Contributed by Itze Pena-Andrade – Cheers to our second WineSense Club meeting of the Fall 2015 semester! We were very excited to welcome back Brandon Carneiro and Tyler Wedeking from SommSelect to come speak with us about what SommSelect is and offers.
A little bit of History
Ian Cauble and Brandon Carneiro, the co-founders of SommSelect, first met at Sonoma State University in 1999 where they quickly became friends during their time as undergrads. Ian majored in international business and Spanish; Brandon studied economics. Years later, they reconnected in Las Vegas where Brandon was working as a fine wine salesperson and Ian was attempting to become a Master Sommelier, which is depicted in the documentary, SOMM.
In 2014, Brandon and Ian launched SommSelect as a way to give people access to sommelier-selected wines for people to enjoy. They have daily offerings of wines from all over the world with tasting notes, region information, and food pairings. With chances of new discovery and a new education in wine, SommSelect is a website for everyone at every budget.
Brandon Leads Wine Tasting at SSU
Brandon led the members of the WineSense club through a tasting that featured a variety of wines that included a 2014 Chateau De Calavon Rosé from Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, France, a 2012 Napa Valley Chardonnay from White Rock Vineyards, and a 2013 Ken Wright Cellars Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. Brandon walked students through the proper way to taste, the different descriptors, and how to tell the different wine varietals apart, based only on taste.
Brandon with the help of Tyler, put our club through a test as we participated in a blind tasting of our own. Students had to identify which two varietals were served and from what area, with the winning teams taking home a bottle of wine to enjoy. These two wines were a 2013 Lucien Crochet Sauvignon Blanc and a 2011 Villa Sant’Anna Chianti Colli Senesi.
Favorites Wines of the Evening
At the conclusion of our second meeting, the club members were asked to vote for their favorite wines of the evening. Each participant could vote a total of two times and the two winners of the evening were:
- 2014 Chateau De Calavon Rosé from Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, France
- 2012 Napa Valley Chardonnay from White Rock Vineyards
It was a fun-filled educational tasting that students will not forget any time soon and we can’t thank Brandon and Tyler enough for coming!