Ernest Valtri: On Wine Unusual wine tastings

I love themes around which a wine tasting can be created. There are other ways to organize tastings, but themed tastings are easily my favorite. They provide great ways to learn many nuances about wine, easily expand one’s wine knowledge and experience, and sometimes can also inspire new friendships.

The best themes are tried and true. Like evaluating wines with either comparable characteristics, like the same grape used to make the various wines, or with important differences, like the same grape used but from different vintages or from different parts of the world. It’s really the best way to learn more about wine and the endless effects of the art of winemaking.

What do all the wines pictured here have in common? Yes, they all have black and white labels, but what else? While appearing to be quite different (which they are), they’re also all part of a single wine company called “House of Smith,” created and owned by Charles Smith, rock star winemaker in Washington state.

Over the years I’ve used the most common tasting themes many times. That never gets old because while a theme may often be repeated, the wines are always different. However, I’m perpetually on the lookout for a new, different idea for a theme and actually sort of stumbled into this one when my wife and I opened two Charles Smith wines on consecutive days. So let’s call it a “winemaker tasting.” There are plenty of well-known winemakers that could fill the bill.

By the way, the five wines pictured are all relatively inexpensive, in the $9 to $19 range, except for the “K Syrah,” which is $39.99 at Pennsylvania’s state stores. And yes, it’s definitely the best of the bunch, though the others are all terrific values.

I’d love to hear what unusual tastings anyone else has dreamed up!

Ernest Valtri of Buckingham is a sculptor, painter, graphic designer, and a former member of the PLCB’s Wine Advisory Council. Please contact Erno at ObjectDesign@verizon.net.

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