wine tasting

As a writer of food and drink, I have a pretty big blunder to admit. Though wine country is a mere hour away, I don't know the first thing about choosing a tasting room. On my last trip to wine country, I hit up three spots: one fantastic, another mediocre, and a third downright horrible.

If only I had known what I know now, after speaking with Tilar Mazzeo, the author of Back Lane Wineries of Napa and Back Lane Wineries of Sonoma, two helpful books that guide visitors to vineyards that are off the beaten track. After a lengthy discussion with her, I discovered that I've been approaching wine country all wrong. Not only that, but many of my perceptions about visiting wineries are completely incorrect.

Now that I'm much better equipped, I'm already plotting my next trip! Curious to know what mistakes you might be making? Read on.

Wine tasting can be quite a production: between vying for a space at the bar to begin tasting, paying high prices for comparably tiny pours of wine, and figuring out how to safely get from winery to winery without someone having to miss out on all the tasting, it can feel like more trouble than it's worth.

I recently visited Clif Winery's new tasting room in St. Helena, CA, Velo Vino, where the vibe was decidedly more relaxed. The tasting room in general is inviting, warm, and impeccably wine-country chic, but I was especially impressed with the large communal table where the winery hosts its special Yellow Jersey tasting. On my visit, the table was already set for a tasting, and it gave me a few great ideas for hosting a fun, informal wine tasting at home. Want to host your own? Here are a few tips!

• Set the scene: The point of a wine tasting is to enjoy each sip and chat with friends, rather than to power through as much wine as possible, so make your guests want to stay awhile. Set up your tasting somewhere comfortable, and lay out everything your guests will need during the tasting, including glasses, paper for taking notes, a pitcher of water, and a bucket for pouring out unwanted tastes.
• Move from lighter to heavier wines: This may be a wine tasting cliché, but that doesn't mean it isn't true! Each wine affects how the next one tastes, so start with lighter wines, like whites, sparkling wines, or Pinot Noirs, and transition to heavier reds like Cabernets and Syrahs.
• Provide small bites to pair with each taste: It can be overkill to serve a full meal alongside a wine tasting, but having small snacks on hand that pair nicely with your wines will enhance the overall experience, and keep your guests from getting too hungry! Clif Winery offers a variety of paprika-spiced almonds, dried cherries, and roasted pistachios that pair perfectly with different varietals.

More wine tasting tips after the break!

Love learning more about wine? Then make the most of tastings by downloading our printable wine tasting worksheet. Whether you're sampling new varietals at a wine club meeting, a wine bar tasting, or simply on the couch, use the sheet to jot down musings about memorable bottles so you can remember them in times to come. Keep on reading for a list of wine-related vocabulary, plus a link to the free tasting-notes worksheet.

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Last Saturday afternoon I grabbed some girlfriends and headed down to Fort Mason for the SF Vintners Market. Although I've attended countless large tastings, this one was different because it was the first tasting where all of the wines were for sale. If you tasted something you loved, you could walk away with a bottle. It's a dangerous concept, but also a fun one! My favorite bottles were two whites from winemaker Yannick Rousseau. The grapes are from Napa Valley, but his winemaking style is classical French, resulting in lush, soft, and sophisticated sippers. The Chardonnay is rich and wonderful, while the Colombard is light and had me craving oysters on the half shell.

To take a look at some of the other wines I enjoyed, browse my gallery after the break.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend one of my favorite events of the year: the Zinfandel Advocate and Producers (or ZAP) annual festival. On Thursday night I participated in a walk-around food and wine tasting. A bunch of wineries pair up with local restaurants and caterers who create a small dish to pair with the wine. Attending this sort of event is a great way to learn about pairing food and wine because you can really taste which pairings work well and which don't work so well. Saturday was the grand walk-around tasting with hundreds of wineries pouring Zin barrel samples, new releases, and premium wine. I snapped a bunch of pictures that better illustrate my experience.

To see what was my favorite pairing and pour, check out the images after the break.

This story was written by member Eleuthera and comes from the Wine Cellar group in the YumSugar Community.I recently had a chance to attend a wine tasting for Flichman from Argentina. I especially enjoyed the experience because I had a chance to chat with the winemaker, Luis Cabral de Almeida. From my standpoint, it didn't hurt that he was pretty hot also. We began with a bottle of their Chardonnay for $8. Frankly, I didn't want to taste a bottle of $8 Chardonnay as I hate that overly oaked buttery flavor of vanilla predominating, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was delightful and easily equal to wines I have enjoyed at twice the price. In fact everyone of the wines' price points was spectacular.

To learn more about these amazingly priced Argentine wines read more