The Vineyards Restaurant Wine Club Tasting

Last night was a blast :) It was a “Take Your Mom to Work Day”

. . .

and since I work in the wine industry, I took my Mom to a wine tasting, lol :)

Let me preface this wine tasting.

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Before I moved to France to get my Masters in Wine Business, I used to work at a restaurant called “The Vineyards” … quelle surprise!

It was by far the best restaurant I have ever worked at – the staff had such great fun together, the clients were fantastic, the management were such a blast to “work” for. It is such a great feeling and a blessing to ‘love’ your work. The restaurant is a house turned restaurant/event venue that sits on a small vineyard. You can see pictures of the location on their website.

Anyways, last week I paid a visit to The Vineyards to see what had been going on in the 2.5 years I had been gone in France.  One of the cool new things they had decided to start was ‘The Vineyards Wine Club‘.  Once a month they plan to have an evening where VIP clients can come out to the restaurant and taste several wines, enjoy an appetizer buffet, and have the option to purchase any of the wines they taste at below-retail prices! All for the affordable cost of $15.

Now that is what I call a deal!!

We arrived at The Vineyards at 7pm sharp … we were not going to miss a drop did not want to be late. We were greeted by the owner’s wife, Angie Greer :) She handed us a tasting sheet – all the tasters were asked to rate the wines of the night on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) and for every 6 bottles we ordered that evening, we would get a raffle ticket :) But they did give me a complimentary raffle ticket right off the bat for being a past employee ;)

Off we went into the main dining area aka the ‘Tasting Room’ :)

The owner, Bill Greer, and my mom are the two cheesy smilers in the back between the guys in the suits.

Me, the tasting sheet. and wine glass … aka “the evidence” :)

My Mom and her “evidence” :p

I won a raffle prize!! A set of 2 Riedel ‘Cabernet/Merlot’ stemless wine glasses!!!

Don’t mind the shot of the empty-ish appetizer buffet. My mom and I decided to compete the wine tasting line up before taking advantage of the buffet :p The food was YUMMO! But I wasn’t surprised, The Vineyards certainly cooks up delicious food. On the buffet was appetizer portions of Prime Rib, Salmon, Pork Tenderloins, pesto linguine, garlic mashed potatoes, tapenade, goat cheese, bread rolls, and a condiments selection of capers, mini pickles, onions, and real mustard aka the spicy kind! I have to admit I had second helpings.

I am sure you are all curious about the wine selection that we tasted. The wines are shown below in the order we tasted them / the way they were set up to be tasted followed by the 1-10 score my Mom and I gave them (10 being the best). You can find more detailed tasting information on these wines on The Vineyards Wine Club site, by clicking here. I also linked all the wines to their respective winery/wine info sites.

2006 Domaine Carneros Brut Cuvée Sparkling Wine (Napa Valley) 7/10

2009 J Pinot Gris (California) 6/10

2008 Mer Soleil Chardonnay (Napa Valley) 5/10

2009 Argyle Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley) 4/10

2007 Domaine Carneros Estate Pinot Noir (Napa Valley) 6.5/10

2009 Achával Ferrer Malbec Mendoza (Argentina) 7/10

2007 Napa Cellar Zinfandel (Napa Valley) 5.5/10

2008 Klinker Brick Farrah Syrah (Alexander Valley) 8.5/10

2007 Freemark Abbey Merlot (Napa Valley) 6.5/10

2007 Ferrari-Carano Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley) 3/10

2006 Ferrari-Carano Trésor (Sonoma County) 6.5/10

2007 Trinchero Cabernet Franc (Napa Valley) 7/10

2007 Terra d’Oro Zinfandel (Amador County) 7/10

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The favorite for the night was the 2008 Klinker Brick Farrah Syrah (Alexander Valley). Oooooooh! Delicious!! And its price was even more attractive! Also, I think it is worth mentioning that the majority of the wines at the tasting were more food-friendly wines than ones that could be enjoyed solo. Saying that, I think a good idea for the next ‘Vineyards Wine Club’ tasting is to directly pair the wines with the appetizers. I think there were a few wines that would have shown better had they been offered at the same time as a matching appetizer. But aside from that small detail, the night was fantastic! It was also a great networking night for me. I enjoyed the chats I had with Jeff, Lloyd, and Tim! Hope to see you all again at the next event. If any of you readers out there are from San Antonio or within driving distance, I highly suggest making it for next month’s “Vineyard Wine Club – Wine Tasting Night”. Once the date is released, I will be sure to post it up here and on the Vinously Speaking Facebook/Twitter accounts.

Are there any events like this that you have attended recently? Any suggestions or ideas you might have for future Vineyards Wine Club tasting events? Or perhaps those of you from San Antonio might know of other upcoming wine tasting events you think I should know about?

Hope y’all have a great night! Cheers!