Barrel Tasting Crash Course

For the first two weekends in March, hundreds of wineries in Sonoma County open their barrel rooms to the public, often with winemakers and vineyard managers on-hand to discuss the delicate intricacies of wine pre-bottling.Last year at Hawkes Wine in Alexander Valley, we celebrated our first barrel-tasting by pouring barrel-samples of Alexander Valley single-vineyard, Estate Grown and Bottled, tiny production Cabernet Sauvignon. And with Jake and Stephen Hawkes on-hand to offer futures discounts of up to 50% off the release price, it was a huge success.With a year of experience under our belts and an incredible new Reserve Chardonnay from Chalk Hill road to introduce, this year's event should include even more butt-kicking and name-taking. Watch Jake's barrel tasting 101 video here and make plans to attend.

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