John_field

Last weekend, as I walked through the barrel room at
Pellegrini Vineyards with the lovely Mrs. LENNDEVOURS and four friends, one of the biggest
reasons I love wine hit me yet again — there’s always something more to
learn……always. In fact, I’m not sure you can ever know everything there
is to know about my favorite farm product (and beverage).

We were at Pellegrini taking part in the first class in their wine
education series, “Sensory Training, Tour and Tasting,”  ran this
summer. We started with a tour of Pellegrini’s vineyard, winery and
various barrel rooms as Juan “John” Eduardo Micieli-Martinez,
production winemaker at both Pellegrini Vineyards and Premium Wine
Group, answered questions and shared his insight into both grape
growing and winemaking. We couldn’t have asked for a better day in
terms of weather, setting and tour guide.

John_winery_1
With our tour complete, John led us upstairs from the barrel room to
the Vinter’s Room, a handsome space on the top floor that overlooks the
vineyard. On such a beautiful late-summer afternoon, I would have been
content just to sit up there and enjoy the view, with a glass of the
well-balanced Pellegrini 2003 Chardonnay ($14), but John had something
much more fun, and educational, in mind.

The large table in the center of the Vintner’s Room was set with three
glasses per person, carafes of water, spit buckets, wine information
and pencils for taking notes. This class, which John developed, is
meant to help wine lovers train themselves to recognize the different
flavors, aromas and sensations found in different types and styles of
wine.

To start, John poured a mixture of half chardonnay and half water –
this was our “control” glass that was meant to be “neutral.” We then
compared the aromas and tastes of that control glass with four other
wines based on that 50/50 concoction, one with tartaric acid added (to
highlight acidity), one with sugar added (to highlight sweetness), one
that was boiled with oak chips (for oak character) and another that had
added nut tannin to highlight the sensation tannin causes on the
palate. It was an interesting exercise and one that I’d recommend any
neophite try because it was easy to identify these singular wine traits
in such a setup.

John_class
Have you ever read a wine review (maybe even one of mine) and thought
to yourself, “How did he taste blackberry and basil in that Merlot?”
Chances are you have and John has come up with a way to help you learn
to do the very same thing.

Before pouring glasses of Pellegrini’s two different chardonnays, John
passed around sliced apples, pears, butterscotch chips, caramel
candies, lemons and limes — common flavors and scents found in Long
Island chardonnay. By sniffing and tasting the chardonnay with these
food items close at hand, we were able to better identify those scents
and flavors in the wines.

We did a similar exercise for Pellegrini’s red wines, with raspberries,
blackberries, coffee, tobacco, dried sage, chocolate and strawberries.
I’d never noticed sage in a wine before, but with the real deal as a
reference, I noted hints of it in the delicious 2001 Cabernet Franc
($18). See? You always learn something.

The last wine we tasted, the Pellegrini Vineyards Finale Bin 1331
($26), was poured with a wide array of foods, including honeydew,
cantaloupe, pineapple, dried apricots, mango and Cheerios, for the
“toasty oat” John always finds in the wine. It’s a complex wine and one
can find these and many other aromas within.

While this first session of the wine education series has come to a
close, the second set of classes, which are focused on varietal
characteristics and identities, will begin after the New Year. With
John leading them, they are sure to be worthwhile and interesting. I
found him to be an extremely energetic, passionate guy who clearly
knows his stuff. He’s engaging and easy to relate to……the perfect wine
educator. And, in a region where wine education typically starts at $50
a session and goes up (way up) from there, Pellegrini’s wine education
series is a refreshing $25 per class, and includes a significant
discount on wine purchases after the class is over.

For more information, call 734-4111 or visit www.pellegrinivineyards.com