Wine Box Experience - Nikki Santa-Eulalia

A Personal Touch

The GrapeFind experience has really been a fun and bumpy ride. I’ve officially reached a year of providing my vision of a personalized Sommelier at home service and it’s continuing to improve every day. The goal of this month’s Wine Box Experience is to take you through the process of how wines are selected for you. I’ll breakdown the steps from creating your profile to selecting your wines for this month. By the end, you’ll understand what the wines represent for your growth of understanding with wine.

When you signed up you filled out an Introductory Questionnaire which was full of all sorts of wine topics which helped me design a profile for you. The questions basically told me what your preferences were regarding wine, and, at the end of the day, I was able to figure out what style of wine you enjoy. My profile for you was that you are interested in two distinct red wine styles which were medium-to-bold in profile but which displayed both New and Old World winemaking techniques. So, what does that mean in plain English?

I saw you as a wine drinker who likes intense and expressive flavors but appreciates some bitter or sharp notes present on the palate as well with a round or lush finish. With this in mind, I selected wines for you which represented this style while also pushing you to try wines and grapes from around the world which fit your profile. Along the way different topics were presented which were designed to expand your understanding of wine. Now let’s take a closer look at this month’s selections.

For the Le Pigeoulet Vaucluse Rouge you get the best of traditional European winemaking with a refreshing modern approach. It represents all the characteristics you expressed you liked while adding layers of complexity with a full blend of grapes in the bottle. You get herbs, smoke and spices which reflect the profiles of wines you said you enjoyed like Tuscan reds, Cabernet Sauvignons and Merlots.

With the Catena Malbec Lunlunta you find several features on a wine which bring it to a higher quality style of wine than a typical style Malbec from Argentina. I wanted to represent the features of earthy, leathery and spice which you enjoy in your wines. This wine comes from a single appellation (growing region) which is grown in high altitude (longer growing season which develops more complexity) and from old vines (brings out more intense earthy flavors). The result is a Malbec which has flavors of chocolate, cinnamon and leather which is more complex than usual.

This is the approach I’m trying to do with GrapeFind. Introduce you to new and familiar wines but always pushing your understanding of wines and what goes into making them. Below you’ll find the QR Code to the wine descriptions to assist you in your learning process. Thank you again for your support and I look forward to continuing to join you at home as we explore the exciting world of wine. Cheers!