In a horizontal wine tasting, you sample different types of wines from different grapes, possibly from different wineries and from different years. You are sampling a shotgun variety of sometimes wildly varying textures, aromas and flavors in the hopes of uncovering a gem among rocks.

In a vertical tasting, you sample the same wine from the same grape and the same winery, but over different years. The only difference in the wine you taste is the year. This is a unique opportunity to experience how a specific wine ages and how the specific growing and harvesting conditions of each year affect the quality of the wine.

Stone Hill Winery in Herman, MO, has conducted a vertical wine tasting for its Norton wine for 22 years, usually held on the fourth Saturday in April. The Norton grape is uniquely North American, native to the Midwest and mid Atlantic states. It was Dr. Norton who first cultivated the grape for wine in Virginia and wrote about it in 1830.

Though it was first cultivated in Virginia, Norton wine was really put on the map by the German immigrants who settled Hermann, MO, in the late 1860’s. Before prohibition, Missouri was the largest wine growing state in the US. It has become the state wine of Missouri. And Stone Hill Winery, started in 1847, has been there every step along the way as one of the largest producers of wine made from the Norton grape.

With limited seating, the Norton Vertical Wine Tasting event has capped attendance at about 120. Year after year, many of the same folks come back. Mitch Reiber, our good friend who introduced us to this event, has attended the last 16 of these tastings.

While it has typically had a festive party attitude, the character has changed in the last two years and it has become more of a “commercial opportunity to sell more wines” event. None the less, it is a unique event and one that should be experienced.

	Historically, the event used to start with a tour of the more than 150 year old winery.
	Appetizers are served in one of the wine cellars following the tour, accompanied with sparkling wine and sparkling grape juice.
	At the tasting, everyone has a sample of the Norton grape from each of the last 10 years. Included is a barrel sample of the current year.
	One of the remarkable distinctions across the years is how the color of the wine changes. Here, the currently released year and a sample from nine years ago are compared. The older wine has a more rust color compared with the more purple color of the current release.
	After spending an hour sampling the last ten years, we vote as a group on the favorites. It is astonishing that though we are all tasting the same wines, we never all agree on the same favorites. There are equally vocal fans and critics of the same year.
	The party continues over a three course dinner with paired wines. If we have not had a chance to drink enough wine, there is always the Norton port to look forward to with the dessert.

Norton wine is not my favorite. It has a deep, fruity, rich flavor, richer and more complex than a Cabernet. With typical bottle prices at $20 and higher, my preference at this price point is usually for a Simi Cabernet.

But, it is the unique opportunity to experience a vertical tasting that makes this event so special. None the least is the chance to take a weekend off with great friends, stay in beautiful surroundings, indulging in excellent food and experience new wines.

For more pictures from ten years of experiencing the 10 year vertical wine tasting, check out these online web albums:

2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004- (I was in Japan at this time and missed the event)
2003
2002
2001