Meadowood wine pairing

[hungree]

So for two a meal at Meadowood along with wine pairing pushes up to about $1,000 -- guess that 3rd star comes with a premium.

Beyond price, I'm wondering how realistic it is to do a 10 course wine pairing after a full 5-6 hours of wine tasting during the day? Will we even be able to do this and not fall over/asleep by course 5?

At EMP in New York people sometimes recommend just buying 1 bottle and then doing glasses of wine after. Could probably shave off at least $225 at Meadowood doing that. Maybe even bring a bottle we enjoyed from the day?

What are wine country hounds thoughts on the Meadowood wine pairing? Worth it? Too much after full day of tasting? Better to just get a bottle?

[Dawgmommy]

Agree with what both are saying. I tend to do one or two sips and then dump the rest. Depending on how far apart the wineries are, you'll most likely hit about 4 max. Some places also charge a pretty hefty fee for tastings, so you could always share the tasting at the winery as well.

I've been to Meadowood a couple of times, but not since the recent remodeling. They use to have the menu on their web site, but I don't see anything now. They also use to have a prix fix menu with @4 courses and paired wines. That was what I've had since I've always felt that the tasting menu was a bit too much overall.

So, I would recommend sharing the wine pairing and/or ordering a bottle that would complement the whole meal.

[CarrieWas218]

I've done this and there are few things I'd say...

For starters, any wine you might buy from the day's tastings will probably be way too young to properly complement a full meal at Meadowood. The valley is known for its over-extracted, alcoholic red wines...

You could either;
A) Ask them to share a full wine pairing - that way you are only getting 2 oz. pours which will probably be more than enough to fully appreciate what the sommelier and chef have in mind with the pairing concept.
B) Order something completely different off the wine list that you probably won't find in the valley but would complement the entire meal. In that regard, I often look to Grüner Veltliners, an Alsatian Riesling, or even a French hard cider. This way, you get some nice acidity and a little alcohol that will work with the meal and not be too overwhelmed.

[goldangl95]

I have not been to Meadowood but I will guarantee that it will be too much wine after a full day (5-6 hrs) depending how you are doing the tastings.

Apologies if you already know this, but wineries are pouring anywhere from 4 to 8 wines per tasting. What does a full day of tasting mean to you? If you are not sharing, and you are actually drinking the wine, you are drinking a very very full glass of wine per winery. A tasting (if you are not sitting around and luxurating in the atmosphere or going on a tour) only last 30-40 minutes, so it is quite easy to hit up 6 wineries in a full day. Which is at least a bottle and a half of wine each if not more. In Napa, it will guarantee feel more than a bottle, as wines in Napa tend to be rather high on the alcohol side (easily blowing past 15%).

Additionally for, whatever reason, the wine seems to hit more than it does at home. Not sure. Me and my partner usually share tastings, liberally dump wines after getting a full taste etc. And after a day of six wineries feel very much like we need to take a nap. I'm usually very "wined" out.

If you swirl and spit, then disregard my long treatise above!

[hungree]

Yea, this is what i'm afraid of, i know exactly what you mean. I'm thinking if we are done wine tasting at 5pm and dinner is late at like 8:30, we might actually be able to sneak in a nap. It might be the only way to attempt this.