June 2006 - The Parklander Magazine

By Ben & Sheila BodensteinWell, it’s vacation time again. So where are you going? Whereverit is, whether Disney World, New York City, San Francisco, theNational Parks or Naples (Florida, not Italy), if you’re a wine lover,look for a nearby winery to visit.A winery visit is not simply a five-minute tour of stainless steelfermenting tanks and a quick jaunt to the tasting bar—not at all.Most wineries have some sort of informational tour of theirproperty to interest and entice guests, whether they are seriousamateurs or just curious.Practically every winery has a visitors sampling bar (which isusually free) and a store where they sell winery related items, soyou can take home a hat, shirt or bottle opener from your favoritewinery. They also sell the wines they make, usually at excellentprices. Most wineries are set up to receive families and will usuallyhave activities to keep children interested and entertained whiletheir parents are on the tour or at the sampling bar.As with everything else you do on your vacation, it’s always bestto set up an appointment for a tour well in advance of your arrival,if possible. If you have a specific winery in mind, you’ll find theaddress on the bottle label; a quick trip to Google or other Internetsearch engines should yield a phone number. A call to the winery’stasting room will get you all of the information on tours and hours,plus the chance to set up a time for your visit.If you’re driving, you can also find wineries along your routewith your favorite web search engine. You’ll find all the pertinentinformation you’ll need including phone numbers, tour hours,locations, directions on how to get there and what kinds of winethey make.Now the question is what to do when you get there. First comesthe tour, which is a walk through the entire process of winemaking,on a commercial basis. If you’re there at the right time, you mayeven get to see a grape crush. If you enjoy wine, you’ll find itfascinating to learn exactly what goes into the wine you drink andhow it’s made and carefully husbanded by your hosts. You’ll alsosee the bottling, labeling and packaging processes. It’s reallyeducational, interesting and a lot of fun—but the best is yet to come.All wineries have a tasting room where visitors can sample thewines and purchase them if they wish. Did you know that manywines are in limited production and never see the light of day,outside of the winery doors? These wines are not of poorer qualitythat did not meet the winery’s standards but are usually marvelouswines. Production is limited only because crops yielded just enoughgrapes to make a few hundred bottles, which is not enough to shipand sell.One of these limited production wines, not readily availablethroughout the country, is the truly exceptional Van Duzer PinotNoir Rosé. It was obtainable only at the winery store in Oregon,until two wine writers made a big noise about it—and now it hasbeen released to the general public. Not to blow our own horns, butwe were the writers and when you taste the wine you’ll thank us.There are other gems to be found—each winery has some. Someof our favorite “wines in hiding” are those made in the Port style—sweet and full fruit flavored. For some reason many wineries arereluctant to release sweet wines, especially those made in the styleof port. White Zinfandel began its existence as a tasting roomlimited production novelty at Trinchero Vineyards. Because of itsimmense popularity with tour visitors the wine was morphed intothe most famous name in that particular wine style, Sutter Home.Another interesting plus in touring a winery is that on occasionsthe visitor gets the opportunity to sample a new blend or a winefrom a new grape variety. One of these experimental varieties justbeginning to emerge from the tasting room is Symphony. The grapewas cloned at the state university and is proving to be a delightfuland popular summer white wine.A winery tour is sure to be a fun addendum to your summervacation. Give it a shot—you won’t be disappointed.Ben and Sheila Bodenstein have written about fine wine for more thantwenty years. E-mail them at bodenstein@theparklander.com.82the PARKLANDER