Wine Road Barrel Tasting off to a strong start

<p>Wine-lovers sipped and splurged last weekend at the Wine Road Barrel Tasting, with attendance estimated to have matched last year’s and sales reported by some wineries higher than anticipated in this economic downturn.</p><p>More than 120 wineries poured barrel samples over three days and many operators were surprised to see good-sized crowds — tickets were $30 per person — and strong wine sales. The event concludes this weekend.</p><p>Hanna Winery had a 40 percent increase in sales during the first weekend compared to last year’s figures, said controller Yvonne Lozinski. “It was a significant increase and a welcome surprise given the economy," she said.</p><p>Barrel tasting is a sneak preview of wine that won’t be available for another year or two. Many wineries sell so-called futures on their barrel samples, offering discounted prices to encourage purchases now. Some wineries noted that sales of existing, bottled wine did better than the less tangible futures.</p><p>Sampling these futures piqued the interest of many. Beth Costa, executive director of the Wine Road sponsoring organization, estimates 10,000 to 12,000 people ventured out on the first weekend, comparable to last year’s totals.</p><p>Several winery employees noticed a younger crowd. “We had a number of people between 25 and 35 and I think that might be slightly unusual for wine events,” said Yvonne Kreck, of Healdsburg’s Mill Creek Vineyards.</p><p>“They’re not just here drinking,” she said. “They’re here learning and that’s the part that’s rewarding.”</p><p>The 31st annual barrel tasting continues this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the third year the Wine Road has offered a two-weekend run.</p><p>“It has helped split the crowd, making it more manageable,” Costa said. “Having six days makes it a great opportunity to visit new wineries along with your favorites.”</p><p>The barrel-tasting event is popular because of its price, said Jocelyn Buchowicz of Healdsburg’s Seghesio Winery. A ticket buys three days of wine-tasting at participating wineries. “I think that’s why people have always gone for it.”</p><p>Hanna Hospitality Director Barbara Spotleson said the winery had 50 percent more people than last year’s three-day event, and significantly higher than the 200-plus people each of their two tasting rooms typically accommodates on Saturdays and Sundays.</p><p>“The crowd was diverse," Spotleson said. “We had our fair share of limos, but only one bus I’m aware of. It always adds excitement and drama when you have that many people coming at once."</p><p>Ridge Vineyards in Healdsburg welcomed more than 1,500 visitors while recording a 4 percent increase in bottle sales over last year. Tasting-room manager Melissa Baker said Ridge hasn’t calculated its sales on futures yet, but she noticed some reluctance among tasters to buy the wines-to-be. “What I kept hearing was that people wanted to take wines home today," she said. “They’re not too sure what next month will bring."</p><p>Kreck, of Mill Creek Vineyards in Healdsburg, credited Mother Nature for the uptick in traffic. “It was the first sunny weekend in about a month and it was lovely to be out.</p><p>The crowd also found its way to the Seghesio Winery in Healdsburg, surprising the staff. “We had 900 total over the weekend and we don’t even participate in the barrel tasting, so go figure,” said Buchowicz, who works in the tasting room.</p><p>“We like to have our finished wines tasted rather than those in the barrel,” she said. “That’s our winemaker’s (Ted Seghesio’s) feelings on that." </p><p>This weekend 100 wineries will be pouring, with 24 opting out of the second weekend. But Costa expects plenty of people to be roaming the Wine Road.</p><p>“With the beautiful weather that is being forecast, I assume we’ll also have 10,000 to 12,000 this weekend,” she said. “With a surge of ticket sales on Sunday night, I got a sense people finished the event and are planning on coming back again this weekend.”</p><p>Wine writer Peg Melnik can be reached at 707-521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.</p>