You’ve been ZAPped!

ZAP, the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers trade organization, is dedicated to advancing public knowledge of and appreciation for American Zinfandel.  Next week marks its 18th annual festival, a weeklong celebration of Zinfandel themeed events.

Being the Zinner that I am, I look forward to this event every year.  I also am a volunteer, so I have seen first hand how the love of zinfandel has grown over the years.   Although the public tasting on Saturday, Jan 31st, can be a bit of a zoo, there are several other events throughout the week that make this event an enjoyable experience.

Wednesday – Jan 28th

Flights!

Prepare for take-off…
Take a seat and buckle-up to embark on a voyage of discovery. Your crew at our intimate, seminar-style setting will include the intrepid men and women winemakers and owners who grow and craft these remarkable wines. The City College of San Francisco Culinary Arts & Hospitality Studies program will create delights for your taste buds to savor during the walk-around Zinfandel reception following the seminar.

Also on Wednesday, Crushpad is hosting a BYOB Zinfandel event to help kick off ZAP.  I love these mixers at Crushpad, because we get to taste a lot of great wine, but also meet some new people.  This time, bring a bottle of zin.  Crushpad will brown bag it, and present it with the other offerings for you to sample.  At the end of the evening, we vote on our faves, and reveal!  So much fun, and perfect for an economical evening out.  Please RSVP here

Thursday – Jan 29th

Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing

If you are a devoted foodie with a passion for Zinfandel, make plans to indulge your “inner epicurean” and spend the evening at Good Eats & Zinfandel Pairing! Noteworthy restaurants and award-winning wineries turn the art of cooking and wine pairing into an entertaining and approachable affair. Talented chefs present the ultimate combinations of distinctive tastes, while winery proprietors offer stunning Zinfandels to match.

Detailed menus are here.  This is my favorite event of the week, because you get the opportunity to taste some speical wines that aren’tr always poured on Saturday, in a quieter more relaxed atmosphere.  Take a look at these sample menus!

Zinfandel Braised Pork Shoulder with Butternut Squash and Cipollini Onion Ragout with Carol Shelton Wines

Miniature Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Easton Zinfandel Barbeque Sauce with Easton wines

Friday – Jan 30th

Evening

with the Winemakers

This event is a benefit auction and dinner, and is the ritziest of the week. This elegant sit down dinner benefits the ZAP’s Heritage Projects–preserving the historical and viticultural significance of America’s Heritage Wine–Zinfandel, including scholarships and other designated charities.

Wine 2.0 Best Practices Seminars

Wine 2.0,

the innovator in social networking and events in the wine industry and ZAP, invite you to participate in “Winery Best Practices,” an education session on January 30, 2009 at Ft. Mason in San Francisco.

1. Winery eCommerce: 12:00-12:45 pm – A panel moderated by Jeff Carroll of ShipCompliant on best practices and n

ew tools for e-commerce success in 2009.

2. Winery Social Networking: 1:00-1:45 pm – A panel moderated by Lisa De Bruin of Hahn Family Winery with lessons on best practices for social networking in the year ahead.

3. Building a Great Consumer Direct Organization: 2:00-2:45 pm – A presentation by Lesley Berglund of WISE Academy on best practices in direct-to-consumer programs with lessons learned from industry research covering the past 18 months.

Sessions will run for 45 minutes each (with a 15 minute break between sessions) starting at 12 noon on January 30 in the Building “D” Theater at Ft. Mason. Up to 300 winery professionals are expected to attend. 40% of ticketing proceeds go towards ZAP’s Education Programs.

Order Tickets here, $35 per session or all three for $90

Saturday – Jan 31st

ZAP Grand Tasting

Over 250 member wineries will pour their zins!  Pick a target path.  I like to select a region, or select a list of wineries that i haven’t heard of.  Make sure you spit!

Trade  10am-1pm

Public 2pm-5pm

Bloggers can request media passes by emailing your RSVP with contact information to abdi@winetwo.com.  There will also be a blogger lounge at the back of the room in each pavillion.

Finally, there are some great promotions going on!  Vin Village is giving away 7 tickets to the Good Eats & Zin evening, as well as 7 tickets to the Grand Tasting.

There are two ways to enter:

1.  Go to http://vinvillage.com/zap-wine-festival-ticket-contest-sign and sign up for Vin Village.  IT’s a great site that has some interesting content, and you can wine stuff!

2.  At the Crushpad BYOB Zin event, Vin Village will be drawing a name out of the hat for the same tickets.  Be there or be square!