Thursday, September 23, 2010

Boekenoogen--the Second Glass

     Boekenoogen--try to say that fast three times-- is located in the center of Carmel Valley Village.  The tasting room is spacious, air conditioned and has an outside garden patio where you can enjoy the sun while tasting.  Our hostess for the tasting was Holly, a member of the Boekenoogen family.  She was very knowledgeable and made us feel right at home.  We told her we were wine-descriptor challenged and she assured us that all we needed to do was use our past taste experiences and some imagination to name what we experienced on our palate.     
     We tasted four wines.  First we tried two Chardonnays both of which are 2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Estate; the “Stainless Fermented/Barrel Aged versus the “Barrel Fermented”.  Both were pineappley in flavor.  LC liked the stainless better and MK liked the barrel best.  It’s all a matter of taste!  But we bought neither of those wines nor the Pinot Noir, which we also tasted.  Instead, we chose a really full finish, berrylicious 2008 Santa Lucia Highlands Estate Syrah.
     On a later visit to the tasting room we talked with Candace about the meaning of the name Boekenoogen.  She told us the Dutch family name means “Book Eyes”, referring to ancestors in the 17th century who could read and were therefore the “book eyes” for the community.
      Like many wineries, Boekenoogen has wine clubs, two, in fact.  One, called Club VI, gives you six bottles a year; the other, Club IX, gives you nine bottles.  If you are a wine club member and go for a tasting, the tasting is complementary, a nice feature.  For more information on Boekenoogen Tasting Room at 24 W. Carmel Valley Road, call Holly at 831 595-7741 or visit the website at www.boekenoogenwines.com
     By the way, Boekenoogen is much easier to pronounce after a tasting.  And how apt that Boekenoogen’s motto, which you can find on their T-shirts in the tasting room, is “Hard to say, Easy to Drink.” 


1 comment:

  1. So fun!!! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try it.
    Meghan

    ReplyDelete