Featured User: Kim Stanbro

Born in Washington DC and living in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, Kim Stanbro and her significant other are recent empty nesters with their youngest kid now a freshman in college. During the day she works for the Department of Defense but in the evenings and on weekends you may find her at the Baltimore Rock Opera Society, BROS , a non-profit organization dedicated to creating unforgettable experiences through live original rock theater, where she coordinates sponsorship and business contributions. Delectable: What sparked your passion for wine? Kim: I bid on, and won, a silent auction custom crush experience to make a barrel of wine with a local winemaker (check out Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Clarksville, MD- winemaker: Dave Zuccero.) I had very little knowledge or interest in wine at the time, but thought it would be fun. While the finished product was “okay”, this sparked my interest in learning about wine, subscribing to wine magazines, visiting my local wine store often for tasting events, hosting wine tastings, and even attending a regional conference about trends and the future of winemaking. When we bought a historic rowhouse in downtown Baltimore, our first home improvement was cutting a large hole in the floor for a trap door and building a massive wine cellar. With an approximate 800 bottle capacity – we’re slightly over 1/2 way full. The cellar is my favorite room in the house. D: What wine region are you wild about right now? K: Our annual vacation spot is Napa Valley, and the majority of our wines are from California. My current favorite bottles are anything produced from Repris or Brown Estate. A recent trip to Barossa Valley really expanded my love for Australian wines and I highly recommend the Turkey Flat and Two Hands tasting rooms – take an extra suitcase to bring back bottles that aren’t distributed to the US. I had been pronouncing Shiraz incorrectly until that trip. D: What is the most unusual wine you’ve ever tried? K: Can I talk about my most memorable wine instead? :) Back in 2003 I went to a wine tasting event with some friends that concluded with a live auction. I didn’t know much about wines and until that time only purchased wines I had sampled or were under $20 with a catchy label. One of the auction items was a 1998 Viader – I had never heard of it before but started bidding. A stranger near me was also bidding on it, but he looked at me, said “that’s a really good wine” and he stopped bidding. I walked away having spent $80 on the bottle – at the time the most I’d ever spent on one bottle. I was too afraid to open it and held onto it until 2010, when we drank it while planning a trip to visit the Viader property, and ultimately joining their futures club. I no longer hesitate before taking chances with new or unknown wines. D: What are some tips for aspiring connoisseurs? K: Don’t be a snob. Purchase the $99 mystery mixed case at your local store and try them all. Share your wines with non-wine people and ask their opinion without influencing what they should smell or taste. Visit wineries everywhere you go – even Texas and Maryland wineries have some good bottles, and every visit is a learning experience. Don’t be embarrassed about what you post on Delectable – don’t only post the “impressive” bottles, rather inform the community when you’ve had a great $12 mass produced bottle or when you’ve opened a dud. D: What is your golden rule for wine? K: It’s all about the experience. You’ll notice my posts frequently highlight the people I’m with or the event I’m at, rather than describing the subtleties inside the glass. Sharing wine with artists, actors, writers, and musicians will elicit the most creative and sometimes hilarious nose and mouthfeel descriptions you’d never hear from a more seasoned wine connoisseur. The best wine drinking buddies can turn around an otherwise mediocre bottle. D: If you were a wine, what wine would you be? K: Trefethen Halo. We've opened a bottle every time we are celebrating a big accomplishment, so I feel this particular wine is a part of me. I could pick this wine out of a blind lineup regardless of the year. I even have a tattoo of the actual mustard flowers that grow in-between the Trefethen vines during the winter, and our dog’s middle name is Halo!