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While we can not travel to wineries right now, wineries can come to us. Many wineries are offering virtual tastings where you can learn more about the winery from the comfort of your own home as I wrote about for California Winery Advisor. Want to go wine tasting without leaving the house? Want to learn the basics of wine or how to describe what you are tasting? Now you can learn about wine in the comfort of your own home.

VIRTUAL TASTINGS

Many winemakers are offering virtual wine tasting experiences online. Buy some of their wines and then join them as they discuss the wines, how they were made and more. This is better than going to the tasting room as you do not always get to meet the winemaker but now you can. The folks at the Priority Wine Pass have organized a number of virtual tastings with local wineries. This is a nice option if you want a curated list of wineries. Click Here to see their list.
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register (January 15, 2016) Grenache is widely planted around the world. It is the second most widely planted grape in France, making up 60 percent of the acreage in the Rhone Valley and 70 percent of the acreage in Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Planted in approximately 500,000 acres worldwide, grenache can be found in Spain, Italy and Australia, as well as in California. But in California, acreage has declined over the last 20 years from approximately 12,000 acres to approximately 6,500 acres today. Despite this reduction in acreage, grenache production and consumption is on the rise, according to a recent seminar with the Rhone Rangers. Grenache on the Rise American wine critic and author of the forthcoming American Rhone Wine Movement, Patrick Comiskey moderated a panel of winemakers from throughout California as a tasting and discussion was underway about the rise of grenache in California. “Despite being grown here more or less continuously for over 150 years, grenache’s range of flavors, its regional expression and its level of profundity are still a long way from being realized,” Comiskey said. “It may have more potential than any other Rhone variety currently grown in the U.S., so it’s time to have a look at the state of the grape.”
If you like wine, then to spend an evening with the winemaker, who has poured his/her passion and soul into his/her wine, will leave a lasting impression and make you feel connected to that winery more than another. When I was invited to Faith & Flower for one of their monthly “Terroir to Table” wine dinners, I couldn't say no. The theme was a Lyonnais Dinner featuring Larry Schaffer of Tercero Wines. Tercero Winemaker Larry Schaffer Larry started Tercero wines less than 10 years ago and has built the winery following through grassroots measures. This is why dinners like these are so valuable. Current wine club members attended but also non-members. After a meal with Larry, who is both eccentric and passionate, it is hard not to be converted to a fan.
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