Author Archives: Emely Espinal

It’s Wine O Clock In Shinn Estate

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Welcome to Shinn Estate!

My journey in Shinn Estate Vineyard located in Norfolk, New York was phenomenal. It is a family owned vineyard and farmhouse.When arriving to the vineyard we were welcomed by a group of ladies who were very attentive and very eager to give my family and I a tour around. They started of by allowing us to get familiar with the vineyard and the different section of where things are grown and what occurs as time goes by.Ā 

 

The Shinn Estate was found in 2000 by Barbara Shinn and David Page where they planted their first vines. They began to see results in 2002 after their hard work of creating a enviroment that was going to help the vines become strong enough to bring the wine. They accomplished seeing the first wines in this year. During 2015 they partnered with Legends which made “one wines” in the World Trade Center which are served in the seating area outside as the sun hits on you on a beautiful weather.

We had the opportunity to have a tasting. We tried sparkling, reisling,coalescince,chardonnay and etc.

We had the opportunity to have a tasting. We tried sparkling, reisling,coalescince,chardonnay and etc.

During our tour around the vineyard we were indicated by eight marker points in which different things occur. In the first marker point we were shown how the workers in Shinn Estate farmed organically and biodynamic in the vegetable garden and how the honeybees create their little houses because of the attraction upon the flowers and vegetables that are blooming throughout the seasons. The second marker showed how the vines grew on their dependance upon the sunlight. This process is called photosynthesis where sunlight falls on the leafs and allows energy to land upon the vines. The third marker separated all vineyards right in the middle allowing us to be able to see how they were all divided and grown apart. Throughout marker four to eight we get more into the details of how the soils produces the wines and how they are nurtured to give people a decent wine to drink. They mostly blend sauvignon blanc and semillon.

The famous “one” wine.

The barrels that are used to vary the color, flavor tannin that gives the wine texture.

I would recommend this vineyard to anyone who would love to learn more about wine. Especially those perhaps trying to become a sommelier some day you receive great information on how the processing of wine is being done.They give you a great insight on everything about it. I had such a great time and would love to go back, we had such wonderful weather on the day of our trip which made everything so much better to be able to explore. It is a good escape from the stressful life of the city into the tranquility of the vineyards. Hope you guys enjoyed my trip to Shinn Estate and hopes this helps you see the great things you can learn about wine.

The vineyard division

Stainless steel tanks

 

 

Let’s Take A Urban Uncorked Wine Journey

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Let Take A Wine Journey Ā 

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Urban Uncorked is a wine and spirits store located on 147 Flatbush Avenue extension in Brooklyn, New York. As I entered the retail store I was shocked at the huge variety of wines all around. I was welcomed by the friendliest sommeliers on duty.They had a wonderful selection of wines and liquors from many different countries which amused me because when I thought about ā€œwineā€ the first thing that came to my mind was Italy, France and Germany. These are initially the only ones Iā€™ve been knowledged on but they are so many more countries which also have great wine.

The sommelier Susan Ellis was very helpful throughout my interview for this project. I was introduced to the two most popular wines in store which were Pinot Project and Processo. Both of these wines were very popular not only for their price but also because it is very difficult for winemakers to grow the grapes involved in the processing of creating them. These two wines are typically sensitive to climate changes and vine diseases as well as sun exposure and temperatures.

How much are consumers paying for a bottle of wine for a celebration?

 

When consumers are paying for a bottle of wine for a celebration they pay $40 or more. They mainly buy red wine rather than white wine not only because it is the most valued but it is also they one with more alcohol provided in it.

 

The sommelier Susan developed her knowledge by working in wine shops and drinking wine. She said that choosing the wine they sell is one of the easiest things because of course the seller wants to hand over the wine they have so that consumers can buy it, but they decide which wine is the easiest to sell in the location they are located in. One concept that they use to decide which wine is the best to sell is by tasting the wine and than making sure it fits what they think their customers would like. Naturals wines are the trend for the people who buy in her store she says many people go for natural wine because of where they come from and also the prices they are sold for. Her store also stores the wine 50-55 degrees which make it even better for those who are going to buy immediate wine to share with their loved ones.

 

France

Susan explained to me that Chablis was one of the most sold wines in the France section of the wine store. It is a nothernmost wine district wine of Burgundy in France. This wine is made in a cool climate which produces wines with more acidity and flavors less fruity which makes it dry. I like how we learned about this specific wine in our class and I come to the retail store to find out its the most sold in the France district. Itā€™s good to see that things you never knew or heard about are really out there and very popular to those who enjoy their cups of wine here and there.

 

Italy

For the Italy region the best seller was Chianti Classico which is produced in Tuscany. This was another region we learned about in wine class. I really like how their posters of each country mention the famous regions that the wines are from.

 

New Zealand

 

Germany

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Chile

We havenā€™t learned about Chile wines but the best seller in this wine retail store was the Refugio which is a pinot noir which is aged and fermented completely in stainless steel and concrete egg. They do not use oak to make this kind of wine. I canā€™t wait to learn more about Chile wine looks like they have a good selection.

I really enjoyed my interview at the wine retail shop because not only did I get to see new countries and regions where wines are produced but I also received some knowledge on the regions we havenā€™t studied on as of yet. Also relearning what I already knew because #istudywine about Italy, Germany and France made me realize that I finally know something about wine and I can go to a wine store and say I know at least three wines types in each region. One thing that did catch my attention as I left the store was ā€œSakeā€ which to japanese is a rice wine but in reality itā€™s a beer. I found it interesting because Susan told me that normally beer is fermented by converting the starches in a grain into alcohol but in this case they do the same process with rice. I would recommend this wine retail shop to anyone who would like to furthermore their understanding of wine because they also provide courses and are very welcoming and eager to help students learn more about the topic and the background. Also free wine tasting Friday’s and Saturday go tasteeee guys!!!Ā