Consider these 8 ‘before, during and after’ tips for making the most of your next wine trip.
If I had to compile a list of times that I’ve been truly, unreservedly happy, many of them would involve wine tasting. I love feeling the slight chill of the air while walking through the barrel rooms and smelling the fermentation. And few things are better than exiting a tasting room into the sun and taking in the green hills.
I particularly savor wine tasting in late fall when the leaves on the vines are red and gold and the tasting rooms are far from crowded. A couple of weeks ago, however, I was hankering for a vacation and headed to Napa and Sonoma, CA for a long weekend. Despite the bare, pre-spring vines, the symmetry of the rows and the yellow mustard weeds that colored the vineyards were remarkable.
For any wine lover, it’s hard not to enjoy a wine excursion. But there are ways to make one even better. Knowing that I would be writing my first wine column for Hitched, I compiled a list of eight "before, during and after" tips to help you make the most of your next wine trip.
Read up. I appreciate reading wine books because along the way, I’m learning about history, chemistry, geography, climate, business and agriculture. It’s also rewarding to visit a winery and be able to say, "Hey, I just read about that." If you’re heading to Napa and Sonoma, I would recommend region-centric books like The House of Mondavi, which chronicles the drama of the Mondavi wine empire, or Judgment of Paris, which tells the story of the infamous 1976 Paris tasting. Unlike the movie Bottle Shock, which focuses only on Chateau Montelena—the winner of the white competition—the book also addresses red winner Stag’s Leap and all of the other California wineries that participated.
But even tangential information can add value. I was reading The Widow Clicquot, the story of the woman behind the ubiquitous Veuve Clicquot Champagne, while in Sonoma. It made visiting Domaine Carneros, a winery started by Champagne Taittinger, which was long ago run by Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin’s first business partner, even more enjoyable. I was able to experience the "great French chateau rising out of the fields" and the "veranda of Domaine Carneros, where visitors enjoy...sparkling wine at cafe tables," that I had just read about.
Make a plan—sort of. One of my favorite parts of wine tasting is discovering small-production wineries that I’ve never heard of. That’s why I never make a minute-by-minute plan before I leave. But you should at least have a rough idea of where you want to go. Start by printing off a map of the entire wine region and circling wineries you want to stop at. Then get recommendations from the owner of a wine store you frequent or from friends who are also passionate about wine. Once you have a list compiled, figure out the sub-regions you want focus on. (Do this before you choose a hotel or bed and breakfast so that you can pick a place to stay that’s centrally located.) While you’re tasting, if you’re impressed by a particular winery, ask someone there for recommendations as well. Be open to deviating from your plan and stopping at wineries that look interesting as you drive by.
Don’t get drunk. It seems obvious, but make sure that you eat a big breakfast. Resist the temptation to get out the door quickly only to leave on an empty stomach. Before you leave your hotel, also choose a specific time that you will stop to eat lunch and keep plenty of water in the car. In addition, splitting tastings, which will allow you to make it to more wineries and remember them, will also help save money. If there’s something you didn’t get enough of that you want to taste again, most wineries will be happy to re-pour it.
Make a few strategic purchases. When deciding what to buy, choose a few bottles that will make for interesting comparison. For instance, choose two vintages of the same bottle, such as the 2004 and 2005 estate merlot, or an out-of-the-ordinary varietal from two different wineries. On my recent trip, I stopped by Summers Estate Wines to pick up a bottle of charbono, a lesser-known grape that is planted on only 80 acres in California. I was surprised to see charbono on the list of available wines at August Briggs, the next winery we visited. My husband joined the wine club so that we could purchase a bottle of charbono there, which was only available to club members. We can’t wait to have friends over and do a side-by-side tasting.
One night during your trip, find a restaurant that lets you bring your own bottle for a small corkage fee. During the day, keep an eye out for an appropriate wine. Last year, one of the best meals I had was at the Joel Palmer House in Willamette Valley, Oregon, which specializes in wild mushrooms. The day of our reservation, we looked for an outstanding pinot noir—a pretty easy task in Willamette—to have with dinner. My husband still talks about that bottle of wine and the food we enjoyed with it.
Look for ways to save money. One upside to the current economy is that good deals are pretty easy to come by. If you can resist buying wine while on your trip (No, I don’t have any tips for accomplishing that), you can get by without spending much money. You can find coupons for free tastings either on the wineries’ websites or on the websites of regional associations. Also ask your hotel concierge or B&B owner for tasting discounts.
Aside from saving money on wine, many restaurants are offering "recession specials." In Sonoma, one local favorite was offering a three-course tasting menu with wine pairings for $40, while another was advertising a $10 pizza-and-pinot special at its bar. There’s no reason that you have to spend $200 for a good meal.
Take notes. I always think, "Oh, I’ll remember this wine later on." But after tasting 20 wines, the details can start to fade away. Bring a notebook with you and quickly jot down what stood out about your favorites from each winery. Even easier, save the tasting sheets that are provided and mark the wines you might want to order later.
Catalog your wine. Not all of us have custom-designed, 500-bottle cellars with an electronic catalog. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep track of your wine. Even if you have two cases of wine stored in cardboard boxes next to your kitchen table, at least make an Excel spreadsheet of what you own, how much it cost and when the winery recommends opening it. If you have friends over for dinner or want to cook an anniversary dinner and need a bottle of sparkling wine to pair with it, you won’t have to sort through your entire collection.
Enjoy it. I prefer to hold on to the wines I purchase while tasting; my husband, however, can’t stand the wait. Our compromise is to make the bottles from our wine travels special, even if they only cost $30. We’ll pick a bottle and then prepare a dinner around it. Sometimes the wineries’ websites will provide suggested recipes. Try alternating between researching what food to pair with the wine and developing your own pairing.
Sharing and discussing wine with friends also makes it more memorable. When having people over, you can provide tasting notes from the winery or even print off pictures of the places you visited to put out with the wines.
Planning a wine trip these days can be affordable if you put in some effort. But if getting away just doesn’t fit into your schedule or budget, check back next month, when I’ll be covering how to create an at-home wine tour. Until then, drink well.
Jennifer Grzeskowiak is a California-based freelance writer who relishes few things more than drinking and learning about wine--and being able to call it "work."
