Gloria Ferrer- Sonoma Vintners Barrel Tasting

At this time of year barrel tastings can be found as winery events. As I wrote yesterday Pearmund Cellars in Virginia has weekend barrel tastings this month and the Mason-Dixon Wine Trail wineries are offering barrel tastings on March weekends.

The idea of the barrel tastings as well as stainless steel tank tastings is the opportunity to taste wines that are slowly maturing but not yet ready for bottling. Tasting wines early provides winemakers and wine enthusiasts the opportunity to get an idea of the potential of what the wine could be like when it is bottled.

Taking this idea a bit farther, the Sonoma Vintners Barrel Auction asks participating wineries to offer a minimum of five cases for the auction. A couple of wineries are offering 20 cases for the auction.

This year about 50 Sonoma wineries are donating to the auction. Several appellations represented include: Alexander Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Russian River Valley.

Grape varietal wines include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. A few of the wineries are offering blends.

According to the Sonoma County Vintners website, “The Sonoma County Barrel Auction is invitation-only for members of the wine industry, with personal invitations extended by participating wineries to members of the trade and media. Proceeds will support Sonoma County marketing initiatives.”

I expect there will be some really great wines. Wishing I lived in California and had an invitation….

Cheers! Kathy

Rodney Strong – Sonoma Vintners Barrel Auction