I was invited to a private wine tasting at the new BevMo! store in Riverside last month with Wilfred Wong, BevMo! Cellar Master. A few awesome things happened that night - I was handed a glass of Veuve Clicquot which is a new favorite, I got to chop it up with Wilfred before the lesson started and my husband got to pick out hard-to-find craft beer before the store officially opened to the public.
Wine is intimidating to some people like me but Wilfred Wong is quite the character and sold us on wine without being a salesman. I love when industry folks talk with us and not at us. The biggest takeaway from the cellar master himself was that it's okay if you don't like a wine but know why you don't. He certainly has the resume to back up his thoughts: 40+ year veteran of the industry, Wong tastes 6000-8000 wines, spirits and beers annually! He is responsible for managing the wine rating system at BevMo!, creating product descriptions for all the wines and working with the wine team to develop private label wines.
The 4 S's of wine tasting:
SEE: The color of the wine. As white wine ages, the color gets darker, and as red wine ages the color gets lighter. Color can also help you determine how heavy or light the wine will taste/feel.
SWIRL: Coat the side of the glass to help the wine open up and release aromas for the next step
SMELL: Sniff three times and come up with three words to describe the wine
SIP: You will taste sweet, sour, salty and bitter
I actually preferred the more savory food with darker wines and the fruity and sweet food with white wine. Popcorn goes good with white and so does the tortilla chip with guacamole but my absolute favorite is Veuve Clicquot with the strawberry! I'm definitely a white wine fan even though Wilfred Wong says Pinot Noir is the holy grail of wines.
A lesson in "corkiness" - having worked in hospitality for years, I never heard of the term corkiness. It is when you open a bottle of wine and it doesn't smell right. It happens and BevMo! has an awesome return policy on wine - take the bottle back with the receipt and you'll get a new bottle!
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| Me with BevMo! Cellar Master Wilfred Wong! |
BevMo! is your neighborhood beverage store and they have everything you need to make every occasion special #BevMo2TheRescue
The new 8000 sq. foot Riverside store will feature thousands of wines, spirits and beers along with hundreds of gourmet food items, cocktail mixers, glassware, bar accessories and more.
Get the ClubBev! card - it took a minute to fill out and I saved $1 on my visit!
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| This label rocks! |
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| BevMo! is popular for their 5 Cent Wine Sale - Buy one bottle of wine, get the second bottle for 5 cents. You have to love how it is clearly marked! Over 200 bottles to choose from! |
My husband Chris scored Lagunitas Sucks and Bootlegger's Brewery Knuckle Sandwich (not pictured) and I just might have won Best Wife that night!
Visit
BevMo! to find a store near you - the new store is located at 7562 Mission Grove Parkway, Riverside, CA 92508
Enter for your chance to win a $50 BevMo! gift card!
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Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with BevMo! All thoughts are my own. Labels: #BevMoRiverside, BevMo! Riverside, Giveaway, Wilfred Wong Cellar Master, Wine Tasting
