Halleck Vineyard's Virtual Tasting

On a whim, I ordered a Virtual Tasting from Halleck Vineyards. Stop me if you've heard this one before. By on a whim, I mean I received an email offer at 11:30 after enjoying a couple bottles of wine, not wanting to go to bed because that would mean having to get up and go to work. I asked Sue if she was interested. She of course was. Shannon's birthday was right around the corner as was Sue's. I decided to buy two one for us and one for the Farrell's. We could partake somewhere in the middle of the two birthdays.

I ordered the Mother's Day Virtual Tasting, but in retrospect I could have investigated a little more before I purchased. I'm pretty certain we didn't need the embroidered apron and wine opener to say the least.

The tasting included

• 2019 "Not Your Mother's" Dry White Zinfandel
• 2017 Three Sons Cuvee Pinot Noir
• 2016 The Farm Vineyards Pinot Noir

I added a bottle of 2016 Haas Vineyard Pinot Noir. We have tasted at Halleck before, but never this wine.

The tasting included two different cheeses from Valley Ford and some chocolates. Instead of a White Zinfindel, we were shipped a Sauvignon Blanc. We scheduled the tasting for Friday at 5.

Halleck supplied materials to print out if you wanted and instructions on when to take the wines out. At 5, we were all set up.

Stephanie Culen was our host. She was excellent! She walked us through the 5 Ss: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, and Savor. She made a short presentation on the history of Halleck. She guided us to the cheeses that paired best with the wine we were trying. She was very informative and answered any of our questions.

We had a great time.

All of the wine tasted great. The Farm was our favorite. Ted's favorite was the Haas.

I would recommend this experience to anyone.

In retrospect, Sue does make good use of the apron.

Thomas Fogarty Winery Online Tasting Experience

On a whim, I ordered a Virtual Tasting from Thomas Fogarty Winery. By on a whim, I mean an email offer came to me at the right time during the shelter in place. A lot of wineries have discovered the right time recently. I'm sure my name is on a list that people pay good money for. I imagine this list is titled, "Send this guy an email. He'll buy your wine, sometimes if he's never even heard of you before. Discounts help".

The virtual tasting included two bottles of Pinot, cost $109, and included free shipping.

It started on Friday at 5 PM PST.

We joined a zoom session and enjoyed an hour of discussion of the two wines and interesting tidbits about the vineyards, including some fun pictures. Tom Fogarty Jr, winemaker Nathan Kandler, founding winemaker Michael Martella, and wine director and sommelier at Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay John Toigo did a good job entertaining us and answering questions people typed in the chat.

I wasn't sure if there was going to be face to face communication during the zoom. There wasn't. I felt bad that Sue got all gussied up, from the waist up, and even put on make up. She looked great, but no one but me could see her.

We tasted the 2016 Razorback Vineyard and 2016 Rapley Trail Vineyard. We both enjoyed the wine and the experience.

I think the experience could be improved by giving more of a deal. $109 may have been a deal, but it didn't feel like it to me. Even without a reduction in price, I still would do it again if Sue wanted to.

YouTube of the Event