Contests

Friday Follies

No, I’m not offering to put you up for the weekend, but my friends at Bottlenotes are giving away a pretty awesome trip to the good life. If you win, Bottlenotes’ founder and Chief Wineaux, Alyssa Rapp, will meet you and three friends in Napa to sample some of the best of the valley for a fun filled weekend. This is a great chance to get to some difficult to get in to places, and also enjoy a chillaxing day up valley.

The current itenerary includes:

Cakebread Cellars

Meet one of the founding fathers of the Napa Valley, Jack Cakebread. Tasting appointment includes a VIP tour and tasting, along with a private lunch with Jack Cakebread, founder of Cakebread Cellars and an iconic figure in Napa.

Arietta

Spend an hour with Fritz Hatton, owner of the boutique winery Arietta and former Head of Christie’s Wine Department, at his beautiful Victorian home in St. Helena. Tasting appointment includes a rare tasting of all five new releases of this cult wine.

Spring Mountain Vineyards

Yes the one Falcon Crest was filmed at! Enjoy an unforgettable mountain adventure at this beautiful private estate, the largest single contiguous property in the Napa Valley (850 acres!). Enjoy an exclusive mountain tour of Spring Mountain Vineyards by Jeep, followed by a tasting of library vintages of estate-bottled Cabernet Sauvignon with the winemaker.

Charles Krug

Explore your senses with industry icon, Peter Mondavi Jr. This visit includes a wine blending session with Pete Mondavi Jr., himself, who will teach you the secrets to making great wine. You’ll complete your visit with a grill-your-own-steak lunch with Pete and your newly blended wine, plus a selection of Charles Krug wines.

Now, there are three ways you can enter to win the fun fest.

First, if you are a Daily Sip subscriber, you’re in like Flynn.
Second, you should head over HERE to complete the online form.
And finally, refer a few friends to the Daily Sip for some extra credit entries.

All the vital stats can be found over here at Bottlenotes Contest page, and the official contest dates are November 4th through December 14th.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Aug 19th, 2009

by winebratsf.

No comments yet

Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you’ve got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?

I know i certainly would. As luck would have it, you actually CAN get away, and for free! Livingston Wine Cellars is currently running a contest to win a 4 day, all expenses paid trip to wine country. I live here and I want to wine! Err win. Yeah that’s what I meant. Now I have no vested interest in this contest, and in fact, I am not even familiar with Livingston Cellars, but I thought this was worth writing about since everyone needs a little extra in the vacation budget.

To enter the contest, all you need to do is write an essay about how you are “Living the Livingston Life”. Even if you don’t drink their wine, you might be living the life without even knowing it. Entries are being considered until December 31st, 2009, and need to be 250 words or less about how you achieve the following things in your wine life:

Be an individual
Stay connected with your friends and family
Discover your world, new and old
Make a difference to others around you

I think that most of us embody these qualities, don’t you? The trip takes place in June of 2010, and includes stops in Yosemite, a winemaker dinner, a tour of the Central Valley wine region, a blending seminar with the Gallo masters, and a whirlwind tour of San Francisco – my hometown.

Ok so maybe you’re not in to the “Lifestyle Wine”, but there are plenty of people who are! Everyone needs a little value in their life. Livingston is part of the E&J Gallo Winery family. It’s definitely a value wine, but perhaps you have family members that living in this fighting varietal world who might want to take a trip with you.

For details: http://www.TheLivingstonLife.com/Getaway

It takes a village, a VinVillage!

May 6th, 2009

by winebratsf.

2 comments

A couple of great events are coming up in the next couple of months, and the biggest news is you can win free tickets to these events!

VinVillage is a social networking organization for wine and food lovers. Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “oh no! not ANOTHER social network for wine!”. While it’s certainly true that there are many social networks dedicated to wine, VinVillage is unique in how it connects wineaux with wine lovers in their home cities.

Additionally ,VinVillage has a webcast radio show covering a wide range of topics, as well as a community barrel of wine where VinVillage members can join in the winemaking experience and build a sense of community.

To build on this sense of community, VinVillage sponsors several contests, where you can win tickets to events in local cities. Two events that are coming up are the Wine Fests of Lodi and LA.

The Lodi Zin Fest is on Saturday, May 16th at Lodi lake Park. Tickets are $35 advance / $45 day of ,but you can win them on VinVillage!

At the Lodi ZinFest, more than 250 wineries from the Lodi area will be poured from 50 wineries, and there will be live music, food, and fun. There are also cooking demonstrations and arts & crafts. One of the highlights for wine lovers is the ZinFest Wine School, where you can learn about the latest trends in Lodi wine from the wine experts and local vintners, who will share their wine knowledge in a variety of seminars.

The other event that is coming up is the LA Wine Fest. For you SoCal folks, this wine festival is on Saturday June 6th and Sunday June 7th in Hollywood.

This event promises to be a great one, and is billed as a consumer wine event with broad appeal. Tickets for the LA Wine Fest are $55 for each day, with a $10 discount if you buy them through VinVillage. Once again, however, you can WIN them on VinVillage!

The moral of the story is, you CAN get wine for free, so head on over the to Village and check it out!

mber Bergherm

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