This year seems to be flying by!  I can’t believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Our wine study group has had some fantastic sessions. We took advantage of a warm September evening to tackle Rosé and to welcome a new member, Stephanie.  She brings over 15 years of wine industry experience in the area of marketing/brand development.  She is also an old neighbor and classmate of Paula and I!

The goal was to select Rosés from single varietals.  We sat out on the deck, tasting, talking, sharing…and discussing more than studying, but it was still a beautiful night!  We even had a small birthday celebration thrown in the night’s activities.

These were our wines: Broken Earth Rosé of Grenache, California; Charles Smith Rosé of Sangiovese, Washington; and Liquid Farm Rosé of Mourvèdre, Santa Barbara, CA.

Each one paired well with most of our food pairings, some better than others, but for the most part they were all delightful and so different.

October rolled in and found us learning about Cabernet Franc.  We again welcomed a new member to our group, Natalie, a young women who recently passed her Court of Master Sommelier Level 1 exam and who is a wine rep for a small distributor. What I appreciate most is the diversity of our knowledge base!  We come from such different realms of the wine world, but it is our passion that ties us together.

Our tasting of Cabernet Franc was amazing!  Used more often as a blending grape, we were able to find these single varietal treasures that took us from the Loire Valley in France, to Oregon, to the Seneca Lake area of New York. Such different terroirs… but all showing the basic Cabernet Franc profile in some way.

We find ourselves entering into the busiest time of year in the wine world.  We meet in a few days to delve into Syrah, then again at the end of November for our study of bubbles…Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and domestic sparklings.  This will be our final session of 2016 and also our  holiday celebration!  I will get our finding out in December!  Cheers