Riding the Wine Tasting Wave

Nowadays, wine tasting is happening just about everywhere. From campgrounds and convention centers to coffee shops and hair salons, people and businesses all over the country are riding the wine tasting wave.

The try before you buy concept, a personal policy that I’ve stuck to for years, has become mainstream nationwide. From the wine aficionado to the twenty-one year old trying their first wine, people now have the chance to test their palates before pulling out their wallets.

In just the past three days, I’ve sipped and sampled somewhere around forty wines from wineries located throughout Oregon-without having to travel around the state. While shopping for last minute groceries, I was able to savor some wine samples from a small local winery that was conveniently set up inside the grocery store wine department. When visiting the small town of Crewswell, Oregon, I joined in on a wine tasting at the Creswell Coffee Company, where featured wines from three different Oregon wineries were being offered. Inside the Eugene Hilton, eight Oregon wineries poured samples of their hand-crafted wines for attendees exploring the world of truffles at the 7th Annual Oregon Truffle Festival, and I discovered several new boutique Oregon wineries who have successfully produced some stellar Pinot Noirs, among others.

Even technology buffs are riding the wave of wine tasting with the invention of  high-tech wine tasting vending machines. Surprisingly, Pennsylvania, not California, was ahead of the game and introduced the nation’s first vending machine for wine in 2010, but more and more of these machines are being spotted around the country in grocery stores, wine bars, airports and hotels. Although personal communication, like discussing tannins and bouquets, is void when trying wine from a machine, the opportunity of having multiple varietal and vintages from wineries around the globe on hand to sample at leisure is a definite bonus. Trying before buying just got that much easier, and as soon as I hear about one in Oregon,  I’ll be there with glass in hand. If you’re looking for a wine bar downtown mall Charlottesville, you may visit Crush Pad Wines.

It’s easy to catch this wine tasting wave, most newspapers have an events calendar or a community section where local wine tastings and events are announced. I’m the Food and Wine Editor for Eugene Daily News, and I write a weekly column named Wine Down Eugene which includes wine tastings and wine events that are happening in and around Eugene, Oregon.

With the multiple opportunities for trying wine before buying wine, it’s no wonder wine sales continue to grow each year.

What are some of the other waves of wine tasting that you’ve experienced or discovered recently?