All that surely would appeal to our staff, but what else could there be? We found the answer located right under our noses, so to speak, in the pursuit of fine wines from our acclaimed vineyards found in the Napa, Sonoma, Santa Ynez, Alexander and many other California locales spread out from Oregon to Mexico. What fun! It’s become a tradition now for us at Scott Public Relations to celebrate the end of each work week with a wine tasting. We do drink what we taste, but only in moderation, for the challenge of distinguishing varietals, vintage and vineyards. No sommeliers us, but that occupation is now a highly sought area of expertise in a growing industry. The staff gathers around a table hosting several bottles of unidentified bottles of wine and away we go.
Last Friday we enjoyed a wonderful red table wine from Hanna Winery. Officially labeled 2002 Sonoma County Two Ranch Red you can probably figure out that the vintage was 2002, but the varietal composition was a tad more complicated blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, cabernet franc, zinfandel, pinot noir, malbec and petit verdot. WOW, just a tad complicated! And how about the grapes? They all came from the Alexander Valley not Sonoma. You’ll find it a bit fruit forward, soft in tannins and very drinkable. It should go well with grilled steaks or even afterwards with a chocolate treat. Quite a deal for about $20. The group had a fun time guessing at the composition, the price and the vineyard. We’re almost always surprised to learn the truth about the wine behind the label. For a fun way to get together after office hours, learn something new, talk about events of the week just ended or the one to come you may want to try the growing wine tasting enthusiasm.
In future columns we’ll let you in on some of our special finds and also ways to enrich the tasting experience, including some vino buzz words that we’re already tossing about like old pros. This is going to be fun! In the meantime, here’s to good health and good friends. |
