Make your next business trip better with wine

Some businessmen go prowling for ladies to keep them entertained while on a business trip. I like to go prowling for wine. I still have a good time and my wife doesn’t mind if I bring something home with me.

Traveling by yourself doesn't mean you have to drink alone. Here are three ways to enjoy a little wine and some good company while you are flying solo on a business trip:

Visit a Winery
Stopping by a winery or two is always fun if your travels take you near a wine region. Winery tasting rooms are very social places, so you'll find it easy to strike up a conversation with winery employees and fellow visitors. You may need a flexible schedule since most tasting rooms are only open during the day, but this could be the extra incentive you need to wrap up your meeting a few hours early. (Check out our wine tasting tips and you'll taste like a pro without drinking too much.)

I recently traveled to Santa Rosa, California, which is in the heart of the Sonoma County wine region. I had to fly in the day before my meeting so I used this as an excuse to do some tasting. I started my adventure with a delicious lunch at the Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg and then visited Alexander Valley Vineyards and Foppiano Vineyards. It was a great time and I was happy and rested when I met with my client the next day.

Discover a Wine Bar
Wine bars are a great place to enjoy a glass of wine after work. You can usually sit at the bar and make some new friends if your co-workers or clients don’t want to join you. It's generally easy to find a few good wine bars in almost any city these days.

A recent business trip to Portland, Oregon gave me an opportunity to visit Oregon Wines on Broadway. They have a huge selection of Oregon wines by the glass and their knowledgeable employees are always willing to suggest a wine that suits your palate. It's a locals' hangout, but they don't mind you joining in on the wine talk. This was a fun way to spend an evening on the road.

Haunt the Hotel Bar
The hotel bar is often a refuge for business people traveling alone. You can socialize with fellow travelers while enjoying a drink or even a meal. Many hotel bartenders are wonderful hosts who can help you pick out a perfect glass of wine to enjoy after work.

While on my trip to Portland, I visited the Daily Grill which was attached to my hotel. They offer great food and their attentive staff make you feel right at home when you are dining by yourself. Don't look for anything exotic on their wine list, but you can expect to see a lot of solid, well-priced wines that will suit nearly any mood.

Road trips can be tough, but they don't have to be wine free!

Line 39 Petite Sirah

People often are fooled by the name of the grape, petite sirah. Contrary to what you may think, this guy is anything but petite. The flavor profile of petite sirah is similar to a mix between Zinfandel and Syrah. While full-bodied and spicy, it is rarely as jammy as Zinfandel. They tend to be big, muscular, wines rich in taste and color, and pair well with stronger meats (beef, game, lamb) and spicy sauces. With high tannin levels and deep pigments, petite sirah is an excellent blending grape.  It also can make an impressive wine on its own.  

Earlier this week we joined friends at one of our favorite local wine bars, Trisler’s.  It was raining and quite chilly (rare for San Diego), and the weather put me in the mood for a big red. My eye was immediately drawn to the Line 39 Petite Sirah.  Line 39 is produced in Lake County, CA, an emerging wine region located north of Napa Valley and the North Coast appellation.  Line 39 refers to the latitude where many of the great wine growing regions of the world are found.  And this night, I discovered a great petite sirah.

This wine is full of rich ripe fruits, elegant and not overly complex, with a wonderful long finish. Unlike some other petite sirah’s that can be a bit heavy, this one was very drinkable on its own, and paired excellent with our platter of salami, cheese, and grapes.  It went exceptionally well with Manchego!

I fell in love with this wine – it was a perfect pairing for the occasion, food, and weather!  When I started researching where I could purchase more, I fell head over heels.  The suggested retail price for this little gem is only $10!  Based on taste, I expected it to be priced in the $20-$30 range. It is available at BevMo, and the winery website lists distributors (both US and International). If you find it, spend the $10 – you’ll be glad you did!

Cheers!

If you taste something good, don't let it get away!

I've recently had some outstanding wines, made a mental note to buy some later, only to find out that the wine was no longer available. The moral of the story? If you drink something you really like, buy it!

The latest was a 2008 Halter Ranch "Cotes de Paso" Rhone-style blend. It was a delicious blend of 41% Grenache, 30% Mouvedre, 18% Syrah, 7% Counoise, and 4% Cinsault. These types of wines are wonderful with food and pair well with a wide variety of dishes. 

The Cotes de Paso was what Sally would describe as an ingredients to dessert wine. You can open it while you are cooking and enjoy it without food. The wine will hold up through your appetizer, your main course, and even your dessert. Ingredients to dessert.

The wine's flavors were a nice mix of cocoa, earthiness, and blackberry. We enjoyed it with a burger topped with short ribs (yes, it WAS awesome) and short rib pappardelle at Cucina Urbana, one of our favorite restaurants in San Diego. It only cost $34, which was a steal for such a tasty treat.

Now, the sad news. The winery is sold out of their 2008. I guess I'll have to head back to the restaurant and see if I can pick up a bottle or two!

Treat Your Host with Kristine’s Cuvee

Decorating, shopping, baking ~ the holiday season can get crazy, quick!  One way to simplify is to stock up on a favorite every day wine to have on hand for host gifts, or any last minute, ‘unexpected’ need. 

An everyday red we enjoy is Kristine’s Cuvee by Wattle Creek.  This is a Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and petit verdot.  It has great fruit flavors and well balanced acidity, exactly what you’d expect for a solid red blend.  This wine is an easy drinker on its own, and also pairs nicely with a wide variety of food ~ a plus when taking to a party with ‘potluck’ items. 

This is one of the few wines widely distributed by Wattle Creek.  You should be able to pick it up at a larger wine shop (such as BevMo and Specs), and retails for about $20…it is currently advertised at BevMo club price of $10.99 (a sweet deal!).   

When sharing a bottle as a gift, add a personal touch to make it even more special.  Include a little story about how you discovered the wine or a favorite recipe that would pair well with it.  

You can never go wrong with sharing wine as a holiday gift. One bit of advice ~ when selecting the wine, take note of the name and consider who may be receiving it… for example, while it is another great red blend, a couple may not want to gift their single friend a bottle of Ménage à Trois… 

Happy Holidays!

Now that's a Syrah!

One of the reasons Sally and I love wine is it gives us an excuse to search for adventures and then share those adventures with friends and family. 

Last June, we toured the Santa Ynez wine region for the first time. One of the wineries we visited was Bridlewood Estate Winery. The wine room and grounds were beautiful with sweeping views of the valley. They also served a lot of great wine and the employees in the wine room were very knowledgeable and friendly. Our favorite was their 2007 "Six Gun" Syrah so we bought a couple of bottles.

Sally outside of Bridlewood Estate Winery

Last week, Sally's Mom and my parents came to our house for Thanksgiving. The night before we all decided to dine out at a favorite restaurant in San Diego's Little Italy, Buon Appetito. Syrah is a terrific companion for Italian food, so we brought the two bottles of "Six Gun" with us.

It was perfect with our meal.

The best description is this is the way a Syrah should be. It had nice fruit concentration that reminded you of dark cherries with just enough earthiness and tannin to pair nicely with food. You could tell the wine was a hit by the way everyone at the table savored the last few sips in their glass, not wanting the enjoyment to end.

Sally, Jeff, and parents enjoy a meal with some Six GunThe best part was the meal gave us a chance to share some treasured wine with family. We talked a little about our adventures at Bridlewood, which inevitably led to more stories about good food, good wine, and good company.

Shared bottles always taste better.