Hey Reader—
This past week was a blur.
On Friday, Tony, the dogs, and I packed up the car and drove down to Applegate Valley in Southern Oregon for a friend's wedding at a winery & vineyard. The views were stunning, and it was a great time with friends. While we were in the area, I also got to visit a vineyard where I'll be sourcing fruit for Flipturn Cellars this upcoming harvest season. Meeting the grower, walking the rows, seeing the vines in person — it's one of my favorite parts of making wine.
From there, I headed to Walla Walla, WA to judge the Pacific Northwest Wine Competition (more on this below). And then I drove out to Yakima Valley to visit another vineyard where I'll be sourcing fruit this fall.
All said and done: 1,200 miles on my car in five days.
It was a lot. But it was one of those full, productive stretches where I got to touch so many different corners of the wine industry — from celebrating friends at a vineyard wedding, to scouting fruit for my wines, to evaluating 180 wines blind alongside other judges. And since I make wine in the city as an urban winemaker, getting out to the vineyards and meeting the people who grow the grapes I work with is always so meaningful to me. It makes every mile worth it.
With that, let's get into this week's wine digest.
Cheers,
Sip Smarter: Your Weekly Wine Lesson
I Judged a Wine Competition — Here's What It Taught Me
When I sat down at the Pacific Northwest Wine Competition on Monday morning and learned we'd be working through over 600 submitted wines across the judging panel, I had a moment of overwhelm. My panel tasted roughly 120 wines on day one and another 60 on Tuesday morning. By the end, my palate was absolutely fried.
But evaluating wine in a fast-paced, condensed environment (like a competition) is one of the most fun and educational things you can do as a wine professional. And doing it blind — where you have zero information about the producer, the label, or the price — strips away every bit of bias. It forces you to focus entirely on what's in the glass.
I also got to dive deep on grapes I rarely drink. We had multiple flights of Carménère (a grape I have only tried a handful of times during my WSET studies), and I feel like I walked out of there a Carménère expert.
How Does Wine Judging Actually Work?
At most wine competitions, wines are poured into numbered glasses and presented to a panel of judges completely blind. You typically know the varietal (or category) and sometimes the vintage, but you never see a label, a bottle, or a brand name. Judges evaluate each wine using a structured tasting grid, moving through appearance, nose, and palate — then assessing things like balance, complexity, intensity, length, typicity (how true to style it is), and whether any faults are present.
Here's what might surprise people: you don't need to drink the wine to evaluate it. I barely sipped most of what I tasted this week. In competition settings, you take a small amount of wine into your mouth, work it across your palate to assess body, acidity, tannin, flavor, and finish — and then spit. That's how you make it through 120 wines in a day without being on the floor by noon.
After each flight, panelists compare notes and discuss any disagreements. Most of the time, there's strong consensus — trends emerge pretty quickly when you're tasting a lot of the same varietal side by side. You can clearly feel the difference between a wine that's well-made but simple and one that has real depth, balance, and complexity. When opinions diverge, the group discusses and re-tastes. The goal is a collective, structured assessment — not just one person's opinion.
Why Blind Tasting Is Such a Powerful Learning Tool
The reason blind tasting is so valuable isn't just about fairness in competition. It's because it reveals your actual preferences. Without a label to anchor your expectations, you can't be influenced by a winery's reputation, a beautiful bottle, or a price tag. Every wine gets the same shot. And that's where you start to learn what you genuinely like versus what you think you're supposed to like.
Blind tasting also teaches you to identify quality in a more structured way. After a few dozen wines in the same flight, you start noticing patterns: this one has great acidity but falls flat on the finish; that one is aromatic and complex but a little out of balance; this one is just... right. Over time, you build a mental library of what distinguishes an okay wine from a good one and a good one from a great one.
How to Recreate This at Home
You don't need to taste 180 wines to get the benefits of blind tasting. Here's how to do a fun version with friends:
Pick a theme. Choose a single varietal (like Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, or Syrah) or a style (like rosé, sparkling, or under-$15 reds). Buy 4–6 bottles in the same category.
Bag the bottles. Have one person wrap each bottle in a paper bag or foil and number them. Everyone else should have no idea which wine is which.
Taste in silence first. Before anyone shares opinions, let each person taste and jot down quick notes — what they smell, what they taste, and whether they like it. This prevents groupthink.
Then discuss and rank. Go around and share notes, rank your favorites, and talk about what you noticed. You'll be surprised how much you pick up when you're not distracted by labels.
Reveal the bottles. This is the fun part. See which wines landed at the top and which surprised you. Oftentimes, the $12 bottle beats the $40 bottle, and it's a great reality check.
The big takeaway? You don't need to be a certified wine judge to taste more intentionally. Blind tasting is one of the fastest ways to learn your own palate, sharpen your tasting skills, and build real confidence with wine... and it makes for an incredibly fun night with friends.
Vine To Glass
Wine Of The Week: Time & Direction 2025 Grenache Rosé
While I was in Walla Walla for the competition, I managed to make a quick trip into my friend Steve's tasting room in downtown Walla Walla (apparently tasting 180 wines wasn't enough). I tried this rosé and immediately went home with a bottle.
First, let's talk about the name: If you grew up playing Nintendo, you already know: "Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select Start" is the Konami Code — arguably the most famous cheat code in video game history. Steve Wells, the owner and winemaker behind Time & Direction, is a self-described "big nerd" who loves video games, comic books, and sci-fi, and he wanted his wines to reflect that.
Every bottle in his lineup has a label that nods to something from nerd culture — binary code, Back to the Future, classic gaming. It's one of the most fun and personality-driven wine brands I've come across.
Steve's story is worth knowing, too. He started out waiting tables in New York City, where his curiosity about wine grew — partly, he'll tell you, because wine knowledge led to bigger tips. That curiosity became a real passion. He joined the Court of Master Sommeliers, earned his Certified Sommelier certification, and became a beverage director for a restaurant group. Then, on a visit to Washington wine country, something clicked. He packed up and moved across the country with his family, enrolled in Walla Walla Community College's Enology and Viticulture program, and started making wine. Time & Direction launched in 2016, and Steve's focus has been on Rhône Valley varieties — food-friendly, lower-alcohol, higher-acid wines that are approachable and fun to drink.
This rosé is 100% Grenache and made in stainless steel. It's unfined and unfiltered, so expect a little haziness and texture in the glass. It pours a beautiful light pink, and the texture is really what stands out. You get pure red fruits — fresh strawberry and raspberry — with a hint of orange on the palate. It's bright, dry, and has this refreshing quality that keeps you coming back for another sip. It was a standout, even when my tastebuds were dead after trying 120 wines that day.
What I'd Pair It With
- Grilled salmon or shrimp skewers
- A mezze spread — hummus, pita, olives, feta
- Fresh summer salads with stone fruit and arugula
- Fish tacos
- Thai dishes or Vietnamese noodles (Steve's recommendation)
- Charcuterie with creamy cheeses
- Just a glass on the patio with zero agenda
If you're in Walla Walla, stop into the Time & Direction tasting room. And if you're not, check out his website — Steve's wines are the kind of small-production, personality-driven bottles that remind you why discovering new producers is one of the best parts of being a wine lover.
Cork Report
This Week’s Wine News Roundup
- We Asked 15 Sommeliers: What Will Be the Wine of the Summer? (2026)
- What ‘Cult’ Wine Is Actually Worth the Hype? (2026)
- Shop Wine Enthusiast's Fourth of July Sale
