If you know me at all, you know I love Ancient Egypt. I have been fascinated with the land of the pharaohs since I was 4 years old and my father brought me home a picture book. I cannot tell you how many papers I’ve written and classes I’ve taken just knowing that I would get to write and learn more about Egypt. When I found out from my friend Vincent Brown (@bennu on Twitter) that an ancient wine cellar had been found with the first king of Egypt, I had to jump at the chance to write about it. With that, here is my article about The King Wino: Scorpion I…

When Egyptian Pharaohs were buried, their most prized possessions went with them. Pharaoh had a cat? Poor kitty was killed and buried along with its master. Pharaoh had a favorite servant? You better bet they came too! These kings were buried with all their prized possessions: money, art, statues, toys, and clothing. Thanks to a recent discovery, we now know they were also buried with wine cellars. That’s right! King Scorpion I, was buried with an entire wine cache! Don’t you wish you could have that same luxury?! Well, minus the dead cats and organs in jars.

This discovery changes everything historians previously thought about Egyptian wine making. Scorpion reigned over 5000 years ago, centuries earlier that the perceived inception of Egyptian wines. The wine that Scorpion was sipping isn’t your normal wine, however.

Residues inside clay pots in his cache suggest he was savoring spiked wine. This stuff was loaded with herbs for medicinal purposes. You must remember that in 3150 B.C. Egyptians couldn’t run to the drug store for ailments, they had to take care of them naturally. Herbs dissolved very well in liquids, especially wine and beer. These same practices were also followed in China, Rome and Greece.

These Egyptians knew their stuff. Not only did the various herbs, flowers, and tree resins add to the overall flavor, they also worked quite well. Researchers and archaeologists are currently studying the residue in Scorpion’s wine jars to see if they can replicate the ancient recipes. The team hopes to see if they’re worth their salt in today’s world. Lead archaeologist Patrick McGovern is anxious to see if these herbal wines could aid in treatment and prevention of modern diseases and cancer.

Additionally, my favorite love poem came from this period of time, and it mentions pomegranate wine. While archaeologists don’t know if any of these wines were pomegranate as of yet, it’s still fitting to share because it means something to me.

Saam-Plants Here Summon Us

Saam-plants here summon us,

I am your sister, your best one;

I belong to you like this plot of ground

That I planted with flowers

And sweet-smelling herbs.

Sweet is its stream,

Dug by your hand,

Refreshing in the north wind.

A lovely place to wander in,

Your hand in my hand.

My body thrives, my heart exults

At our walking together;

Hearing your voice is pomegranate wine,

I live by hearing it.

Each look with which you look at me sustains me more than food and drink

While on Twitter one day I ran across Salud Spa Bar. Intrigued by the name, I checked out the web site. They specialize in a flight of “wine scents” developed by Salud’s creator, Kelly Podorsek as a solution to being cautioned against wearing perfume to wine tastings. This, I know a lot about, having had many a sommelier asking “who is wearing vanilla?” followed by an irritated look; I wanted to try these scents. As any true wino knows, perfume can interfere with the bouquet of wine at a tasting. That’s the beauty of these, they are created for and do enhance the bouquet of the wine. “Wear your Salud perfume while sipping your favorite glass of wine.” I can say that these fragrances have never interfered with a bouquet while I was sipping.

I sent Kelly a message, and she graciously sent me a flight of samples. They come in Chardonnay (my favorite), Syrah, Riesling, Merlot, and Sauvignon Blanc. Each scent is made from fragrance oil that soaks into your skin, rather than laying on it like a normal mist perfume.

As I said, I love Vanilla and Chardonnay smells amazing on me. I understand that fragrances smell differently depending on your body chemistry, but I have never had so many compliments on a single fragrance. Sure I’ve received compliments from friends on various fragrances, but never so many for the same one. Salud spa bar can be found here. You can order a sample, 1/3 ounce for $22, or $34 for a 2.6 ounce bottle.

Where else can you go where you can not only grab some lunch and buy a designer dress that costs more than a case of wine while trying out 26 tasting rooms? Healdsburg’s square of course, and I accomplished all three of those tasks. The designer dress added to the whole wine tasting experience, of course. At least that’s what I’ve been telling myself…

Anyway, Healdsburg square is a really eclectic place, complete with tasting rooms, boutiques, bookstores, coffee shops and even a soap company. I had the good fortune to be there on a Saturday when the Healdsburg farmer’s market is also going on, and I got to see another side of the town. While there I stopped into several different tasting rooms, but if I had to pick there are two who stand out in my mind: Toad Hollow and Artiste.

Toad Hollow

I knew I had found a fun place when I walked in and asked for Jim. The gentleman I later found out to be Jim began explaining to me that he was in fact, Debbie and Jim was the woman standing next to him. This fun attitude carries over to the wine. Everything from Risqué sparkling with a toad dancing the can-can on the label to their award winning Rose of Pinot Noir: Eye of the Toad. Jim shared with me the best winery mission statement I have ever heard: “People want value, and they also want good one. One of the missions of Toad Hollow is to provide both.” Especially in today’s economy, we want good wine and a good price. Their Dry Pinot Noir Rose was voted best value by Wine Spectator at under $10 a bottle.

From Toad Hollow I made my way over to Artiste. Everyone I spoke with told me I had to go there and meet the winemaker, Bion Rice. Inside the tasting room I think there is just as much art as there is wine; even on the bottles. Artiste picks an impressionist painting to showcase on their wines. The label explaining what the wine, where it comes from, and who created that particular painting is located on the back.

One of the aspects I enjoyed most of Artiste’s tasting room was the “Artiste Tasting Palette” that consists of a small bite of food to pair with the wine you taste. Another note about Artiste that set it apart from the rest is that they will not create tasting notes for their wines. As I tasted butterscotch on the finish of the mourvedre, I was told that was expressly one of the reasons tasting notes are not written; because each palate is different, and very impressionable.

From Artiste, I drove back into Dry Creek, past the general store, and up to Family wineries where Amphora is located. I was first drawn in by the name. I am a lover of ancient history; especially Greek and Egyptian. The amphora is a long piece of pottery with two handles originating in Greece.  The winemaker, Rick Hutchinson was as great as his wine. He has expanded his award winning wine list since the winery’s inception in 1997 to include everything from Chardonnay to Cabernet Sauvignon. I went to visit twice here, and the second time Rick was making custom blends for me out of his barrels according to the wines I said I liked the best. What a guy!

This was the best part of my experience in wine country, I loved the Dry Creek Valley, and what I loved most wasn’t the wine (GASP) it was the people. Of course the overall wine experience was more than I ever could have dreamed of the people were the ones who made the wine tastings fun, they were the ones who told me the best wineries and tasting rooms to go to, they were the ones who showed me around and took me to dinner. As I’ve told my friends, I have never felt so at home. I’d honestly move out there tomorrow if I didn’t have another year left of grad school. Wine is my passion, and it can only keep growing if I’m surrounded by winos like myself.