WTN: Only a Zonie

Bodega Pierce 2013 Petite Sirah, Rolling View Vineyard, Cochise County, AZ. Purchased at a tasting room near Sedona that focuses on brands too small to have their own facilities.

Excellent clarity, crimson with rosy rim appearing more narrow than a wine of that vintage. Dark fruit: blackberry, black currant. Hints of black pepper, mushroom, vanilla. Smooth, fruit tannins. Discreet. Impression: reminiscent of one of its parent grapes, Syrah. A nice effort. At $35, QPR is below average, but that's fine for the experience.

We also purchased the Pierce Chardonnay and a Cab Sauv from another of the Pierce labels, Saeculum Cellars.

We enjoy visiting small vintners in CO and AZ. Have had better experiences there than in NM. NM has Gruet, but others have been meh....

Enjoyed Fri and Sat. Sidebar: WTN actually WTW more or less. We tend to drink a bottle over at least 4-5 days. Dear Husband also enjoys other adult beverages. Not me.

Other AZ wine fans out there?

[Jenise]

When you're buying from small boutique wineries in out of the way places, QPR is pretty much out the window IMO. First of all if you're in there tasting you SHOULD buy something, it's just the right thing to do. Secondly, they won't make even a meager living if they don't charge at least that much. Grapes aren't free! To be part of this whole apparatus called 'common good', it's about being supportive, not value, don't you think?

All that said, most of us won't see wines from those regions unless we're travelling there. Those small wineries can't compete at retail in markets with their own wine industry, like where you and I live.

I agree about buying, Jenise. Must do. In fact, I prescreen each tasting stop and only select those tasting rooms where I fully intend to buy at least 2 bottles of wine. In some situations, tasting fees are waived with purchase. This is less likely in the small and obscure places we visited on the AZ trip. I seem to remember one winery did waive the fee, but not the one where we purchased the Pierce wine.

And that's OK. I always note QPR when reviewing wines. Just part of who I am as a frugal one. Some people do, some don't. Hey, do it your way.

Would I go back and buy more wine there? Maybe not, more likely to seek out other vintners we haven't visited. Part of the fun of exploration.

[Jenise]

I agree about buying, Jenise. Must do. In fact, I prescreen each tasting stop and only select those tasting rooms where I fully intend to buy at least 2 bottles of wine. In some situations, tasting fees are waived with purchase.

I *always* buy--but only as long as tasting fees, if charged, are forgiven with purchase. If they're not and they're extra to the cost of the wine, especially if significantly so, then I usually feel no obligation. It's situational IOW--if they care about serious wine people, I'm good, but if they can't tell serious wine tasters from the tourists, then all bets are off. As a rule once they figure out I'm pretty serious the fee is rarely charged anyway--tasting rooms understandably just need it as a deterrent against freeloader tourists like bridal parties.

I hear you. Remember while we were tasting in AZ that two couples strolled in and asked to taste their Chard. Except....this brand doesn't make a Chard. Probably casual shoppers. So different from a geek like me.

My strong preference is a waived fee, with purchase. It almost always happens. And in major tasting areas, no way will I go into a tasting room without knowing fee waiver policy. Check before we begin tasting, then proceed. And, only very rarely will we go to a tasting room on Sat or Sun. With an appointment, sure. Otherwise, a situation to avoid.

Tasting room staff seem to have some discretion. We've had more tastings poured than the standard listed, we've had waived fees, we've had posted chalkboard specials. Current tally = 101 tasting rooms visited, with a few repeat visits. An adventure.

[David M. Bueker]

Trust me Pat, you’re not a geek...yet.

Whatever, David. Let me know when I meet your mystery criteria.

[David M. Bueker]

Whatever, David. Let me know when I meet your mystery criteria.

Well so far you don't seem to be crazy.

NM has Gruet, but others have been meh....

Gruet has Precept Wines in Washington state doing its sales and marketing. In order to boost production, they are now blending in WA wine. You'll notice that the labels now say "American sparkling wine", not "New Mexico sparkling wine". IMO the quality isn't what it was when the wine came exclusively from the NM vineyards.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Totally agree with you Paul. Gruet was special and distinctive, a great value. Unfortunately, not so much now.

Just looked up the Gruet wine purchased in 2017. All 3 bottles = New Mexico as AVA. Only bottle remaining is the 2015 Pinot Noir. 2016 Rose' and Tamaya Rose' of PN consumed. Each about a score of 85-86 which to me is borderline (QPR was lacking).

Now curious about that PN. Planning for 2021.

No Gruet around at LWS, but if I venture to find some will look at pricing. Probably better choices out there based on your impressions.

Another item: visited their tasting room in Santa Fe to purchase the wines. That place is more wine bar/tourist oriented than a true tasting room. Adapting to location....

I just bought my 3 bottles and left. Not paying a glam tasting fee.

[David M. Bueker]

And what pray tell is the difference between a "true tasting room" and "wine bar/tourist oriented" which are in fact two very different things.

[Jenise]

Probably that the latter is more like a factory store? Haven't been in but drove by about two years ago, and that's what it looked like from the outside.

[Jenise]

Btw, just checked their website to see if any of their wines are exclusive to the NM appellation. I found that they use three origin designations now: American Sparkling Wine (all the entry levels and a number of the better sparklers), Produced in New Mexico (this was a pinot noir, there might be others) and 100% Grown and Produced in New Mexico. Not many of the latter two, even the Laurent Cuvee named after current headwinemaker Laurent Gruet is just "American Sparkling Wine".

And what pray tell is the difference between a "true tasting room" and "wine bar/tourist oriented" which are in fact two very different things.

Jenise was near there more recently. We drove by the Albuquerque place and it did appear to be more like a "factory store" in appearance.

Here is what I observed. The Santa Fe site was billed as a "tasting room". That's what their website said. (The decor was attractive, inviting to walk-by traffic and the usual array of shoppers.)

When I entered, the experience was as follows. To taste anything, you had to purchase, at minimum, a "flight" of wine. I seem to remember the starting cost for a flight was about $15. That got you maybe 3-4 small pours (maybe an oz., maybe less). I watched. And they were really pushing the upper-cost flights as well as full flutes for sparkling, glasses for still wine (about 50-50% full). The few people there were going for mostly the flutes, a few for the glasses. Absolutely no waived fees if you purchased bottle(s).

I, OTOH, was there to buy bottles. Our hotel gave us a coupon book that offered 15% off my purchase. And I knew what I wanted. And given that to confirm what I wanted by tasting = > $20 because of the wines I had chosen, I passed. I could only buy the still wines in NM. They did not offer them elsewhere, period. So I got what I wanted and left.

JMHO. Hope that helps.

[Jenise]

Yup, that's a wine bar! That kind of one-brand sponsored tasting room which is more about the entertainment of enjoying wine on premesis vs. merely taste/buy/leave is becoming a de facto feature in areas with heavy tourist foot traffic. That Gruet would do it in Santa Fe makes perfect sense. There are quite a few around in other regions as well, like downtown Los Olivos CA, McMinnville OR and Walla Walla WA. I'm sure Napa has many, though I haven't been there in awhile.

Downtown/touristy areas in Paso Robles, Monterey had them in 2019 when we visited. Location, location, location.

Just looked up the Gruet wine purchased in 2017. All 3 bottles = New Mexico as AVA. Only bottle remaining is the 2015 Pinot Noir. 2016 Rose' and Tamaya Rose' of PN consumed. Each about a score of 85-86 which to me is borderline (QPR was lacking).

Are these sparklers or still wines? The low-end Gruet sparklers (brut, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs) are easy to find around here. I ordered a mixed case of the upper-tier sparklers and some of their still wines direct from the winery. This was before the hookup with Precept, and they were all AVA New Mexico. I wasn't impressed by the still wines, but the upper-tier sparklers were punching well above their weight and offered the same good QPR as the low-end sparklers.

Oh, well, it (Gruet NM AVA) was good while it lasted.

-Paul W.

I wonder if any other producer is buying the grapes from the vineyards in the hills around Truth or Consequences that used to make Gruet sparklers such a distinctive value?

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Downtown/touristy areas in Paso Robles, Monterey had them in 2019 when we visited. Location, location, location.

And even one in Durango, Colorado. Quite good wines, too.

[David M. Bueker]

Downtown/touristy areas in Paso Robles, Monterey had them in 2019 when we visited. Location, location, location.

And even one in Durango, Colorado. Quite good wines, too.

Romance in Durango?

Just looked up the Gruet wine purchased in 2017. All 3 bottles = New Mexico as AVA. Only bottle remaining is the 2015 Pinot Noir. 2016 Rose' and Tamaya Rose' of PN consumed. Each about a score of 85-86 which to me is borderline (QPR was lacking).

Are these sparklers or still wines? The low-end Gruet sparklers (brut, blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs) are easy to find around here. I ordered a mixed case of the upper-tier sparklers and some of their still wines direct from the winery. This was before the hookup with Precept, and they were all AVA New Mexico. I wasn't impressed by the still wines, but the upper-tier sparklers were punching well above their weight and offered the same good QPR as the low-end sparklers.

Oh, well, it (Gruet NM AVA) was good while it lasted.

-Paul W.

All 3 still wines.

[Jenise]

The Tamaya's actually a single vineyard wine, right? One of the few/only I recall seeing in their lineup.

The Tamaya's actually a single vineyard wine, right? One of the few/only I recall seeing in their lineup.

Yes, single vineyard. Joint partnership with Pueblo of Santa Ana of New Mexico. Priced $3 or so more than the entry-level still Rose'.