Wine-tastings at fine wineries are not just “stand at the bar, sip and listen” any more. Since visitors now invest increased time and cost in winery visits, people are looking for more involving, more elevated wine encounters. Which leads wineries to develop experiential events like vineyard walks, deep-dives into wine making, and food pairings.
Recently, I went to Domaine Carneros in Napa for the debut of Scent and Savor, their Aroma Sensory Experience. Domaine Carneros was established nearly forty years ago by the family that owns Champagne Taittinger in France. With centuries of history behind it in France, the Napa winery produces excellent sparkling wines in the traditional method (the same production style as champagne), and has added still wines to its portfolio, too.
One of the first wineries to install solar panels over twenty years ago, Domaine Carneros is now 70% solar powered, with additional micro-grid batteries. For over a decade, the winery has been sustainably certified in multiple areas: California Sustainable; Fish-Friendly Farming; Napa Green Winery and Napa Green Vineyard. Last year Domaine Carneros was Napa’s Sustainable Winery of the Year. One of my favorite elements here is that, instead of using machines, they bring in miniature sheep to crop the greenery growing in between the rows of vines.
Inside the winery, at a beautifully laid out demonstration and tasting, we learned about detecting aromas and other sense-based elements in their wines—texture, flavor and mouthfeel—and how to use this knowledge in food-and-wine pairings.
For example, toasted cashews and brioche bring out a desirable lemon-peel note in the light and yeasty 2017 Le Rêve Brut sparkling wine, made with 100% estate-grown chardonnay.
The 2022 Verméil Demi-Sec sparkling wine, made with equal amounts of estate-grown pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, is well-balanced and deliberately not bone dry, which creates a great pairing with Asian spices.
The 2022 Famous Gate Pinot Noir, a still wine, has salinity in the aroma and flavor, along with a hint of rose petals, smoky tobacco notes, a hint of vanilla, and several types of red berries, even raisins. To illustrate different notes in the wine, on the table in front of us we had rose petals, fresh-cut vanilla beans, oak chips and cinnamon fruits. To eat, we had foods with complimentary flavors and bursts of contrast: Parker House rolls with salted butter, cottage cheese with grape accents, and arugula with cherry tomatoes.
Domaine Carneros offers several other types of tastings and tours, both private and public. You can go high-end with caviar, or more hands-on by learning how to saber open a bottle of sparkling wine.
Judging from my visit, plenty of people are eager for winery experiences of all types, even simply relaxing with a small flight of wines and an appetizer plate; the outdoor deck was full of people sipping and enjoying sunshine in the cool Carneros air by noontime on a Friday.