Ladies, Let's Wine!

I was recently reading an article about the importance of women communities.  What I was reading evoked images of screened in porches with swings where women came together to talk about their children, families, and celebrated one another's victories.  It was a communion of sorts where they were free to be themselves.

When my friends and I get together, we have great conversations and wine (and food) are always included.  It's comfort!!!  We laugh, cry, and laugh some more.  We connect on a different level, without competition.  It's authentic, and it's real.

March is Women's History month.  The Vine Wine Club is going to do its part to celebrate that history by kicking off  powerful programming with topics and activities to inspire and empower women and fosters sisterhood.   We are also kicking off "Ladies, Let's Wine", our monthly social gathering for dinner, wine, and great conversation on March 18, 2016.  If you attended The Exclusive Blacklist, you have a free admission to one, compliments of Indigo Salon.  Our special guest is none other than 2016 People's Choice Award winner Gwen Hurt.  The topic is "Changing The Game:  Walking Away from the Job and Into Your Dream."

Our radio show "Off The Vine with Benita and Terricinia" (airs every Friday at 3:00 pm on the May We Help You Radio Network) will feature powerful female guests all month including fan favorites "The Grape Girls".  Spirit Journeys Radio (airs at 8:00 pm on MWHY Radio) will devote March to exploring positive female relationships.

Be ready!  Whether you are a Beyonce "Formation" kinda girl or "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar", March is bringing it for the ladies!  So raise your glasses and let's wine.

The Exclusive Blacklist...A True Story

I want to tell you a true story.  Just a little over a year ago, I called an old friend who had been one of my wine reps when I first got into the industry.  I called him because I was looking for a particular brand of wine that I knew his distribution company carried.  How did I know that they carried it?  Two reasons.  Our ABC board has a website that will list every wine, spirit, and beer that is approved in the Commonwealth.  I also knew because I had reached out to the winery owner to find out which distribution company had it and just how many cases they had in its warehouse.  I called my friend because I was surprised when I was told by another person at the same company that they didn't carry it.  Because I knew that my friend would tell me the truth, I called him.

At first, my friend told me that they didn't have it.  When I explained to him how I knew that they had it, he asked for some time to look into it.  The following day, he called me back to tell me that they had it in a warehouse in Norfolk and no one was interested in getting it here to Richmond.  Because my friend realized that it made no sense and wanted the sale, he made sure that his company transported my order to the Richmond warehouse so that I could pick it up.

I've always wondered had this wine not been owned and produced by an African-American would I have had to jump through such hoops.  I could understand if it didn't sell well.  But it seemed to be selling just fine in Total Wine and other big box stores.  Hmmm.

I do not believe that this story is unique.  So what can we do about it? I know, it's wine.  Doesn't seem that important.  But it is important.  The Exclusive Blacklist is important and events like it are lifelines for those brave souls who dare enter this tough industry.

I've charged myself with hosting an event to celebrate African-Americans in the wine industry.  The purpose is to introduce these wines to my family, friends, and colleagues and passing the assignment on to them.  If we like the wines, we should buy the wines and ask the wine retailers and restaurants that we support to make these wines available.  Just how much Yellow Tail can we drink?  We deserve the best!  And many of the wines that you will taste at The Exclusive Blacklist are rated high and receive critical acclaim by wine aficionados everywhere.  We invite you to be the judge!

This year, cast your vote to decide who goes home with our beautiful People's Choice award.  In order to vote, you must be present.  Here's how:

The Exclusive Blacklist
The Shoppes at The Renaissance
101 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23220

Call 804-993-4130 for tickets or email me at thevinewineclub@gmail.com for more information.

What are You Afraid Of?

I know that many in the wine industry have had this experience.  What happens is you're doing a wine tasting and someone comes to the table and say that I want something sweet.  There can be any number of wines on the table that folks may taste for free.  I'm not taking about one of those places where you pay a price to taste and you can only pick a select number that you want to sample.  But I am talking about the ones that you can end up having a couple of glasses of wine in tastings alone.  I probably shouldn't care when people want to stay in their comfort zones all of the time. But I do care! So excuse me while I stand on my soapbox!

#1. Wine tastings are for more than just to sell a customer wine.  A purpose of wine tastings is to educate.  We (I mean those of us in the industry) take pride in being able to explain the subtleties in the wine, talk about the great growing regions and the phenomenal season that helped to result in this little piece of "heaven" in a bottle.  We are poised and ready to talk "shop" because we've prepared and we've picked wines specifically for you.  When customers come to the table where we have lined the wines up in order of lightest to darkest with a few exceptions and ask for something sweet, it feels like cold water has been thrown on us.  We can offer the sweetest wine that we have.  If the customer doesn't like it, they walk away like we've offered them dirty socks.  Or worse, believe and tell others that we don't have any "good" wine.

#2.  What's sweet to one person isn't sweet to another person.  I will share an example from last week.  We were tasting out a Prosecco and one person said that it was sweet.  I personally wouldn't define it as sweet but I am just one person.  Wine can be somewhat subjective.  I have found a tinge of sweetness in some Merlots while others think that it is as dry as the Mojave Desert.  We taste things differently.  If you are at a wine tasting, use this opportunity to ask the expert why that is.  That's why they are there.

#3.  When you taste wine at your favorite shop, you are helping the shop/store owners to select wines to be on their shelves.  Do your part!  If you taste it and don't like it, take the opportunity to say what you don't like about it.  It's simple.  You better believe that if the masses think it isn't worth the shelf space, you won't see it again in that shop.

What are you afraid of?  Taste the small portion.  If you don't like it, spit it out or dump it.  Eat an oyster cracker to get the taste out of your mouth, drink water, and move to the next one.  Something may happen.  And that could be that you find something else that you like.  Write down the names of what you like or take a picture of the label with your phones.  When you shop or eat out, share the wine that you liked with the server and see if they have something similar.  There are so many varietals of wine; too many to limit your options to just one flavor profile.  Be adventurous, be fearless, taste wine.

Have a Glass (or Two or Five) of Italy

Enjoying wine can be more than simply enjoying what's in your glass.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Just play along with me and pretend, if you will, that there is something else going on.  I promise that I will bring you back to the deliciousness of the vino.

About eight years ago, I traveled for 10 days in Italy with some really good friends and wine drinkers. Tuscany made me fall in love with wines from this region.  Having seen the hillsides, valleys, and the luxurious vines, I feel a kinship and sense of familiarity when I drink Italian wines.  I smell the earthiness in the luscious reds and enjoy the lushness of the greenery that I taste on the palate.  The kiss of the sun and coolness of the nights is evident in the well balanced presentation of fruit and acidity.  Every sip makes me want to go back.  

A wine maker once explained to me that wine is about the soil, the sun, and water.  I can't argue with that because grapes, like any other fruit or vegetable, need those key ingredients to grow.  We all know that the amount of water and sun impact the rate of growth and ripeness, and we know that every soil isn't as fertile as others.  Therefore, the same grape doesn't grow the same in all parts of the world.  So what are we experiencing in our glass is a direct "taste" of where the grape was grown.  The beauty of studying wines from a specific region is that you learn to understand the nuances of grapes from that particular part of the world.  What's in your glass brings travel to you.  Next week, we bring Italy to Richmond.  

The Vine Wine Club's Winter Wine School presents "A Tour of Italy: Italian Wine Class" on Wednesday, October 14, 2015.  Taste delicious wines from various wine regions such as Gavi, Brunello, and Barolo.  Learn to appreciate what makes these regions so special.  

I hope to see you in class!

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Meritage: I Thought You Knew

A couple of weeks ago on "Off The Vine with Benita and Terricinia", we were having a conversation all the while tasting some really nice wines from Hayes Valley Vineyards.  Recently, I went back and (bravely) listened to the show.  First let me apologize for the shenanigans and silliness.  We've warned you that if you want to learn anything from the show, you should tune in early because once we start, it goes down from there.  But on the more serious side, I heard myself mention that I was drinking a Meritage.  I said it with confidence and a conviction that everyone listening knew what I was talking about.  I said it with an unintentional arrogance.  So please forgive me for being a snob that one time.

So what is Meritage?  Meritage is a wine that is made of two or more of specific noble grapes of Bordeaux.  It can be either red or white. In making a Meritage, no grapes can comprise more than 90% of the blend.  If these specific qualities are not met, you got yourself some other blend but not a Meritage.  The name itself (rhymes with heritage) is made up of the word "merit" which reflects the quality of the grapes and "heritage" which represents tradition.  A Meritage does not have to be produced in France.  They are made all over the world. The one that I was drinking is from Central Coast (California).

There are a lot of wines and wine terms that are "givens" for what is actually in the bottle.  For instance, Pouilly- Fuisse is Chardonnay, Vouvray is Chenin Blanc, etc.  We know that because we've learned that.  We've learned that there are specific regions that produce wines from very specific grapes.  In most instances, the wines are named after the regions and not the grape.  I don't know about you, but I am starting to see more winemakers "dumb down" the labels to tell us exactly what's in the bottle.  For that, I am grateful.  I don't want every time that I drink wine to turn into a test of my memory of geography.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it!


Want to win a pair of tickets to a wine class?  Email me at thevinewineclub@gmail.com with the "noble" grapes that can be used to make a red Meritage.  The contest ends on September 18, 2015.  We will enter the correct responses in a drawing for two tickets to our "How To Taste Wine Like a Pro" class that takes place on October 1, 2015.

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The Reason Behind "The Exclusive Blacklist"

The Exclusive Blacklist is a first of its kind in Richmond, VA.  Hosted by The Vine Wine Club, the event features six African-American wineries and wine brands that have not quite enjoyed mainstream exposure in the area.  From each of the six wineries and brands represented, our guests will be able to taste 3 of their superior wines.  Heavy hors d’ oeuvres and live jazz will cap off a phenomenal experience.  The Exclusive Blacklist will be held on February 12, 2015 at Richmond’s picturesque Virginia War Memorial.  Tickets are $75.

Why The Exclusive Blacklist?

I’ve been to lots and lots of wine tastings and expos.  I’ve attended Virginia wine festivals, Italian Wine Festivals, Napa festivals, and many others.  After leaving those events, I sought out many of the brands that I had tasted and identified new favorites over the years.  So back in November, jazz great Marcus Johnson was a guest on my show “Off the Vine with Benita and Terricinia”.  During the show, he shared with us that he was in Minneapolis meeting with the corporate offices of a chain of well-known stores.  He was trying to get his wines on the shelves.  We continued the conversation to talk about the various obstacles to getting a brand on the shelf.  Money is the biggest barrier because advertising and marketing make it easier to get a store to carry the brand.  And with states having varying laws that regulate the sale of alcohol, it may be a challenging finding distribution in that particular state.  So this idea of an expo was born.  But we wanted this event to be celebratory.  We wanted to “toast” to the brands and shine a spotlight on phenomenal artisan wines, with a backdrop of great food, music, and fellowship.  The Exclusive Blacklist is a marketing event.  It is a wine tasting with an up close and personal meet and greet with some of the owners.  Marcus Johnson of Flo Brands and Gwen Hurt of Shoe Crazy Wines will be there to meet the guests and discuss their wines.  We will also introduce Felicia Cosby, an aspiring urban winery owner, who is already making wines that will sure to develop a cult following.

Other featured wines are Wisdom Oak of Charlottesville, VA, Mouton Noir of Oregon, and Seven Sisters from South Africa.

Our event sponsors are The Law Offices of Alex Taylor, Speak to Your Spirit, Boss-Chi Catering and Concessions, Inc., Dr. Charles Sutton, Moore’s Auto Body and Paint Shop, and Haywood’s Photos.

Our goal is to make this an annual event by introducing six new wineries each year.  The objective is to grow awareness organically by introducing the owners to the people who will support the brands.  The Exclusive Blacklist will be our signature event.

The Vine Wine Club

The Vine Wine Club is an online retail shop and club that cellars quality and limited produced wines from all over the world.  Our goal is to deliver the best pours to your door by purchasing, signing up for classes, and memorable educational and promotional events.  The membership is $40 per month which includes 2 bottles of wine, discounts on other events, and special member only offerings.  The Vine Wine Club hosts a weekly radio show that airs on Fridays at 3:00 on the May We Help You Radio Network.  Visit our site at www.thevinewineclub.com or call 804-993-4130 for tickets and more information about upcoming events.

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Never Forget Your First Love

I remember my first introduction to Riesling.  I was at one of my favorite restaurants back in the mid-nineties.  At the time, my wine experience was limited to White Zinfandel.  I asked my server to introduce me to something new.  I was ready to move on from the pink stuff.  He introduced me to Johannesburg Riesling.  Like a lot of folks (some may not be willing to admit it), I initially thought this was a wine from South Africa.  But, nope.  It wasn’t.  It is merely a varietal of the grape.  This particular wine, I remember, was from Washington.  I fell in love with Riesling on that day.  My server may have coached me but I tasted hints of peach and honey and loved the overall fruitiness of what I was tasting.  My new wine, Riesling.  I remember shopping every Friday for Rieslings.  More and more, the wines that I selected weren’t quite like the ones that I had tasted that evening at the restaurant.  I have had some that are bone dry and others that are almost dessert wine clones.  Why?  Because I was tasting wines from various parts of the world.  Yes, they were all Rieslings but why did they taste so different?  The Rieslings from Washington tasted different from the ones from New York.  And they tasted different from the ones grown in Germany.  And then the Germans made them in their own range of styles that they identify on the bottles as Kabinett, Auslese, Spatlese, Beerenauslese…STOP!!!  That seemed so overwhelming for me to learn.  This was one grape, for goodness sake!  But Riesling was my first teacher on how grapes grown in various parts of the world can make such a difference in the bottle.  Most Rieslings are great food wines with their unique balance of acidity and fruit. ‘Tis the season for Riesling.  Because of its versatility, it is a perfect food wine that pairs well with your traditional holiday fare.  Try it with your turkey and sage dressing.  Riesling…my first love.

Revelry Riesling is our November Wine of the Month at The Vine Wine Club.  Use code “November” for free shipping on two or more bottles. 

Have You Listened to the Radio Show?

Join us each Friday on the May We Help You Radio Network at 3:00 pm for wine education, helpful tips, and fun.  "Off The Vine with Benita and Terricinia" can be found on Blog Talk Radio or you can listen on your phone at 646-652-2512.

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"Something to Wine About"

I (Heart) You, Malbec!

I think my heart is in Argentina.  No, I’ve never been there.  And no, there wasn’t a man who left me and traveled to South America (at least I don’t think so). But I am in love.  I have friends who travel to South America often.  They love the parties of Brazil and the women of the entire continent.  The intoxicating music and the festivals in the streets.  The cities don’t sleep.  Listening to them, it seems to be one big carnival all year.  And after I met my love, I understand why.   It must be the Malbec.  The medium bodied, fruit-forward, and luscious wine dances on the palette with flavors of blackberry and plum with a hint of soft tobacco on the finish.  Its ripeness is a result of the warm growing conditions of Argentina with low humidity.  Dry warm air and controlled moisture (irrigation) helps to grow a grape that is consistently plush and produces a wine with a velvety finish.  First planted in Argentina in the 1800’s, the country now grows more than 75% of the world’s Malbec.   It is quite the contrast to Malbec grown in France.  One of the 5 Bordeaux grapes, Malbec grown in France produces a more acidic juice with heavier tannins.  Still tasty and used in many red Bordeaux blends, it lends notes of black cherry. 

Malbecs from Argentina pair well with cheese (why do we drink wine with cheese anyway?) and lean meats.  I am not speaking from experience here because a good wine doesn’t need food (just my opinion).  I enjoy Malbec with the sunset, a fire, soft music, the silence.  It sparks my imagination and takes me to the streets of South America to enjoy the festivities with my friends.  I am in love with its magenta hue, the way that it smells, and how it bonds with my palate.  It makes me sing, “You’re All I Need”.  Malbec, I love you.  You’re the only thing that brings out the two words that I swore to never utter again.  I do. 

Thank you to my contributor, Dr. Willis!  Love you!!!

Special Announcement:  Wine Trip with The Vine and The Tipsy Sommelier

August 24, 2014, $95

Includes:  Bus transportation to 3 wineries, Cooper Vineyards, Wisdom Oak Winery, and First Colony Winery, all tasting fees, lunch and refreshments, and a helluva lot of fun!

For more information, please email thevinewineclub@gmail.com for schedule, where to meet the bus, and how to pay.  More fun than you've had in a long time...we promise.

Benita

All This Time, I've Been Saying that I Don't Like Chardonnay

How can one grape taste so doggone different?  Well let me just tell you about my evolution.  I remember years ago when I started this life long lesson into wine, I couldn't stand Chardonnay.  My first experience was one that was over done in American Oak, giving me the mouthful of butter, making me long for a piece of toasted bread.  I remember it coating my tongue and making it very difficult to taste the next wine in the tasting order.  I remember the brand (but I won't say the name...but you wine folks will know it because it was the hottest brand selling back in the early 2000's). After that, I swore off Chardonnay.  As I continued to countless tastings, I would always skip the popular white wine.  I frequented the same wine shop every Friday so the owner got to know me quite well.  She noticed one day at a wine dinner that I always avoided Chards when she offered them.  Finally, she asked why.  At the dinner, she had a Chardonnay that she explained had been fermented in stainless steel.  My first thought was why would it matter.  Pleasantly surprised, this time I recognized more green apple and that it was quite a bit more acidic than the Chardonnays that I had come to know.  Okay, so I like steel fermented Chardonnays.  A few weeks later, I asked my server at a restaurant if the Chardonnay that I was about to select was oak or steel fermented.  He told me that it was French Oak. I guess that befuddled look on my face told a story that I had no clue what that meant.  Fortunately, he read me and offered me a taste before I made the commitment of buying a glass.  He explained that the French Oak wouldn't impart the buttery notes that the American Oak would.  What I found for myself was that I still got the green apple but it was softer.  The wine felt almost round in my mouth.  Hmmm, I liked this French Oak fermented Chardonnay.  Up until this point, almost all of the Chardonnay that I had tasted had come from California.  So imagine my surprise when I realized that this white wine that I was drinking from France was called Burgundy, and it was Chardonnay.  Wait a minute!  Everything that I knew (which wasn't much apparently) about burgundy was that it was a color in the red family so of course a Burgundy has to be red.  I had no clue that Burgundy was a region that produced some of the best grown Chardonnay in the world.  These white grapes from Burgundy, fermented in French oak changed my mind.  I love Chardonnay!  I had to share my experience through a wine class where I only featured Chardonnay just to show my friends who were still novices at the time that the process makes the difference.  And all this time that I've been saying that I don't like Chardonnay....clueless!

Hit us up on Facebook at The Vine Wine Club if you're interested in a Chardonnay Tasting Tour Class. Follow my evolution with friends!

Store launch July 1, 2014 at www.thevinewineclub.com.

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Benita

Tune in every Friday at 3:00 to "Off The Vine with Benita and Terricinia" at May We Help You Radio Network

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