Welcome to the Swirl, Sniff, Sip, Spit Winery Resource! This community resource is the result of recommendations made by a variety of wine aficionados. It is intended to provide people in search of good wine tasting experiences with recommendations on various wineries and tasting rooms around the world. Entries are made by going to the Entry Page. The results shown can be sorted in various ways by using the “sort by” links below. You can also search by key words using the filter to select the entries of interest to you. We welcome your entries and your feedback. Of course, the opinions expressed are those of the people making the recommendations. Enjoy!
We also have our own list of wineries at our Wineries page.
Posted by Esping on 14 Sep 2008
Cechetto »
The Piave district is one of the lesser known DOC's in Italy. And for a good reason too. In this zone in eastern Veneto a lot of wine is produced. Not bad but mostly it's unremarkable. The Piave district is right in the middle between the famous red-wine district of Valpolicella and Italys best white wine region, Friuli. But the Piave district has one great asset, the Raboso grape. And if you are looking for good Raboso, and if you haven't tried this great variety you definately should, look no further.
Cechetto started the Raboso revival a couple of decades ago when the grape was on the verge of extinction and is now leading the campaign for giving Raboso di Piave DOCG-status. So if you visit Cechetto winery you will meet one dedicated winemaker with a very strong vision.
Raboso is a tough a grape with a lot of character. In the hands of a winemaker who doesn't know how to handle it you will get a wine with a volatile acidity, very rough tannins and not very much else. Cechettos wines are full of berry-fruits and cherries with hints of violets and tobacco. It's full bodied with food-friendly acidity and a long nice finish. Cechetto also produces Gelsaia which is made from semi-dried grapes. A dry wine but with more of everything compared to the normal bottling. There is also a passito, a sweet wine made from Raboso that I have yet to try.
You will recieve a warm welcome at Cechetto and meet a very proud and dedicated winemaker. There are also a couple OK whites and a very interesting and promising Merlot to try.
This winery is located in Tezze di Piave, Veneto, Italy
Posted by Daisy Penzo on 18 Feb 2009
This family owned estate makes a fantastic Pinot Noir. Oltrepo Pavese (in Lombardy) is known for Pinot's and champagne-like wines.. so make sure to taste their Pinot Nero Rose' brut !! The Scarani family is very friendly and their son Alberto speaks English so you won't feel completely lost :)
This winery is located in Cigognola - Pavia, Oltrepo Pavese, Italy
Posted by Matt Tompkins on 22 Apr 2009
Paolo Bea is a small, family run organic winery in Umbria. Giampiero, one of the sons, gives a lovely tour—as long as you'd like. Only want to taste? No problem, into the tasting room we go. Want to feel the earth between your toes where the vines grow? Let's walk out back. They'll tell you all about their wines and how it's made without technology, over 2 wonderful hours of tasting. All grapes and olives are harvested by hand and their creative labels are individually numbered. The sagrantino grape is deep in color and the wine bursts with flavor in your mouth.
We communicated directly with Giampiero by email and 6 of us visited in June 2006, during the World Cup. I asked him what he would drink to celebrate, if Italy won (which they did), and he proceeded to let us taste a wine, poured by his mother, that had been fermenting for years, which they weren't selling at the time. Very personal.
This winery is located in Montefalco, Umbria, Italy
Posted by Sarah on 23 Nov 2009
We took a wing ding tour of Italy trip as a "last hoorah" before we started our family. On that trip we took a tour of the castle and winery, Castello Del Trebbio. It was followed by a wine tasting. We couldn't understand much of what they were saying but it was wonderful, tasty wine and gorgeous scenery. What more can you ask for?
This winery is located in Pontassieve, Firenze, Italy
Sula »
The most popular Indian wine, the first winery to start tours and tasting in India, and the hosts of the annual and extremely popular Sulafest - a weekend of wine, food and music.
This winery is located in Nashik, Maharashtra, India
Posted by Dave on 02 May 2009
Rich, during our recent trip to Paris we took a tour of castles in the Loire Valley. We chanced on a family run winery which has been in the Plou family since 1508. Their tasting center is still manned by family members. A young lady (about 19) was our host and in tasting red wines, I asked her the differnce between Cuvee Prestige and the Cuvee Les Menigottes; her scientific answer was in very broken english that it was "stronger". Very charming and very warm environment with a reasonable price for the Touraine wine growing area. The two wines I mentioned were 6 & 7 Euros, yet very drinkable. I will share when next you visit.
[Ed. Note: Bribing me with wine doesn‘t guarantee you a win, but it doesn‘t hurt either.]
[Ed. Note: Bribing me with wine doesn‘t guarantee you a win, but it doesn‘t hurt either.]
This winery is located in Amboise, Loire Valley, France
Posted by Len Eisenstein on 15 Jun 2009
Domaine Ferrando »
Recently, on a "business trip" to Paris my colleagues and I tasted an excellent bottle of Rhone wine. It was called Colombis Chateauneuf du Pape, 2006 from Domaine Ferrando. It smelled of strawberries and rasberry aromas. The taste was silky, smooth and very fruit foward.
This winery is located in Rhone, France
Posted by John Kibler on 09 Feb 2009
Brokenwood deserves a visit for four reasons. First, it sells some of the best red wines in the Hunter Valley, an area not well respected for reds. Second, it maintains the small-winery, homey tasting room ambiance in an area overrun with the mega-winery tasting rooms. Third, the servers are personable and knowledgeable. A fourth reason is that they do not allow tour buses, which keeps the crowds down too.
This winery is located in Cessnock, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia
Posted by Dave on 24 Feb 2009
Robyn is the daughter of Reg and Pam Drayton who owned the winery when Linda and I visited there a number of years ago. If you make the journey to the Hunter Valley, the wine region in NSW is known mostly for their excellent whites. Theirs is a family run winery that is a must if you like a comfortable environment with very warm and engaging staff. We spent a very enjoyable afternoon tasting wine and listening to stories of the founding of the Hunter Valley wine region. Reg and Pam had passed away a year earlier (plane crash) and the family had created a commemorative port. After an entire afternoon of tasting their best, they mentioned this port and they then broke out a bottle for us to taste. It was TERRIFIC! Some of the best I had ever tasted (and in turn we purchased a number of bottles). It was one of the most memorable afternoons spent with wine experts and enthusiasts who enjoy talking about their passion of making great wine. If in the Hunter Valley, please stop by and say hello for us.
This winery is located in Pokolbin, New South Wales, Australia
Posted by Jessica O‘Brien on 30 Mar 2009
I didn't have a choice in going to this particular winery because it was part of a wine excursion for school. But it was my favorite winery out of the three we visited that day. This winery offers a small, friendly feel. The winemaker, Mr. Helm himself will take you on a tour of his winery and will sit down and taste wines with you. He provides you with a "welcome to the family" atmosphere and will chat you up about anything (I really mean anything...he gave us a quick little latin lesson). The winery is located in a somewhat remote area (you have to drive on a dirt road to get to it) but its scenery is beautiful. You are taken away from all the noise of the city and able to enjoy the "outback" of NSW.
This winery is located in MURRUMBATEMAN, New South Wales, Australia
