Summer's glaring sun:
hindered by the wine's cool breath,
lessened by a hint of sweet fruit.
I will relax here awhile.
The end of my first day in the Northern Hill Country took my
husband and I to Fiesta Winery. We were told to expect something different. In
fact, this region is very happy that the wineries are all a bit special, a bit
different from one another. Fiesta, expect to settle in and relax. From the
setting to the wines, this is a place to just sit back and take it easy.
When we arrived, we were encouraged to find a table. Only
one other table was occupied, a group that had just finished their tasting and
was having lunch. We skimmed over a menu of the wines, trying to decide which
ones to taste. We were also supplied a score sheet of sorts. On the sheets, we
listed our choices (to help the person serving us) and later used them for
comments. I have to admit, I like when
wineries give guests something with the wine names and places for comments; it
helps to make informed purchasing decisions. We meandered through the wine list
and chose an eclectic lot – as the wines here are not the normal fair). From
them on, we strolled through the wines, drinking at our own pace. And of
course, seated at a table provided a chance to privately share our thoughts and
easily take notes.
All that being said, I have noticed a drawback to this sort
of set-up. At first glance, the seated and served tasting seems relaxed and
nice, but after the visit here, and later at Woodrose Winery the next week, I
am beginning to wonder. I always look for a memorable wine experience; I hope
to get involved with the wine or the winery – a good example is our chat with Jim
Johnson just before our visit to Fiesta (see A Northern Hill Country Landscape -- Visiting Alamosa). I want to take a way
something special. This special experience can be hard in more service-like setting. The
person serving the wine has to work harder. It is easy to strike up a
conversation and socialize at a bar; there is a natural sense of camaraderie while
both parties saddle up at the bar, gaining crucial eye-to-eye contact. At a
table, this can be achieved only one of two ways: either sitting down at the
table with the guests or just hanging around the table (like many top
wait-staff do). Unfortunately, most times I visit wineries like this, no matter
how well meaning the folks are, something seems to draw their attention way and
keep them from crossing the barrier created by the table. At Fiesta, I realize
it was a lazy Saturday afternoon without much going on, and I also realize that
Sally was probably busy increasing the presence of Fiesta online, but it wasn’t
the homey, welcoming experience I expected (an expectation created by visiting their
website).
So, with the tasting underway, the focus quickly turned to
the wine. The wines here are almost entirely blends (which can be a VERY good
thing), and not the traditional sort. Most of the wines are blended with fruit.
This is interesting when it works. The Rhinestone Cowgirl is one of these. This
blend of Pinot Gris and Malbec (that single word always piques my interest) is
blended with cranberry and prickly pear. The resulting blush is a gentle, sweet
fair that is more like a pleasant fruit drink or cocktail. The drawback here is
that it isn’t much like wine.
The vineyard just outside the tasting room |
In the end, we lazily moved through our selections, both
happy to end with the robust Tempranillo. Inside the cozy ranch-house like
tasting room, we watched the sun blaze down on the grounds around us. This
little stop is a nice place for escaping the summer heat, from the seating to
the wines.
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