We make our wines simply and with love. Like you, we believe that what goes into our bodies matters. From how our wines are grown to how they’re made. That’s why we’re committed to giving you just the good stuff. It’s our guarantee. We value the high standards set by the wine industry, and we never take shortcuts. Every wine goes through multiple rounds of independent lab testing, and is made with the utmost care and precision to assure quality.
We also strive to work with growers who practice responsible and sustainable farming that results in our award-winning, happily-priced wines. So how do we do it? Our Director of Sommology, Leslie Sbrocco, explains what goes into our Good Stuff Guarantee, and how we value great wine above all else.
Our Process
Let’s start with the process of making wine to understand how it goes from ground to glass. It all begins in the vineyard. As we always say, you can’t make great wine without great grapes.
At Traveling Vineyard we aren’t tied to one plot of land. This gives us the opportunity to experience wine from all over the globe—and (more importantly) bring them to you. We seek out family-owned growers around the world, making sure they share our commitment to quality. Our goal is to discover impressive wines that are both unique and familiar. Our wine lovers can always find a favorite while also discovering something new. From dry to sweet, red to white and sparkling to still, there’s something for everyone!
We value the high standards set by the wine industry, and we never take shortcuts. Every wine goes through multiple rounds of independent lab testing and is made with the utmost care and precision to assure a quality product. We also strive to work with growers who practice responsible and sustainable farming. We are dedicated to bringing you the highest-quality, head-turning wine at really happy prices.
Winemaking 101
Our expert winemakers have decades of experience in the wine world and they know what they’re doing to make mouth-watering wines. It’s important to us that our wines are made authentically and with love to stand up to our Good Stuff Guarantee.
The process of making wine is actually pretty simple. First, you let your grapes ripen in a vineyard, then when they’re ready, you harvest them and crush the grapes to get the juice. This sugar-filled juice is then inoculated with yeast whose job it is to eat that sugar and convert it to alcohol. If the yeast eats all the sugar, you have a dry wine. If the yeast is killed off before they’ve completed fermentation, the wine is left with some residual sugar making it taste lightly sweet to sweet. Always remember, sugar is not added back into wine to make it sweet.
Usually, this primary alcoholic fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks, though sometimes it can be done in a barrel. Many wines – once they’ve completed fermentation – are aged for some time in oak barrels giving them a unique complexity and character. Fresh light whites and reds often go straight from tanks to bottling, while those aged in barrels spend some more time to gain layers of flavor. Before bottling, the vast majority of wines are filtered and fined to make them shelf stable.
Award-Winning Wines
Our small-lot wines are of the highest quality and most importantly, delicious! We’re not the only ones who think so. We regularly submit our wines to national and international competitions to be blindly judged. We’ve received multiple awards for our wines from the World Wine Championships, the San Francisco International Wine Competition and the Finger Lakes Wine Competition. Our wines have received Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze ratings.
I’ve actually have been a judge at wine competitions for nearly two decades. I judge alongside noted sommeliers, wine buyers, and masters of wine as we taste hundreds of wine per competition in a blind format. This means we don’t know the wine’s identities. We’re simply judging on quality, awarding medals to standout wines. So as a judge myself, I know the Traveling Vineyard wines’ medals are well warranted.
Wine Myths Answered
As a wine professional who addresses thousands of people each year in live, virtual and television events and platforms, I’m often asked about the same issues. Two I’d like to address today I call wine myths.
Myth 1: Sulfites in Wine
The first is when people say, “I’m allergic to the sulfites in wine because they give me headaches.” That’s probably not the case. We’re talking about two different things here, one is sulfites, the other headaches. Let me first address sulfites.
Sulfites are natural compounds that prevent spoilage. They’ve been used for thousands of years, and today are added in minimal amounts to most wines and many foods. You actually can’t have a wine without any sulfites as it’s a naturally occurring by-product of fermentation. The sulfites added to most wines are far less than those added to make French fries, dried fruit or even tortilla chips! So, if you’re not allergic to those don’t stress about your wine’s sulfite content.
Besides, the allergy doesn’t usually manifest as a headache. It would be more like hives, itchiness and difficulty breathing. The headaches, my friends, come from the alcohol.
In most cases, you can chalk up a wine headache to simple overindulgence: alcohol dehydrates you, and dehydration leads to headaches. In some instances—the histamines and tannins that naturally occur in red wines may also play a role. Drink wine in moderation, including drinking as much water as wine, and you’ll thank me in the morning!
Myth 2: ‘Clean’ Wines
The other question I’ve been getting a lot lately is people asking me about “clean” wines. First, there is no official recognition of this word in winemaking. The only way I’ve ever heard it used responsibly is during wine judging. When we talk about “clean” wine, it’s simply to state that the wine is made without any noticeable flaws. Some flaws could be TCA (corked wine), volatile acidity or Brettanomyces (yeast fungus).
Clean wine should not be used as a health claim. We’re drinking wine for enjoyment and taste and want it to be as well-made as possible. Try instead to focus on the wines sustainability and quaff-ability.
Sustainability in Winemaking
Sustainable wines are those that aim to protect the environment, support social responsibility, and encourage employee health and happiness. With these goals in mind, sustainability is all keeping an eye on the future while making quality wines to enjoy today.
Wines made with organically grown grapes step up the commitment to utilize only organically grown fruit without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Biodynamic wines is even another level of commitment in wine growing. Today, growers follow practices that were developed more than a century ago by Rudolf Steiner that utilize natural methods of farming.
Each of our wines is born from our passion to bring you the best wines at the best prices while giving you experiences that will turn your everyday wine moments into memories. Learn more about our Good Stuff Guarantee and shop our wine cellar now.
