center making this a good time to stop for lunch. Wine and Roses is a resort and restaurant. The grounds are beautiful and the food is always fantastic. They serve lunch and dinner during the week and brunch and dinner on the weekends. You will enjoy the ambiance created by live music, excellent service, and lush landscaping.

After lunch, explore some of the wineries east of Highway 99. One of my favorites is a new winery owned by David and Helen Dart . D’Art specializes in red wines. From Highway 99 exit east on Harney Lane and turn right onto Curry Avenue. All of their wines are great, but be sure to try the Port and the Old Vine Zinfandel. Return to Harney Lane and continue going east to reach Vino Con Brio and Harmony Wynelands. Both are small, friendly wineries that are fun to visit and have a large variety of good wines to sample.

If you have time, drive into Lockeford on Highway 88 for a visit to Vino Piazza. Vino Piazza could easily be your single destination for a day of wine tasting. This complex has 12 wineries serving wine. Don’t miss tasting the Old Vine Zinfandel at Macchia. It’s one of the best Zinfandels you will find in Lodi. These small, family owned wineries will delight you with their friendly service and good wines.

Plan a trip to the Lodi Wine Country where fantastic wines are waiting to be discovered and enjoyed.

About the Author: Kathy Howe and her husband, Steve, spend much of their free time tasting and enjoying wine. Their interest in wine is reflected in their Web Site, http://www.cheers2wine.com – a comprehensive guide to the California Wine Country.

Source: www.isnare.com

Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=75517&ca=Food+and+Drinks

Go here to read the rest: Lodi Wine Country

Fingerprints Winery – Wine Tasting Room, Healdsburg

By Brian on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 | 6 Comments

Accidents, wine tasting and DUI charges

dangers of DUI and tasting fees are included in the papers almost daily. Grape growers are often in traffic signs welcoming travelers to try new wines. It is tempting when you’re driving and caused a hot day, but we have to carry out the modification.

Wines range of enrichment. Because the grapes stay on the vine to reach the more alcohol will be more wine. Increased demand for more powerful wines, wine makers as well and increased production. DUI or driving under the influence of a very serious infringement. All state laws on this issue, and some pretty serious felonies and / or jail time.

One person. 10 alcohol content in the blood can cause serious car accidents due to slower reaction time. The percentage of alcohol in wine varies, depending on how hard it is. You can run a low of 12.5 percent of the 14.5 percent is very high. It is easy to see that not too glasses, one is entitled to a DUI bill.

The wines are stronger than only a small amount of blood to reach the maximum level of saturation. The statistics show that a person in the United States, died in a drunk driver every 45 minutes. Sometimes, the driver of the car, sometimes another driver or a bystander. No one has deliberately given a car to kill someone, but that’s what happens when you drink too much wine, and the person begins to take home.

The people who like wine with dinner or while having fun at the party should be aware of the alcoholic beverage of the present. I drank in the last few years, and back to the period before Christ, so do not go away. Education and awareness of the consequences of drinking too much, the main concern of the general public.

One of the largest California wine-producing states in the country. Wine tasting invitations sent to the road by the Napa Valley and other areas. DUI laws in California are very strong and the excesses of an arrest warrant appears in criminal court and the DMV hearing. driving license and car a person can be lost in severe cases.

When you get a bottle of wine-tasting room, and a number of wines to choose from. As it advances, ranging from white to red or vice versa, the wines are organized. Although a small sips are taken, a large number of bottles available, it is easy to exaggerate. Wine and DUI charges go hand in hand, if the rate is not observed.

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