Mark's Wine Blog

Had an enjoyable time this morning at the Henry Wine Group tasting event in La Jolla. It was nice to be able to speak with a number of winery owners or managers directly and I was not disappointed d by Vias Imports which was the main reason why I was so excited to attend.

Vias Imports specializes in Italian wine and they have quite the spread, pouring close to 50 wines at the event. They also had four featured winemakers there to answer questions about their individual wines. Aside from wishing I spoke Italian, I realized that because our wine clubs focus mainly on California, Washington and Oregon this was my first real opportunity to speak with internationally based winemakers since starting Uncorked Ventures.

I was struck how similar their approach was to many of the wineries that we already work with and was reminded how much I enjoyed my time in Italy and the people both during my travels there and Italians I’ve met here in the states.

Although it will take some time and more research to choose one of these wines for our Wine Exploration Club, the ground work certainly has been put in place already.

Perhaps the most interesting story of the day comes from Alto Adige, the absolute northern most part of Italy, practically on the Austrian border. It’s an interesting area in that the population speaks as much German as they do Italian and most of the towns sit at fairly significant altitude. The Abbazia Di Novacella winery was represented at the tasting and I immediately was drawn to their story. This winery is actually an Abbey and has been producing wines continuously on the site since 1142. At one point there were over 5,000 Abbey’s being operated across the world, today there are approximately 8 and this one has survived and continues to be financially independent solely because of the success of their winery operation. The Abbey itself has quite a few interesting collections, including a 20,000 volume library dating back to the 13th century and I believe the only private organization with two copies of the Gutenberg bible (only 180 originally produced). As you can tell, I love when I’m able to tell a story and this wine certainly has one of the best in the world.

So tomorrow brings me another tasting event, this one is held by The Henry Wine Group and to not bore you with all the Italian wines I’m looking forward to trying (of which there are plenty, believe me) I am looking forward to trying out the one Canadian producer that will be at the event. Domaine Pinnacle is perhaps best known for their ice cider and ice apple wine. Neither of which I’ve had the opportunity to try before and as no winery in California will be producing either drink any time soon, it should be fun to try.

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!