After three months of quarantine, things are finally starting to open here in Southeastern Wisconsin. I was lucky to enjoy virtual tastings and happy hours. Here are some of my favorites.
We had a virtual tasting to celebrate my friend, Randi’s birthday. Jessup Cellars did not disappoint. Ellen Brown walked us through a tasting via Zoom of four wines from Jessup Cellars and Handwritten. We started with The Author, Handwritten’s 2019 Sauvingnon Blanc, which is tropical fruit forward and delicious. Second wine, Handwritten’s 2015 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, this has to be one of my very favorite Pinots. For me, I’m finicky on Pinot, if it has a very earthy nose, I don’t like it. The Handwritten Pinot has structure and tastes more like a Cabernet to me, and I’m a big Cabernet fan. We then moved on to the Jessup Cellars 2016 Napa Valley Cabernet, which is a consistently good Cab. For our final tasting, we enjoyed Handwritten’s 2012 Three Words, their red blend. Once the wine opened up, it was lovely, I have to say the 2012s are drinking amazing right now.
I’ve also been enjoyed the Friday Night Happy Hours hosted on Instagram by Wine Tasting Driver. Robert and Gary do a great job every Friday night at 4 pm PDT. If you want exposure to new wines recommended by locals, these guys fit the bill. You can also hire them to drive your vehicle when visiting Napa. I’m definitely going to use them on my fall trip.