Welcome to the wine club

Posted on February 19, 2006 by Gene

Yesterday’s big outing was for wine tasting. The first stop was J. Lohr Winery, and their tasting room is actually about a mile down The Alameda from my house. How convenient!
It was surprising how different their wines were from the $6 bottles I usually buy at Safeway — all of them were very delicate and refined, I ended up buying 6 bottles of various types. The tasting itself was free, one gets to taste six different varieties and the man at the tasting counter was very knowledgeable and helpful to we wine novices. Another high point of that visit was the discount one receives on buying six or more bottles!
Next up, a drive up the hills into Los Gatos to Testarossa.
I was looking forward to this one, because according to what I’d read this hillside winery also included an old novitiate and the Mirassou champagne cellars. When we arrived, it looked promising, entering through a cavelike hall into an old looking tasting room. But the enchantment wore off quickly.
At Testarossa, you can expect to pay a $10 tasting fee for five wines. In other words, $10 for what amounts to be less than a full glass of wine; the fee can be applied toward a bottle. The wines themselves were not very impressive, especially after coming from Lohr and their very refined wines. Frankly, they didn’t seem to be any better than a cheap bottle from the grocery store.
It also turns out that Mirassou is no longer there — or rather, the room we were in was once Mirassou but had been bought out by Testarossa. There were no champagne cellars anymore; and in any event, there didn’t seem to be a tour of the place despite the sign saying that a tour was $4.
There are still a lot of wineries here in the valley to visit; and at some point I’ll have to make a trip across the Golden Gate to Marin County. And if I do keep this up, I’ll have to buy one of those little wine refrigerators…