This weekend the entire CellarBlog team attended "The Notaviva Experience" which was a unique event pairing wine with music and celebrating Notaviva's third anniversary. For anyone not familiar with Notaviva, the whole concept behind the winery is to bring music into the wine world. Notaviva is "the intrinsic effect of music upon human emotion. From the Italian NOTA for music note and VIVA for life." I can't think of a better way to experience the idea of combining music with wine than Saturday night's event.
The event was attended primarily by true wine enthusiasts, including other winery owners and fellow wine bloggers, so the crowd was delightful.
The event was attended primarily by true wine enthusiasts, including other winery owners and fellow wine bloggers, so the crowd was delightful.
(The CellarBlog Team and SwirlSipSnark revealed.)We were served very generous (blind) pours of 5 different Notaviva wines and each wine was accompanied by samples of 10 different music selections. We were also treated to a generous buffet of delicious hors d'oeuvres and desserts.
The first wine was their 2010 stainless steel-fermented Viognier. I loved the wine; it was crisp yet slightly sweet for a Viognier. (We enjoyed a bottle of this Viognier in addition to the tasting.) During each tasting, our host played ten samples of various music and our task was to rate each musical selection as it enhanced or degraded the experience of the wine. We were asked to select the music track that best complemented the wine and of course, to comment on different aspects of the wine. We also had to guess what the wine was, specifically, and the wines were revealed at the end of the event. The music selections for the Viognier included everything from Journey to new age and chamber music to Darius Rucker. It was really thought-provoking to consider how music could enhance or degrade the experience of the wine. Who knew Journey could enhance (or degrade) a Viognier?
The second wine was a 2009 barrel-fermented Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was not overly oaked and only slightly buttery with 1% residual sugar. Barrel-fermented Chardonnay is not usually my favorite, but I enjoyed this one. I think of classical music when I drink Chardonnay and our musical choices included samples of the Black-Eyed Peas, Sugarland and a new age/classical type composition by our host Steve Mackey. I selected Steve's music as best complementing the Chardonnay.
The second wine was a 2009 barrel-fermented Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was not overly oaked and only slightly buttery with 1% residual sugar. Barrel-fermented Chardonnay is not usually my favorite, but I enjoyed this one. I think of classical music when I drink Chardonnay and our musical choices included samples of the Black-Eyed Peas, Sugarland and a new age/classical type composition by our host Steve Mackey. I selected Steve's music as best complementing the Chardonnay.
By our third wine, we had moved into reds and were poured a 2009 Cabernet Franc. The Cabernet Franc had a nice complexity and finish with a hint of spice. The musical selections this time included classical, coffee house, movie soundtracks and even Barry White. This particular music-wine pairing was more challenging to me than the others since none of the musical selections seemed like an obvious complement to the wine, but I ended up picking a movie soundtrack (I'm not 100% sure of the movie, but I think it was Valkyrie.)
The fourth wine we enjoyed was a Chambourcin. I really favored the Chambourcin as it was very fruit forward, with notes of bing cherries and even slightly effervescent. The music selections were fascinating and included samples from Rascal Flatts to Beethoven. My choice for pairing music with this particular wine was a classical piece.
Our last wine was a very bold 2008 Reserve Petit Verdot. This wine was deep in both color and flavor and had an almost port-style taste. Our music choices included organ, country, pop music and even Linkin Park. My selection for pairing with this wine was a song from "Phantom of the Opera."
At the end of the event, our hosts revealed the particular wines that were served, we turned in our tasting sheets (they will post online the most popular musical selections for each wine) and we were given ample time to continue mingling and sampling the wine and food.
The fourth wine we enjoyed was a Chambourcin. I really favored the Chambourcin as it was very fruit forward, with notes of bing cherries and even slightly effervescent. The music selections were fascinating and included samples from Rascal Flatts to Beethoven. My choice for pairing music with this particular wine was a classical piece.
Our last wine was a very bold 2008 Reserve Petit Verdot. This wine was deep in both color and flavor and had an almost port-style taste. Our music choices included organ, country, pop music and even Linkin Park. My selection for pairing with this wine was a song from "Phantom of the Opera."
At the end of the event, our hosts revealed the particular wines that were served, we turned in our tasting sheets (they will post online the most popular musical selections for each wine) and we were given ample time to continue mingling and sampling the wine and food.
Overall, this is one of the most enjoyable and unique wine events I have attended. I did not know in advance what to expect from the event, but as a wine and music enthusiast I knew it would be a great way to spend a Saturday night. I look forward to attending this event again next year as it was a delight in every way. Thanks Notaviva, for bringing this experience to Virginia!
0 comments:
Post a Comment