Etiquette
No. 1, don’t drink to get drunk No. 2, be kind. No. 3, enjoy. That’s the gist of the 15-point wine-tasting etiquette list put together by Danny Evanishen of Thornhaven Winery in Summerland.
“Having worked at Thornhaven for so long, I finally wrote an article on wine shop etiquette,” he said.
“Wine tasting should be an enjoyable experience, not only for you, but for those around you.”
Evanishen’s list covers a lot of ground from not reeking of perfume, spitting out your gum and not guzzling to keeping hydrated with water, asking questions and having a designated driver.
While his guide is helpful to those truly looking to get the most out of their wine touring, it’s probably also a response to rowdy and pushy groups showing up on the verge of drunkenness demanding more wine.
El Dorado
Usually, I never write about wines you can’t buy in the Okanagan and are unlikely to ever try.
But, I thought I’d make an exception for David Girard Vineyards in El Dorado County, about an hour northeast of Sacramento.
Not only did my wife and I have an exceptional tasting and tour with Girard himself during a recent trip to northern California, but he dispensed some wisdom that might be helpful to Okanagan wine lovers and wineries.
First, Girard has done away with the drop-in wine tasting. “You have to make an appointment,” he said. “That appointment could be made just by calling the number posted at the front gate, but it’s an indication you’re serious about taking your time with the tasting. We’ll reward you with a personalized, unrushed tasting at the bar, seated in our tasting room or even outside on the patio with cheese pairing.”
Set ideally on a knoll, the winery does a booming wedding business.
He contracts out all the wedding business because, while he enjoys the revenue stream, he doesn’t want to be hands-on.
Girard, a retired San Francisco lawyer, is also an innovator in El Dorado County.
The region predominantly grows Merlot, but he discovered the decomposed granite covering his 40 acres was ideal for grape varieties originating from the Rhone region of France.
As such, he made the first Rose in the county out of Mourvedre, Grenache and Counoise and introduced Viognier and Roussanne for whites and Syrah and the aforementioned Grenache and Mourvedre for reds.
WSET
If you work in the hospitality industry, or you’re simply a knowledge-seeking wine drinker, these upcoming Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) training sessions could be for you.
Vancouver-based Fine Vintage will teach the one-day, WSET Level 1 course in Kelowna on Nov. 3. Register for $349 at FineVintageLtd.com. The $1,399, six-day Level 3 course will be offered over three weekends in Kelowna starting Nov. 10.
And the $950, three-day, Level 2 course will run in Kelowna over two weekends starting Dec. 1.
Steve MacNaull is The Okanagan Weekend’s business and wine reporter and columnist. Reach him at steve.macnaull@ok.bc.ca.