Gluten Free Wineshopper

Happy 2011!

This is the time of year when I really miss having a fireplace…of course, in our area of California you can’t burn wood in the fireplace most of the time anyway but a good gas log would be fine with me. This cold, wet winter is not what I stay in San Jose for.  But I digress; I really wish I had a fireplace so I could sit beside it with my hubby and drink a glass of our wonderful WSAH red wine, sharing New Year’s ideas and expectations after a long day at work. Maybe we’ll  have to invite some friends to join us, even without the fireplace. This wine is too good not to share!

If you have a fireplace, or even if you don’t, January is a great time to invite some good wine loving friends over to enjoy some awesome WineShop wines at a tasting.  We even have a four  bottle sampler if six bottles seems a bit much on a weeknight or so soon after the holidays.  WineTasting with friends in January is a way to keep the good times alive after the holidays; don’t miss the fun. So call me or email me to help you get your tasting hats on, sit by the fire with friends and raise your glasses to the New Year.

Wow, I’m excited you have found my wine page….I have some simple questions and answers about wine tasting, ..I’m not a sommelier but I’m an active Wine Consultant who enjoys meeting new people at my tastings and chatting about various questions about why we do wine tastings.

Why take the time to taste the wine when you could just slug it or chug it? Why do you want to swirl and sniff before you sip and savor?
This seems like such a simple question but the answer is more complex than the wines we are drinking!  What a waste of the good winemakers efforts. Expensive wine or everyday wines are worth taking the time to slowly sip into your mouth and savor on the tongue and in the mouth. Get the full feel and flavor by sucking in a bit of air with your wine and see how different a wine can taste when you slow it down. Don’t rush it down the throat; take the time to swirl it in your mouth and get the full texture and flavors.

When you are trying new wines only try a one or two whites and one or two reds if you haven’t done tastings before.  It often takes two or three tastes of each before you really know the flavor of each wine so don’t just judge the wine on its first taste, take a couple or three really good tastes and then think about how it tastes.  Between the whites and the reds have a sip of water and a cracker or piece of a baguette to refresh your palate for the reds.  Go slow, enjoy and you’ll be starting on a journey of wine tasting that you can enjoy often.

Does wine tasting seem very “out there” and something only for “older people” or “rich people”? That’s kind of what I thought when I was young and had not a clue. But…now that I know how much fun it is, and how good the wine can be, I realize that I was wrong and I’m really happy I was. Wine is naturally gluten free and pairs well with many of my favorite foods, steak, chicken,  fish,  fruits and even chocolate. What’s not to like about that?

Wine tasting is fun, social, and something to share with good friends. Or to share with the couple standing next to you at the “tasting bar”.  I met a really neat couple when wine tasting in Monterey last month; they were both musicians from the SF bay area and  as we tasted and talked, it turned out we had a mutual friend in the music biz.  What a small world,  and all while enjoying our wine tasting and conversation.

Another great thing about wine tasting with me is that the tasting experience includes recipes to pair with each of the wines so you can start right in enjoying food with your wine. If you are going to a tasting and you don’t know the host very well or don’t want to bother him or her; bring your own GF crackers, spread on your choice of cheese, listen to the Wine Consultant or person leading the tasting, relax and have fun.