Tasting Blindly...in Atascadero...

The Goddess of Wine had the opportunity to lead a group of students through a blind tasting at the Fossil Wine Bar in Atascadero. This is what I told them as we tasted through the 6 wines pre-poured for them.

The world of wine tasting often seems magical and esoteric. It’s not really. And it’s easier than you think to taste wine blind. In fact, you may be already using many of the techniques that so-called experts use. There are four basic steps to tasting wine – and these can be used whether or not you’re tasting blind:

Tournament of Roses - Drinking Pink!

Gosh, the Goddess of Wine just loves Rosé. Every year I anticipate the new releases from all over the world. I just can't wait to taste 'em! And last night, I got to share some of the tastiest with my intrepid group of wine lovers at the Morro Bay Wine Seller.

Rosé is a lot different from the sweet and insipid pink wines that were available when I first started drinking wine. Today's Rosé is crisp, dry, fruity, and delicious. Our selections were accompanied by fresh-baked goods from #JDBakes, who presented an Austrian-style "milk bread" and a French-style "biscuit rose de Reims" designed to be dipped in the wine. A #tasty evening, indeed!

Wining in Lodi...

The Goddess of Wine and JD had the opportunity to join the San Francisco Wine School for a quick and intense trip to Lodi. Organized by Master Sommelier, David Glancy, and business partner, Kristen Campbell (the workhorse behind the SFWS), this trip covered what was just a small taste of Lodi wine. To make the event more special, our guide to the region was noted wine writer, sommelier, photographer, and all-around expert on Lodi, Randy Caparoso.

What touched me about Lodi, more than the delicious wines and meals our group shared, was the ethos embodied by the community of farmers and winemakers. I discovered that, what I imagined I would find, was very different from the reality of this old California wine region.