(First in a 3 part series)

I have often been asked how I have such an amazing palate and how I can find a customers perfect wine after asking just a few questions. I am completely self-taught and honestly I have no idea. I do know if was brought up trying every food at least once. “You never know until you try” was one of my moms’ favorite sayings around the dinner table. My parents at the time my parents were hippies living on a goat farm with a house garden to feed a family of seven. Well they had that and Costco. As I grew up giving everything a try became a point of pride. I would sample any dish or any food at least once. I would come across an “exotic” dish on a menu and already know what it was by reading my moms’ cookbooks or having her make it first. With a large family we didn’t eat out much, so when I watched my mom cook, I saw how she cooked. When it was too salty she did this, when a flavor was strong she used this herb or that herb and so on.

To me a lot of what wine tasting is having an idea about how something tastes and being able to say, “Hey X reminds me of Y” harking back to my palate memory. But it did take me a long time to get good at this. What I did to get here is that wherever I went I tried wine. I would talk to people about it. Ask them what they tasted or what they thought. Interestingly enough about the first year here at Locals was all an amazing amount of memorization about what went with what in said order. I never really felt confident with my own ideas until I came up with my three questions. It helped me figure out how to help people help themselves on how they taste wine. The questions came from my background in food flavors, cultural anthropology, and watching way too much food network.

Question 1: Where are you from?

Well right off the bat the three question idea is a fib. This question actually has three parts: Where were you born and raised? Do you like spicy foods? And do you have any dietary restrictions? People love to talk, and usually will give you a geographic history of their lives which is helpful. Also asking if they grew up in a rural or urban environment helps define what their might like palette some more. Urban palettes usually have a more culturally diverse palette because of the cosmopolitan food options available. Most people from large cities will have access to different food flavors and will be able to differentiate between more eclectic food flavors more easily. Think about trying to explain to a farmer how the flavors in a Thai peanut sauce work on their own as well as with the flavors of Thai Cuisine. This is not an easy task. Where people were born and how their parents fed them does affect what flavors they like and what they do not like.

Similarly, if you really like spicy food this effects what flavors are pleasing to the palate. To me there are two main types of heat. The type of heat that hits the back of your throat and goes up into your sinuses, clearing out any congestion one might have had; one that makes your eyes water. Typically this is a characteristic heat found in central and South American foods. If someone doesn’t like spicy foods they will be less likely to like wines with high tannins unless they sample the wine with meat to cut the feeling at the end. Smoother wines with a little acid seem to be preferable. Also people who don’t like spicy foods tend to go for the fruit forward wines, but that depends on their geographical location. If people like spicy foods I will recommend certain wines that have some good herbal spice flavors and wines that compliment spicy food like for example a blend like the Peterson Vignobles. Even though this is not a sweet wine, the combination is of some acid on the back of palate and the tannins strips your tongue of the spicy oils found in South East Asian cooking. But one word of caution….this wine does not work as well at getting the Jalapeno type of oil off of your palate however.

To be continued…..

Bill Arbios happened upon his career in winemaking while pursuing his childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian at the University of California, Davis. He took a summer job at a veterinarian’s office where he soon realized that being a veterinarian was more emotionally challenging than he had expected and he risked caring for a backyard full of unwanted dogs and cats.

While surveying the University catalog, Bill noticed a class called “Introduction to American Wine.” Knowing that Davis is one of the best enology schools in the world, he thought that he might as well learn something about wine while trying to figure out what he really wanted to do. Soon after Bill began studying the subject, he fell in love with winemaking; he was thrilled that winemaking encompassed chemistry, biology, physics and bacteriology as well as art and creativity.

Bill graduated from Davis in 1973 with degrees in Fermentation Sciences and Bacteriology and immediately embarked on his career in the wine industry. Prior to launching his own label in 1993 with the creation of Arbios Cellars, Bill held winemaking and consulting positions for a myriad of well-known wineries in California’s Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Central Coast regions. His earliest experience in winemaking was in 1973 through 1976 at Chateau Souverain, where he was mentored by the dynamic Chateau Souverain owner Lee Stewart.

In addition to his winemaking and vineyard management skills, Bill has had extensive experience designing wineries from the ground up. Specifically, he designed and supervised the construction of Fieldstone Winery in the 1970s, and was an integral part of the winery design and development of the William Wheeler Winery and Lyeth in 1980.

In 1981 Bill joined Sonoma County’s Lyeth winery, first as winemaker and production manager and then in 1988 as winemaker and vice president. While at Lyeth, Bill pioneered Bordeaux-style blended wines in Sonoma County, which eventually set the standards for all subsequent “Meritage” wines in the North Coast wine regions.

In 1992 Bill was appointed winemaker for Napa’s Jarvis Vineyards, where he aided in the design and implementation of a state-of-the-art underground winery. Following Jarvis, Bill spent two years as winemaker for Chateau DeBaun in Santa Rosa, where he was responsible for winemaking, quality control and data tracking for custom winemaking for clients such as Robert Mondavi, Delicato and Sebastiani.

Although Bill enjoyed his successful career making wine for many prominent wineries, he occasionally felt restricted by the bottom line to which large wineries must adhere. In addition, this self-described “vagabond vintner,” was starting to yearn for roots. With the creation of Arbios Cellars in 1993, his dream of expressing his artistry through wine and creating something lasting for himself and his family was realized.

After nearly four decades of artful and innovative winemaking, Bill has achieved minor cult status and has earned the respect of his peers for his winemaking skills and vineyard savvy. He currently resides in Healdsburg in Sonoma County with his wife, Susan and his three sons. When Bill is not making wine, he enjoys scuba diving, cooking, music and gardening. He also has his pilot’s license and loves to fly.

Photo by Joseph Novak

People come into locals and they are looking for wine. But when you are wined out what are people looking for? The redwoods. What most people do not realize is that from the 101 north of Santa Rosa up to us in Geyserville is lined with redwood trees. Over the years some of the trees have fallen down or died off, leaving gaps along the freeway so you can see the grape vines. Sadly that time will not be around much longer. As time moves on and the highway needs to be widened, these trees are being cut down. The avenue of the redwoods will not be around much longer. Next time you drive up to see us, take a moment to look at the remaining redwoods, see how tall they are. Realize it wasn’t our grandparents, but ones before them that planted those trees.

One of my favorite ways to spend time with these giant trees is to drive up the coast and stay in one of the many state or national parks along the 101. Finding a great camping spot next to some trails and being able to have a nice bonfire. And speaking of bonfire I did have to “do some research” last time I went up to Humboldt Redwoods State Park. With some fresh Diavola sausage, some gruyere mashed potatoes, green salad, and smores; I made the ultimate camping dinner. And to drink? The Bedarra Bonfire. A wine to warm your soul around such amazing trees.