the start of a portland based wine tasting group…

As I get closer to my own sommelier exam I start to freak out about certain portions of the exam, one being the blind tasting.  I have tasted wines from all over the globe, at various price points, but not until this last year or so have I really paid close attention to the qualities, the variables, and the nuances attributed specially to the region of wine I am tasting.

I have tried on many occasions to find tasting groups locally, with little luck.  Most of those groups are groups of friends getting together to drink wine and socialize, not necessarily focus or learn about the actual wine... Don't get me wrong, they are still a lot of fun, but they are rarely events for serious learning.  So when life doesn’t produce the lemons you need for your perfect lemon drop martini, you go get-you those lemons you need and make that martini a good one….  Thus the Portland tasting group was born.

It was actually my husband's idea to start a group, knowing I have many friends studying for various sommelier certifications, so why not bring us all together to learn together? We started out by just inviting a couple people, so we could get a feel for the format we are going to be most comfortable with.  So we were all okay that this first group may be a trial and error experience.

Timothy brought 3 wines; 2 Sancerres (in half-bottles… Great idea for small groups… I will explain the significance later) and 1 Mosel Riesling.  We provided 1 Pouilly-Fumé and 2 Mosel Rieslings

  (Translation:  Schloss Saarstein is the producer.  The varietal is Riesling.  QBA is a reference to it being a high quality wine, but not the highest, and therefore doesn’t need to tell you “everything” on the label like the sweetness factor. Mosel-Saar-Ruwer is the region in Germany that the grapes were grown and the wine was made… makes sense… yes???) This wine had that diesel oil smell on the nose (don’t be scared, that’s not a bad thing, it’s typical of a German Riesling), followed by sweet fruit undertones. “Yummy” is not a typically used “technical” descriptor, but damn this wine was yummy!  So therefore I’m bringin’ “yummy” back.  This wine was soft, with very pretty honey flavors with some melon (more specifically cantaloupe) flavors on the mouth.  (Translation: Jos. Christoffel Jr. is the producer.  Ürziger Würzgarten is the vineyard the grapes were sourced.  Riesling is the name of the varietal.  Auslese refers to selected grapes that were left to overripe on the vines, and therefore the wine will be semi-sweet to sweet.  Mosel-Saar-Ruwer as we have learned is the region in Germany the wine was made…. Look at us, we are now experts!)   This wine was a treat!  More of a darker shade of yellow than the others (which is expected since it is older than the others), with much more sweet honey on the nose with the addition of some sweet candied orange.  A very pretty semi-sweet wine (yet not sugary sweet).  After 17 years this wine has great acidity still! Nice and complex. We do have fun, but are truly serious about learning.  So please be somewhat serious if you want to be a part of our group.  If you're not serious about learning, but want to still taste wines contact me anyway, I still love informal groups where we just socialize and taste good wines!