Wine Tasting - The Sense of Touch

Touch is an important category of taste sensation. This is where we try to feel the wine on the palate. Here we seek to find impressions of such things as texture, body, temperature, and astringency. The aftertaste, finish, and length of a wine are all things we feel on our palate. We are looking for how the wine feels in weight (light, medium, full) and texture (silky, coarse, velvety). Try to observe how long the sensations last in your mouth. Most will tell you the longer it lasts, the better the wine!

Locals - A Collective Tasting Room

Come visit us at Locals located at the gateway to Alexander Valley in the once sleepy hamlet of Geyserville. Locals is a collective tasting room featuring the wines of 6 local boutique wineries. Taste over 30 unique wines from talented and noted neighborhood winemakers. These are small-scale producers making premium quality and hard to find award-winning wines.

While sampling these unique selections, discover the works of area black and white photographers, listen to music from local Sonoma Country musicians and be intrigued by Locals whimsical collection of art moderne wine accessories. It all combines to create an eclectic and tasty environment.

www.tastelocalwines.com
707.857.4900
yummy@tastelocalwines.com

Chardonnay & Oak Aging

This dry white wine, made from the Chardonnay grape, is the most popular of its variety. Chardonnay ranges in style, with some oakier versions contributing to taste. The purpose of Chardonnay aged in oak is to add some of the oaks characters, along with helping the wine develop its texture. Winemakers may lightly toast the inner surface of barrels, allowing the smoky oak or toasty characters to be detected in the final product. Oak gives the taste a dimension of spiciness and adds a hint of vanilla or coconut to the grapes aroma. The oak and Chardonnay combination is a favorite that is sure to last!

Wine Tasting - The Sense of Smell

There are a few very important things to note when we "nose" a wine. It is suggested to first smell the wine before swirling, noticing the delicate aromas. Next, swirl the wine and smell again after it is at rest. Depending on the bouquet, you may then notice a profound difference in the odors emerging. Aroma is a smell that originates from the actual grape, with very clear cut characteristics. Aroma is most prevalent in young wines. The bouquet of a wine refers to smells generated as a result of aging; smells found particularly in mature wines that were aged in a bottle. The bouquet generally has much softer and complex characteristics than aromas. Identifying what you smell is usually the most challenging part in wine tasting. Although there are many smell categories used to describe characteristics of wine, none have been exclusively agreed upon.