April Recap: Furmint USA Tasting; Wine & Flavors Seminar

April was a busy month full of changes and new opportunities. One of the things I love doing is attending educational seminars and tastings so that I am constantly learning and honing my craft. In April I attended several tastings including Austrian, Provence Rose, and Hungarian wines. I also did an extensive two day seminar on sensory evaluation and identifying wine aromatic molecules with sensory master, Alexandre Schmitt. My two favorite events in April were the Furmint USA tasting hosted by the Napa Valley Wine Academy and the Wine & Flavors Seminar taught by Alexandre Schmitt.

Furmint USA, Hungarian Wine Tasting at Napa Valley Wine Academy- April 19, 2016

"FurmintUSA is a branded educational campaign founded in 2014. Its purpose is the promotion of dry furmint wines from Hungary's Tokaj Wine Region. FurmintUSA strongly believes that furmints are not only Hungary's flagship dry white wines but that furmint is the next true rising star on the international wine scene. FurmintUSA unites first-rate Hungarian wineries and markets their very best furmints in the United States."

Furmint is a Hungarian white grape variety indigenous to Hungary's Tokaj region. It is the major grape of Tokaj. It grows vigorously, ripens late, and produces wines with high acidity. Furmint is known as Mosler in Austria, Sipon in Slovenia and N. Croatia, Moslavac Bijeli in Croatia, Som in Transylvania, and Zapfner in Germany. Furmint is the most essential grape in the production of sweet Aszu wines. However, Furmint also produces some of the most prestigious dry white wines of Hungary. At this tasting we tried nine different Furmint wines from Csopak and Tokaj's top producers. A few of the winemakers from Hungary came and presented their wines and their winery's history. I am so glad I attended and was exposed to dry Furmint wines. I really hope to see more of these wines in the market and on wine lists across the country.

Wow! This seminar was life changing. Alexandre Schmitt is from Bourdeaux, France. He graduated in Chemistry at the University of Sciences in Bourdeaux, and in Perfumery at the ISIPCA at Versailles, France. He worked as a creator of perfumes in Paris and London and taught perfumery before transitioning into the wine industry. He now teaches olfaction at the Bourdeaux Oenology University and consults for many winemakers and top wineries around the world. His client list includes: Chateau Petrus, Chateau d'Yquem, Chateau Margaux, Opus One, Robert Mondavi Winery, Dominus Estate, Bodegas Miguel Torres, Joseph Phelps, Dalla Vale, Laffort Espana, Radoux, Taransaud, and so many more. He only offers his seminars in Napa once a year so I jumped on the opportunity as soon as it became available. He is crazy talented at what he does and is often referred to as "the nose" within the wine industry.

I took his Level 2: Aromatic Molecules seminar in St. Helena at ETS Laboratories. This was a two day seminar. We went through wine defects, barrel aromas, flowers, types of wood, fruits, spices, and balsamic notes. It was incredibly eye opening; other sensory classes I have taken before have never gotten into the nitty gritty details of each chemical compound like this seminar did. As wine professionals we breakdown a wine by identifying the aromas we are picking up but we usually do not break down the specific molecule and describe it further. That is exactly what we did during these two days. For example, to simply say vanilla or cedar is being lazy and elementary. We each had to share what that vanilla felt like. Was is warm? Was it oily? Was it sweet? Creamy? Artificial or Natural? Was it Vanilla or Vanillin? As there are many different types of vanilla and levels that can be perceived. Was the cedar cool? Was it resinous? Dry? Wet? And so on...

I can't wait for Alexandre to come back to Napa next year. You bet I will be taking all the other levels he offers. You cannot get training and teaching like this anywhere else. He is the best in his category and his classes are worth the investment! I implore those seeking to sharpen their sensory skills to take his seminars. The way you think about smelling will be changed forever. For more information check out his site https://www.wineandflavors.com/en/ and sign up for his newsletter to be the first to know of a course near you.

Exploring the Russian River Valley

The Sonoma County appellation has approximately 60,000 acres of vineyards planted and is made up of fifteen different AVA's. This past weekend I spent a day in Northern Sonoma wine tasting with some friends. We started off at Iron Horse Vineyards in the Green Valley sub appellation within the Russian River Valley. Green Valley is one of the smallest appellations in Sonoma County. It lies in the southwestern part of the Russian River Valley. What makes Green Valley's special is its unique microclimate influenced by fog and its Goldridge soil type, which is highly sought after because of its great drainage properties and low soil fertility. 

Iron Horse produces sparkling wines, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. The set up and grounds were beautiful. They have a bar set up outside on a hill over looking the vineyards. It was a very relaxed environment without too much traffic and the service was excellent. Our wine educator was calm, knowledgeable, and treated us great. We tasted through their sparkling flight and did a couple of their Native Yeast Chardonnays.

Of the six sparkling wines we tried, the 2010 Russian Cuvee and the 2011 Wedding Cuvee were my favorite. The Russian Cuvee is made of 69% Pinot Noir, 31% Chardonnay. It is the richest, most opulent of the Iron Horse bubblies with a lingering hint of sweetness balanced by solid acidity. The Russian Cuvee has an interesting story behind it. Iron Horse was comissioned by the White House to create a wine for the historic Reagan-Gorbachev summit meetings which ended the Cold War. This Cuvee is made in the same style of the one that was shared at the summit. This wine also received 90 points by the Wine Spectator. It retails for $42 and only 800 cases were made.

Iron Horse is also well known for its Wedding Cuvee which is made up of 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. It has a beautiful light pink color, fresh fruit aromas, and racy acid to back it up. This wine is very easy to enjoy which makes it versatile for many occasions. This wine retails for $44.

I enjoyed both the 2012 and 2013 Native Yeast Chardonnays but the 13 was my fav! On the ‘12 I got banana on the mid palate and the ’13 had aromas of pineapple and tasted like juicy fruit gum with some nice lingering acid. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to taste some high quality wines in the Sonoma area.

The next winery we visited was Lynmar Estates. They produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We tasted two Chards and several Pinots. Of the Pinots we tried the Quail Hill was my first choice and the Monastery was my second pick. Although we did not have lunch here the tasting area has a great set up for lunch with picnic tables, umbrellas, and a gorgeous garden.

Why I joined Network Marketing and you should too!

I recently joined WineShop at Home as an independent wine consultant. I provide in home tastings of exclusive wines that are not sold anywhere else but through direct selling. WineShop at Home has been around since 1995 and is based in Napa Valley. The winery started direct selling to consumers in 2004 and is the largest and fasted growing company like it.

There are monthly cash bonuses, wine club membership commissions, no inventory to buy, stock or carry. As a consultant you receive your own website; have a chance to earn trips to wine country destinations throughout the world (this upcoming trip is to Barcelona), and there are tons of advancement opportunities!

It's a great part time or full time position depending on where you want to take it. For those who love wine, want the flexibility of making their own work schedule, ability to work from home, and seek ample opportunity towards financial independence, this is it!

This decision was a no brainer for me as it is super low risk with potential for high reward. To order a  business kit and get started it only costs $50 and you can always return it for a refund within 90 days if you decide it's not a good fit for you. Plus I get a chance to meet so many new people and share my passion for wine. Oh and the big SCORE...I am now considered a small business owner which means tax breaks left and right for me. Yay! After listening to Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad on network marketing, I knew this is the step I needed to take towards my financial independence.

Watch here:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VChd7Y9YS_k

Here are some other reasons you should consider your network marketing move with WineShop at Home...

• Wine Shop at Home has just a few thousand representatives.  Many states have just a couple dozen active consultants, yet the market for wine is huge which means a lot of opportunity for you.
• We’ve been in business long enough to be stable, but we’re small enough to give you unlimited growth potential.
• You will be considered part of the wine industry which means industry discounts on tastings and wine purchases at other wineries for you!

For more information you can email me at ladysommelier@gmail.com and check out my personal site at wineshopathome.com/alexsanchez

Tierra de Malbec

I recently returned from my trip to South America. As some of you know, I left at the end of February for Argentina to work the harvest. I worked in the Lujan de Cuyo region, southeast of Mendoza at Viña Cobos. This winery produces around 150,000 cases annually and focuses on Malbec and Chardonnay. Viña Cobos is a partnership between Paul Hobbs of California and the Marchioris, an Argentine couple. Viña Cobos has five different brands: Cobos, Bramare Vineyard Designation, Bramare Appellation, Cocodrilo and Felino but is most famed for their Cobos line.

Harvest came fast and early for us at Viña Cobos. Due to the frequent rains, we were forced to take everything off the vine all at once in order to avoid losing the crop to botrytis and mildew. We finished receiving grapes an entire month earlier than expected. Because of this early finish I had some time to explore and travel. I spent some time tasting in Lujan de Cuyo and Uco Valley in Argentina and then crossed the Andes over to Chile and did some tasting in the Casablanca Valley.

My favorite wineries I tasted at in Lujan (Argentina) were: Tierras Altas and Finca Decero

...in Uco Valley (Argentina): Clos de los Siete and Andeluna

...in Casablanca (Chile): Kingston

Overall a majority of my favorite wines came from Clos de los Siete. The winery that had the best hospitality was Tierras Altas and the best lunch I had was at Andeluna.

Some of the other wineries I tasted at were Cruzat, Finca de Decero, Septima, Belasco, Salentein, Achaval Ferrer, and Casas del Bosque.

Napa Trip #2

I recently visited Napa a couple weeks ago. It was my second time and my mom's first. I had such a great time introducing her to the "Wine Disneyland" I fell in love with. We spent three days between Napa and San Francisco. On Day 1 we visited Domaine Carneros, Opus One, Cakebread, Robert Mondavi, and Silver Oak. For lunch we stopped at The Pear, skipped dinner, and had dessert at Bouchon Bakery. The Pear was okay but not my favorite place. Bouchon was amazing! The macaroons are heavenly. I died a little bit when I bit into the pistachio mac. Bouchon Bakery is a must stop. It is the famed Chef Thomas Keller's bakery and if you don't know already he's kinda like a BIG DEAL (Google The French Laundry!).

On Day 2 we had breakfast at Oxbow Public Market. We had breakfast tacos at C CASA and coffee from Ritual. Uhhhmazing! Literally don't think I could get tired of this combo. Everything in the Oxbow Market is of the highest quality and supports sustainable agriculture. C CASA serves fresh, gluten free Latin cuisine using only local, seasonal ingredients. Ritual coffee serves the most velvety soft coffee I've ever had. This stuff is not bitter at all. Their menu is very simplistic and focuses on the quality of the coffee, no artificial sweeteners needed here! It kicks Starbucks ass easily. Oh and the barista's are so friendly and sweet and do a damn good job. Getting back to the wine here...we started our day off at Joseph Phelps and we had an amazing tasting. Our wine educator was so sweet and knowledgeable. It was such a pleasurable experience; everything from the scenery to the wines were beautiful. We took home a bottle of their 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and 2012 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. The remainder of our lineup consisted of Rombauer, Failla, Chateau Montelena, and Sterling. I really enjoyed visiting Chateau Montelena. Their history is so rich and they really are iconic and a status symbol for what California wines can be. Our wine educator Kevin was very engaging and the property was gorgeous. We had to take a bottle of their Chardonnay home for keep sakes. For dinner we met up with my old college roomie and her grandma at ZuZu. We all ordered different tapas and shared so we could all try different items on their menu. Everything was great! My favorites were the spaghetti squash and the chicken croquetas.This place is always busy so I recommend going in earlier in the evening to avoid the wait.

On Day 3 we checked out some of the shops in the oxbow district and by shops I mean bakeries...My mom is super into baking so we had to try something from each place. She bought some treats at Model Bakery and I got this cookie because it was just so cute!

Here are my Favs from this trip:

Favorite Dining Experience: Oxbow Market

Best Winery for Wines: Joseph Phelps

Most Beautiful Grounds: Chateau Montelena and Domaine Carneros

Best Sweet Spot: Bouchon Bakery

Delectable Wine App

"The Only Wine App Worth a Damn." -Vinography

I have been an avid user of Delectable for about eight months now and I absolutely love it! I use it to help me decide what to buy, keep track of the wines I've tasted, and organize my wine regions. Delectable also allows me to connect to other wine lovers with similar palates as mine. I can see what others are drinking and read their personal reviews. This app is super helpful and fun. I like to describe it to people as "instagram for wine". It is very social yet informational. You upload a pic of your wine label, rate and describe it, and others can like and comment on your wine. The regions feature is probably one of my favorite things about it. The app separates your wines into countries, regions, and sub regions. This allows me to see which regions I have yet to explore and inspires me to try wines from those regions I have unfilled. Go download this app now! You won't regret it. I promise! Follow me on Delectable at Alex Sanchez.