National White Wine Day – A wine holiday that has me reminiscing
When I was in college, I made a road trip to a Theatre Conference. One of my theatre professors took a group of students to interview or audition for summer jobs.
I remember that we met for lunch at a restaurant at the hotel. At the time, this felt like a very “grown-up” thing to do. We sat at a table in the corner of the room. I remember there were tall glass windows, but the room had darker wood tones. It must have been my birthday; I remember my professor gave me a gift: a navy blue and fuchsia pink box kite. It was a gift that meant something. I so treasured her respect. It never flew in the sky but instead hung dramatically in the corner of my first apartment (and several future apartments).
As the waiter took our drink orders, she ordered a white wine spritzer. My experience with wine was inexpensive white zin. Newly of age and thinking how cosmopolitan she sounded ordering this, I did the same.
This first remembered experience with white wine set a tone for me. White wine was a thing of elegance enjoyed by educated, intelligent, strong, independent, and incredible women.
Years have gone by. I went through my phase of bourbon and coke.* There were years of beer and cocktails, and then Michael and I stumbled back into wine. This time, it was more than a libation; it was something to contemplate. It became an exploration of the flavors and aromas, yes, but also the stories behind the wine, the people, and the places.
White Wine Moments
In our exploration, I found a love for all wines: white, sparkling, rosé, red, orange, and sweet…but some white wine moments have really stayed with me.
Vermentino – my gateway wine
Vermentino was my gateway wine to Tablas Creek and their Rhone varieties. Vermentino, known often as Rolle in France, is not really a Rhône variety, but this wine, gifted to me by a friend, entranced me and caused us to visit the winery. This began a rabbit hole dive into wines and vineyard practices that care for the planet. That rabbit hole dive ended up becoming a primary focus for us.
Aged Roussanne – searching to recreate a moment
A few years later, we attended a vineyard walk event at Tablas Creek, where we experienced the magic of aged Roussanne. The wine, becoming rich and golden in the glass after years in bottle, has caused us to hoard Roussanne, waiting for our bottles to reach this magical moment.
SLO and aromatic whites
One trip to San Luis Obispo found us visiting Claiborne & Churchill, a winery that makes cool-climate white wines. They held an event called “Hit Me,” where you blind-tasted five cool-climate white wines and tried to guess the varieties. It was fascinating. The aromas were all so different, from the Riesling to the Gewürztraminer. I put my nose in the glass and didn’t want to take it out. Who knew petrol notes could smell so magical? I wanted to dab them behind my ears.
Capturing sunset with Semillon
When we traveled to Australia, we experienced the glories of Semillon, young and old. This wine confounded me in the beginning with its notes of lanoline. That aroma is forever entangled with the memories of a glorious evening with a group of Hunter Valley Winemakers in the vineyard, with bottles of their most recent vintage of Semillon and one from 10 years before. Oh, and oysters at sunset. (Yeah, that’s a memory)
Scent memory is so powerful. When I talk about these memories, they come right back, vivid and visceral (I remember bobbing in and out trying to get to the table for a taste of another Semillon, waiting while other writers took bottle shots. I remember scribbling my notes as I tried to define which aromatic white I smelled at Claiborne & Churchill. I remember the restaurant where we sat at lunch, and I felt like an adult.
Don’t get me wrong—I have some fantastic memories of other wines, red, orange, etc…but today, on National White Wine Day, I get to reflect on the beauty of white wines and their amazing aromas, the memories they evoke, and the future memories they will help me make!
My Sidebar on bourbon and coke
*When I started my first National Tour with the show Anything Goes, I headed to the bar to meet the crew for drinks on the first evening. I stopped at the bar to order, wanting to seem sturdy as the Assistant Carpenter, someone to be taken seriously, and not “girly,” I ordered a Bourbon and coke. This was my first bourbon. I figured hitting a bit higher than whisky and not so posh(and expensive) as Scotch would hit a happy medium. I stuck with it for the tour, although when I got to the table where the guys were, they were all drinking strawberry daiquiris or margaritas and shining their mag lights through them!
Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine and WSET 3 Certified. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.
When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.
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