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QOTD (Question of the Day)
January 21, 2014
Dear YW:
I'm a wine tasting virgin, in a manner of speaking. I mean, I drink wine, but never in public other than bars and restaurants, and definitely never without my boyfriend around. He's totally adorable, but he's also very ... opinionated. A power-charging Cabernapa drinker who likes his tannins stiff and hard and a lingering finish that lasts until early morning. I'm emancipated and all, but I must admit to feeling a little intimidated when we're drinking wine together. I want to try it without the BF and his big red radar going off, just to see if anything's different.
So ... I have this weekend trip planned with a few female friends and we really want to wine taste sans our significant others. We're pretty laid-back folks, no big party hearty types (except in the bedroom). We want smart and sophisticated wines, the kind you can enjoy and get an oenophilic education in the process. Don't laugh! I want to learn, but also have fun doing it. So what have you got up your Yelp Whispering sleeve this time?
PS- We don't need to visit the winery itself. A tasting room near some shopping would be pretty optimal, actually. Got all that? Thanks! I am SUCH a fan ;-)
Julia G. (aka "Miss Mellow in Menlo")
Menlo Park, CA
Hi Julia,
That's a great question. Not Napa, for starters. Not a great place to begin tasting. And not Paso Robles or Santa Barbara, either: too far from the Bay Area to make a fun day trip. And no Santa Cruz Mountain wineries, since those roads can be tricky. Sonoma might be an option, but you'd have to go too far from Menlo to really make it fun.
The solution is simple: Taste Morgan.
It's close, it's near Carmel, there are spas and coffee and good food and chocolate, and Point Lobos for sight-seeing. And few places showcase Monterey County wines like Morgan. The cool climate varietals are all there - vineyard designate Pinots and Chardonnay - but really I'd recommend that you and your friends go with the signature or classic tasting rather than the Quatro Pinot option. That way, you'll start with a mouth-watering Savignon Blanc (the newly released 2012s are excellent), then move on to unoaked and oaked Chardonnay. This is a great - really great - way to see how barrel aging affects the taste of white wine, and you might like the Metallico enough to bring a few bottles home.
You'll want to try some reds next - 12 Clones Pinot, or an estate Syrah - but save room for sampling from the Lee Family Farm bottles. These are small batch experimental varieties, sourced from estate grapes and some other top flight growers that fly under the radar screen or who don't bottle their own wine. These are fun reds and funky whites - the Verdelho and Rio Tinto are prime examples - and I'm fond of the 2011 Grenache. Great cherry fruit, integrated oak, and super approachable. A lovely choice for you to see what reds can do besides be really big.
You'll want to try wines from the Double L vineyard, and study the Santa Lucia highlands map. Pick up a bottle of the DL Riesling, or maybe purchase a glass of it to share. They'll wave the tasting fee if you buy two bottles, and believe me, two bottles is a minimum here, and the Lee Family Farm and single vineyard wines aren't easy to find at your local wine spots, like Beltramo's.
The tasting room is very welcoming, with a nice cross-generational, gender neutral vibe going on. I think you'll all feel like Taste Morgan is speaking your language - the language of Vitis vinifera, that is!
Have a great time tasting wines at Morgan, Julia. Bring a bottle of their Tempranillo home for the BF, or grab an '04 Cab from Boete on the way back. He'll love it, any way you choose. read more