Grape Debate: Wine Tourism

By Christian and David Asam

David and I did a poor job of planning ahead this month. As our deadline for this column loomed I found myself alone in Shepherdstown while David travels Europe. He has been given the daunting task of being best man at a wedding at a chateau outside of Bordeaux France. I tried to have him email his portion of the column from France, but he didn’t seem to have the time between tasting wine and going from party to party. So for one month I hope you will excuse us as we suspend our usual back and forth banter.

As I thought with jealous rage of David and the fun he must be having in Bordeaux France, the whole idea of wine tourism came to mind. What is wine tourism? Well it can be as simple as driving through the Virginia and Maryland wineries on a Sunday afternoon, or as complex as a two-week tour of wine tasting and gourmet dining throughout the classic French wine regions. David and I have been lucky to visit quite a few of these regions. Just as each area has different wine-making techniques, each region has a different approach with wine tourism as well.

Let’s begin with the most friendly, welcoming, easy to visit wine regions of Long Island and the Finger Lakes in New York, Virginia, and Maryland. These regions are super tourist friendly. Many of their wineries are still out to prove that they can truly make good wine. Some can and some can’t. Then there are a few wineries that take a completely different approach. Several have figured out that they are better at having fun than making wine. One visit to a winery in the Finger Lakes region seemed more like a fraternity party than your typical reserved tasting room. I remember tasting one of their famous reds while they led the group in a chant of “Our wine’s an aphrodisiac, or wine will get you in the sack!” Chateau Lafite Rothschild this was not, but we sure had a heck of a lot of fun.

There are over a dozen wineries within an hour of the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, and nearly 30 wineries within two hours, some that like to party and some that take themselves very seriously. Locally some of my favorites are Breaux, Linden, Naked Mountain, and Oasis.

California wine regions are for the most part very welcoming and easy to visit. A drive through Santa Barbara, Napa, or Sonoma will present you with many stops with great tastings along the way. The best part about traveling in California wine country is getting to taste in the stops off the beaten path.

Here it is important to do your research. Try to make phone calls and set up appointments ahead of time to see the best spots. On a trip three years ago to Napa, David was able to set up a special tasting at a winery that does not have a tasting room—or usually does samples. We found ourselves wandering around a deep cellar, tasting from a barrel with a winemaker in shorts and a t-shirt. Her yellow lab dog, Syrah, lapped up red wine faster than we could. Experiences like that create wonderful memories and great vacations. In Santa Barbara try Fess Parker, Sanford, Melville, and Lincourt. In Napa try Pine Ridge, Cardinale, Darioush, Robert Mondavi, and Mumm just to name a few!

Our trip to Bordeaux and Burgundy showed a totally different side of the wine world. Here you can drive for hours looking at gorgeous countryside, manicured vineyards, and stunning chateaus. The problem is that most of the chateaus have huge locked gates, and you won’t see many signs that say “Tasting Room Open.” Bordeaux and Burgundy are very serious about one thing, making great wine.

The best way to get one of these chateaus to pry open their pearly gates is to join a tour. And as with most things in life, with these tours you get what you pay for. An inexpensive tour we bought in the heart of Bordeaux City filed us through unimpressive stops like cattle with stacks of other tourists. Trust me, it was not fun. On the other end of the spectrum, we did a really special tour in Burgundy run by a company named “France in your Glass.” This was a graduation present for David, having miraculously completed college in four years. Thankfully I was invited to tag along. The trip, although not cheap, was second to none. We met the “celebrity like” winemakers that we had read about in magazines, and they personally opened some of their favorite wines for us, sometimes even back-vintage selections from their personal cellars.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of a wine trip.

1) Hire a driver. Rent a limo, join a tour company or at least designate a driver. It may seem like only little sips, but the buzz will sneak up on you fast.

2) Do your research in advance. If appropriate make an appointment or book a tour of the winery. Ask the locals for their favorite out-of-the-way spots.

3) Take notes and spit! If you get to the fine regions of France this is a must. If you spit and take notes it shows whoever is tasting you on wine that you are interested in his wines, not just in getting a buzz. They are much more likely to pull a special cork and taste you on that special bottle.

4) Buy some wine but don’t buy a ton. For some reason a wine always tastes better in the tasting room than it does when you get it home. If you get home and that wine still knocks your socks off, call back to the winery and order a case. Also, believe it or not, wines are often cheaper in a wine shop than they are at the winery.

5) Don’t insult the tasting room guy. Mom always said “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” If you don’t like a wine simply pour it into the spit bucket and move on.