Monday, April 30, 2012

3 Tips for Wine Tasting


I wanted to blog some great information from the May issue of Wine Enthusiast.  This is taken from an article by Ryan Hamilton. You can read more great articles here: http://www.winemag.com/

Three easy wine tasting tips that will
ensure you have a great experience.

I think the last line of number 3 is important “Have Fun”!

1. Eat a big breakfast at least two hours before your tasting. You should avoid strong -flavors; so don’t eat anything spicy or garlicky. Forego coffee if you can, and don’t smoke before your tour: That’s the worst thing you can do to your palate. Drink a lot of water between tasting wines, and don’t be shy to use a spittoon. Bring a note pad to take tasting notes, focusing on appearance, nose, palate and conclusions. Make it fun and give it a -personal score so you can remember which wines you liked best. The ideal time for wine tasting is 10 am to midday, when your palate is clean and fresh.
2. Focus on small producers rather than big, commercial wineries. With smaller wineries, you’ll get a more intimate experience. Make sure to call ahead (or have your tour guide do so) to make sure the winemakers are expecting you. Chateau Julien has a couple tours each day for only $7 or free with your wine tasting. As the only fully operating winery, you should definitely check out our vine to wine experience!
3. Hire a driver or have a designated one. You don’t have to overdo it, but if you’re making a day of it, you’ll want to sit down to a nice lunch and learn about pairing foods with the wines you’re drinking. It just makes for a more relaxed and educational experience. Most importantly? Enjoy the culture, and have fun.

Don’t forget Chateau Julien is accessible on the Grape Vine Express!  Walk or taxi to the nearest bus stop and head on down to our tasting room. http://www.mst.org/wp-content/media/24.pdf

I'd love to hear from you about what you think is important to remember when wine tasting?

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Support Team Chateau Julien

Chateau Julien is proud to support the MCVGA in their 
3rd Annual Winery Walk, Rock & Run!

This is a great event and the foundation's main fundraiser for scholarships for agriculture employee's children. Last year over $15,000 in scholarships was given away. If you would like to help Chateau Julien meet our personal goal of $2000 there are a couple ways to help.
First, join our team! It would be a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon raising money for a great cause! We would love to see our old friends and meet new ones.
Second, you can donate to Team Chateau Julien. Donations are tax deductible. (Tax ID #31-1790962)
 
To donate, click here
For more information on how to join Team Chateau Julien, click here
!!Raffle Prizes!!
If you donate any amount your name will be entered in our raffle!!
There are 2 awesome prizes:
  1. 2 tickets to our Holiday Extravaganza. This fabulous event sells out every year and is a fun and festive way to kick off the holiday season.
  2. A picnic basket filled with fabulous Chateau Julien wine paraphernalia.

Please contact Melinda if you have any questions

Monday, April 23, 2012

The First Sign of Grapes!!


I participated in a fantastic tour with Melinda, Patty and Shawn over the weekend. One of the most exciting parts was when we observed the very beginnings of our grapes. Look at that beautiful little cluster. Now, as long as we keep the voracious little birds, deer and gophers away, this cluster will stand a chance!
  

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Follow Me on Pinterest Check us out on Pintrest! We are gathering a beautiful collection from Weddings, events, the Chateau, the Vineyard our wines and more. Do you know what Pintrest is? Well, I'll tell you. Pintrest is a virtual pinboard! It is a very cool social networking site based on photos. Each user has a theme board where you can upload pictures of your own or 'pin' others images that you like. Let's say you are getting married, create a board where you can fill it with all the beautiful images of flowers, venues, desses, food, location... Several people have already 'pinned' our wedding photos to their boards. Personally, I have a recipe pinboard which I use all the time. Any boards you would like to see from us? I am starting to gather a month to month photo series of our vines. It is amazing to see the changes and I thing will make an interesting collection for a new Pintrest board.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Vintage Affair 2012

Our Vintage Affair was a huge success. Check out some fun pictures from last weekend's event!