Last Tuesday night at Solera in Minneapolis eight wine lovers got together to taste a range of wines provided by the Twisted Oak Winery. When I arrived, about 10 minutes late due to some traffic, Boy Brainerd a.k.a. “Pimp Daddy” was holding court with a decanted bottle of Priorat. That wine was quite tasty but he had some of his own to share that stacked up pretty well too. Together we tasted seven Twisted Oak wines made from Spanish, Portuguese and French grape varieties grown in the Sierra Foothills AVA of California.

This get-together was hastily planned just about a week before the event so the turnout was on the lite side but everyone seemed to have a good time tasting the wines pared with small plates (”tapas”) of Spanish food. We started with the crisp and flavorful Verdelho and then moved to the rich and creamy Calaveras County Viognier, both from the 2005 vintage. Next we ventured into a flight of reds with %@#$! (”…rhymes with duck!”), Tempranillo, Syrah and a blend called, “The Spaniard.” We capped the evening with a taste of the now sold-out port-styled wine known as, “Pig Stai Pour’t” named in honor of their fearless leader El Jefe (Stai). All very nice wines that I will blog in order of my preference starting with The Spaniard a bit later today.

I had a great time tasting the wines and getting to know the attendees, all of whom I’ve never met before. Thanks Susan, Lynn, Craig, Angela, Jeff, Yvette and especially Boy/Pimp Daddy from Twisted Oak for their time, conversation, good food and kick-ass wines. I’m looking forward to doing this again sometime soon.