The Wine Expo offers the wine lover – whether novice or long-term – an opportunity to literally taste the wines of the world at one venue. With hundreds of wineries offering up their wares for scrutiny, it can be a wonderland for the oenophile. On the other hand, it can be a taxing ordeal. In years past, the masses of attendees has at times been overwhelming - by mid-afternoon the exhibition hall can become a miasma of sweat and stale wine. In a mean-spirited way, though, it can be a somewhat humorous experience. Inebriated patrons pushing their way through those waiting at the tasting booths and demanding from the presenters their most expensive red. Did I mention inebriated? There isn’t much spitting going on here – people aren’t so much tasting as they are drinking. And yet, there are always those moments that make it worthwhile. One year, a presenter from the Jura was pouring those wonderfully idiosyncratic wines. For many years, the elderly proprietors – husband and wife - of a winery would be pouring their wines at the Chateaneuf du Pape pavillion. And it’s always exciting to meet and talk to the winemakers themselves. This year again proved to be a mixed bag. Even though the event was sold out, it appeared to be less crowded perhaps due to the fact that there were less wineries participating. Even though there often appears to be a LCD – lowest common denominator – factor at work, someone was pouring wines from Cahors. For a humorous touch, there was a booth pouring Transylvanian wines with names that referenced the current “Twilight” craze. New England wineries were well represented and I dutifully tasted my way through the Coastal Wine Trail booth. The clear winner here was the sparkling wine from Westport Rivers Winery. Whereas this AVA was well represented, there were no wineries from Long Island – as there had been in years past - or from other emerging American AVAs such as Virginia or Missouri. At the end of my trek through the Expo, I came upon a small and lonely booth with wines from Oregon. This made my day since I’m a fan of these wines ever since visiting Oregon several years ago with the Wineaux on a wine-cation. Bethel Heights, Rex Hill,A to Z and Abecela were represented – they all induced nostalgia for the time I spent in Oregon. So ended another Wine Expo. Each year I vow never to return to the Expo but each year I seem to find myself in line waiting for the doors to open on the wonderful world of wine.
ADDENDUM
In addition to the actual tasting event, the Wine Expo offers a variety of food and wine events. One component of the Expo is educational – seminars are offered on a variety of wine topics. In the past, I’ve been to several and this year I attended a guided tasting of wines from the Loire Valley. For several years now, wineries from the Loire have been trying to make an inroad into the American wine market. These wines are among the most popular in France and are found on the ” carte des vins” of many Parisian bistros. This seminar was sponsored by the Loire Valley Wine Bureau, which is leading the charge into the American market. A rep from the Wine Bureau led us through a tasting of eight wines representative of the grapes and styles of wine found in the Loire : a Muscadet from Sevre and Maine, a sauvignon blanc from Quincy, two expressions of chenin blanc – Saviennieres and Vouvray, a Sancerre vinified from pinot noir, a Chinon from cabernet franc, a cremant de Vouvray – a delightful sparkling wine and the august Coteaux du Layon, a botrytized dessert wine. Since I’ve been to wine school, the seminar served as a great refresher course and a wonderful way to taste wines away from the hurly-burly of the Expo floor.
