Mark's Wine Blog

First Wine Tasting Groups

At Uncorked Ventures we’re constantly looking for ways to get our wine into the hands of consumers. Given the great increase in wine tasting parties and clubs we’ve developed what we think is an interesting program which helps our partners make some extra cash while helping us market both ourselves and the wines and wineries we represent.

We’ve set up our first tasting club in the east bay area of the San Francisco area. To make a long story short, if you’re interested in hosting wine tasting parties with friends or other people interested in wine we’ll not only provide discounted wine tailored to your event, but we’re also willing to pay commissions for sales both at the event and on any ongoing wine club memberships that you’re able to sell.

Yes, in many ways this is a program similar to Avon.

See more information on our site.

Although not a focus of the business it is another facet in what we’re doing and offers the chance to get more wine directly in the hands of consumers which is always a very good thing.

No, I’m not talking about ripping up your bracket and starting over, although picking all of the wrong upsets will do that to you. Happily (for me at least) I had Cornell in the Sweet 16 and Syracuse looked every bit of the team that started the year 28-2 and none of the team that lost games to Louisville and Georgetown to close out the season.

As for the Uncorked Ventures Wine Club we have had a busy couple of weeks and we come into the time of the month that is decision time. What to ship? I do take quite a bit of solace in that we have a myriad of great choices right now, we just want to make sure we have a combination which will work well for our growing customer base.

Additionally, I’m greatly looking forward to a trip to the Bay Area at this time next week after a friends wedding on Saturday. It should be fun to see winery contacts again and show my wife some of the wines and wineries that we’ve been so happy to work with already.

I’ll offer a short break from basketball on this blog (since another post in that vein is probably coming tomorrow) to mention that I’m greatly looking forward to a tasting event on Wednesday of next week put on by the Henry Wine Group.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not sold that the 3 tier model is the best bet for wineries and consumers going forward, but there are certainly quality distributors out there. I’m looking forward to the chance to taste some of the international offerings that will be on show at this tasting. It’s a rare treat to get some first growth French’s as well as some classic Tuscan’s under one roof.

Welcome to the least productive work day of the year on average in the United States. As most of you could guess, that’s because the NCAA tournament begins today.

If you’ve read this blog before you probably know I enjoy college basketball quite a bit and this year I get an extremely rare treat with my two favorite college basketball programs in the tourney in the same year, UCSB and Syracuse. They have slightly different expectations as Syracuse comes in as a #1 and Santa Barbara with a #15…..but it should be fun to get to see the Gauchos play an excellent Ohio State team on Friday night, led by Evan Turner who (with all due respect to John Wall) is the best player in the country.

As a reminder for why we all watch the tourney, just in case we get a moment like this:

Another story line of interest to me is going to be how well Cornell plays. For those that don’t follow the Ivy League at all, the league itself it has made some massive strides in the past 2-3 years with both Cornell and Harvard pulling in top 25 recruiting classes, which even 10 years would have been unheard of. Jay Bilas (the ESPN analyst) has Cornell moving on to the Elite 8 in his personal bracket and I can definitely see them winning a game or two, which I think would be a great sign for the new parity of college basketball.

Here’s hoping that you’re able to steal a few minutes away from the office at some point today, I know I will.

Let me take a minute and introduce my first guest blogger, Guillermo Bravo of Napa Wine Tours. I hope you’ll enjoy his post and please visit his blog for an insiders view of Napa.

Rules for Better Wine Tasting

A great wine tasting experience starts with finding a nice wine shop. Look for one that’s close and convenient to your everyday routine. You need a shop that you are comfortable stopping by on a regular basis. It’s the wine version of that great little bookshop you loved in college. Many upscale wine shops like to put in all kinds of flavor-destroying display lighting systems over their wine collection. You’re looking for something more down to earth, where you can gossip with the shopkeepers about such abominations. Once you think you’ve found the perfect shop, let them recommend a wine to you.

Request Wine Recommendations from the Wine Shop

Even if you’re well educated when it comes to wine, letting a shopkeeper recommend a new bottle to you is a great way to make a deep connection. You will learn something about their character, as well as their skill in choosing interesting wines. (Did they recommend something much too expensive? Did they take time with you to find out what your interests were? Or, were they pushing some kind of ‘special’ on you?) Also, accepting a wine recommendation is a great way to be remembered by the shopkeeper. Here’s the secret: Buy the wine. Take it home and return a few days later to discuss it.

You don’t have to lie and say it was the best wine you ever tasted, be honest. Have something interesting to say about your experience with the wine, and you’ll have an “in” for future goodies that come their way. Good shop, check. Good wine, check.

Picking a Wine Glass

Now, believe it or not, you need a good wine glass. The shape of the glass will shape your experience of the wine. Red wines are served in the larger glasses with a flatter, bowl-like shape. The design of the bowl helps you access the variety of rich characteristics in the aroma of a red. White wines, with their clarity and directness, are served in narrower glasses. The small glasses with the beautiful tulip-shaped flutes are reserved for champagne to preserve (and display) the bubbles.

Pre Tasting Process: Look, Swirl, and Smell

Your glass should only be 1/3 to ½ full, allowing you to experience the flavor and aromas of your wine. The basics are universal: we look, we swirl; we smell; we taste. Look at the wine through the side of the glass. It is more than just a “red” or a “white”. Is it garnet-red? A ruby, perhaps? Is your wine a pale ethereal white? Or golden amber? The depth of the color can tell you something about the age of the wine and lead your other senses for the wine tasting experience.

Swirl the wine gently in the glass, allowing it to gently mix with more oxygen and serve the more complicated undertones in the aroma. Swirl for about 10 seconds, then smell. Now, swirl again and smell again. You will notice the character of the aroma developing after time.

The Wine Tasting Process

Next, we begin wine tasting process. Take a slow sip and let it rest in your mouth at the tip of the tongue. Now, take the full sip in and breathe in a little sip of air. The air escapes through your nose. You experience the taste and the aroma as one composition. Relax and take some time in the experience. Think about what you’re sensing and absorb it. You can compliment your wine tasting experience by adding food. Food can bring out the flavor of a wine. Fruits, berries and cheeses work well, and can be recommended by your now favorite shopkeeper.

Keep a Wine Journal

Now for the homework, write about your experience. Keep your thoughts organized, so you can reference them anytime down the road. Learn to be specific. Record the type of wine, Pinot noir? Chardonnay? Cabernet? What flavors were present? Was it acidic? How were the tannins? What foods were paired with the wine? This is a key step in developing your skills in finding and experiencing truly remarkable wines. Also, continue to read about wine. Local shopkeepers and fellow wine fans will all have a title to recommend. Most local libraries will carry at least a selection to get you started. Reading will help you understand what you’ve experienced so far, as well as guide you on your next wine adventure.

If you’d like more wine tasting advice please visit our Napa Wine Blog. We have helpful wine reviews, recommended food pairings, winery reviews, and much more. Also, if you’re visiting Napa Valley, we have resources for private Napa Wine Tours during your stay.

So I recently wrote a short guest post over at Inexpensively. I talked a little about buying wine on a budget and they aptly titled the piece, Wine on a Beer Budget. Follow the link to find 3 quality wines you can bring home tonight for less then a 6 pack.

If you like that, please check out my wine clubs where we deliver incredible value to your front door each and every month.

A Wine Blog You Should Be Reading:

Over the next few weeks I’m going to try and bring my readers some more information and links to wine blogs which I feel provide valuable information either for the consumer directly, or for the industry as a whole.

As for the latter, one of the best out there is Tom Wark’s Fermentation Blog. He’s a PR professional that represents wineries in his work life so he has an inner knowledge of the industry as a whole.

Why You Should Read Tom: Simply put, Tom is the most consistent and effective messenger against the 3 tier distribution system in the blogosphere. For that, I genuinely appreciate his efforts and candor.

So this is officially my 100th post since starting to work on Uncorked Ventures, for some reason it doesn’t feel any different then #99 or how I’m sure #101 will tomorrow. Maybe it’s because I always knew I’d make it this far, but it’s fun to look back and see how much things have changed in 7+ months. Frankly I’m sure that some other nice round numbers will feel strange, but we’re not there yet on this blog.

Secondly and more importantly, my second article is up over at Cork’d. It talks a bit about Paso Robles and some of the great wines available there.

Check it out!

Over the next few days you’ll most likely see the first guest blog that I’ve allowed on this site. When I first started this wine blog I hadn’t given much thought to having guest bloggers, but when the opportunity presents itself to lend a hand to other small businesses working in the wine field that’s something I’d like to be a part of, even if my business itself is still very much a start up. If you fit that profile, or generally have something interesting to share in this space, please feel free to Email Me .

Hopefully as my wine club continues to grow I can become a resource of sorts for others in the start up stages of their business, I don’t plan on ever forgetting both the tribulations and excitement that comes in these early days.

Oh and a short editorial note, if you’re leaving a comment for a SEO backlink….try to follow general blog decorum. Read the post. Watch the video. Remember this is a wine blog, so if you hope to be published…perhaps share something wine or at least business related. Oh, and I don’t need you to tell me that I wrote a good post (I have family and friends for that), thanks anyway. I’m not trying to be harsh, but the amount of spam is bordering on annoying once again.

Stolpman Vineyards

As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, at Uncorked Ventures Wine Clubs we were excited to have shipped Stolpman Vineyards Hilltop Syrah for a variety of reasons, but to sum them up in a few points: quality of the wine, unique farming practices and the outstanding people that own the winery.

As with all wineries, if the wine isn’t good we aren’t interested. We were excited to taste what Stolpman had to offer because they’ve received some quality scores from major wine critics and have a very good reputation in the industry.

When we started tasting we were immediately struck by a couple of things. To start we got along quite well with Peter Stolpman whom is running the winery that his father purchased and has gotten off the ground. We appreciated immediately Peter’s candor in regard to the quality of certain wines (ie which were showing the best right now) and frankly on price for our wine clubs. The main thing that stuck out for both Matt and I was the wine though. The La Coppa Blanc was incredibly complex and balanced at once and may be the best white wine we’ve had the privilege of trying since beginning Uncorked Ventures.

Interestingly, Stolpman isn’t known for it’s white wine though. It’s generally known around the industry for Syrah and other Rhone varietals. We found that the Hilltop Syrah hit the spot for what we’re looking to source for Uncorked Ventures. Aside from the general quality which was incredibly high we think it offers some unique flavor profiles, including a sense of blueberry and honeysuckle which are rare flavor traits to be found in a Syrah. It’s a great mid palate (for a Syrah) wine that can easily be aged for 5-10 years to lend richer and even more complex flavors.

The second significant factor that led us to be interested in Stolpman was their unique farming practices. In the video below Peter Stolpman talks about one of their experimental farming practices where they are leaving the umbilical chords of the vines attached which may help prevent disease, may allow the mother vine to produce fruit for a longer period of time and allows them to plant a larger portion of their vineyard.

Lastly, as I mentioned we not only enjoyed our time with Peter but have a lot of respect for the type of business that Stolpman Vineyards is running. They are currently the only winery in the state of California (that we’re aware of and no one has even heard of anyone doing this currently, or ever before) with a full time vineyard staff. They do not use day, or seasonal laborers with the intent being that their farm workers will do a higher quality of work if they feel attached to the vineyard. To that end the Stolpman’s give their 11 full time workers access to a portion of the land in order to make their own wine. They have called this their La Cuadrilla Project. The workers participate in all aspects of the winemaking with lead winemaker Sashi Moorman, with the goal being to provide their workers another way to not only feel connected to the company, but to also make a better life for themselves. Lastly, during our trip through the vineyard we saw a ranch style home that looked new. Immediately we thought that the home must belong to the family. After pointing out that they truly believed the old wine mantra that wine is made in the vineyard, Peter informed us that they had built the house for their vineyard manager whom lives there. Needless to say this type of socially conscious farm is one that we’re incredibly happy to represent. Tom Stolpman got his start as a lawyer and has been instrumental at raising capital for the Legal Aide Society.

For our Special Selection Club members you’ve already received a bottle of the Hilltop Syrah in your shipment last month. If you’re not a member of our Special Selections Club, we’re happy to offer this incredible wine in our online wine store.