Have you ever heard of “Cellar Palate?” If you were to ask Jancis Robinson about it, she would tell you this is the common phrase for what happens when a wine producer becomes too acclimated to their own wines or those of their neighbors.  In the best of cases, this can lead to a recognizable consistent  style in the cellar.  But in the worst of cases, this may lead to overlooking flaws and faults that the palate begins to categorize as part of the “terroir.”

The best solutions to avoid this from happening at all are two-fold.  First, drink lots of wine – from many different places, regions, countries and producers.  Second, invite friends and family to share wine together and give different perspectives and feedback about what they may notice and experience that you might have missed.

We did exactly this last week in the cellar, as it became a Charles R family affair with Dick and Bonnie, Karen and Greg, Nancy and myself tasting through our barreled wines – all with proper social distancing, of course!  The focus of the day was “Looking ahead.”  We discussed how individual barrels were tasting, collaborated about wine styles and oak influence, tasted our wines against a completely different out-of-region winery in the foothills, identified barrels for our growing “Reserve” program, explored small lot blends, and planned out club releases over the next 18 months!  

I know the cellar backwards and sideways, but the collective feedback from so many different palates was invaluable in the evolving quest to develop the best possible style from our tiny corner of the wine world.

I have a feeling this may become a regular thing!

Go ahead and enjoy ALL the wine.

Cheers,
Lisa