You Can Join the Gifted Program - Napa Valley WIne Academy

If you are looking to assuage your Valentine's Day woes, maybe learning to manage your expectations is a good lesson.  Good but not delicious.  Instead, salve your inner child/student with some fun, informative classes on wine in a beautiful setting. 

The Napa Valley Wine Academy was started in 2011 by industry professionals to design a space, literally and figuratively, for people of all stages to enhance their knowledge around wine topics.  From getting certified on the WSET program to learning about stemware, this is a super cool place to get smart about wine. 

And if you are thinking, " Awesome!  But Napa is so far..." check out the options for other Northern California locations  including; San Francisco, Tahoe, Sacramento, and San Jose.

Their Academy Tasting series will let you unleash your Armchair Traveller by letting you explore specific varietals with expert help.  Expert, but not snooty. Where would the fun be in that?

 In depth events like the one coming up on April 18th, will guide you though interesting and important topics to wine, like How the Right Glass can change your perspective.  And the four Riedel glasses you get to take home will let you flaunt share your new found knowledge. 

I know I am planning to make a visit as soon as time allows!  See you there!

The Seduction Of Riesling - Consider Mosel Riesling for Valentine's Day

With Valentine's Day falling on a Thursday, it might be tough to squeeze some romance into your day.
Consider Riesling.
If you don;t think of German as the language of romance, Riesling might just change your mind.

The Mosel Valley where some of my favorite Rieslings originate, has gorgeous scenery, a lambent river flowing through vine laden cliffs, impossibly steep.  The slate based soil looks more like alien AstroTurf than something that would foster such delicious flavors.  Blue slate and red slate produce different flavor profiles, with blue slate contributing stone fruit, citrus and more delicate flavors.  Red slate is colored by volcanic deposits.    Expect drama, lychee fruit, honey and magic. When I visited over the summer I got to try many wines and I have to say I liked all of them.  High sugar balanced against high acid creates an interplay as tight as a trip wire in a Tom Cruise summer blockbuster.  Even if you don't like sweet wine, try it and be dazzled.



photo by brenna phillips

But back to Valentine;s Day.  Andreas Schmitges whose delicious wines are hard to find  but worth seeking out demonstrated the simple elegance of pairing Kabinett or sweeter with fresh strawberries.

I swooned.

And it is super easy!
Swing by your local Whole Foods

Find the Dr. Loosen.  Choose between Erderner Treppchen, named for a steep staircase carved into the reddish soil of the vineyard to make it easier for the harvesters to scale the vineyard.  Or pick  Wehlener Sonnenuhr from the blue slate vineyard of the same name. A more delicate peachy delight, it's like summer in a bottle.  Combine with the prettiest strawberries you can find mid winter and you have an easy Valentine's Day treat.

Bonus, Riesling will keep for a long time if you get distracted and don't finish the bottle.  Stash it in your fridge and pair with whatever you want.

  

A Book You Need to Read: Review of Terry Theise's Reading Between the Vines

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