The winery experience

Our time living in Sonoma was a special part of our lives, we reminisce about it frequently. Our time working at wineries though, Mary at Chateau St. Jean and me at Balletto Vineyards, was extraordinarily valuable. Being right there, where it all happens, witnessing everything from vineyard operations to winemaking to bottling provided perspective and knowledge for us that is simply irreplaceable for what we do now.

On the business side, we learned much about how wines are created and how they fit into the multiple price tiers, allowing consumers to find their favorite selections from wineries at price levels that fit their budgets. We witnessed too the all-important marketing decisions that go into packaging, we saw the ones that worked and the ones that did not work out so well. From the artistic side we picked up far more valuable knowledge. We learned from watching winemakers and vineyard managers up close. We watched them adapt to each vintage and what the growing year offered them, we witnessed the split-second decisions reacting to what was transpiring in the rows of vines and in the cellar to adapt to rapidly-changing conditions, producing wines that passed market tests in good years and bad.

We grew to understand how each of these choices resulted in the subtle differences in aromatics and palate flavors that ultimately please wine consumers, in essence why we smell what we smell and taste what we taste, helping us pair wine with food. Perhaps more importantly, it helps us pair wine with consumers, knowing what wine might fit best with each customer based on what they tell us they like. It’s never foolproof, but the education we garnered being “at the source,” if you will, makes our jobs now possible.

Now we travel back to wineries often, spending quality time with our many winemaker friends and watching them practice their craft. We also never turn down a tasting, taking every opportunity to hear from winemakers and other winery personnel what the current year and past vintages look like since we last had a chance to talk with them. It is not quite as powerful as actually spending time in the vineyard or on the crush pad, yet it provides the intelligence we need to be better at our job of helping wine drinkers find the bottles that will be perfect or close to it for them.

The knowledge you gain at a winery is why we encourage folks to make the pilgrimage to wine growing regions in our area and around the world. Trips to wineries are always fun, especially on the weekends when wineries offer barrel tasting or special events in the spring and fall. These weekends are festive to be sure, but winemakers and other winery professionals are pressed for time. The sheer numbers of visitors on event weekends automatically means less meaningful time with those on the front lines of wine production, it is simple math.

To really learn about what goes into each bottle go in the winter, or early summer. When you travel to wineries in early summer sign up for a vineyard tour, go among the vines and see how the “set” looks, and learn what influences the dormant winter months and the all-important spring conditions will impart on the coming growing year. Call us here at the shop before you head to wine country. With a little notice, we can usually get you some time with winery folks behind the scenes, where you really get a feel for all they do beyond the usual tasting room experience.

There is nothing more powerful or more enlightening than hearing a winemaker whose products you love explain the differences each decision makes with the end product. Tasting out of individual barrels that contain the same varietal from different vineyards, or sampling from barrels from different cooperages that contain identical fruit, or even further the influences from natural yeasts versus fermentation from inoculated yeast strains. Hearing of each decision during the growing and winemaking process is unforgettable.

For wine consumers these trips are a unique chance to learn more about the wines you like and discover why you do. Helping you make the most out of your trip is part of what we do as wine professionals. Our experience working at wineries is an irreplaceable part of our past that quite simply makes what we do now possible.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.

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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and tabletop décor shop by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles and other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.