How to Wine Taste with Gary Farrell Winery
We love nothing more than sharing expertise from the best of the best, especially when said expertise makes of a formerly difficult or unapproachable subject, something fun, possible and worth learning more about.
Theresa Heredia, winemaker extraordinaire at Gary Farrell Winery, has generously shared her roadmap for making the extraordinary world of wine accessible to everyone. We’ve edited her kind words and wisdom for readability, but her expertise and generosity remain as intended!
“Because wine is such a personal experience, I advise people to start their wine tasting experience with what they think they like or dislike, focusing first on red or whites. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to what you like so my advice is to taste different types of wine. Invite some friends over for a casual wine tasting. In preparation, go to a wine shop and speak with the most helpful person you can find. Tell them what you’re planning and ask them to guide you to the wines and varietals that fit your taste and budget. Because there are so many regions and varietals of red and white wines, you’ll have the opportunity to host many tastings!
A nice middle price point place to start with red wines would be to include a red Bordeaux (French Cabernet Sauvignon), a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, a Chilean Malbec, a Barbaresco or Barolo (Italian Nebiolo) and a Chianti (Italian, mostly Sangiovese). For your next tasting, include a Chateauneuf du Pape (French red blend that is mostly Grenache/Syrah), a Washington Syrah, an Australian Syrah, a California Pinot Noir and a red Burgundy (French Pinot Noir).
For a white wine tasting start with a California Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley, a white Burgundy (French Chardonnay), a white Bordeaux (French Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon), a California Sauvignon Blanc and a Pouilly-Fumé (French Sauvignon Blanc from Loire Valley). For another tasting try a dry German Riesling, a Washington Riesling, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, a Grüner Veltliner (Austria, Czech Rep. or Slovakia) and white Rhone Valley wine (French blend often made from Viogner, Marsanne, Roussane grapes, but can be made from many types of grapes).
After tasting all of these wines you’ll be able to decide which regions and varietals you prefer, and the next tastings you set up can be focused more on your narrowed down preferences. For example, if you prefer Pinot Noir and Chateauneuf du Pape (my two favorite reds), you could set up one tasting focused on Pinot Noir from different wine regions (say California, Oregon & France) and another that includes Grenache/Syrah blends from different regions, while the next set of tastings could be focused exclusively on Pinot Noir from your favorite region, say California, for example. Keep having tastings until you feel you’ve developed a deep appreciation of a particular wine. It’s a lot of fun to do this with friends and it really helps break down the barriers of understanding wine. If you really get into it, the rabbit hole can run deep, so just have fun!
As for the actual tasting of wine, the simplest first step is to swirl the wine in the glass and enjoy the aromatics for a few minutes. Jot down some notes of what aromas you notice. In my opinion, a wine’s aromatic profile is half the pleasure in enjoying a glass of wine. You don’t have to be too specific, just write what you like or dislike. Is it fruity, floral, earthy, citrusy? If you’re more serious about tasting, then you can get into specifics about what you smell, for example, if you smell floral aromas try to describe the type of flowers. Or if it tastes fruity, try to describe the type of fruit. If it’s earthy, try to describe whether it smells like mushrooms, soil, or grass.
Next, think about how the wine feels after you take a sip; wine texture is a big part of the wine experience. For example, red wines have a lot of tannins, which come from including the grape skins in the fermenting process, which lends a lot of color and texture to the wine. As you’re tasting it, swirl it around in your mouth and maybe even try to slurp a little air in too which helps to bring out more of the wine flavors.
After you’ve enjoyed each sip of wine, wait a minute or two before you take another sip and enjoy the “finish”. Think about how your tongue feels as you’re enjoying the finish. Is it dry, sour or silky and mouthwatering? Are the flavors and texture persistent and lingering, or does they end abruptly? We often talk about wines having a long or a short finish. Good wines often have a nice, persistent finish that isn’t harsh and astringent. We also talk about a wine’s balance, which refers to all of the components being nicely in balance with one another. Say the finish is very sour, bitter, incredibly dry and astringent or it may feel “hot”. This means the alcohol is slightly out of balance. Throughout each and all of your tastings, make sure to compare notes with your friends to appreciate how everyone’s palette perceives wine differently.
Now, if you want to keep things simple and spend a little less time tasting, then just begin by looking at the shelf descriptions at a wine shop, and don’t be afraid to ask questions while you’re shopping. Retail wine shops have staff members who are educated in wine and they are there to help you explore the world of wine. Or simpler yet, pick up a copy of Wine Enthusiast or a Wine Spectator magazine and check out the reviews and wine scores. My good friend Virginie Boone who writes for the Wine Enthusiast, does a really fantastic job of writing realistic and thoughtful reviews of wines that are reasonably priced and easily accessible.
The wines from Gary Farrell Winery are mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley. Because we’re located in sunny California, our wines tend to have lots of fruit-forward aromas and flavors. The Pinot Noirs tend to boast flavors of cherry, raspberry, cranberry, blackberry, and cassis, but many of them have undertones of earthiness, such as mushroom. Pinot Noir from the warmer parts of the Russian River Valley tend to be more red fruit-driven (Cherry, raspberry) and those from the cooler parts, closer to the Pacific Coast, which have more blue and purple fruit flavors (blackberry, cassis). The tannins in Pinot Noir are not as big as they are in a Cabernet Sauvignon, for example. Pinot Noir grapes have much thinner skins than Cabernet Sauvignon so the wines are less tannic overall. You’ll notice that Pinot Noir doesn’t have as much density of color either, which can be explained by the thinner skins as well. Many of our Chardonnays are juicy, tangy and citrusy, with a nice hint of toastiness from oak, but the influence from oak barrels should not dominate.
I enjoy wines that have a nice backbone of acidity, so our wines are excellent with lots of different food types. Try our Russian River Selection Pinot Noir with a Vietnamese Bánh mì sandwich, or our Hallberg Pinot Noir with pork belly Bao and you’ll be amazed at how well the flavors marry together. Try our Olivet Lane Chardonnay with Meyer Lemon roasted Halibut or our Russian River Selection Chardonnay with Chinese salt & pepper shrimp.
Remember that there’s a whole world of wine out there to enjoy. Part of what I love about winemaking is the diversity in wine regions, grape varietals, winemaking, grape growers, winemakers, soil types, weather, and more. We embrace the diversity in wine so it seems natural and apparent that we should also embrace diversity among people in the wine industry and among people who enjoy wine. Diversity and individuality are hallmarks of wine. Unfortunately, these are hallmarks not shared among winemakers and most wine lovers. We are committed to creating opportunities that welcome all races, genders, religions, ethnicities, sexual orientations, ages, and disabilities to the world of wine, whether as a winemaker or a wine afficionado.
For us, one step is to invite people to take the first steps—and sips—in learning what they love about wine, and what wine to love.”
When thinking about your wedding, and picking wines for it, why not follow the tasting experience Theresa shared above? Select wines for your wedding that you have deliberately discovered, learned about, and make your wines an even bigger part of your big day. Maybe you could even make wine tasting part of your big day?! Best yet, make a love of wine a lifelong love you share as a couple.
