Luscious Lushes » events

You shook me all morning long

winebratsf — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 17:40:43 +0000

Hospices du Rhône. Day 2. What happens when you take several hundred (probably hungover, definitely tired) wine writers, bloggers, lovers, and somms, and throw them in a conference room at 9am with eight glasses of wine in front of them ? Lots and lots of champagne. that’s what happens. wait…strike that. Reverse it. But you can’t! I was pretty well baked by my Cold from Hell, but to be up bright and early so as not to miss the Walla Walla sneak peak, I was given a delicious treat of several glasses of some damn tasty grower champers that Chaz brought in at his own expense to wake us all up. YUM!

Ok enough of the 9am drinkfest. On to the syrah.

K Vintners was started by Charles Smith, who used to manage rock bands and lived in Copenhagen for 11 years before moving to Walla Walla. Always having passion for wine, he’s an innovator, a marketing genius, and loud. Roll all that together with walla Walla wine, and you get a larger than life character who defies the rules. The winery is located at the base of the Blue Mountains, and opened to the public in 2001, producing wines from Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla Valley, primarily syrah as well as field blends.

Smith believes K is about KOMMUNICATION and, bad puns aside, he says that people should use language that people can communicate with internationally; that language is wine. Smith feels that too much of wine is making beauty where there is natural wonder; he focuses on showing off the unique fruit of Washington, and uses subtle oak influences as to not overpower the natural beauty of the wine. He is, in some ways, the ultimate terrorist. wine should be about a feeling, and here in Walla Walla, Rhone producers are small. Wine is what they live for and they are passionate enthusiasts.

K focuses on syrah for several reasons; first, it has a distinctive quality that no other wine has. Additionally, the high steep slopes in the Walla Walla area are difficult to work, which makes for more interesting wine and a challenge. Syrah is global, with France representing the old world and ancient vines. Australia shows us the AC/DC of the varietal, with a new world fruit bomb style (think Angus with the flaming red hair) that is indicitive of the passion and terroir of the Barossa. Finally, when you get to Walla Walla, you have the geology of tumbled river rock, salty soils, and a long growing season o the high desert plains of Walla Walla. There is a pioneer and rogue belief system in Walla walla, which allows them to do anything the want to with little thought about if anyone did it before them or was previously successful.

Charles Smith

2006 Syrah Pheasant Vineyard Wahluke Slope – was a chewy caramel dusted in mocha bramble berry, with baked plums and bittersweet chocolate. I tasted black cherry, dried orange rind as well with just a slight hint of herbal flavors. This is a very dense wine, but it was smooth and mellow with a plush finish. It was quite refined and let’s just say I struggled to spit this out at 9am. This vineyard was planted in 2000 along the Columbia River, on sandy loam and peaty gravel in the Wahluke Slope AVA. This sandy soil makes for a more floral and herbaceous wine.

2006 Syrah The Deal – Sundance Vineyard Wahluke Slope – shows a meaty smoky wine with blackberries and tar. The refined tannis show notes of tangerine, and while it was a bit gamey at first int he glass, that soon blew off to a smooth long finish and nice mouth feel. The Deal is all about respect, integrity and doing what you want to do in the vineyard. The Sundance Vineyard has a slight northerly slope which creates a cooler site, in a very warm region. This wine tastes of cool climate syrah, and is grown in sadny loam over coarse sand which provides excellent drainage. Only two miles from Pheasant Vineyard, it was planted in 1997 and creates a very different wine profile.

2006 Syrah Cougar Hills, Walla Walla – has more minerality than the first two wines, with lots of lavendr and orange marmalade, followed by graphite. the Couger Hills Vineyard is located in the southern region of the Walla Walla valley, and has loamy soil with river rock and gravel, as well as a layer of volcanic ash. This ash adds complexity to the vines which were planted in 2000 and are sustainably farmed.

2006 Syrah Wells, Walla Walla - With only 1.5 barrels made of this wine, we were in fro a rare treat. that’s about 35 cases in the world, and it was made as an experiment in 100% whole cluster fermentation. the Wells vineyard is half an acre that sits 1500 feet up on the south fork of the Walla Walla river, and has rocky cobblestone soil. I tasted fresh cherries, strawberries, and vibrant red and black fruit. This was brighter and fresher than the earlier syrahs and just lovely.

2006 Syrah Phil Lane, Walla Walla - is the estate vineyard. Three barrels of this wine were made from 1.5 acres of grapes planted in 2001, which produces a highly aromatic wine with bright raspberries, rose petals, and flavors of mole sauce.

Chief Mutineer Alan Kropf "moderates" the champagne bottle

2006 Syrah Motor City Kitty – Stoneridge Vineyard, Royal Slope Columbia Valley is created from a resurrected vineyard which lay fallow on the ground for years before Charles Smith rescued it. The Stoneridge Vineyard has very rocky soils, and with six different rocky types, produces very different wines. It is windy up there on the hill, and the the thick skinned fruit creates inky black juice with robust and smooth wines. I found a very dense, sweet cherry wine with flavors of cough syrup. The wine sits for 23 months in neutral barrels and is then hand bottled, to produce 50 cases of a powerful and rich wine with whole berry fermentation.

2006 Syrah Royal City – Stoneridge Vineyard, Royal Slope Columbia Valley - includes some of the Stoneridge Vineyard fruit and had flavors of coffee, milk chocolate, and black cherries. It was chewy and dense but well balanced and had some lovely spice notes on the back end.

In closing, ALL of these wines that were poured were rare and small production. They were all amazing and each one shows a slightly different slant ont he Walla Walla terroir and what is going on in Washington wine. I am very much looking forward to tasting more Walla Walla wines in a few weeks at the Wine Bloggers Conference!

Special thanks to the Hospices du Rhone team!

Rhône – The Next Generation

winebratsf — Wed, 26 May 2010 16:08:24 +0000

Where no WineBrat has gone before…I am the first one to admit that I am uneducated about most wines outside my sphere of influence; yes I drink them, yes I occasionally enjoy them, but I don’t know much about them. When I was invited to attend Hospice du Rhône this year as a media guest, I jumped at the chance to attend the world’s penultimate tasting event of Rhone varietals. I was jumping up and down for months, and then I got the cold from hell. Suffice to say, Bratty was not amused. As I drove through the endless row of wines between Salinas and King City, and then past the oil derricks and in to Paso Robles, I was more excited about taking a nap and some Nyquil than the bowling event that would ensue later that evening. fortunately, I was domiciled in the hotel that was across the street from the event center, and I arrived early enough in the day, that I crashed out instead of taking in a few tasting rooms.

As I rallied with a combination of Rhone medicine and bowling silliness, I was looking forward to the next day’s educational seminars. I am sorry to say that I missed the South African seminar early on Friday morning, but I rallied enough to attend the Côte-Rôtie seminar later in the morning. Côte-Rôtie is located in the northern Rhône, where the vineyards are distinguished by their vertical slop and stone calls. The wine is primarily red Rhône, focusing on Syrah, many co-fermented withViognier. This area has a very different style than the southern Rhone, and winters are wet with a cold wind, as well as fog that can make ripening the grapes a challenge. Wines from Côte-Rôtie share a lot of similarities tot hose of South Africa, and are earthly, gamey and rich.

The presenting producer, Domaine Michel et Ogier, is founded on land where seven generations farmed grapes. In 1997, the latest generation arrived after studying in Burgundy to grow Rhône grapes; prior to his arrival, the grapes were sold to a negociant, but that soon began to change. 1982 wasn’t a particularly good year in the Rhone, and the negociant didnt’ want the grapes so the family made their own wine. Soon, the negoicant came back wanting the finished wine, and the winery was born.

2008 viognier de Rosine Vin de Pays showed lemons, necterines, peaches, apricots and honey with crisp lemon rind and peach nectar. The vineyard was planted in 2000, with the first vintage being 2004, and marked a change or the producer. Prior to 1997, when the next generation arrived, only red wines were produced, so the viognier (as opposed to syrah co fermented with viognier) was a departure. It was a cold summer and a difficult year, but this has made the viognier fresh and crisp, with a nice minerality and grapefruit zing. Ogier doesn’t believe is performing battonage, or the stirring of the lees, as this adds a certain fatness to the wine. Viognier possesses its own fatness and structure, and he refrains from battonage to allow the wine to show it’s natural light.

2008 Viognier Condrieu shows the appellation distinctions that occur in Cote Rotie. This example was a much darker golden yellow color, but I had trouble finding the nose (granted I had trouble findnig MY nose but I was hopiung for more obvious aromas in the wine0. The Condrieu is farmed in an area of 6-7 villages, where farms are on steep slopes of old granite based soil; this vineyard i 15 years old, and shows creamier slightly sweeter stone fruit, Meyer lemon, orange blossom, a hint of jasmine, green apple and pink grapefruit. Again, in this example, new oak was avoided to show fresh clean flavors from the wine. Aging in neutral oak with no battonage allows fresh clean wines that are very Alsatian in nature.

The rest of the wines, which were red) were lost on my cold, but it was interesting to taste the wines of the area, to compare with my baesline of New World syrah.

I attended Hospieces du Rhone as a Media guest; however, I paid my own travel expenses and lodging, as well as for most of the local supply of kleenex.

Put a cork in it!

winebratsf — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:12:06 +0000

It’s amazing what can happen in the social networking arena. Take, for example, a recent tasting I went to hosted by the Penisula Wine Enthusiasts. As an avid MeetUp member, I know that these organized social gatherings can be a great way to meet new people who are like minded. This group goes a step farther, and partners with Uncorked Ventures, to provide the wine enthusiasts with a great array of unusual wines for sipping and for purchase.

Uncorked Ventures‘ seed was planted when Matt Kraiuse and Mark Aselstine were on a family vacation to South America in 2009. Sharing a passion for good wine and good wine, they decided to grow their avocation in to a business focused on delivering high quality, hard-to-find wines at a fair price to customers who can’t readily access such wines. Given the selections we tasted at the last MeetUp, I’d say they are accomplished this goal nicely.

First, we tasted three selections from South Africa. Not knowing very much about South Africa myself, I was excited to taste these wines and started with 2009 Groenland Sauvignon Blanc had the grassy nose of a New Zealand Sav Blanc, but the palate has soft tropical notes with a touch of green pepper and citrus fruit. If you are a Savvy drinker, BUY this wine; the excellent QPR and interesting flavors will be great for the summer. Next, we moved on to the Slnghook Pinotage. Since I’m not a Pinotage fan, I’m going to skip right to the 2006 Groeland Antoinette Marie Classic, a Bordeaux blend. I enjoyed this wine and tasted dark red fruit with chocolate and coffee, in a smooth and velvety wine. It wasn’t the most complex wine, but it was a nice easy drinking red.

On the other side of the table the little known Americans stood waiting for me. First, a Rhone white from Stolpman in the Santa Ynez Valley, 2007 La Coppa Blanc. This is a somewhat atypical blend of 60% Roussanne with 40% of Viognier co-fermented with the Roussanne, which gives this wine a beautiful aromatic profile. The classic honeysuckle and apricot flavors of the Viognier are combined to give a creamy long finish, with peaches, nectarines, and preserved lemons. this is MUST BUY and with only 260 cases produced, I have a bottle waiting for me if the weather ever warms up.

Another of my favorites, the 2007 Kaena Hale Rhone red, a blend of 65% Grenache and 35% Syrah. It’s no surprise that I loved this wine given my recent addiction to Rhones, but at $18 this can be your house wine. Again, as a very small production wine of only 120 cases, I would RUN OUT AND BUY SOME before it’s gone. In 2007, there was very little water in the vineyards, resulting in low yields and intense fruit flavors of blackberries, cherries, and plums over a chocolate bar.

Finally, we had the 2007 Emerson Brown Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. This is the personal label of Keith Emereson, winemaker at Vineyard 29, and Brian Brown, winemaker at Round Pound. I’m picky about my Napa Cab these days, but this was a nice example that was not overly extracted or bombastic, and there were some beautiful notes of blue and black fruit, bittersweet cocoa, and black current. The finish had a hint of river rocks, which was refreshing and smooth. This is a splurge at $50, although that is very reasonable for a small production Cab these days. BUY this for a special dinner, or hold it in your cellar as it will age nicely for quite some time.

If you’re in the Bay Area, I encourage you to check out the Peninsula Wine Meetup to taste some of these great wines. If you can’t make it out here, check out Uncorked Ventures Explorer Wine Club, and get some of these cool things sent to your door! As someone who gets a lot fo exposure to wines, it’s refreshing and exciting to taste wines that I don’t know, or have not tasted before. I look forward to the next event, where we can try some other new and unusual wines! Thanks guys and keep up the good work.

Happenings!

winebratsf — Sat, 08 May 2010 17:48:02 +0000

Spring has sprung, and summer is starting to show glimpses. A side effect of this season, is that there is a plethora of wine events going on in May and June. A few of the highlights in the next few weeks are:

Tuesday May 11th, the Rose Avengers and Producers (RAP) hosts thier annual Pink Out celebration in San Francisco. From 6:30 – 8:30pm, the celebration of all wines pink features an extensive walk around tasting of 40 wines, still & sparkling, as well as some tasty appetizers. This event does sell out (sorry for the late notice!) and tickets can be purchased online for $35 or if any are left, for $45 at the door. For those of you who can’t make it in person, TasteLive is hosting an online tasting forum with the Mutineer Magazine crew.

Have you ever been to a tasting room with 20 wineries? Well, ok there are more and more coop tasting rooms out there, but how about one housed in a custom crush facility? For those of who are less familiar with the winemaking minutia, a custom crush facility is a place where many wineries / labels can use the same equipment, share costs, and share space. Vinify Wine Services is one of these meccas for up and coming cult wines, in Santa Rosa. It’s housed some of the best botique wines in Sonoma County over the past few years, and many more to come. As the nature of the beast goes, you use a place like this for as long as you need, but then you might outgrow it and use your own facilities for various reasons.

On May 23rd, VINIFY IS HOSTING their annual Open House. This is a rare opportunity for the public to enjoy some 20 labels of delicious juice, for the bargain price of $20 (including a fancy glass). There will be over 40 wines, and you will have the chance to meet the winemakers, bottlewashers, and salespeople – being the same person – in an intimate setting. I hope to see you there to taste some of the following:

Baker Lane
Bevan Cellars
Bjornstad Cellars
Lattanzio Winery
Pfendler Vineyards
Sojourn Cellars
Westerhold Family Vineyards
Calluna Vineyard
Jemrose Vineyard
Barbed Oak Vineyards
Claypool Cellars
Desmond Wines
Frostwatch Vineyard and Winery
Olsen Ogden Wines – a personal favorite of mine
Gracianna Winery
Cinque Insieme Wines
Suacci Carciere Wines

Vinfiy Wine Services is located at 3358 Coffey Lane, Suite D in Santa Rosa. Tickets should be purchased in advance at Local Wine Events and you can reach them at 707-495-4959

On June 5th & 6th Sunset Magazine Celebration Weekend will have several expanded wine seminars and sessions.

With the Glam Camping Compound at the heart of the festivities, Sara Schneider could suggest her favorite bottles for the ultimate “glamping” trip (more details here: http://www.sunset.com/marketplace/camp-glam-00400000066902/)
Expanded wine seminars, including tours through the wines of Washington, Southern Oregon and California’s Central Coast (these always sell out!)
A sneak peek at Savor the Central Coast, Sunset’s new food & wine event that will be held Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in San Luis Obispo County

The Celebration runs all weekend from 10am to 5pm, and admission is $16. Wine Seminars are $10 each, and you can sign up at the event. Susnet is located at 80 Willow Road Menlo Park, CA 94025, schedules and info can be found HERE

Also on June 5th, the Tempranillo Advocates Prodcuers and Amigos Society (TAPAS) is hosting their annual tasting at Ft Mason. TAPAS is the most extensive annual tasting of domestically produced Spanish and Portuguese varietal wines in North America, and the annual tasting is a great time to taste wines produced by TAPAS members from grape varieties indigenous to Spain and Portugal that are now cultivated in America, in a delightful walk-around setting where they may chat with the TAPAS growers and producers. These new and delightful domestic wines originate in Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, and range from crisp, refreshing whites, through big full-bodied reds, to elegant port style wines. This is a unique opportunity to sample wines made from varieties like Tempranillo, Albariño, Garnacha, Graciano, Mourvedre, Touriga, Verdelho, Bastardo and more. Many of our members are limited-production, boutique wineries whose wines are not generally available in stores.

The consumer tasting will run from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Consumer tickets are available at tapas2010.eventbrite.com for $35, or $200 for a pack of 10. Bring your friends! There will be many hard to find wines at this event.

Here I am!

winebratsf — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:20:51 +0000

Having arrived safely in Paso Robles, I am eagerly anticipating the kick off of Hopices du Rhone tonight at the Rhône ‘n Bowl. This event is sure to bring out the athlete in all of us, or at the very least be sure to make us all laugh hysterically as we sip some terriffic Rhône wines.

I myself am sporting a Twisted Oak Ron Dover (brother of Bend) bowling shirt, replete with rubber chicken.

Be sure to tune in to the updates here and on twitter for all of the frivolity this weekend!

Rhône if you want to!

winebratsf — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:23:33 +0000

Rhône around the world. in 11 short days, the penultimate Rhône wine event will commence in Paso Robles. This year, I am jumping up and down on my sofa like Tom Cruise, because I get to attend, along with some of my best blogger friends as well as several hundred Rhone wine lovers from around the world.

At this annual Rhone-a-thon, Hospice du Rhône shows off its wares with a 3 day extravaganza attendees play wine Jeopardy with the 22 Rhône varieties, while taking time to talk to the winemakers, attend seminars, and enjoy special wine paring meals.

In the jam packed three days, we’ll have a history lesson on South African Syrah, a Rose Lunch, two grand tastings, and an exploration of the Washington State Terroir. This will be of particular interest to us bloggers who are attending this years Wine Bloggers Conference, which will be held in Walla walla, Washington. For those of us who are incapable of saying no to an event invitation, there is even a bowling session, where my friends at Mutineer Magazine is challenging us to bowl our best game while drinking some delicious Rhoen. For those of you who have known me for a while, you realize that the only way I bowl (or play pool, or sing karaoke) is when I’ve had multiple shot I don’t drink shots anymore, but with free flowing Rhône , this could get ugly. I promise to hold a magnate to my video card if things get too out of hand.

Given my love of the Syrah and my summertime affair with Rosé, I am very much looking forward to spending the weekend with my other best friends, Grenache and Mourvedre, as well as learning more about the other 19 Rhône varietals. To gear up for HdR, they are presenting 22 Days of Rhône, to help educate the wine community about the 22 Rhône varietals. Hey kids at home! That means you can play alnog. Together with TasteLive, you can taste along online. This week, the featured grape is Grenache, so grab a bottle, taste it, and tweet along with the hashtag #HdR2010.

Speaking of hashtags, have you seen the new HdR iphone app? It’s a slick new interface which greets you with a play on Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover, ” with Hospice du Rhone Rhonely Hearts Club. with this handy iphone app, I can see all of the producers that will be pouring at the event, what varietals they are pouring, and when they are pouring it. Further more, you can narrow the producers down by geographic region, which is helpful if you are trying to explore a new area like South Africa or Washington state. My favorite part of the app has to be the twitter integration however. You can click on the feed, but you can also send a twitter report out from the winery’s producer page directly. That means if you are walking around tasting, there is no need to pull out your notebook – simply click the name of the winery, click tweet it out – and a tweet with the name of the winery and the hashtag is pre-filled for you. Maybe next year, we can click through on the variety details page? I’m not the most geeky iphone user but i LOVE this tool.

So thanks Hospice du Rhone, for taking on the mission of educating us about these 22 grapes. I’m excited at the opportunity to mix, mingle and learn with the best of them.

If you’d like to try to win tickets to HdR, my friend William over at Simple Hedonisms has a contest going – the Question of the week Contest. The generous HdR2010 team is sponsoring ‘Question of the Week, with tickets to the Friday and Saturday tastings ($100 value!). We will combine this with our usual “Question of the Week” with a Rhone theme. (updated) Please post the question on the Simple Hedonisms Facebook Fan site , and a question will be selected for a free ticket, and answered in a blog article. There is ONE MORE CHANCE to win, on April 22nd at the April Sonoma Facebook Wine Meetup April 22nd at Artiste Winery in Healdsburg.

Good luck and look for twitter reports from the field!

When socializing goes mainstream

winebratsf — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:26:43 +0000

What’s a tweetup you ask? Why would you tweet something up? Recently, I had the opportunity to meet and greet with dozens of the Bay Area’s finest, bloggers and wine professionals, as well as just some very cool people at the The Napa Valley Tweetup – Presented by Robert Mondavi Winery.

Earlier in the day, the Social Media Seminar provided an in depth look at how social media is changing the wine industry, and how users are becoming more engaged via blogs and other social media platforms. Then it was time to have some fun! Hidden int he stunning To Kalon Cellar, with it’s giant redwood tanks and awe inspiring barrel cellar, the in crowd assembled to taste Mondavi’s wines and mingle over a social media cocktail. In the rather cavernous dungeon, we were greeted by Gabriel Carrejo, who is the cheerleader behind many digital media tweetups and networking events.

Once inside, atop the catwalk above those giant redwood fermentation tanks, there were stations set up with each of the wines, where we were instructed to check in on FourSquare at east tasting station in the hopes that we might win some swag. More importantly, the social locator allowed us to see who else might have been at the event, and seek out those individuals that we might want to meet, by nature of the geo locating tool. Say what you might about tools like FourSquare – but for social location, networking, and impromptu meetups over a glass of wine, it is an invaluable tool.

As I wandered from station to station, I saw many of my old friends, and was able to reconnect over a glass of wine. In addition, it was a spectacular networking event as I met many more tweeters and industry insiders that were in attendance. The benefit to events such as this are difficult to measure; however, on a personal level, having the ability to meet many people that I have not otherwise had the opportunity to do , and to revisit a winery that I have not been to in a while is invaluable. Changing perception in this business can be challenging; too often, large wineries write people off if they are no longer repeat customers. this is a poor business decision in a challenging economy, as EVERY old customer can be a new customer provided that the experience is a good one.

Mondavi is one such winery that I have been underestimating. Long ago, I was a frequent visitor and a fan. Then I grew up, and started visiting smaller wineries, and other wineries, by passing the monolith as I cruised up 29. On this night, I was shown the light, both in the warm welcome by the Mondavi staff, and in their willingness to embrace social media and us, the Mediaites, by providing an elegantly casual setting where social media users and curiosity seekers mingled, discuss business, blogs, twitter, and just have a good time, puts the Social back in to social media. Don’t underestimate the power of inclusive events such as the tweetup. Personalities such as Hardy Wallace have been instrumental in challenging market perceptions in brands like Murhpy Goode, which are often written off by more experienced wine drinkers (ok fine, me) as the mass produced and overdone wines.

Later that weekend, I stopped by Amista Vineyards (@amistavineyards) in Dry Creek Valley during barrel tasting. An effective user of Twitter, Amista has been attracting tweeters with their personal attention, and inviting tweets promoting their wines and lovely picnice grounds. While out and about, Vicky tweeted that I was only 3 miles away and should stop by. Far be it for me to refuse and invitation, so my friends & I grabbed a picnic and headed out to the grounds behind the tasting room. Having a personal touch with a warm greeting and a welcome sign will bring in people more times than having a cult cab. Wineries should take note – it’s about relationships first, wine second. If you are treat a customer poorly or indifferently, when visiting a tasting room, they are almost certainly not going to becoming a lifetime customer. Treat a customer like a valued friend, and they will cmoe back over and over again. Amista has won my Customer Loyalty award, along with Holdredge, Manzanita Creek, Mounts, and Michel-Schlumburger – to name a few in Sonoma. In Napa, the winners are St. Supery, Titus, and Domaine Carneros, which proves that you don’t need to be a small family winery to understand excellent customer service.

I hope that this tweetup was just one of the first in a long series, as it will go a long way in expanding the value of social media and proving that it’s not just about the static post or tweet anymore. Social media is a living organizsm, and requires maintenance, just like freindships.

Special thanks to Robert Mondavi Winery, Vintank, Amista, and all of my new & old social media buddies who are now valued friends (and I can’t list them all so here are a few of my rockstars, who mentor me and are just generally awesome)

D is for Dry!

winebratsf — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:40:48 +0000

Ok so Dry Creek is a region, but I wanted to be sure that everyone knew about passport. Technically, it’s also a wine, so I’ll also tell you about Dry Lands Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

First, the Passport to Dry Creek is coming up in April. 46 wineries open their doors wide, and showcase their best wines and hospitality. Passport is a unique event, since there are limited ticket sales, and all of the wineries have amazing themes, food, and wines to share. There will be themes galore including Alice in Wonderland, Western, Mardi Gras, Circus, and Belly Dancing. Most wineries feature live entertainment!

Tickets for the weekend are $120, and Sunday only tickets are $70. While it seems spendy, the exclusivity of the event coupled with the small wineries that are open just fro the event make for an amazing weekend. I went last year, and was delighted by the event. this is a great alternative to the larger Wine Road events, as it is more limited and there are fewer crowds. I hope I’ll see you there!

Next up is the 2009 Drylands Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. We are having a touch of false spring here in the Bay Area, and it’s nice to have a crisp white to put me in the mood. The wine smells of gooseberries and 7-up, and has ripe citrus flavors, and lime zest. There is a touch of New Zealand grassiness, but it is very subtle. I am really enjoying this wine, and at $16-19, it’s a great priced summer sipper. I hope you go out and enjoy this as well! STRONG BUY

I love Dry Creek, and I would pay any amount of money to enjoy my time there. The wine however, was graciously provided by my friends at Benson Marketing. Thanks!

D&D ain’t just for freaks and geeks anymore!

winebratsf — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:01:54 +0000

D&D. Those two letters evoke so many memories for those of us who grew up in the time of TRON, Atari, and The Dukes of Hazzard. You remember D&D, right? Yes, that that obnoxious role playing game with pewter dragons and triangular playing boards in the 70s and 80s? Yes, I mean Dungeons & Dragons, the full time obsession of most of my male contemporaries for the better part of 10 years.

FORTUNATELY, I am NOT actually referring to the Freaks & Geeks Game of Champions in this post. THe D&D I speak of is the penultimate event for Petite Sirah lovers, hosted by P.S. I Love YOu, the trade organization dedicated to furthering the adventures of Petite Sirah producers and lovers.

Dark & Delicious is the quintessential Petite Sirah food & wine event which is held once a year. This year, it will be on February 19th at Rock Wall Wine Company on the old Alameda Naval Base.

If you know anything about Petite Sirah, you know it is a dark and brooding beast that will leave your teeth purple and your tongues numb. But y7ou will love it. Petite Sirah is the colloquial name for Durif, which is the result of a Peloursin grape being pollinated by Syrah. It was often referred to as Petite Sirah, because people mistakenly thought the grapes were small Syrah grapes, and thus a legend was born. The newly created offspring was named for François Durif, a botanist at the University of Montpellier, France. Because of it’s high resistance to downy mildew, it was widely cultivated in the early 20th century; however, the mass produced wine wasn’t exactly complex, and so there poor Petite Sirah was relegated to being a filler wine for low brow jugs everywhere. Even today, it is almost purely a new world wine, but baby you’ve come a long way!

So far, there will be 41 producers pouring at this event, which will also have some great food pairings. I am really looking forward to this event, because i will get to taste some old favorites like Twisted Oak and Mounts Family Winery, but also because I will have the change to taste 40 OTHER Petite Sirahs! Tickets are $60 per person in advance or $70 per person at the door. Yes, I know that it’s a lot of money, but where else can you taste this much PET with this fabulous food?

Can I ask you a personal question?

winebratsf — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:01:24 +0000

Why are you so in to pinot! I mean it’s like a thing for you.

Yes, that is a line from the movie Sideways, in which Pinot Noir played a central character, and yet, it is so true in my world. For me, Pinot Noir has a certain j’ai n’est c’est quoi, that certain something that you cannot put a name on. It has an allure, a mystery, that cannot quite be explained with worlds.

Pinot is so diverse. Yes, you can probably say that about many varietal(as my friend Randy pointed out recently) but Pinot in particular has such a wide variety of styles, even within a small growing area. There are hundreds of micro climates that influence pinot, just as the fog influences the weather. Pinot Noir is grown around the world, and varies greatly. And yet, it’s made from the same grape. Are these wines different? Are they the same? Is there a commonality you can find? All of these things inspire me to seek out new pinot noirs.

This Passion for Pinot, leads me to return to my favorite stomping grounds in the Russian River time and time again. It also leads me to spend a LOT of money on Pinot noir, and to attend every Pinot tasting I can including Pinot Days, the huge tasting at Ft. Mason, and the Pinot Noir Summit. This year, I was delighted to be invited to be a judge for the Pinot Noir Shootout, which is where we, the panelists, tasted literally hundreds of entrant wines for final voting and inclusion in the Finals at the Summit. BOY oh boy were there some interesting wines during the judging! There were good, there were bad, and there were down right scary. OF course, there was also the sublime and the occasionally off wine, which is to be expected in any large tasting.

The time has come to put our judges hats (and taste buds) to the test at the 8th Annual Pinot Noir Summit, presented by Affairs of the Vine, on February 27, 2010.. As a wine consumer, you can bring your taste buds along to taste what we taste and make your own decisions on the winners and losers. This is a rare opportunity for you to taste the top wines blind, and vote for your favorite. An added feature is that we tally the votes by male / female, in an effort to see if gender effects taste.

If you saw my post on last year’s summit. you will see that not only do the gender of the tasters matter, but the judges and the public also had different opinions. That is part of the fun of these events – you can fancy yourself a wine judge for a day! In addition, the Pinot Noir Summit offers some world class seminars on Pinot Noir. This year, some of the topics are:

When Pinot Sparkles! Sparkling wine is traditionally made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and / or Petite Munier. Taste some examples of Blanc de Noir, the sparking Pinot noir, and find out how these wines are made.
Food & Wine Pairings – What should you pair with your Pinot? With such a wide variety of styles out there, one Pinot is not equal to another. Taste for yourself!
Winemaking 101 - Pinot Noir is called the heartbreak grape, and for good reason. Find out what the unique challenges of pinto producers are, and what decisions are made when making a world class wine.
Discovering New Stars – What’s hot in Pinot Noir these days? Ever since Sideways launched Pinot in to the stratosphere, there have been rockstars emerging. Taste some of the latest and learn what sparked their interest.
It’s a Small World – A Global perspective on Pinot Noir – Pinot is produced around the world. what makes and Oregon Pinot different from a Santa Maria Valley Pinot? What about Chile? burgundy? It’s all the same grape, so why are the wines so different?
Sustainable? Organic? Bio Dynamic? What is all this…manure and what impact does it have on the wine? The subject has been a hot debate in the industry, and you can hear frm the farmers as they share the wine they produce.

Once you taste the wines blind, and participate in some of these fantastic discussions, you will be invited to a Pinot Noir reception, where the bottles are revealed, and you can see what you voted for. This is one of my favorite parts of the summit, because there are often surprises thre. Will you love that $100 wine? Or will you love the budget bottle? Find out!

Finally, the awards will be announced, and the Shootout Winners will be announced. Go Pinot!

The full day of events is $125, and worth twice that amount. But, if you’re in a hurry or on a budget, you can opt to attend the evening reception only for $75.

I hope you can join us, and see our winning wines!

Signed, Pinot Princess