Aspiring Napa wine connoisseur takes reviews to Instagram

Elias “Eli” De La Rosa plans to visit all the renowned wine regions in the world.

The aspiring connoisseur, fascinated by flavor and the craft of wine production, launched an Instagram page under the handle @vinosperrones to review styles from different regions.

What started as a passion project for the Napa resident quickly rose to success. It has become a beloved diary of one man’s travels, experiences and bonds made through the remarkable culture of wine.

Through the social platform, De La Rosa, 27, shares his critiques and uses the space as a travel journal, visiting various regions and wineries and documenting those travails through written reviews, photos and geotags.

“It really just started as something for myself and then I started telling friends about it,” he said. “Then next thing you know, I was getting support, which is great.”

He connects with audiences by sharing his own journey through expressive writing and candid photography. And by using geotags, De La Rosa can quickly look back and reflect on where he’s been, recall flavors he tasted and the people he met.

The response from the wine community and De La Rosa’s audience has been positive.

“Although Eli has extensive wine education (far more than myself), he is very humble and easy to talk to about wine,” said Jack Wolcott, a former employee at Scribe Winery in Sonoma, where De La Rosa works. “We work in an industry that can seem very judgmental and intimidating at times, but Eli really makes wine fun and approachable.”

De La Rosa’s excitement for all things wine is what stuck out most, he said.

“And this passion was something that made me excited about working at Scribe,” he added.

The reviewer’s audience runs the gamut — from local wineries and friends to winemakers in regions he has yet to visit.

“It's been very fun. I had a very lovely winemaker from Oregon reach out to me saying, ‘Hey, I see your page, I love what you're doing. I think it's very inspiring,’” he said. “He’s of Mexican descent, just like myself, so he loved to see a fellow Mexican man in the industry and actually sent me some bottles to review.”

De La Rosa was first hired in the service industry as a high school student and went on to work at various restaurants in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

“It’s funny because my family, they were never big drinkers. And my friends, you know, we were all in our early twenties so nobody was really drinking wine and if they were it came out of a bag,” he laughed.

When working at Taverna, an Italian restaurant and wine bar, De La Rosa gained specialty knowledge while being mentored by his manager. Taverna’s extensive list featured over 400 wines worldwide, so there was always more to learn — and new wine to taste.

“That’s how I got into wine initially, I just fell more and more in love with it,” he said.

The first wine to catch De La Rosa’s eye and introduce him to the complexities of flavor was a Chianti.

He eventually tasted a bottle from Napa Valley’s Caymus Vineyards with some customers.

“As I was tasting it, they were talking me through the flavors and how it evolves in the glass,” he said. “That was my first time seeing the wine open up and evolve and not just taste like grape juice essentially.”

De La Rosa had planned to open a wine bar in Texas. He graduated from the hotel and restaurant management program at the University of Houston, but pivoted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was working at a winery in Texas and began taking notes during tastings and reviewing different styles. He put them into a journal and then thought to post them on social media.

He launched his Instagram page in 2021 and moved to Napa in June 2022.

Angelyne Tompkins, general manager of Scribe’s tasting room, said De La Rosa is beloved at the winery and brings calm and professional energy to work.

“Understanding wine can feel overwhelming for people who aren't always immersed in it, and Eli is warm and friendly when hosting tastings for our guests,” Tompkins said. “He shares his knowledge of our wines without pretentiousness and connects our guests to not only Scribe but to the greater world of wine.”

De La Rosa does plan to move back to Texas to open his wine bar — but he said his reviews won’t stop.

“There are big plans in the future for the reviews. I'm going to tie them into my wine bar soon,” he said. “And we’re going to just keep growing, keep tasting and continue meeting fabulous people.”

He said he appreciates the stability — but also its freedom — his critiquing affords. He’s able to do it from anywhere — at least, wherever in the world there is wine.

“I enjoy trying new varietals, tasting different regions and just constantly learning more about not just the wine itself but the label, where it's from; every single wine label has a story,” he said. “And it's just one of the most beautiful things about wine because you’re not just drinking fermented grape juice, you're drinking someone's story.”

Whether the land was purchased 20 or 70 years ago, he said, there’s a narrative to share behind vineyards.

“It could be multi-generational. They could be the first people to ever do this in their family,” he said. “And it's all very inspiring to see; you know, people's growth, their journeys and what wine can do for people.”

You can reach Intern Emma Molloy at emma.molloy@pressdemocrat.com.