Virtual Happy Hour!

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! (Couldn't help myself...)

I hope everyone is staying safe in these times, and if you're looking for some new Friday night plans, I will be doing a fun little "virtual happy hour" tomorrow night, at 5pm PST/8pm EST!

There will be a chance for everyone to meet someone new, discuss some wines and show us what you're enjoying these days, then we'll jump into some trivia!

And if all that wasn't enough, I'll be giving away a gift card to one of my favorite wineries, Dry Creek Vineyard for the top finishers (single household teams allowed)!

Hopefully, I can regale you with my corny jokes, punctilious
trivia, and bad looks!

The call will be on zoom, which you can download here: https://zoom.us/download

Can't wait to see you there!

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Ways to Ferment and Age Wine

There are several ways to ferment and age wine, and while you don’t need to know how every wine you drink was aged or fermented to enjoy them, having an understanding connects you with the wine and gives you an appreciation you wouldn’t have had before.

Here are a few of my favorites I found at Cakebread Cellars a few months back:

1) Ceramic Eggs: Concrete eggs increase contact with the solids from the harvest and can really solidify the flavors and textures of wine to make it come into its own without any outside help. It works great for wines that a winemaker may want to increase the body of the wine. It works great on whites that need a little more intensity, while not adding extra flavors or characteristics you might get from oak. Using a concrete egg may seem new, but the concept isn’t. Ancient winemakers were known to have used clay pots to ferment in the country of Georgia, which is where some would argue was the birthplace of wine.

2) Oak Barrels: The classic standard. Wood barrels, and more specifically the use of oak, in winemaking has been around for a couple millennia. The fun part with oak barrels is the ability to create drastically different flavors than already presenting in the wine. With an oak, or wood barrel, you can decide what type of oak, where its from, if its old or new, if its been used in winemaking or other spirit making before, and can control the inside through charring or toasting. This opens up a whole world of possibilities.

3) Stainless Steel: A lot of winemakers will use stainless steel to simply ferment first, then move their wines to another medium like oak or pots to continue to age their wine because stainless steel is easier to work with, produces more consistency, and is scalable. But it also has been used in aging and allows for the wine to not take on additional tones or flavors, depending on what the winemaker is looking to do. . You don’t always have to know how your wine was made to know it tastes good or doesn’t. . But the real magic happens when you can start to pick out the difference and see the interplay of various techniques and how they have shaped the wine in your glass.

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Champagne...

"Remember, gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's champagne." -Winston Churchill | Gyé Sur Seine, Champagne, France |

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Wine and Travel: Napa

Good thing I only drink wine on days that end in “y”…

Friday afternoons in Cali are my kind of afternoons

I’ve been beyond blessed to visit some amazing places and do some neat things, but by far the best times I have are with the best people. Alex and Jess came in for the week, minus little Daniel, and we had such a fun time having an adult getaway in Napa this past week checking out Cakebread Cellars, St. Supery Estate and Black Stallion Estate Winery So grateful to have a best friend like Alex and his amazing wife, Jess. Cheers to this amazing couple!

P.S. Spend less time planning the perfect trip, picking the perfect wineries or making the perfect itinerary. Instead travel with the right people and you’ll never go to a wrong place.

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Wednesday Wine Wisdom...

My favorite question I get asked about wine is how to find the best wineries.

This can be a relative question, but I'm going to break the mold and give you a straight forward answer.

In wine producing areas, these little appellations or regions are built around communities.

Sure, there are at time rivalries between wineries, or families that own different wineries and vineyards, and sometimes there are rivalries inside the winery.

But most of the time, from the planting vines through the harvest and crushing grapes, wineries and vineyards ban together to help each other because they know they each can't do it alone.

It is during these times that relationships are built, basic human nature, resistance and hard work builds camaraderie.

It also gives outsiders opportunities to see the subtle and nuanced differences in how different viticulturists and winemakers differentiate their brands.

That's why when you walk into a winery or tasting room, you can get some amazing recommendations from the winery staff.

The best way to find the best wineries is just picking a place on the map to start, and making sure to charm the socks off of the winery staff so when you ask them "Where to next?" they give you their best recommendations.

Now go forth and find the best wineries, and let us all know what you find! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Photo credit: Lauren Davis⠀⠀

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Joshua Tree - Image Winery

The other night, while hanging out in Joshua Tree, I got to enjoy one of my favorite wines from this year, Imagery Winery Pinot Noir.

I was fortunate enough to visit them back in March when I was scoping out different wineries in Sonoma County.

What I remember best was how I was the only one there, yet they pulled out every stop to make sure my wine tasting experience was five star, regardless of who I was.

Also, got to meet their head winemaker, Jamie Benziger, who gave some insights and context in how they distinguish their wines, and gave me some great recommendations on where to go next.

Needless to say, I'll be making a visit back to Imagery Winery very soon…

RESOURCES

Book a Free Strategy Call with Kris or shoot him an email!

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