Sedona in Arizona state of the USA is a wine lover’s paradise. It is dotted with vineyards that provide a fulfilling experience of the entire wine-making process. However, if you are visiting a vineyard for the first time, you need to know some basic rules to make the trip more enjoyable.
So in case you are planning to go to a Sedona brewery anytime soon, the tips listed in this article will be of great help.
8 Tips For First-Time Brewery Visitors
1. Plan Your Trip Meticulously
There are several vineyards to visit in Sedona, and if you are curating the itinerary yourself, you may miss out on some authentic delights. So you should sit with a map and chalk out your plan carefully. Do not forget to include breaks for lunch and evening meals.
However, if you think that things are getting very confusing, you should book a wine tour in Sedona. The wine tours are well-planned, and they often involve visits to Sedona’s best restaurants as well.
Moreover, these tours will provide dedicated drivers and tourist guides who will make your journey all the more interesting. It is also advisable to hire a driver for your return trip because you may be high on all the wine that you will taste.
So if you want to make your trip to the vineyards hassle-free and fun, book a package tour from a reputable company. Make sure to check the ratings and customer reviews before you book a tour.
2. Do Miss A Chance To Meet The Owners And Visit The Wine Cellars
Most wine tours give you an opportunity to meet the owners of the vineyard. You should not miss the chance to meet the owners personally, or else you will miss many lovely anecdotes and life lessons. Ask as many questions as you can, as you will learn a lot about the scientific process and the business of wine-making.
Also, do not miss visiting the oak cellars where the aging process takes place. The cellar rooms have a vintage look, and visiting one in real life is an experience of a lifetime.
3. Learn About The Right Way Of Tasting Wine
Most beginners are not aware of the right way of tasting wine, and hence they cannot enjoy the process properly. The first step is to pour the wine into a glass and observe its color. The color can be a deep tone of purple or a paler one, any shade of red or even burgundy or orangish.
The next step is to swirl the glass around. Swirlings help you smell the fragrance of the drink better. Take your nose close to the glass and inhale the vapor to smell the drink. Look for herbal, earthy, or fruity smells. As you become more experienced, you will be able to gauge the age of the wine or its grape variety by just smelling the drink.
After you are done inhaling the aromas, you must sip the drink. However, take a sip as small as possible. A tiny sip will tell you about the acidity, the presence of tannins, the level of sweetness, etc.
It is also advisable to taste the milder flavor first, followed by the stronger flavors. If you have a strong flavor at the very outset, it will dominate your palate for the rest of the tour.
4. Use A Spit Vessel
The wine-tasting session is the most exciting part of the tour, but you must use a spit vessel to enjoy the entire trip. Wine contains minute amounts of alcohol and if you do not wish to be drunk within a few hours, use a spit vessel.
The right way to go about a tasting session is to have a sip and then spin the drink in your mouth to feel the flavors and richness of the drink. And if you do not particularly like a taste or if you want to move ahead without gulping the drink, then spit it in the vessel.
However, you must not spit out the drink immediately because some wines change their taste after a few seconds. So you must hold it in your mouth long enough to see if the taste is changing or not.
5. Carry A Bottle Of Water With You
Wine contains a small fraction of alcohol, and alcohol is a good dehydrating agent. If you have many sips in a day, you may get dehydrated. So it is better to carry a bottle of water with you.
Water also helps remove the aftertaste of a drink. So if you feel your palate has become extremely sweet or bitter after having a particular variety, the water will wash it down.
6. Try Visiting A Microbrewery
Sedona is dotted with many microbreweries. So you must try to visit one where you can add fruits, grains, etc., as per your palace, to prepare a personalized favorite.
7. Dress Up Correctly For The Day
Arizona is a hot desert, and you will have to have to walk for quite a distance in the hot weather. So you must wear something that is airy and comfortable. Casuals are preferred over formals.
Floral dresses and cotton T-shirts are a hot favorite among visitors to a vineyard.
Also, your footwear should be such that you can walk comfortably for several miles.
8. Collect Some Souvenirs
A wine trip to Sedona will be incomplete without getting souvenirs from the tour. Most of the vineyards will sell their homemade varieties. So if you liked the taste or the aroma of any particular variety, then get some bottles for your friends back home.
Conclusion
A trip to the breweries of Sedona is absolutely worth the money. You should ask as many questions as possible and try visiting a microbrewery. Microbreweries allow you to create your own variety of wines.
Apart from that, beginners should know the right etiquette for tasting wine if they are to have a rich and wholesome experience.
