Monday, July 23, 2012

San Antonio Wine Tastings every Saturday @ Vinously Speaking

We took a breather this weekend and just bummed around San Antonio. With that in mind, I took advantage of a great opportunity in San Antonio: Vinously Speaking's Saturday wine tasting.

A little about this weekly event

Every Saturday, owners Ceci and Melissa invite wine lovers, enthusiasts, experts, and first-timers to visit their little shop in the San Antonio Medical Center (strip mall at the corner of Babcock and Wurzbach). From 1pm until 7pm, they offer a small selection of their wines available for tasting. Their choices vary every week and provide different views of the shop's diverse and interesting offerings.

The weekly tastings are a simple concept: a group of wines, with some theme, are selected and shared. For example, this past Saturday, they shared four reds that are currently available on their 50% off sale (all bottles over $30 are 50% off though Aug.4 ). On Saturday, we were treated to two American Pinot Noirs: an Oregon one that was smooth and lush and a California wine that was complex and spicy. The second set was two Bordeaux blends, one that emphasized Cabernet Sauvignon and one that was more Merlot. I wasn't surprised when they had the same sort of diversity that the two Pinots provided. This quick view into wine, with a hidden lesson, provides more than a mere tasting but a wine experience, and it also encourages visitors to leave with at least one bottle (we brought home one of the Bordeauxs).

Special event tastings

Two weekends ago -- July 14 -- Vinously Speaking hosted a wine tasting event. In this case, they shared a selection of French wines and cheeses with US and Texas wines and Bar-be-Que (see post for more details). When events like these take place, I encourage going. In fact, to keep track, like the shop on Facebook or Twitter or stop by their website.

A regular event at the shop are monthly Texas wine tastings. Once a month, Vinously Speaking will be highlighting some of the Texas wines in their store. I was able to attend their first major Pedernales Cellars event. They are the winery most highlighted, and I agree with their choice. I do look forward to future Texas tastings, as they also carry the great Perissos Vineyard (for a look into them, check out the recent post by Texas Wine Lover). There are a handful of other Texas wines that could provide interesting tastings, especially a diverse collection of Texas whites (like Chisholm Trail, Torre di Pietra, etc.).


All of these tastings are aided by one last fact: price. Wine can be a very expensive hobby (my current expense is quickly increasing). However, Vinously Speaking provides a varied selection at a variety of prices. This weekend I bought one $12 bottle of Portuguese wine (normal price) and one of the on-sale Bordeauxs at $15; these are prices that rival that of larger retailers. So going to a tasting will not clean out your pocketbook; you'll taste for free and then can take home some great wines at reasonable prices. Stop by next Saturday and have a tasting for me.

3 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this review! Everything you mentioned is what we want our shop brand to be and we are happy that is how you see it. We enjoy having you and the hubby in the shop and greatly appreciate your support and personalities :) We look forward to growing our relationship with the both of you!

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  2. Thank you so much for this review! Everything you mentioned is what we want our shop brand to be and we are happy that is how you see it. We enjoy having you and the hubby in the shop and greatly appreciate your support and personalities :) We look forward to growing our relationship with the both of you!

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  3. The review garnered a bit of attention. A few people I know in town are interested, but so are some other wine bloggers (they just don't live in SA). Hopefully, that will send more people your way. I really enjoy your selection and hope to be able to keep coming by for new and interesting wines.

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