May 27, 2006

Wine -- you love it, and you want to drink it.

If you're planning to visit the more than 25 local wineries that will be
open today through Monday during the Memorial Day tasting tours, you need to
be prepared.

In Grade A Queen Anne Thompson's words, don't be an idiot. If you are new to
wine tasting, there are certain rules by which you need to abide.

If you don't, the best you can hope for is that people will know you are a
newbie, feel pity and turn away from you in disgust. At worst -- you would
be amazed at how easily corkscrews end up planted into people and how it
ALWAYS looks like an "accident."

So read and memorize these wine-tasting commandments, (thinking of Charlton
Heston playing Moses and reading them may help you to get in the right
spirit -- because we are deadly serious).

I. Thou Shall Have a Designated Driver

If you are a smart, sensible person, then you already know to bring someone
along who doesn't drink.

However, if you are the kind of jerk who doesn't always let common sense
prevail, remember this -- the cops also know it's Memorial Day weekend, and
they will be out in droves looking for brain-dead people like you. Also,
drivers should remember you will be dealing with narrow, twisty roads and
driveways, so for the love of all that is holy, slow down. And leave the
obscene Hummer limos at the rental place. They sicken us.

II. Thou Shall Be Aware of Your Surroundings

Wineries frequently have little or no parking space to speak of, so think
about where you leave your car. Don't squeeze your minivan in, making it
difficult for the Honda next to you to open their door. Use common courtesy
(which isn't common -- we know) from the moment you enter the driveway to
your behavior inside the winery. In some cases, you are not just at a
winery -- you are on the winery owner's property, where they LIVE. So
please, be respectful -- don't yell, curse or laugh extremely loudly. This
is not a Super Bowl party. Watch where you walk and check your rear-view
mirrors before you back up in a tasting room -- you may slam people's
elbows, and they will break their glass on their teeth. Don't cut in line or
make rude comments about the wine in front of the person who may have made
it.

III. Thou Shall Start with the Whites, then Proceed to the Reds

If white wines aren't your thing, it's perfectly acceptable to start with
the reds. Otherwise, the best way to taste is to start with the lightest,
driest wines and work your way through to the heavier reds. Sweet dessert
wines should be tasted last.

IV. Thou Shall Take Thy Sample and Move Away from the Tasting Table

You may think that your tasting fee rented you a private spot at the wine
counter. You are wrong. On big busy weekends like this one, step up to the
counter, receive your sample of wine and step aside. Note: When you step
aside, look to see if a body is on either side of you. (See Commandment II)

V. Thou Shall Swallow With Discretion; Spit Carefully into Designated
Receptacle

You don't need to drink every sample of wine poured for you. It is fine to
spit (carefully) into the jar provided. In fact, if you plan on visiting
more than one winery, it is preferred that you don't drink everything so
you're not a drunk fool by the time you get to your next stop. Because no
matter how suave you think you are when you're blasted, the rest of us are
not amused.

VI. Thou Shall Not Make a Meal Out of the Appetizers

Food is provided for nibbling, so nibble! Don't heap your tiny plate with
fistfuls of cheese and crackers and don't hover over the plates like a
leopard over a kill. At some wineries, meals are available for purchase.
Otherwise, the food is there to help cleanse your palate and keep a little
something in your stomach. We advise you to eat a full meal before going to
taste wines.

VII. Thou Shall Spend Quality Time With the Wine and Fellow Tasters (unless
they are violators of other commandments, and then you're off the hook)

There is no need to make wine tasting a competition. Savor each sample --
take your time. Wine tasting also is social. Chat with your companions and
make new friends by talking with those around you.

VIII. Thou Shall Not Put On Airs

If you don't know what terroir or tannins are, don't pretend you do. No one
expects you to show up to a tasting as an expert. Don't throw around a bunch
of lingo if you lack real knowledge. And if you do have knowledge, don't
think that everyone wants to hear you expound on every single aspect of the
wine you are tasting. Weekends like this one are to have a good time, and no
one wants to hear some blowhard announcing what they think they know. If it
tastes good, it's right for you. 'Nuff said.

IX. Thou Shall Not Steal

Don't take anything from the winery that you didn't walk in with, unless the
tasting fee included a souvenir glass. Period. It's rude, it's illegal, and
you most likely are stealing from a local family. Shame, shame, shame.

X. Thou Shall Buy Something (even if it's just a hat)

You don't need to buy a case at every winery you visit, but if you are
making your way through four or five wineries and leave each one empty
handed, something is wrong. Wineries don't make money off your tasting
fee -- that covers the cost of opening the bottle. They make money from
sales. So if you like a wine, buy it. Start thinking about gifts for
birthdays, holidays or just a little treat for yourself.


Source: ANGELA YEAGER Statesman Journal / proost.blogo.nl

In article >, says
....
>
>May 27, 2006
>
>Wine -- you love it, and you want to drink it.
>
>If you're planning to visit the more than 25 local wineries that will be
>open today through Monday during the Memorial Day tasting tours, you need to
>be prepared.
[SNIP]

Pretty much agree with all that you have written. Thanks for sharing.

As much of your post relates to the "high-season," it does reinforce my choice
to visit CA wineries in February, when it's just me, the tasting room person
and a friendly dog, or two. As I like to talk to the personnel about their
wines, Summer weekends, holidays and the like are not my cup-o-wine (or tea).
Yes, give me a wet, cold February Thursday and I'm happy as a clam. Besides,
that climate is better suited for "big reds," than is the Summer heat.

Hunt

I generally agree. However, I don't feel obligated to buy something at
every winery I visit (although I guess I usually do), nor have I ever
felt pressure from the owner or other personnel to buy something. The
purpose of the tasting room is to make the product known to the
interested public. I've been told by many winery owners that they don't
expect all visitors to buy nor do they resent it when they do not buy.
Of course, they all hope visitors will become customers at some point
in the future, but realistically, it doesn't happen that way. BTW, I
work in a winery and often serve wine to visitors. It is nearly always
a pleasant experience, whether they buy anything or not.

Andy

"AyTee" > wrote in news:1149226305.720289.255700
@j55g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

> I generally agree. However, I don't feel obligated to buy something at
> every winery I visit (although I guess I usually do), nor have I ever
> felt pressure from the owner or other personnel to buy something. The
> purpose of the tasting room is to make the product known to the
> interested public.

FWIW and in line with a previous thread on which I pontificated and then
retracted the rule that one should buy. I was corrected, I believe
correctly by Mark L. that one should buy especially in the little family
run operations that advertise as in Frnace degustation. Often a family
member or the wine maker him/herself gives the tasting and a bit of a
history lesson as well. Even in the humblest wineries I have had
education. It is in the big places with tasting rooms that I feel little
obigation to buy as they just don't really care about the one bottle
sale, it doesn't mean the same thing, and I don't mean money, as buying
a bottle of X vintage from the person who made it. Your purchase
validates their pride and rewards their work in a way that Karl Marx may
have understood better than Adam Smith.


--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

Joseph Coulter wrote:
> "AyTee" > wrote in news:1149226305.720289.255700
> @j55g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
>
>> I generally agree. However, I don't feel obligated to buy something at
>> every winery I visit (although I guess I usually do), nor have I ever
>> felt pressure from the owner or other personnel to buy something. The
>> purpose of the tasting room is to make the product known to the
>> interested public.
>
> FWIW and in line with a previous thread on which I pontificated and then
> retracted the rule that one should buy. I was corrected, I believe
> correctly by Mark L. that one should buy especially in the little family
> run operations that advertise as in Frnace degustation. Often a family
> member or the wine maker him/herself gives the tasting and a bit of a
> history lesson as well. Even in the humblest wineries I have had
> education. It is in the big places with tasting rooms that I feel little
> obigation to buy as they just don't really care about the one bottle
> sale, it doesn't mean the same thing, and I don't mean money, as buying
> a bottle of X vintage from the person who made it. Your purchase
> validates their pride and rewards their work in a way that Karl Marx may
> have understood better than Adam Smith.

Joseph,
I doubt that I corrected you, as I recall that you've bought wines on
your visits to France long before our conversation. As to what you
wrote above, you mirror my own views. I will always buy something when
I visit the family-run operations both here and abroad, but I feel no
such obligation at the larger, more commercial operations. One gray area
is the co-ops that we've both visited in France: I treat them like
family-run operations even though they're a diffrent animal perhaps
closer to a US operation. My usual litmus test is whether they have a
tasting room and if an employee staffs that room.

Mark Lipton