Don’t miss Wine Road’s 2019 Barrel Tasting event in Sonoma County. This is your chance to sample wines from the Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River valleys. But this isn’t like your typical wine tasting experience.

Barrel tasting happens only once a year

Each spring, the grapes that were harvested the prior year, usually late summer through fall, are ready for sampling. Winemakers regularly taste test their barrels during the wine’s maturation, checking for levels of fruit, acidity, and tannins. This essential step in the winemaking process helps winemakers determine the best time to bottle the wine. Sampling also ensures the wine hasn’t gone bad or can help to decide whether the wine may be best used in a blend.

Although wine is sometimes aged in stainless steel, it is the oak barrel that really contributes to distinctive characteristics. Oak “breathes,” and the oxygen affects the wine.

A different wine tasting experience

During Wine Road’s Barrel Tasting in March, wine lovers get to experience young wines just like the winemakers do. Of course, barrel samples don’t taste like the finished wines you’re used to. These wines are still evolving, so you have to look for underlying, less obvious characteristics — hints of a soon-to-be a fine wine.

Ilona Thompson, of PalateExposure, puts it well in her in-depth article: “Barrel tasting [is] a great palate exercise. Discerning what the wine may taste like when the oak resolves itself and recognizing its subtler flavors makes you feel like a wine Jedi.” And it’s the sleuthing that makes barrel tasting so fun. There’s a gamble, and you get to wager on the winners!

Chance to bet on futures

When you find a wine you think has promise, you can buy it in advance at a discount, sometimes a deep discount. You can invest in futures. And for small-batch wines, futures may be your only chance to purchase. The risk comes when you pick up your finished, bottled wine 12 to 18 months later. Did it evolve like you thought it would?

Fortunately, you don’t have to make the decision in a vacuum. Barrel tasting isn’t just a lot of fun, it’s an educational experience. At the wineries, you will have the unique opportunity to talk to the winemakers. Here’s a chance to learn about the winemaking process and find out from the experts how they think a particular wine will evolve.

Discover new wineries

If this sounds like a fun wine tasting adventure, buy your tickets and plan out your route. You can design your tour around wineries that you know you like, but this is also a great opportunity to check out ones you’ve heard good things about. The best approach is be flexible and keep it easy. Figure on about a handful of wineries per day. Each winery offers at least three samples, while some offer twice that many. Each one-ounce sample is measured into your glass using a “wine thief,” the device that draws wine from the barrel.

You can buy your tickets at any participating winery on any day of the event, but if you want to save, pre-purchase your wine tasting pass. Advance ticket sales end February 25.

And if you want to read more about barrel tasting, take a look at one of our previous blog posts.

Wine Road’s Barrel Tasting 2019

Friday, Saturday & Sunday, March 1 – 3 and March 8 – 10
11am – 4 pm
Tickets on sale now
https://www.wineroad.com/events/barrel-tasting/

Touring around sunlit backroads, breathing in the fresh country air and stunning vineyard landscape, sipping on your favorite red or white varietal — that’s a great Californian wine tour for you.

Though the journey itself is almost magical, it does take some planning in advance. You need to plan for your wine tour beforehand to book the ideal place to stay and the right reservations to sample the finest vintages California’s winemakers have for you.

Here are some guidelines to help you arrange a memorable journey.

Know your preferences before you plan

No two wineries are the same, which is why you need to know your preferences before you sign up for a wine tasting tour. If you prefer white wines, center your tour around wineries that produce and specialize in them. And while you’re in the Wine Country, go ahead and take a chance. Deviate from your plans, follow the inspiration of the moment, and try out something new if the idea strikes you.

Check up on the specifics

From reservation times to which wines are available for tasting to whether or not the venue has a picnic space, it’s a good idea to know everything about the tasting rooms on your tour. You can find this information on the winery’s website. If you are touring around with a guide, ask them.

Plan a diverse wine tasting tour

When in the Sonoma Wine Country or Napa Valley, tour as true wine connoisseurs do. Plan a wine tasting tour with a mix of old and new establishments, with traditional and contemporary styles, and red and white wines. You can stick to your wine preference back home at your house party or during a dinner out, but here you should take the opportunity to sample a broader range of tastes.

Book a chauffeur service

Have fun, but don’t forget to be safe. When you plan a day full of sampling wines, it’s not uncommon to feel … well … tipsy — not a condition in which you want to drive yourself or find your way around unfamiliar terrain. Bring along a designated driver, or book one. If your vacation rental service offers one on their concierge menu, that’s even better!

Bring an empty box with you

Most people don’t even think about this, but what happens when you need to buy a few bottles of your new favorite wine? You need an empty box to carry these in so they won’t roll around in the back of the car, jostling the contents — and your nerves.

Takes notes and ask questions

Wine tasting tour is more than just discussing the flavors in your glass. It’s about increasing your knowledge about wine itself, from how it’s produced to what foods it should be paired with. Ask all questions that come to your mind to get the most out of your Wine Country adventure!

It pays to have the experts of California Wine Country vacation rental services plan your wine tour. Let us personalize a wine tasting tour just for you, and take you on a memorable adventure through the trails of Napa Valley and Sonoma County. Call us today at 707.890.0852 for an exciting “wining” adventure!