The Computer Buzz

August 16th, 2007

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

San Diego Wine Country

As "yuppies" a few years back, Nome and I decided to enhance our social standing by becoming mavens in the world of wine. We took a community college course in "wine appreciation" and bought a couple of beautifully illustrated "Wines of the World" coffee table books.

Having mastered the terminology and gained a rudimentary understanding of the winemaking process, we set out to taste our way to fame and glory. We toured wineries, attended tastings and started a "Wine Cellar." At the time we lived in Canada so we actually had a cellar. While we gained credibility as "oenophiles" we were becoming suspicious of the entire industry. The merchants and sommeliers found attributes in the wines that we couldn't detect. Essence of strawberries in the Pinot, bananas and peaches in the Merlot and perhaps a hint of Kumquat in the Syrah. Strawberries, peaches and kumquats? Who would want them in an expensive wine? We found no correlation between the price of a wine and whether or not we liked it. It seemed to us that the wine gurus were telling amateurs what to like and we were merely going along because we didn't want to appear ignorant. We became cynical, drank up our cellar and quit pretending.

That was then, today we enjoy wine more than ever and have become quite expert in the wines we know, the wines of the San Diego Vintners association. We're no experts in "Wines of the World" but we know the vineyards and the vintages of San Diego and we know the men and women who tend the vines, crush the harvest, age, bottle and proudly put their names on the wines they produce. They are the same folks who pour the wine in their own tasting room.

Each vintage is a fascinating story when told from the perspective of the folks who live with the wine in symbiotic intimacy through every step in its evolution from the vine to your palatre.

Last Friday night we attended The San Diego Vintners association annual banquet at Bernardo Winery. Most of the 16 wineries in The Association were pouring. The tapas, entrees, and entertainment were fantastic and the tastings were great fun too, but the best part was simply getting to rub elbows and chat with the winery owners and their families.

The art of making good wine require the qualities of hard work, patience and integrity. That makes these folks awfully nice to be around. Day tripping the wineries in The Association is a great way to spend weekends. We especially love to hit the mountain vineyards in the fall. To get started simply log on to the Associations website at www.sandiegowineries.org

It takes many years to become in international wine expert. Even then, few will be able to appreciate your expertise. It takes a lot less time to become an expert on our local wines and wineries and that knowledge is far more practical and easier to share.