Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour Tampa
When: Friday, May 1, 7 to 9:30 p.m.
VIP Hour: 6 to 7 p.m.
Where: JW Marriott Tampa Water Street
Tickets: General admission $250, VIP $395, Young Connoisseur $100
Tampa gets plenty of wine events, but not many have St. Pete wine lovers booking hotel rooms across the bridge.
Wine Spectator’s Grand Tour makes its Tampa debut this Friday, bringing 230 wines from 13 countries to JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, all rated 90 points or higher. According to Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator’s senior editor and tasting director, the event is designed as a live extension of the magazine’s blind tasting work, which reviews more than 10,000 wines each year.
That is part of the appeal of Grand Tour: the wines have already been judged at a high level, so the evening becomes less about wondering where to start and more about focusing on what interests you most. It also gives people a chance to try bottles they may have been curious about, but would not normally seek out or buy at full bottle price.
Based on the announced lineup, Tuscany looks set to be one of the strongest presences in the room. At the same time, the event does not read like a Cabernet pileup. Champagne, white Burgundy, Chablis, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and older-vintage wine are part of the mix as well.
Napjus recommends reviewing the list ahead of time, then using the floor plan to navigate the room. Wine Spectator has also published a printable PDF wine list, which is worth pulling up before the event if you want to mark a few priorities.
Sparkling wines come first, followed by whites and rosés, then reds and dessert wines, with wines grouped by grape or region to make side-by-side comparisons easier. She also pointed to older vintages as one of the more distinctive parts of the experience, including Sandeman Vintage Port 2000.
Five bottles to circle before you go
These are a few bottles worth flagging first from the announced lineup:
Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Madonna del Piano Riserva 2016 (98)
The highest-scoring wine on the list.
Catena Zapata Malbec Mendoza Nicasia Vineyard 2006 (95)
One of the more compelling older dry reds in the room.
Champagne Philipponnat Réserve Perpétuelle NV (92)
A strong place to start before the tasting shifts fully into red mode.
Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico Gaiole Castello di Brolio Gran Selezione 2022 (95)
A good pick for anyone leaning into Tuscany beyond Brunello.
Zena Crown Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills Slope 2018 (96)
A standout Oregon Pinot.
A few more bottles to note
For classic, age-worthy reds, look at Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2015, La Rioja Alta Rioja 904 Gran Reserva 2016, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. 2016, Clos Apalta 2022, and VIK Millahue 2022.
For stronger white and sparkling stops, keep an eye on Trimbach Riesling Alsace Frédéric Émile 2017, Domaine Laroche Chablis Les Blanchots 2023, Domaine de La Chapelle Hermitage White Le Chevalier de Sterimberg 2021, and Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Russian River Valley 2023.
And for a few more bottles to flag, circle Castello di Monsanto Chianti Classico Riserva 2021, Penfolds St. Henri 2017, and Château Lascombes Margaux 2022.