I'd never been to a wine fair before, so it was pretty overwhelming. So many wines, and no idea where to start! For the first hour or so, my friends and I just wandered from table to table. We had a few companies that we knew of, and made sure to hit them. Then after an hour, I sent a message to my friend who knows her wines, and she looked up who was there and told us which ones not to miss. She was such a help! The booths didn't list the price of the wines, so it was hard to tell which ones were the "good" ones without a little help from my friend.
So this is what I tried, and in parenthesis are any notes I made while trying (very short notes!):
- Anders-Lane Artisan
- Estrada Creek, Syrah, 2007, California
- Estrada Creek, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, California (ok)
- Bonterra
- Syrah, 2008, Mendocino (ok)
- Cline Cellars
- Pinot Noir not listed in the booklet (yum!)
- Oakley, Red Blend, 2009, California (good for summer sipping)
- Firestone Discoveries
- Merlot, 2007, California (good for a merlot)
- Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, California (yum!)
- Hess Collection Winery
- Allomi Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon Blend, 2008, Napa Valley
- Hess Select, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Mendocino-Lake-Napa
- Ironstone Vineyards
- Old Vine Zinfandel, 2009, Lodi (good)
- J. Lohr Winery
- Falcon's Perch, Pinot Noir, 2009, Monterey
- Vineyard Series, Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, Paso Robles (yum!)
- Petit Syrah not listed in the booklet
- Kenwood Vineyards
- Zinfandel, 2007, Sonoma County (yum)
- Michael David Winery
- Petit Syrah not listed in the booklet
- 7 Deadly Zins, Zinfandel, 2008, Lodi (already knew I liked this one a lot!)
- Earthquake, Zinfandel, 2008, Lodi (thick/full, yum!)
- Rutherford Wine Co.
- Rutherford Ranch, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Napa Valley
- Tamas Estates
- Zinfandel, 2008, Central Coast
- Trinchero Family Vineyards
- Napa Cellars, Zinfandel, 2008, Napa (ok)
- The Show, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007, California (light, smooth, good)
Wow. Now that I write them all down, I see that I tasted a LOT of wines last night in a two hour period. Mind you, they poured just a tiny bit, maybe two mouthfuls, but I'd only sip at it, then dump it out. How many glasses of wine does 21 sips work out to being anyway? Haha.
I discovered that of California wines, I like the zins and the cabernets. The syrahs, pinot noirs, and merlots didn't really do much for me, and I really stayed away from them anyway. I was really surprised with how much I liked the Firestone wines because all I could picture was Andrew Firestone from The Bachelor, and really didn't expect to like the wine!
No comments:
Post a Comment