15 New York, NY Individuals To Participate as Part of National Seven-Day, Seven-City Tour
(Long Island, NY) New York, NY is among seven cities nationwide to host a select wine tasting as part of an experiment with wine aged in the ocean. Napa-based Mira Winery, the first North American winery to experiment with aging wine in the ocean, will stage the blind taste testing on November 08. The New York, NY event is the third stop on the seven-city, seven-day wine tasting tour.
The wine tasting will be limited to 15 individuals from the New York, NY area, including wine and culinary experts, restaurant partners, Mira Wine Club members and local participants selected through Mira’s Facebook page. The participants will blindly taste the ocean-aged wine and the same wine aged on land, providing feedback.
The wine tasting tour is the culmination of Phase I of Mira’s experiment in which four cases of the winery’s 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon were recovered in May after three months of ocean aging off the Charleston, SC coast. This process was coined “Aquaoir” by Mira, paralleling the impacts of the land-based environment on grapes, an industry recognized term called “Terroir.” More information on Aquaoir is available at www.aquaoir.com.
“I am looking forward to adding to what we have learned from this experiment, and letting others judge whether or not Aquaoir might create a more complex and broad vintage, a more open and relaxed wine,” said Gustavo Gonzalez, head Winemaker for Mira Winery. “We still have a great deal to learn about this innovative method for aging wine which is why the next phase of our experimentation is so important.”
“The exceptional quality of grapes and the depth of our winemaker allow us to produce an exceptional portfolio of wines. And if the initial promise of Aquaoir continues to bear out, the lessons learned will force the entire wine industry to rethink how wine is aged on land,” said Jim “Bear” Dyke, Jr., Mira Winery President.
The national taste testing tour coincides with the launch of Phase II of the experiment on November 6, 2013, when Mira will age twice as much wine for twice as long in custom-built cages – eight cases of the winery’s 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon for six months. Each cage will be submerged by divers 60 feet below the water off the coast of Charleston, S.C. with gauges to measure the ocean’s effects on major elements of the wine aging process including temperature, humidity, pressure, motion, light – or lack thereof – and oxygen.
The national tasting tour includes Charleston, SC (11/6); Washington, D.C. (11/7); New York, NY (11/8); Palm Beach, FL (11/9); Little Rock, AR (11/10); San Francisco, CA (11/11); and Los Angeles, CA (11/12). Those interested in being selected to participate can register at www.facebook.com/MiraWinery. Mira wines are available for purchase at www.miranapa.com.
About Mira Winery
Mira Winery creates a spectacular array of wines by partnering with established growers in Napa Valley. These growers include top names such as Hyde Vineyards, Stanly Ranch and Schweizer Vineyards. We vinify these grapes to maintain the characteristics of these exceptional geographies from vineyard to bottle, resulting in a unique multi-vineyard portfolio of the finest, highest quality wines.
While conventional winemaking has followed the same path for centuries, Gustavo Gonzalez, Tom Kaucic and Jim “Bear” Dyke believe there is an opportunity to be a disruptive winery producing not just a single outstanding varietal, but rather a portfolio of outstanding wines sourced from multiple vineyards. Mira brings the best grapes together to make the best wines. Mira has also applied its innovative philosophy to better understand the elements that impact aging wine, becoming the first American winery to experiment with aging wine in the ocean. The process, known as Aquaoir, continues to show groundbreaking results. Learn more at www.miranapa.com.
