Willamette Valley or sangiovese from the
Rogue Valley. James let me try a few, and I
learned a few key tips in the process.
At a wine tasting, it is okay to spit
the wine out into a designated container,
because sometimes tasters just want to
experience the wine without feeling the
effect of the alcohol. James spat his wine out
gracefully, if spitting has ever been graceful.
Though it seemed like the appropriate thing
to do, I just couldn’t bring myself to spit.
I learned to swirl the wine a bit in my
glass to aerate it, which can mellow a strong
wine and improve its taste. James instructed
me to always check out the “nose” of the
wine fi rst because taste isn’t the only sense
people use to evaluate a wine. Someone
who knows wine, James said, can usually tell
a good bottle of wine by its smell alone.
Finally, James showed me how to coat my
mouth with the wine, which allows all parts
of your tongue access to the fl avor. Lo and
behold, when I was concentrating on the
taste of the wine, I could tell the differences
among each kind! They were different — not
always drastically, but distinctively.
Perhaps most valuably, I learned that
wine can be “corked,” which means the
wine is bad and has a strong overriding
taste of wet cardboard. This only affects
individual bottles of wine, thankfully, so
other bottles from the same batch of
grapes are fi ne. Corked wine tastes much
worse than most cheap wine you could buy,
so to avoid embarrassment from now on,
I’ll check to see if wines I serve are corked
before I let my guests drink them, or buy
good wines with screw-tops (obviously,
those can’t get “corked”).
Lest I get too cocky with my new
knowlege, James reminded me that wine
isn’t something you learn in a morning, an
idea that Phillip Patti, the manager and
sommelier at Uva, also drilled into my mind.
Patti’s wine bar, which is in Oakway Center
and opened last fall like B2, felt trendy and
comfortable. There are free wine tastings
every Wednesday from 5 to 7 pm. The focus
on wines being sold was fl ights, as Patti
wants visitors to be able to sample a few
wines, and not have to stick to one. Most of
the fl ights offered when I was there included
at least one wine from the Northwest, but
Patti is really interested in introducing people
to wines from all over the world, so rare
Austrian Zweigelt is also on the menu. “To
be as exciting as possible, you really have to
open up to everything,” he says.
Patti says the best thing about Oregon
wineries — and something that would
impress my dad — is that the majority are
still small enough that it’s easy to meet
the winemakers and learn their methods.
When I asked how you tell the
difference between a cabernet merlot and
a sauvignon, he told me that he is still
working on that distinction after six years
of training. So James was right: Wine is
far from something you learn in a morning
or in a week. I still would be hard-pressed
to explain why tannins are important or
what wine would go with a fruit salad or a
big dish of pasta, but in my week of wine
explorations, it became clear that wine is
not such a hard thing to understand as I
might have thought. Learning about wine
is like learning about music — there is
probably a style or two you prefer, and
to learn all about every kind would take
a lifetime’s dedication — but that doesn’t
mean you give up listening to music.
When my dad comes to my graduation
in June, I think my new wine knowledge
will shock and amaze him. Even if I’m
never as interested in wine as he is, I’ll
be able to hold my own in the most basic
of conversations — and in a week, that’s
really the best I could hope for.
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Sneak Peak…
MEMORIAL DAY
OPEN HOUSE
WEEKEND
Friday 22 nd to
Monday 25 th
11am to 4pm Daily
Wine Tasting
&
Food
WE’VE GOT LOCAL &
NORTHWEST WINES!
C
apella Market wine department
manager Heather Breen describes
herself as an Oregon/Washington “wine
geek” and she’s been working hard to
expand the number of Northwest wines
that we carry. Heather has also increased
our focus on local Lane County
winemakers.
e also continue to stock a wide
variety of excellent wines from
Europe, Australia, South America, and
California. Check out our organic,
specialty, apertif, and cooking wines as
well. Case discounts available!
o help keep your tastebuds informed
of the great wines available on our
shelves, and introduce you to area
vintners, we hold regular wine tastings on
Saturdays between 4 and 6pm.
W
T
Featured Sale Wine
THROUGH MAY 26 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST
From Eugene-based
88324 Vineyard Lane
Veneta, Oregon 97487
J. Scott Cellars
(The Old Secret House Location)
2006 Red Wine Blend
Avanté
750 ml
$8.99
25th & WILLAMETTE • EUGENE
OPEN DAILY 8AM-10PM
(541) 345-1014
www.capellamarket.com
Phillip Patti
www.eugeneweekly.com
Eugene Weekly's Uncorked 5