Park City Wine School

I have been meaning to try the Fox Park City School of Wine for quite some time. It is a 45 min- 1 hour course at an amazingly beautiful resort at Deer Valley where a group of 20 or less get to sample 5 wines (depending on the "theme" of the night) and spend some time learning about the "5 S's"- Sight, Smell, Sip, and Savour. For me, BIG focus on the sip and savour! :) And it's fun. You get stars for answering questions and detention for other "mis-haps". Ok, more "cute" than so much "fun" for that part of the class.

This Friday we made it. First ever Park City School of Wine experience. The theme was Wines of the Pacific Northwest- Oregon and Washington wines. We tried a Pinot Blanc, a dry Riesling (BIG surprise), a Pinot Noir (my fave), and 2 Cabs. Before each taste, we talk about the details and after each taste, share thoughts. Kinda interesting- not super long and drawn out, so well worth the time. At the end, everyone grades each wine. Mine were C, B, A, B, and B respectively.

My fave of the night (go figure) was the Willamette Valley Vineyards 2009 Whole Cluster Pinot Noir. What did I learn? They don't just use the grapes- they put the whole cluster of grapes- stems, leaves, and all- into the vat. Really good. It received 87 pts with Wine Spectator (who really cares as long as it tastes yummy, but good to know for you wine snobs out there) and the best part- it's only $15.99! Bad news? Went to 2 PC liquor stores yesterday and they were both out of stock. Boo hoo. Next time.

Up next... a wonderful surprise. The Dry Riesling. Now, like most wine connoisseurs, we only drank Riesling as wine-virgins (or in Germany because you just must) along with White Zinfandel, Boone's Farm, and/or the infamous boxed wines. Well, THIS dry Riesling was just that- very dry and very good. Totally unexpected. Give it a try. Chehalem 2007 Dry Riesling. $19.99 a bottle.

A fun, and educational, way to spend a pre-dinner Friday night for only $20. School is on "holiday" (or teacher conferences as we were told) for the month of November, but back in December and January. We will be back for sure. For now, go buy some wine and enjoy!