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The Central Coast is the fastest growing wine region in California. It includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. More importantly, the quality and diversity of the wine produced in the Central Coast is really good. To promote the excellent quality and diversity of commercial wineries in the region, the Central Coast Wine Competition is an annual event hosted by the California Mid-State Fair and sponsored by Albertsons/Vons and The Tribune and it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. For the second year in a row, I was invited to be one of the 18 judges at the Central Coast Wine Competition. Judging wine may seem like a pretty easy way to spend two days but it is harder and more exhausting that it looks. There were a little over 800 wine entries this year! That is an increase from last year. And that meant that there were more wines for us to judge.
22 June, 2019
Tasting wine is a part of my job. I have taken wine courses and received certifications in wine. I am also lucky to taste a broad diversity of wines while working with wine regions around the world. I organize trade events for them, as well as visit wineries to write about them. But no matter how much you know about wine, you realize how much more there is to know. Nothing makes you realize this more than blind wine tasting and that is why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. The highlight of this past week was being invited to participate in a blind tasting with Wine & Spirits Magazine. Wine & Spirits Magazine, like most wine publications and wine writers, receive numerous wine samples on a regular basis. Ever wondered how particular wines are included in an issue?  Well, that is what I was able to be a part of.
23 December, 2018
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
Tasting wine uses all our senses. We use our eyes, our nose and our palates. But most of the time, we see the bottle first and conjure up pre-conceived notions of what we will find in the glass.
Too often, we make assumptions about a wine based on everything we have ever tasted, and before we even taste a wine, we jump to conclusions. If it is a sauvignon blanc, we might expect notes of green grass and citrus; if it is a pinot noir, we might expect cranberries, cherries, mushrooms and earth; if it is a cabernet sauvignon, we might expect aromas of dark black fruits, tobacco, chocolate and brown spices.
But what happens if we do not know what is in the glass? What if we just see a white wine or a red wine? Can we make an educated guess as to what is in the glass based on how it looks, smells and tastes?
At Pebble Beach Food and Wine last month, four Master Sommeliers stood in front of a room full of wine enthusiasts as we all tried to guess the eight wines we had in front of us. Master Sommelier Shayn Bjornholm explained that this was not a magic parlor trick, but rather a way to help us be better tasters.
18 May, 2017
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