One of the best ways to determine which wine tantalizes your pallet is to take part in a comparative tasting. The Seghesio Family Vineyards took a fresh approach and ventured on the road with a sampling for a select group of guests to join them in a blind wine tasting and discussion.
In a private dining room at Perbacco restaurant in San Francisco’s Financial District, a table was set for twelve influential members of media, food and wine communities. The charismatic host of the event was none other than winemaker and estate owner Ted Seghesio.
Also on site was Master Sommelier Tim Gaiser, a universally renowned wine expert and lecturer with a 25-plus career in the business, who moderated and led guests through an exciting tasting of top-notch mostly old vine vineyard wines from all over the globe.
After an introduction and explanation on the background of Home Ranch and the Seghesio Family Vineyards, guests were encouraged to sample the six different brands of red wine that were in specially marked glasses and jot down the different traits they associated with each product such as, the appearance, aroma, taste, and any other comments or thoughts.
Once everyone enjoyed the opportunity to taste the selections, Gaiser solicited responses from each guest on what stood out with each glass. This immediately created a very lively and vibrant discussion amongst the room. It became quite evident that individual taste and preference varies greatly from taste-to-taste and some of the colorful explanations of what flavors and various hints of fruit or components that were picked up by each person were truly remarkable. (Note to tasters: taste in wine is VERY personal!)
The final result of the blind tasting – most of the guests unknowingly chose Home Ranch Zinfandel, the flagship wine of their Zinfandel portfolio, as his or her preferred selection from the group of wines from the USA (Napa Valley), France (Rhône Valley), South Australia, Italy (Tuscany), and Argentina (Mendoza).
For those of us who are lucky enough to live in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is well worth the hop skip and jump up to Seghesio Family Vineyards in Healdsburg. Seghesio wines were first introduced in 1983; but the family vineyards have been growing grapes, shipping and producing bulk wine since 1895 when Ted Seghesio’s grandfather Edoardo Seghesio bought the vineyard at $200 per acre and planted the family’s first Zinfandel vines.
[Reported by Darren Anderson]
Like Haute Living San Francisco? Join our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter @HauteLivingSF. Want Haute Living San Francisco delivered to your inbox once a week? Sign up for our newsletter.