France wine tour this Fall

I am putting together a wine tour to the South of France this Fall.

Are you thinking you can't afford a wine tour to France? Take control of your visit to French wine country. Join other budget minded wine explorers for a memorable week in the South of France! You pay $700 per person for your lodging, transportation while in France, a local professional scheduled wine tour and me acting as your personal wine guide for the week.

You save by paying for your own airfare, food, and wine. This brings the cost to within your "normal" budget. What you pay for food and wine at home can equal what you pay on vacation. Food and wine can cost you less by shopping local. With a full kitchen available, you decide what meals to create and when your group eats out. 

This tour includes a local pre-travel seminar on the wines of the Languedoc region. The group will travel together to France.

This tour is sponsored by Splash Wine Tours of Ashland. Visit the website: www.explorefrenchwine.com

Applegate Uncorked

Joining other wine enthusiasts is a great way to get to know a wine region.  Here in the USA we use a system called AVA, or American Vitacultural Area to define specific wine growing regions.

The Applegate AVA is a sub-AVA of the Rogue Valley AVA.  In other words, the Applegate sits inside the larger Rogue Valley.

In the part of the country these names are referring to the watersheds that feed the two main rivers of the area, the Rogue and the Applegate.

Understanding these boundaries helps pinpoint the many meso-climates that affect the production of grapes.  Grapes are said to reflect the land (terroir) that they grow in.  On a broad scale this means that you won't find many Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in the Willamette Valley (cool and wet) like you can here in the Applegate (warm and dry.)

Knowing the place your wines comes from adds to your enjoyment.  It reflects the land and brings to mind your visit to the local wineries.

Join me for the Applegate Uncorked event on May 21st.  You can book my van for the day via my website: www.splashwinetours.com

Eeny Meeny Miny Wineo

We've all been there...just staring at the wines on the shelf, having no clue what to get.  Yet with a few simple guidelines you can narrow the quest down and get out of the aisle in record time.

Start with what you have in mind for this wine: dinner, patio, conversation.  Now pull up those positive experiences which worked well.  For example, say I am thinking of some wine and cheese on the patio.  In this case, I may choose a Savignon Blanc, remembering how good it tasted the last time. 

Ok.  So that's a white wine.  You just narrowed your selection down.  Next recall where that wine was produced.  New Zealand in this case.  Great, look for New Zealand on the label of any Sav Blancs.

While you don't often know what a particular wine will taste like, yet if you recall what region or town your last Sav Blanc came from, you can look for that on the back label.

All of this means that you continue to accumulate knowledge of certain wines you like.  Basically, you look for the varietal (grape) you like and your favorite region that produces that wine.  Mostly, be bold and try new wines...who knows you may find your next favorite wine.