Eat & Drink Like a Local - California - page 139

Cocktail hour, Los Angeles
JESSICA BOONE / GETTY IMAGES ©
WINE-TASTING TIPS
Swirl Before tasting a vintage red, swirl your glass to oxygenate the wine and release the
flavors.
Sniff Dip your nose (without getting it wet) into the glass for a good whiff.
Swish Take a swig, and roll it over the front of your teeth and sides of your tongue to get
the full effect of complex flavors and textures. After you swallow, breathe out through
your nose to appreciate 'the finish'.
If you're driving or cycling, don't swallow Sips are hard to keep track of at tastings, so
perfect your graceful arc into the spit bucket.
You don't have to buy anything No one expects you to buy, especially if you're paying
to taste or take a tour, but it's customary to buy a bottle before winery picnics.
Take it slow and easy There's no need for speed. Plan to visit three or four wineries a
day maximum.
Don't smoke Not in the gardens either. Wait until you're off-property.
Wine
When imported French wine was slow to arrive in California via Australia during the Gold
Rush, three brothers from Bohemia named Korbel started making their own bubbly in
1882. Today, the Russian River winery they founded has become the biggest US maker of
traditional sparkling wines.
Some California vines survived federal scrutiny during Prohibition (1920-33) on the
grounds that the grapes were needed for sacramental wines back east - a bootlegging bon-
anza that kept West Coast speakeasies well supplied and saved old vinestock from being
torn out by the authorities.
By 1976 California had an established reputation for mass-market plonk and bottled
wine spritzers when upstart Napa Valley and Santa Cruz Mountains wineries suddenly
gained international status. At a landmark blind tasting by international critics, their
Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay beat venerable French wines to take top honors. This
event became known as the Judgment of Paris, as amusingly retold in the movie Bottle
Shock (2008).