Jan 28 2008
About the moody wine drinker…
As you may already know, my name is Erica Lauesen and I am a moody wine drinker. This concept came to me at Vinocruz, a retail wine shop in Santa Cruz that I used to work for. A customer asked me the ever so common question, “What is your favorite wine?” My answer is the same that it has always been, “Well, it depends on my mood…” Followed with my current mood and wine selection. I have worked in a variety of wine shops throughout the Central Coast with a variety of wines and there is a time and a place for all of them.
My wine background begins with my father. He has always appreciated wine and food and has allowed my brother and me to partake in the occasional taste since I was probably 4 years old. He would have us smell and taste for certain characteristics that were present in the wine. From there, I decided to go down to Cal Poly SLO and get a more formal education involving wine. I graduated with a bachelors degree in Agricultural Business and a minor in Wine and Viticulture.
Hey Erica,
Nice website !! Where do you find the time ??
Noel
Hi Erica,
My husband Bruce and I met you a couple of weeks ago at VinoCruz. We’re heading up to Napa on Friday Oct 17th with our Italian friend (who lives in Switzerland) and his girl friend. I know you don’t head up to Napa for another week, but any suggestions about wineries or a place to have a great lunch would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for all your info at VinoCruz and thanks for your help with our Napa trip.
Kris
ps Merryvale Winery looks like a great place!
Thanks for adding us to your twitter watch! I really like what you are doing it has bite. I followed the cork Jester out of Denver for some time but her comments got a little too stinging for me. I don’t know a single vintner how starts out by saying I want to make a mediocre wine. It’s a tough and not always glamorous way to make a living but we all love grapes.
As for the rating system it helps some hurts others and has made some very snobbish guys lots of fame and fortune. I figure people just like to be told what they like others like to find out what there own taste is. Where do you fit?
It’s a hard line to walk. If a winery gets a lot of press, I can’t help but get curious. I think the internet is leveling the “ratings” a little bit.
I love the whole premise of the “Moody” wine drinker. So true! I look forward to reading your blog!
As a new Twitter person I found out about you. Love the website and your philosophy. I was working in the Minnesota market selling our “juice” and saw this saying by Jonathan Nossiter, Director or Mondovino: “If wine is interesting it’s because it is like human beings - it’s complex, unpredictable, changing. It’s alive, and it evolves over time. It is as grotesque to assign numerical rating to determine the value as it is to assign a number to a human being to determine his worth.” Nice to meet you and your fans!
Keep up the great work!
Morning Erica, anything of worthy note happen last night at the Specator event in St. Helena?