If you’re planning a Wine Tasting trip to Sonoma County, I have a game changer recommendation for you. Rather than your typical tasting, head over to Matanzas Creek for a Black Glass Wine Tasting. This wine discovery evaluates how our sense of sight impacts our perceptions of a wine.
When you arrive at Matanzas Creek Winery for your Black Glass Tasting, you’re greeted with a splash of wine and tour of their Lavender Field and Gardens. From there, you’ll make your way to a private tasting room with four black glasses already filled and waiting for you. The grounds at Matanzas Creek are something out of a dream, as you drive up a vineyard lined road, you’re greeted with their lavender field, bocce courts, inviting picnic areas, fountains, then a staircase up to the winery and tasting rooms.
Matanzas Creek is located in the beautiful Bennett Valley region of Sonoma County. Even on a chilly morning, the winery is stunning. As part of the Black Glass Tasting, we started off with a tour of the Lavender Field, Gardens, and Barn with a glass in hand. Strolling through the gardens, you almost forget where you are. It’s so beautiful!! Their private barn has anything and everything lavender. We were all blown away with this unique space.
After learning more about the winery, vineyards, and lavender we made our way up to the private tasting room. Matanzas Creek explains this blind tasting isn’t just for wine geeks! It’s a focused wine discovery that evaluates how our sense of sight impacts our perceptions of a wine – before we even taste it. I have to admit, even though I’ve been wine tasting since I turned 21 I was a little nervous to taste from the four glasses in front of me.
Now that I’ve done the tasting, rest assured, there’s absolutely no reason to be nervous. Our wine guide encouraged us and asked questions to help us along. Think “fruit forward”, “light bodied”, “bitter finish”, and more! For one of the wines, I immediately stated it had a strong floral aroma and she prompted me by asking what type of floral – rose, lily, violet?
As we sipped from each glass, revisited wines from previous glasses we made our guesses and wrote them down along with the tasting notes. Once we finished our tasting and finalized our guesses, the bottles were brought out and we were able to go over our notes. Out of the four wines we blind tasted, I got one correct. For me, that was a win! This special tasting was such a fun experience and so unlike your typical wine tasting. We all agreed that this blind black glass tasting gave us a better understanding of each wine.
It was the perfect way to kick off our California trip! Have you ever done a black glass tasting? What was your favorite part? Let me know in the comments.
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