Gervasi Vineyard is well known for its award-winning wines, its vineyards, restaurants, overnight stays, and gorgeous Tuscan-style settings. It’s also known for its world-class wine tasting experiences at The Cave.
Whether you’re a polished wine connoisseur or seeking a refined, relaxing wine experience, The Cave is perfect for joining a wine-tasting event and experiencing the craftsmanship and flavor of Gervasi wines.
The Wine Cave and Tasting Room offers a traditional wine tasting experience without the restaurant. The Cave consists of an underground 1,000-square-foot Wine Tasting Room and adjoining 4,500-square-foot wine barrel cave for wine barrel aging.
The intimate Tasting Room is open during select hours for traditional-style wine tasting experiences and tours. Exclusive wine club access, Gervasi events, and private events are also offered at The Cave. The wine barrel cave houses all of Gervasi Vineyard’s growing wine barrel aging and showcases unique educational opportunities during tours.
Each visit is a unique journey through the art of winemaking. The cozy atmosphere makes The Cave an ideal destination for wine enthusiasts who appreciate quality and tradition or those just learning the ways of the wine tasting world.
The intimate tasting room is the perfect place to enjoy a guided experience through a selection of Gervasi wines, paired with insights into the winemaking process. The wine barrel room offers a behind-the-scenes look at how wines age, while traditional-style tastings let you savor the complexity of each handcrafted bottle. The Cave also hosts private events and seasonal Gervasi Vineyard gatherings. For a deeper dive, the Wine Tasting & Barrel Room Tour offers an insider’s view of the aging process, along with a curated tasting.
The most asked questions from wine enthusiasts during the tastings, according to Eric Raben, the operations manager at The Cave, include: “Questions usually refer to which type of wine pairs well with different types of food.
“For instance, at Thanksgiving, an off-dry wine works well with its small amount of sweetness that works with lighter and bolder dishes. Which wine pairs well with fish or red meat? The answer might surprise you. It doesn’t have to be red wine with red meat and white wine with fish. It has to do with the weight of the food. A piece of fish with Cajun spices or a heavy sauce can work well with a light to medium-bodied red wine, while a lightly seasoned filet mignon can pair well with a full-bodied white wine.”
It’s all about wine at The Cave – Wine Tasting & Barrel Room Tour
It’s all about Gervasi Wine! First, guests will enjoy a seated premium guided wine tasting. A Wine Ambassador will lead guests through an engaging tasting experience; four wines will be served with a light antipasti cup. Next, guests will briefly walk and tour the underground Wine Barrel Cave where Gervasi houses its aging wine barrels. Guests will have unique educational opportunities to expand their technical wine knowledge and deepen their appreciation for all things Gervasi wine! Gervasi offers Cave tours Tuesday – Sunday at 1:30, with an additional tour at noon on Saturdays.
When it comes to wine tastings, Gervasi utilizes the 5 S method for its wine tastings.
Rabin said, “We start by defining the five words that begin with the letter S, that help in learning about wines. The first S is Sight, the second is Swirl, third is Sniff, the fourth is Sip, and the fifth word is Savor.”
Rabin went on to describe each of the words beginning with S. “For the first, sight, I ask if the wine is white, rosé (pink), or red? If the tasting environment is well lit, tilt the glass over a white surface, like a sheet of paper, and look through the wine for helpful style clues. How deep is the color intensity? What is the clarity of the wine? If it is bubbly when it’s not intended to be a sparkling wine, or if it’s cloudy or has sediment and it’s a filtered wine, these are possible faults, and the wine should not be consumed.”
Second S is Swirl. Set the glass on the table and swirl by the base. A wine’s smell grows more intense as you swirl; the aromas will be captured in the glass. Swirling increases the wine’s surface area. Red wines need to be swirled much longer than whites, due to the tannins and complex flavors within the red wine.
Third S is Sniff. Take short little sniffs, not one long deep sniff. If you take a long deep sniff, your nose will be overwhelmed, and you will not be able to differentiate between the delicate aromas and scents within the wine. Try to identify the following:
- Fruit aromas- citrus, peach pear, black fruits, red fruits, etc.
- Herbal aromas-licorice, anise, spearmint, etc.
- Oak or Earthy Aromas- vanilla, cedar, smoke, coconut husk, etc.
Fourth S is sip. Take a sip. Swish the wine around in your mouth. Try to get the wine all over the front of your palate. Instead of swallowing the wine, hold it in your mouth for 3-5 seconds. Let it coat your tongue and cheeks. Once you swallow, breathe in and out of the mouth and nose. This incorporates two senses together (smell and taste) to pick up more than just by breathing in and out of the nose only.
“Last S is Savor. Gervasi believes the best way to Savor is to take a second and third sip. The first sip merely primes your palate for the acidic environment of the wine. The second and third sip won’t be as acidic, allowing you to pick of more of the fruit notes to the wine,” said Rabin.
The best way to prepare for your wine tasting experience, according to Rabin, “Don’t have water with the wine! Wine is acidic, and your palate needs about three sips to acclimate to the acidic/sour environment of the wine. Drinking water raises the pH in your mouth and resets it, and you will have to take three sips again just to get back to the wine pH, so the wine doesn’t taste sour. Be open-minded. You might not like one type of varietal of grape, but every winemaker crafts his product differently. I used to not like Zinfandel, but after I tried Gervasi’s Zin Zin, I learned I loved it! If you don’t like sweet wine, try keeping the wine under your tongue. You have no taste buds under your tongue, so keeping the wine under your tongue allows you to taste the flavors of the wine without the sweetness. If your palate gets fatigued, smell the sleeve of your shirt. I know this sounds weird, but it resets your nose and you can smell effectively again.”
Other tips Rabin offers include holding the glass by the stem, not the bowl of the glass. If you hold the wine by the bowl, you will heat the wine, and it won’t be at its intended best.
Store a sealed wine bottle in a cool, moist environment, if possible. No light or heat, which can damage the wine. Also store the bottle on its side. An unopened bottle standing straight up might look pretty, but the cork will begin to dry out if not in contact with the moisture of the wine. This will lead to oxidation of the wine, and it can turn into vinegar.
Reserve your private event at The Cave
Thinking of getting a group of people together to host an unforgettable private event in The Cave? The Cave is tucked beneath The Spa; this intimate setting offers a refined yet inviting atmosphere, perfect for celebrating special moments with family, friends, or colleagues.
The Cave was designed for those who appreciate fine wine and artisanal cuisine. Your guests will enjoy a thoughtfully curated selection of food, from beautifully arranged antipasti to chef-crafted small plates and indulgent desserts. Gervasi’s expert team will guide you through a tailored wine experience for your event.
Guests can also arrange for a semi-private tasting table and hosted by a Wine Ambassador, which includes four 1.5oz wine samples and an antipasti board, with the same tasting selection for all guests. No full food or bar menu is available. The experience typically lasts 45 minutes.
Guests are advised to bring a light jacket or sweater due to the cool, humid conditions in the active barrel-aging Wine Barrel Cave.
Perfect wines for the holidays
With the holidays getting close, it helps to have a few suggestions on the best wine selections for those wine lovers stopping by your home to celebrate.
Rabin has four wines he enjoys for fall, such as “Dolce Sera, a late-harvest Riesling white wine with freshly baked apple pie spices to it. Santo, a tawny port-style wine, has high alcohol content and high sugar content. It has flavors of mocha, raisin, caramel, and orange peel.
“Our Signora in Rosso, a three-year-aged Syrah has stewed black fruit notes as well as caramel and a silkiness to it. Zin Zin, a red Zinfandel with flavors of black cherry and blackberry, with a sweet cinnamon spice and bold fruit notes. All these wines have the typical fall harvest flavors associated with them.”
The next three holidays will be here before you know it. Rabin offered, “For Halloween: I picked these wines to stand up to the sweetness associated with Halloween candy. Dolce Sera; a sweet white wine; Brigante; a medium sweet red wine; and Abbraccio, a dry, fruit-forward Cabernet Sauvignon.
“For Thanksgiving, these wines go well with the Thanksgiving Dinner: Piove, an off-dry Riesling(white wine), Serenata, a red Malbec, and Unita, a dry, earthy, red wine grown at Gervasi Vineyard. For the Christmas holiday, these wines have the flavor of the holidays associated with them. Solera, a red wine made by fractional addition year over year (intense red wine with cooked black fruit notes, tobacco, leather, and spice). Barile Sweet Riesling is a sweet Riesling with bourbon notes at the end. Lastly, Celebrazione is a light red wine that has aromas of vanilla cherry frosting, but is a dry, not sweet to the taste.”
Make it a delicious wine time
Visiting The Cave is an experience in and of itself. Rabin and the expert Wine Ambassadors at The Cave are always ready to talk about Gervasi wines.