Tasting several different wines at a vineyard or even a storefront tasting room can be a very enjoyable and educational experience. Whether your are a novice wine taster or a longtime connoisseur, you will frequently be rewarded with outstanding blends and local specialties that are unavailable elsewhere. And possibly the the best part, have the opportunity to experience new wines that you would never buy or have a chance to taste.
Following is a list of some of the wine tastings and visits to vineyards we have done and a short description of the experience. Wines we purchased and drank at a later time are identified and linked to the pages that contain our full tasting information.
Alma Rosa Winery and Vineyards; Buellton, California
Au Bon Climat; Santa Barbara, California
Beau Constantia Vineyard; Cape Town, South Africa
Beneduce Vineyards; Pittstown, New Jersey.
Blackjack Ranch Vineyards and Winery; Solvang, California
Blind Tasting: Apothic Red, Ménage à Tros California Red and Cupcake Red Velvet
Blind Tasting Two Box Wines: Black Box Merlot and Peter Vella Merlot
Blind Tasting: Vallana Campi Raudii 2012, Vallana Spanna 2012 and Vallana Gattinara 2006.
Buttonwood Farm Winery and Vineyard; Solvang, California
Casas del Bosque; Casablanca, Chile.
The Caviste Wine Shop, Beaujolais Tasting; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
The Caviste Wine Shop: Grower Champagne Tasting Class; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Six Chinese Wines from the Changyu Winery
Childress Vineyards; Lexington, North Carolina
Cunard Queen Elizabeth
Cunard, Queen Mary 2 Wine Tasting Seminar with Food Pairing
Familia Deicas Winery; Juanicó, Uruguay
Gainey Vineyard; Santa Ynez, California
Hutton Vineyards; Dobson, North Carolina
Lafond Winery and Vineyards; Buellton, California
Le Vigne Winery; Paso Robles, California
MenaRick Vineyard and Winery; Ronda, North Carolina
Mount Salem Vineyards; Pittstown, New Jersey
Pereira D’Oliveira, Funchal, Madeira Portugal
Ridge Vineyards, Monte Bello Estate; Cupertino, California
Sandhi Wines; Lompoc, California
Santa Barbara Winery; Santa Barbara, Caliofornia
Soljans Estate Winery; Auckland, New Zealand
Tablas Creek Vineyard; Paso Robles, California
Turley Wine Cellars, Paso Robles Tasting Room; Templeton, California
Viña Tabali, Santiago, Chili
Pairing wine with food can be very rewarding and with the growing number of wine pairing dinners served by restaurants another dimension of wine tasting is readily available to enjoy while increasing your knowledge about wine. Although many wines simply don’t need anything with them to be enjoyed, when the food and wine are matched perfectly both are improved and the experience can be absolutely exciting.
We enjoy wine pairing dinners and attend quite a few during the course of a year. As we have done with our wine tastings, the dinners are described to convey the “experience” rather then provide our thoughts about each wine served.
Bistro B and Wine Bar: Australian Wine Pairing Dinner; Kernersville, North Carolina
Caviste at Noble’s Grill; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Chez Panisse; Berkeley, California
Cunard Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Queen Victoria
Di Lisio’s Italian Restaurant; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Undercurrent Restaurant; Greensboro, North Carolina
Village Tavern at Reynolda Village; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Wine Merchants Gourmet; Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Noteworthy Restaurants and Wine Bars
Every now and then we come across a noteworthy restaurant or wine bar that has a unique wine list or does something special with the wines they serve. When we come across these special places we briefly describe the experience and provide our recommendation.
Boar Dough Tasting Room; Agora Hills, California.
Mélisse, Santa Monica, California
The Oven Cellar Wine Bar, Lincoln, Nebraska.
Vino Volo Wine Bar, Liberty International (Newark, New Jersey) Airport.