Epiphany Wines

Virtually every wine fan can name a few lightning bolt wines. It is what gets you hooked and keeps you going. Anyone who has taken Psychology 101 understands intermittent reinforcement. It is the most powerful form of reward. Slot machines are based on this psychological principle. You win some small pots and then occasionally you get a really big win- jackpot!

Wine can be kinda like that. Lots of wines are good, or at least good enough. You can read the scores and pick wines on that basis (if you can find the high scoring wines) but if your palate does not match up with the judges you may be disappointed, especially if you have paid big bucks to chase the high point scores.

But then, every so often, and hopefully often enough, one will just knock it out of the park, bring you to your knees and make you say there is a God in heaven and that God wants you to be happy.

So what are your lightning bolts, your epiphany wines?

Here are a few of mine- and recognize that while these are not inexpensive wines, they also are not rare ultra expensive Bordeaux or Burgundy. While I have had some of those rare Holy Grail wines, my wife, my budget and my daughter’s college are thankful that I do not require Petrus, Le Pin, La Tache or DRC to make me a happy guy.

La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir/ Schug Pinot Noir/ Siduri Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir

Yes, these good basic Pinots woke me up to what Pinot is about. I realized that this was my favorite varietal when I had these wines by the glass at local restaurants.

Dunham Syrah

One of the first wines I had done in a richer more extracted style. It just blew away the typical inexpensive Syrahs I had experienced up to that point and made me realize that spending triple the money over grocery store Syrah was well worth it to get wine this good.

Martinelli Bella Vigne Pinot Noir

Impossibly smooth and silky with a finish that goes on forever and beautifully hidden high alcohol. Why isn’t this winemaker famous? Oh yeah, she is…Helen Turley, one of the real wine world rock stars.

Robert Biale Zinfandel

I thought Zin was all brambles and briars until I tasted this polished and refined example. I began to realize how much a winemaker could do by sourcing small quantities of great fruit and then applying artisan/craftsman standards in the small lot winemaking process.

Cheers,

Dave