When you go to a wine event where there are 250+ wines to
taste, you can usually expect to forget what some of those wines tasted like.
And you will probably forget some of the names of those wines. (We all know how
alcohol has a way of making those little details hard to remember.)
But at a
Wine Riot event, the Second Glass app for iPhone
remembers for you!
It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3 (or buy, open, drink): Download the app. Go to the event (the next one is in NY next month and then
in LA in November). Rate the wines as you taste them!
The wines being poured at the event are pre-loaded into the
app, so just scroll through the list to find what you’re tasting. As you sample
a wine, you can give it two thumbs up, one thumb up, or “nah”. You also have
the option of taking notes for each wine. Then you can look up your reviews
after the event.
This is really quite a genius concept.
The San Francisco Wine Riot that rocked this past weekend
was held in the Exhibition Concourse in SoMa—a nice change of scenery and a
welcome change of pace from Fort Mason, which is where so many wine tasting
events in the city are held.
For an event dubbed “riot”, I was expecting a little chaos,
but the Saturday afternoon session was mellow (we heard that Friday night was
wild, and I imagine that the Saturday night session got pretty crazy, too).
Because it wasn’t very crowded, it made it much easier to
have a conversation with the winery reps and take our time at the various
winery booths. There was no rushing around or fear of being trampled (like
perhaps at a real riot).
The wines poured were a diverse mélange of varietals and
regions. Pretty much every major wine growing region was represented:
Australia, South America, Bordeaux, the Loire Valley, Spain, Italy, and, of
course, California. There were some smaller producers (some of which were new
to me), and some large-scale wineries that distribute all over the place (whose
wines I see regularly at Whole Foods or Safeway). The one thing these various
wine brands seemed to have in common was price—I don’t think there was a single
wine priced over $40 a bottle (although most seemed to fall in the $10-$25
range).
I happily rated the wines using the app while I tasted. I
saved myself the trouble of taking notes, but here are a few wineries that
definitely “made an uproar.”
This familiar brand has recently gotten a makeover with a
revitalized label and a new line-up of wines. Honestly, I was impressed with
all eight of the wines!
From the California Series, the Pinot Grigio ($13) was light
and refreshing. The unoaked Chardonnay ($13) was fruity and delicious—a great
food wine. I preferred the Red Blend ($14; mostly Cab and Merlot) to the
Cabernet Sauvignon, but both were surprisingly tasty. All the wines at this
booth were from the 2010 vintage.
Of the Collection Series, (aka the “upper echelon”), the
Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite. At $18 a bottle, this wine
is a steal! Upon the first sip from my plastic GoVino stemless “glass”, I picked
out the signature varietal flavors of blackberry and dark chocolate. Black
cherry notes and spice are there, too, with a medium-plus body and subtle
tannins. Did I mention it’s only $18 a bottle? Yum!
Echelon doesn’t have a tasting room, but they are
distributed throughout the US. Click here to see which retailers near you stock
these wines.
I’ve been a fan of Peachy Canyon Zinfandel for a while—since
my first ZAP festival in 2007, to be exact. Their wine is very consistent and
also readily available in the marketplace.
The 2010 Incredible Red Zinfandel ($12) was basic and easy
to drink. Not too spicy, not too jammy. Nice and balanced.
The 2008 Westside Zin ($25) was twice as complex with dark
fruit flavors, supple tannins, and a long, juicy finish. A delicious,
food-friendly Zin!
The 2010 Cirque du Vin ($19) was a tasty surprise. It is
Peachy Canyon’s take on a Bordeaux blend of Cab, Cab Franc, Malbec, Merlot and
2% Petite Sirah. Ripe strawberry, blackberry, and sweet vanilla flavors with a
rich mouthfeel and nice finish.
In Australia, Mollydooker is another word for left-handed.
Husband and wife team, Sarah and Sparky (both leftys) produce Australian
Shiraz, Merlot, Cab, blends and one white wine, Verdelho. With whimsical names
and animated labels, these wines amuse the eyes as much as they please the
palate. They’re affordable too (the following three wines are all $25/bottle)!
The 2011 “The Violinist” Verdelho was crisp, clean and
citrusy—a refreshing palate cleanser.
The 2010 “Maitre D” Cabernet Sauvignon was big and
voluptuous, with dark berry flavors and a kiss of black licorice and oak spice.
(I asked for seconds of this wine for a reason.)
Last, but certainly not least, the 2010 “The Boxer” Shiraz
has garnered lots of success. Wine Spectator continuously scores this wine 91
points. With smooth tannins, this is a refined Shiraz (compared to some of the
more rustic styles that I’ve had before). Ripe blackberry and cherry flavors
prevail with notes of bacon fat, spice, and smoke.
A few other wines of note were the 2011 Honig Sauvignon
Blanc and the 2009 Honig Cabernet Sauvignon (always reliable and delicious),
the Simply Naked wines (made without using oak barrels, even the red wines!),
the 2009 Las Rocas Garnacha (Grenache goodness for $12), and the 2010 Hahn
Winery GSM blend (southern Rhone in style and fruit-forward, $14).
Second Glass was started by a group of wine-drinking
hipsters. The pop-culture vibe and tech-savvy element to their events attract a
younger crowd, which is a demographic that the wine industry sometimes has
trouble reaching (the use of Facebook and Twitter is bridging that gap). There
were also stick-on tattoos and a photo booth with funny hats and silly costumes
provided by Betabrand (see below). This was one of the most fun wine events I’ve been to in
a long time.
We will definitely attend another Wine Riot!
