San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
How wine tasting might look different in 2023
Wine Country visitors will find more fun and flexible tasting experiences this year
When John Sweazey’s staff at Sonoma’s trendsetting Anaba Wines suggested a wine and doughnut pairing, he was unconvinced.
“I thought it was the dumbest idea ever,” he said. He was wrong. “It just took off like a rocket ship.”
Anaba teamed up with Bay Area empire Johnny Doughnuts to take the stuffiness out of wine and food pairings for the tasting dubbed “Glazed & Confused.” Instead of matching Chardonnay with buttery Dungeness crab or scallops, for example, Anaba chose a vanilla old-fashioned doughnut.
Glazed & Confused epitomizes the ever-evolving wine tasting experience, which this year seems poised to turn away from the extravagance that characterized Wine Country in 2022. Luxurious wine tastings won’t disappear, but visitors will likely see a wider range of offerings, especially amid fears of a recession. Some wineries will trade exclusivity for accessibility, and hone their efforts on attracting younger demographics with fun, lighthearted tastings that are free of pretense, such as pairing doughnuts with wine.
It was less than 50 years ago that most Napa and Sonoma tastings took place right in the wine cellar around a barrel or at a makeshift bar. The owner or winemaker would pour a flight of wines, typically at no cost, and no one tried to sell you on their club membership. It was a no-frills, no-pressure situation that was all about the wine. Today, with roughly 1,000 options divided between Napa and Sonoma, wineries are in a perpetual state of one-upping their neighbors. Tasting experiences are getting increasingly creative, elaborate and expensive. While visiting grand, multi-million dollar estates, Wine Country travelers can pair wine with horseback riding, a Michelin star-quality meal or heaps of caviar. Wine is the anchor, but less the focus.
In 2023, wineries will likely continue to push the envelope on ultra-exclusive experiences that cost as much as, or more, than a meal at the French Laundry. This proliferation shows that the demand is there, regardless of outcry from people who argue Wine Country has gotten too expensive.
Napa winery Stalworth, for example, just launched a $15,000 experience, which gives a group of eight the rare opportunity to work with Stalworth’s winemaker to craft the final 2021 wine blend. The cost also includes a multi-course lunch prepared by a French Laundry alum and four 5-liter bottles of the wine fixed with a limited-edition label of the group’s own design.
While the pandemic-inflicted, by-appointment model isn’t going anywhere, some wineries are becoming more flexible. A handful of estates — including Napa Valley’s Clos du Val and Cuvaison — now allow visitors to skip the traditional tasting in favor of enjoying wine by the glass or bottle. Clos du Val charges each person $10 — essentially a corkage fee — to order wine a la carte on its garden patio. Cuvaison offers wine by the glass or bottle during the last appointment of the day for no additional charge.
“It still gets us good exposure to the brand, and they don’t have to buy a $60 tasting,” said Cuvaison estate director Brendan Finley. Afterwards, some people end up booking a traditional tasting for later in their trip, he said.
Cuvaison is also part of a growing trend of wineries hosting events targeted at locals, or tourists looking for something to do before dinner but after most wineries close. This spring, the winery will start a happy hour around sunset on Thursdays with music and wine. Similarly, Gundlach Bundschu launched a monthly happy hour last fall consisting of $10 wines by the glass, pizza and listening to records in its cozy indoor tasting space. So far, every event has been very popular.
“I think there are a lot of people looking for something to do in that time slot, to entertain their evening and be out and socialize with people,” said Katie Bundschu, Gundlach Bundschu’s vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re able to cast a wider net and probably draw people in who maybe don’t want to come in on a weekday because they work, or a weekend because it’s crowded.”
Wine Country visitors can also expect to see more fresh and informal takes on the wine tasting experience this year. These seem curated for a group the wine industry is notoriously desperate to engage: Millennials. Bundschu put in a shuffleboard court at Glen Ellen’s Abbot’s Passage, the winery she founded, and visits conclude with a complimentary aperitif cocktail. Claypool Cellars in Sebastopol purchased a wienershaped wagon off Craigslist in 2020 and uses it to sell $8 gourmet hot dogs in Dutch crunch bread alongside tastings on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
“It sounds odd, but it does actually pair well with Pinot Noir,” said co-owner Cheney Claypool, who also hopes to introduce trivia nights this year. “It’s a great product, but also really casual and laid back — not a stuffy thing.”
Anaba also offers a pizza, Pinot and bocce experience, and club members have access to the winery’s pickleball and paddle tennis court. All of these unorthodox concepts suggest that while 2022’s wine tasting theme was “extravagance,” 2023’s could be “extravagance and chill.”
“Our focus is creating an environment where everyone is looking around at people and thinking, ‘This is really fun,’” Sweazey said.
Luxurious wine tastings won’t disappear, but visitors will likely see a wider range of offerings.