Vino In The Springtime

Spring Release is what we’ve been waiting for since, well, last spring

It’s that crazy, butterflies-in-the-gut time of year. The sun is starting to show itself on a more frequent basis, you can occasionally go outside without a jacket, sidewalk seating outside cafés and bars is starting to look more attractive, and tax season is almost over. There’s that awkward feeling that we shouldn’t be so vigilantly posted in front of computer monitors, that we should get out, maybe walk instead of drive, and play “Name That Tune” with the songs in our hearts. What could be better than that? Spring releases and barrel tastings, that’s what.

2008 whites are starting to trickle into tasting rooms and wine shops, after aging over the winter. 2007 reds are starting to appear, too, and email inboxes are starting to fill up with invitations to release parties with the fervor of free university diplomas and money from Nigeria. It seems you can’t turn around without seeing some winery boasting their newest wine releases [See page 13]. Maybe that’s the real impetus to take a walk.

Spring releases are both exhilarating and frightening for winos. Exhilarating, because if you’ve become a fan of a wine, it’s like the newest album coming out from your favorite band. You want to snatch it up on the first day, go home, turn off your phone, and crack it open and take it in. On the other hand, it’s scary, because what if a winery was a one-hit wonder? What if they hit a slump, or what if that edgy, interesting winery has suddenly turned into something that’s, shall we say, more radio friendly? You won’t know until you try it, and that’s part of the dance.

Barrel tastings are also much like bands. It’s like being at a rock show, and seeing a performance of a song that’s not yet produced or released. You can tell all your friends how cool it was, and they’ll be jealous for sure. But, you don’t know what it’s going to sound like once it’s been recorded in the studio. Likewise, you can get a sense of a wine by doing a barrel tasting, a rough idea of the direction it’s heading, but it still has a way to go before it takes its final shape, and anything can happen in the meantime. Still, you have hope.

Now get out there, and take this magazine with you.

In other news, WINO Publishing is now a year old. The inaugural issue of WINO Magazine was released in June of last year, but we were busy working away in the background months before that. Our anniversary issue will be out in a couple of months. Who wants to buy us a round of drinks?