I've come through what I now refer to as Wine Season, having attended no fewer than 6 wine tastings, sales, and events since Labor Day. (And I'm not even including our own club meeting in this tally!) With this experience behind me, I thought I'd blog a bit about it and pass along some of my observations.
The number of events taking place in the weeks and months following Labor Day is a little overwhelming, to say the least. It seemed there was another event each week. Not only can it be difficult to decide which events to attend, it can also be hard on the pocketbook without a little planning. Firstly, do I think it's a good idea to attend these tastings? Yes, definitely. Tastings can be an ideal way to sample a wide variety of wines of different quality and price point without having to actually buy the wines. You should attend as many as you can, whenever you get the chance. Most wine shops feature tastings of one type or another, whether they are scheduled tastings with paid attendance, or simply making some open bottles available for tasting by any customers who walk into the store. Penn Wines and Spirits, located on the LIRR level of Penn Station, opens two or three bottles and holds free tastings every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Village Wine Cellar on Jericho Turnpike in Bellerose Village features a scheduled tasting one Friday a month. Attendees are required only to buy two bottles of any wine sold in the store. Bacchus Wines on Broadway near 71st, on the other hand, holds a number of scheduled tastings each month, and admission prices range from $45 - $75. They usually offer refreshments and attendees get to take home a Riedel wineglass. You can always find a tasting to fit your budget.
Tastings are often organized by theme, much as our club meetings are. If a store or organization holds many scheduled tastings they often have a calendar of events and you can plan to attend a tasting that interests you. Most businesses list their tastings on their websites, such as Novita Restaurant in Garden City, at http://www.novitany.com/, or Bacchus Wines at http://www.bacchuswinestore.com/. If you are interested in gaining knowledge, look out for tastings of varietals that interest you. It's always fun to go to a tasting and come across a great new malbec or syrah that you may have otherwise never tried. Or attend a tasting that features a varietal that is new to you, like a gigondas or gruner veltliner. You might find a new favorite!
Be prepared, in many cases, to fight your way through a crowd. It amazes me the way stores will hold tastings and cram as many people into as tight a space as possible, often making it extremely difficult to taste the wines. Morrell Wine Store http://morrellwine.com/ holds an annual event that costs $50 a person and makes almost 70 wines available for tasting. The wines can range in price from as little as $10 to as much as $200/btl. But the store is nowhere near large enough to accommodate the huge crowd that shows up, so it's a careful operation to navigate among the tables, which are not necessarily set up in numerical order, and choose the wines you'd like to taste. It's definitely worth the effort for a chance to taste wines such as the $150/btl of Dominus Napa Red. But next time, I'll go early and perhaps carry only a small pocketbook. Keep in mind that there's often nowhere to sit at these events, and that while many stores, including Morrell, Village Wines, and Bacchus will offer refreshments, not all do. You may be a little uncomfortable, but you usually get what you pay for at these tastings, so you can rest assured that you will get your money's worth.
There are annual festivals, such as the one held by the Garden State Wine Growers Assn., where you pay $10 to sample the wines of more than 100 New Jersey producers while you stroll through a historic park or have a picnic while listening to a local band playing jazz. There are tastings by businesses such as Swirl Events http://www.swirlevents.com/, which specializes in uniquely fun events such as their Wine and Dessert pairings where you not only sample a selection of fine wines but taste them along with some decadent desserts that make for surprisingly successful pairings. Vestry Wines, located on Vestry Street in lower Manhattan http://www.vestrywines.com/, offers 3 wines for free tasting each week. You can attend a tasting nearly anytime you'd like, even if you don't want to spend money. Go to an event, taste, and ask questions about the wine you are sampling. Wine folks love to talk! Even at a very crowded event you can usually get the store owner or representative of the wine producer to discuss the wines they are offering at length. Just be mindful that others are waiting their turn to taste as well.
So get out there and taste some wine. Make it your business to attend a tasting or two. And tell the club all about your experience.
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