A taste of something good

There are many wineries in San Luis Obispo, and many opportunities to try them out. The problem? They’re all very spread out. Perhaps the reason people don’t venture out to taste wines more often is the perceived distance from quaint little San Luis Obispo proper.

Well, for those of you that cling closely to the downtown area, there is now a solution. Taste, the new innovative wine experience, is celebrating its first year open in its downtown location. The new state-of-the-art facility is one of two advanced wine tasting venues in California. With it’s sleek, industrial-steel “tasting pods” assembled throughout the store, it offers a taste safari, if you will.

After purchasing a plastic tasting card with an embedded smart chip, you are welcomed with top-of-the-line crystal wine glasses sans the stem. You are then escorted to the wine “pod” of your choosing to discover 72 different wines from 15 local San Luis Obispo wineries. From there, there is a nominal fee for each wine, which is deducted from your tasting card. Just hold out your glass and the fun begins.

The machine is state-of-the-art because it measures exactly one ounce portions of wine and keeps track of individual wine bottle consumption and inventory. With this new Enomatic Machine, the wines sampled are able to last up to 20 days without spoiling. I was informed by Taste manager Blythe Foster that dealing with spoilage is never an issue because of Taste’s popularity.

This nonprofit retail store is owned and operated by the Vintner Association of San Luis Obispo. The tastes differ in price but you can probably expect to pay approximately $2 per taste. You can purchase a tasting card for any denomination, and to celebrate the holidays, Taste is offering discounts on gift cards. While the experience might be a little pricey, it certainly includes a convenience factor in not needing to drive to Edna Valley.

Also, just being able to compare, say, an Edna Valley Chardonnay to a Tolosa Chardonnay is unique experience in and of itself. It also should be noted that while the tastes might be pricier than at the wineries, you will be paying the same amount for the bottles.

The atmosphere is sleek and industrial, with high vaulted ceilings and windows just as tall. Once you enter, your ears begin to fill with a cacophony of jazz sets, which bounce off the walls and throughout the store. Their walls feature black-and-white photos of local wine makers taken by a local artist. Their inventory of wine cases consists of a rotating carousel controlled by remote.

One specific perk that makes Taste quite attractive is its motto of “Just say no to corkage.” Corkage, or the convenience to bring a wine of your choosing to a restaurant, can get expensive. You will pay anywhere from $5 to $25 for corkage at restaurants downtown. Just by showing your Taste receipts, restaurant such as Buona Tavola, Cafe Roma, Jaffa Cafe and Corner View will waive corkage.

Every Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Taste hosts a representative from a different local winery to sample complementary wine tastes and appetizers. Most times, you will meet with the actual wine maker and get to ask questions about how they produced their wines. Apparently, for the entire week thereafter, you may purchase three of those samples for $5. This week, Taste features Kynsi Winery for their “Wine Down Wednesday.”

So my suggestion to you, my wine minions, is to take advantage of this cutting-edge tasting facility and bring your friends along to have a fun afternoon buzzing downtown. Why not make a wine selection list before hand (we call them flight lists in the biz) and have your friends take notes on different wineries’ take on a given varietal, say Zinfandel. Or if you were so inclined, you could have your friend hand you a glass and do blind taste tests to train your wine acuteness. Hey, whatever is clever, just make sure you are having fun with wine.

Taste is located downtown at 1003 Osos St. and is online at www.taste-slo.com.

Feel free to submit any recommendations, accolades, favorite wines or recipes to laurenjeter@gmail.com.

Lauren Jeter is a 2005 wine and viticulture graduate and is currently pursuing a master’s in agribusiness.