What Makes a Great Wine Tasting Experience?

I have toured many wineries, and as much as I’ve loved the aromas and flavors of the great wines I’ve sampled, it’s the total experience that really moves me. I’ve recently visited wineries in California, Italy and Oregon, and I can tell you that looking back, my favorite wines are from the places where I had a memorable tasting experience. It’s more than just the juice, people!

For example, I bought more than I could afford to at Napa Valley’s famed Stag’s Leap Winery because I went on a great tour and chatted it up with Stag’s Leap’s acclaimed winemaker, Christophe Paubert.

I’m having a case of Chianti shipped from Bindi Sergardi in Italy not only because I was charmed by Clemente, whose family has owned the winery since 1349, but also because I cycled to the winery and was deliriously happy to be off my bike.

And I recently became a wine club member at Rain Dance Vineyards in Oregon because their tasting room has a backyard where my friends and I had a very happy picnic lunch, and –oh yeah—THEY HAVE ALPACAS that you can pet.

Five keys to wine-tasting magic

Other than alpacas, the magical unlock to a great wine tasting experience includes a combination of the following five elements:

• Friendly staff: The gift of gab goes a long way, and if a winery can make you feel like family, it makes their juice taste a hell of a lot better than a sip poured by someone who makes you feel like they’re doing you a favor. Some of the friendliest folks I’ve met are the teams at Bells Up and Gran Moriane wineries, both in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, as well as Structure Cellars in Seattle.

  

• Access to the winemaker: I get a little giddy when I can chat with a cool winemaker who is happy to talk about their craft. Some of my favorite people in the business are Gilles Nicoult at Longshadow Wineries, Chris Upchurch from Upchurch Winery and DeLille Cellars, and Ryan Crane at Kerloo Cellars. These guys are all approachable, interesting and fun to talk to.

  

• Beautiful and/or unique tasting rooms: My tastes run a wide gamut and I appreciate unique designs. One of the most beautiful spots I’ve ever visited was HALL Winery in Rutherford, Calif. Tasting in their wine cave, laid with Austrian bricks from the Hapsburg Empire and featuring a chandelier made with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, was downright amazing. On the other hand, the tasting room at Seattle’s Cloudlift Cellars looks like my dad’s home office in the 1980s, but it sure was authentic. And Tom, the vivacious winemaker, is usually there, which—see above—is a big bonus.

  

Wine, yes. Breakthroughs, hell yes!

• Breakthrough experiences: When I was dating Big Red, we went to a blending class at Covington Cellars in Woodinville, Wash. We blended our own wines, designed our labels, had a romantic dinner and took our bottles home. And now we are married. Boom.
• Education: I appreciate a winery that can educate customers in unique ways that are also fun. (Please don’t blather on about brix and clones unless asked.) For example, I took a class on glassware at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, Calif. and learned that choice of drinking vessel really does matter. I also love the variety aroma jars laid out at Raptor Ridge Winery in the Willamette Valley. Don’t know what kiwi or cigar box smell like? Go there and give your sniffer an education.

  

There are many wineries creating really terrific juice but breaking through to the broader public requires something more. Part of that is providing a fun and unique experience in the tasting room. I have purchased loads of wine from all of the wineries mentioned, and I’m happy to evangelize for them not only because their wines are special, but also because I feel connected to them.

Next time you’re enjoying a glass of wine with a friend and crave some entertaining chat, ask each other: Which wineries do you feel a connection with, and how did that feeling come about?