Tasting in the Caves of Del Dotto Winery
(By Guest Author Lauryn Mitrovich) My favorite tasting experience occurred in Napa Valley. It was my boyfriend’s birthday, and his parents rented us a fabulous limo to drive to several wineries. The one that really stood out to all of us was Del Dotto Vineyards.
We arrived at the cave and barrel tasting location for Del Dotto and were greeted by our guide Brandon. Brandon had taken the parents on a tour before and they had an amazing time so they specifically asked for him again. Obviously, something stuck out to me about him as well because even a year later, I can still remember his name. Brandon was lively, passionate, excited, informative, funny, and friendly. Maybe he always has that much energy or maybe he was just responding to how the group energy was, but whatever it was, it worked. Everyone had an amazing time as he lead us through the caves tasting who knows how many wines straight out of the barrels.
Brandon may have been amazing, but I think the ambiance of the location really helped as well. I had never been in a cave quite like that before and it felt really special to be able to try the wines straight from the barrels.
Everyone there really seems to love what they do and love the wine that they are making. I know that we all thought the wine was delicious, but the fact that the people there were so passionate about it as well definitely helped. Also, I think the fact that each tour is personalized to the group of people that are there and the fact that the tour guides decide what to give people to taste as they go along is really something special.
I really haven’t been wine tasting that many times, but I feel like this experience will always stick out to me. Ultimately, the caves, the wine, Brandon, it all worked and its experiences like this that just make me more excited to go out and try new wines and meet new people at other wineries.