March is Washington Wine Month, so I will be focusing on Washington wines for my YouTube channel episodes. In fact, my first episode is live, featuring white blends. I tried the white from Sage Rat Winery for the first time. I was a bit nervous, I wanted it to show well. Being that it was a blend of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Orange Muscat didn’t help my nerves. When you watch the episode, you will find out what I found out about that wine. There was one dud in the bunch, but that is to be expected from time to time. Check out the episode!
Every March (the original Washington Wine Month) a big event is held at the Lumen Field exhibition center called “The Taste Of Washington” featuring over seven hundred wineries from our great wine producing state. There are also many booths that feature the culinary scene of Washington. Lots of wines to taste and food to sample. I’m going this year for the first time in a long time. I’m not sure why I don’t go every year, but it’s in my plans to make it part of my yearly routine. I’ve been twice as a pourer for San Juan Vineyards and once as a ticket holder. It’s an impressive display of wine and food. Of course, the wine is my main interest. I will give a full report about my experience soon after I attend.
I’ve been ruminating on something that comes up quite often when tasting wines with other people. When you get together with someone to taste and analyze a wine, each individual comes up with their thoughts on the aromas and flavors of the wine being tasted. What I’ve heard lately is, “It’s the power of suggestion that makes me get that aroma.” Let’s get something straight here. Everyone has a database in their olfactory knowledge. Not all of us can remember, let alone have experienced certain smells or tastes. So, when you get involved in a group tasting experience, you depend on others database of taste and smells. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve smelled or tasted a wine and could not nail down the flavors or aromas I am experiencing. Case in point. I was at a tasting event with two very experienced wine guys. We were smelling a wine from Cote Rotie and could not for the lives of us identify one of the aromas. We took the glass over to someone else to have them smell it. He immediately said that the aroma was blueberry. He nailed it! That was the aroma and it had nothing to do with the power of suggestion. Maybe it had been a while since my two friends and I had eaten blueberries, but we knew what they smelled like and once we were made aware of it, we knew that was it. Smelling and identifying aromas in wine is a big key to enjoying it even more. Get some people you are comfortable with and try smelling and tasting wine together. Help each other out and you will be surprised at what you can learn.
Per a suggestion from one of the sales reps who comes to the store, I’ve started utilizing my TikTok account to give a glimpse of what I do at the store. Sort of a day in the life of Stan The Wine Man. I believe I’ve recorded about thirteen short clips of me at the store or in my studio. I will do a couple today since it’s Washington Wine Month and several salespeople will be stopping by to show me wines. Mondays are busy for me because I write quite a few orders, help customers and stock the beer when it needs it. It’s snowing outside as I’m writing this piece, so beer sales may be a bit slower. It’s still winter out there, soon to be Spring. Not soon enough for me. Remember the saying about March; In like a lion, out like a lamb. It’s living up to that reputation so far this year. That being said, if your brave enough to enter the world of TikTok, look me up. I also load the clips up on Instagram if you want to check them out there.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
