Want to be the first on your block to have the insider info on the new Slow Wine Guide?
Slow Wine Guide is part of the Slow Food movement based in Italy, an international movement, spearheaded here in the US first by Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, to promote good, clean and fair food and wines.
Hundreds of producers have been listed in the Italian language version of the Slow Wine Guide for 10 years. In Italy it is the best selling wine guide, with annual sales of more than 40,000 copies. California wines started being added roughly five years ago followed by Oregon wines two years ago. This year the guide's expanded to include Washington and New York State.
Each producer entry provides three sections including a paragraph about the people, one about about the vineyard, and then wine notes on three wines.
The special obstacles presented by the pandemic meant wine writers, called field contributors in Slow Wine world, had to zoom with winemakers and receive samples sent to their homes, which was not business as usual for Slow Wine. One of the brand's hallmarks is that each wine writer must visit the individual winery on a site visit and taste on site as well. So a little improvisation was needed.
Last year the guide was only distributed only as an ebook, and the print edition was sorely missed. Thanks to the heroic efforts of National Editor Deborah Parker Wong, the guide is now something you can soon hold in your hands.
I have worked as a Senior Editor on Slow Wine Guide for two years and have enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the publication and expand my tasting and writing horizons, becoming familiar with new producers and others that were both inside and outside of the certified organic or biodynamic realm I typically cover.
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| "Tasting room" |
This year I wrote about 63 different wineries and reviewed 180+ wines in the comfort of my own home, an ideal setting for deeper thinking and reflection on each wine, as I could see them each evolve over time. It also challenged my Coravin skills and I had to order new needles at the height of my tasting marathons.
If you're looking for a wine that costs less than $30, the guide offers a big selection of that it calls Everyday Wines - there are dozens of affordably priced wines. Some of my new favorites in this category include the Lily Rosé from Folded Hills in Santa Barbara County (a new to me winery that just got certified) and Solminer's Skin Fermented (White) Field Blend (from organic and biodynamic grapes).
Others that are perennial favorites in this price range are the Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris and the Dashe Riesling from McFadden Vineyard.
Feeling like a bit of a splurge or seeking collectible bottles? Check out the guide's Top Wines. Some of the new to me wines here are the Hyde de Villaine Chardonnay from the Napa winery founded by the Hyde family and Aubert de Villaine (who married a Hyde). This is this producer's first year in the guide.
In addition to these two categories, the guide also includes a unique category - Slow Wine. This is for wines that preserve a heritage or tradition, whether it's old vines, a unique heritage clone, or a traditional grape - Mission, for example. Among my favorites here are Gallica's Grenache from old vines at Rossi Ranch in Sonoma and Sokol Blosser's Old Vineyard Block Pinot Noir, which comes from an old clone that is being preserved in new plantings.
While wine writers were not able to able to visit the wineries this year, as they usually do, connections were made on Zoom. Though Slow Wine typically does not ask producers to send samples, preferring to have field contributors visit each and every winery, the pandemic changed the rules of the game. Many of these Zoom winemaker visits are posted on the YouTube website.
HOW TO ORDER
You can order direct from Slow Wine to support the organization more directly. Volume discounts are available. Buy now! Give as gifts! Stock up!
Thanks for taking us behind the scenes! Cheers!
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