The events organized by the Wine Road, I find enjoyable because they are organized well with access to maps of the wineries participating, delicious recipes & a full program of who is serving what so you can plan your days. If days seem too much there is always a Sunday only option! With over 100 participating wineries, this event has something for everyone. I’m starting to wrap up my holiday shopping & this is a great time to stock up on wines for the holidays as most wineries have great sales going on for the weekend. The event this year is Saturday & Sunday November 7 – 8 from 11am – 4 pm both days. Online ticket sales end soon so if you’re ready to sip, nosh, learn & swirl in love with fall in wine country get your tickets here: https://www.wineroad.com/events/wine-food-affair/
Now, to the point of why I wanted to write this post! When I first decided to learn about the wines that are local to me, I couldn’t think of a better way to explore. At the time of the 1st event I attended, my husband did not enjoy wine & we had been looking for things to do in this county we called home as we both originally came from busier areas. This event was perfect for me because every lady knows the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. So while I swirled the weekend away, my husband enjoyed foods I hadn’t made him yet. The tasting plan for the 1st year was to find the recipes that would make my husband swoon (including the chocolate goods) & then whittle the list down to wineries I wanted to try the most. My husband kept getting complimented on how kind he was to carry my wine & drive me around while not drinking…so the ego boosts to him allowed me more time to swirl & sip. I let him tell everyone he was my DD so he didn’t have to explain to wine lovers why he didn’t enjoy there juice.
The following year I was well bitten by the wine bug, as it appealed to my love of science & nature all wrapped up into bottles of tasty elixir. My in-laws loved that I enjoyed wine, so they helped fuel the passion. The 2nd year it was time to indulge my curiosities by focusing my tasting on a varietal quest. I wanted to try new kinds of grapes & see how they differed from what I had been exposed too at that point. This way of tasting is actually something I still do to this day anywhere. Love to find the odd duck on a wine list!
My next few years I focused on AVA days, also known as growing regions, so I could discover what each area did special & the unique flavors. A few of the well- known growing regions on the list are; Dry Creek Valley, Russian River Valley & Alexander Valley. I first fell in love with Zinfandel in Dry Creek Valley & Pinot Noir in Russian River Valley. I enjoyed wine before, but I was now in love with these bottled adventures! My tastes have changed a few times & vintage can change the flavors, but that only makes it more interesting to launch into these events sometimes to taste places I’ve already been.
As years moved on my tasting plan has been focused on wineries participating in the event that are usually open by appointment only or new wineries that just opened. After living in Sonoma County for over 10 years I’ve made a few friends that are in the wine business & get to live their passion daily. With that being said, I’ve done tasting plans that included seeing my friends participating wineries & support them in their passion projects. Nothing feels better that spending my hard earned dollar to support a friends dream!
Hopefully, my adventures shed light on ways to map out your day. No matter what tasting plan you map out you’ll have a fun filled weekend of laughter & hopefully meet some great people while tasting their passion in a glass. Cheers to a safe & adventurous weekend!
By the way, I have my husband’s palate down now & he can no longer say he doesn’t like wine. Now he can say he enjoys whiskey & wine! Ha!