Bottlenotes Tasting at MCA

My favorite tasting event this summer took place June 26 at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The event called "Around the World in 80 Sips" was sponsored by Bottlenotes, an online wine store/community whose president, Alyssa Rapp I profiled last November for this blog.

Leaving aside the wine selection for a moment, I can compliment Bottlenotes and the event organizers for providing an excellent setting and atmosphere. The MCA provided plenty of space to move around, and seating in one of the back galleries where one could relax with some of the various breads and cheeses provided.

Bottlenotes also provided a booklet with details about many of the wineries featured. Many wines were poured by the actual winemakers or other staff, and they were pleased to answer all my questions (even the dumb ones; I am sure I asked some of those too!)

I took the opportunity to expand my palate by trying wines from countries such as Greece and Thailand, which are not always easily available. My favorite wine of the evening was a Pinot Noir (lucky guess!) from the Santa Lucia Highlands called Notoriety. Normally I am partial to the Burgundian (rocks, mushrooms, earch, etc.) style of Pinot over the more opulent California ones, but this had a little mixture of both, subtle cherry and blackberry fruit, and plenty of that sandy, stony French texture.

Hopefully, Bottlenotes will return to the MCA for another worldwide tasting next year!