A Brief Guide to Wine Tasting

051010 Cork Head 4

Play fun cork games during the 2011 Harvest Wine Tour of Olympic Peninsula Wineries.

The Harvest Wine Tour of our Olympic Peninsula Wineries starts today. We hope to see many familiar faces and welcome new people to the Washington State wineries and cideries of Port Townsend, the Chimacum Valley, and Port Angeles.

Please read on for a brief guide to wine tasting. We hope this will help you negotiate and appreciate the wines you sample this weekend.

Wine tasting is about more than just taste. It examines the sight, scent, and taste of wine. The experience begins with the uncorking (which is why many restaurants offer the cork for sniffing), and ends when the aftertaste has faded.

Be sure to note the following aspects:

  • The appearance of the wine in the glass. Hold your glass up the light and tilt it. Note the colors. Then swirl the wine and watch the legs run down the sides of the glass – the thicker and slower the legs, the fuller the body of the wine will be. Think of the difference between skim milk and whole milk.
  • The aroma of the wine in the glass. Swirl the wine for about 10 seconds, then put the glass to your nose and breathe deeply. Do this a few times. How many various scents can you distinguish?
  • The taste of the wine. Take a sip and savor it before you swallow. Does it have a heavy or light texture (again, think of skim vs whole milk). Is it sweet? Fruity? Dry?
  • The finish of the wine, or aftertaste. How does the wine linger in your mouth after the sip has been swallowed?

Consider a wine’s complexity, character, and potential. Would you enjoy drinking this wine alone, or do you think it would be best served with food? If served with food, what kind of food? Spicy, sweet? Rich and creamy? Meaty?

We look forward to seeing you tasting Washington State Wine this weekend during the Harvest Wine Tour of Olympic Peninsula Wineries. Enjoy the wine and cider you taste. Have fun with the experience. Drink responsibly and pace yourself. Cheers!

 

Olympic Peninsula Harvest Winery Tour

Fall wine tasting is a tradition as old as that of making wine.

Come to the Harvest Winery Tour on the Olympic Peninsula, November 11 - 13, 2011.

In France, vintners have created a special beverage that’s only available shortly after the harvest. In the wineries of the Loire Valley, it is known as Bernache; elsewhere in France it is known as vin nouveau. Whatever you call it, it’s worth a taste. It’s a sugary juice that is in the very first stages of becoming a real wine. Experienced vintners can actually tell something about the future wine from sipping un vin nouveau. The rest of us just enjoy it.

It only stands to reason that harvesting and pressing grapes puts folks in the mood to taste the results of one’s labor. That’s what has inspired our Olympic Peninsula Harvest Winery Tour.

You won’t find any Bernache on the Olympic Peninsula, but you will find a healthy selection of local wines made from Washington grapes.

Eight Washington Wineries on the Olympic Peninsula participate in the Harvest Winery Tour. Make a weekend of it, meandering from Port Townsend to Port Angeles with stops in the Chimacum Valley. It will be a scenic weekend, and a gustatorily delightful one.

Each winery will serve appetizers to complement their wines. Have your ticket stamped at all eight wineries and you’ll be eligible to win a lovely gift basket.

The Harvest Winery Tour takes place November 11 – 13, 2011. To purchase tickets by phone, please call 800.785.5495. Additional information is available at Olympic Peninsula Harvest Winery Tour.

 

 

Autumn Equals Apple Cider

Nothing says autumn quite like apple cider. For centuries, people have celebrated the fall harvest of apples by pressing them into cider. Hot apple cider, sparkling apple cider, and hard apple cider are the quintessential beverages of autumn.

Don’t let this autumn pass you by without stepping onto a farm and celebrating the apple.

Fall at Finnriver Farm on the Olympic Peninsula.

Finnriver Farm and Cidery in Chimacum is hosting an Apple Festival this Sunday, October 16, 2011, from 1 to 4 p.m. There will be apples, hot apple cider, apple brandy, and a variety of artisan hard ciders. There will also be family games, face painting, and music all day. The incomparable Cape Cleare salmon cart will be on hand with delectable dishes like their salmon sandwich, and Finnriver will serve a few tasty sweet treats.

Why stop at just one Washington State cidery? Head over to Eaglemount Wine & Cider while in the Chimacum Valley and sample their ciders. The wine studio at Eaglemount Winery is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

Finnriver Farm & Cidery and Eaglemount Wine & Cidery are members of Olympic Peninsula Wineries, a group of Washington State Wineries and Cideries making wine on the Olympic Peninsula.

Celebrate the apple this Sunday, October 16, 2011.