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Exciting Virtual Wine Country Encounters

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Each year we plan on taking a trip to a far off wine country or to a wine country we have not visited. With the Pandemic and other issues, travel afar is not possible. But we can see the world-famous wine country in a virtual experience. Here are some exciting virtual wine events to mark on your calendar.

virtual wine with National Geographic
Wine Country Around the Globe

Wine Country with National Geographic

The SOMM Journal, in partnership with National Geographic and SommCon are inviting consumers and wine professionals to a free one-of-a-kind wine tasting Webinar series called Geographic Digest.

Winemakers from all parts of the world will participate in a virtual seminar and wine tasting event. Through the company, BottleTribe, participants will be able to purchase some of the wines in advance of the Webinar. 

The first webinar, “UNIQUE REGIONS OF THE WORLD,” will be on September 24, 2020: Wine, and thankfully great wine, is made today around the world. Eight winemakers from different wine countries around the world will be on hand to showcase wines unique to a particular landscape, soil, climate, and other factors. Although we cannot travel until a vaccine arrives, this can help us get through the doldrums of staying sheltered.

  • Juliette Monmousseau, CEO of Bouvet-Ladubay in the fertile Loire Valley will introduce a bottle fermented sparkler made from 100% Cabernet Franc.
  • From Germany’s Rheingau to a historic castle where only Riesling has been cultivated for over 300 years, Estate Manager/Managing Director, Stefan Doktor of Schloss Johannisberg will share a classic dry Riesling. 
  • From the windswept sandy soils of Sardinia’s southern coast, we’ll taste the unique Carignano with Winemaking Consultant, Giorgio Marone of Agricola Punica.
  • From Napa Valley, Director of Winemaking, Ralf Holdenried, will introduce Black Stallion Estate Winery.
  • From Paso Robles, Director of Winemaking for J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines, Steve Peck will share their Signature Collection Cabernet Sauvignon.
  • Down the cool Pacific to Chile’s Cachapoal Valley we’ll taste a blend of five red French varieties grown in the foothills of the Andes, with Chief Winemaker, Cristian Vallejo of VIK Winery. 
  • In Australia’s McLarenvale, Winemaker & Joint Managing Director, Richard Angove, Angove Family Winemakers, will dive into the deep purple hues of a single vineyard Shiraz.
  • And from Europe’s Atlantic coast, CEO Jorge Rosas of Ramos Pinto will take participants to the steep slopes of the Douro with a thoroughly unexpected flavor from one of Porto’s most historic producers.

Take the opportunity and pre-register now. 

Duckhorn’s Cheese and Wine Event

Wine and Cheese Event on September 25 – 4 to 6 pm.

Enjoy three Point Reyes cheese delights matched with wines from the Migration, Goldeneye, and Calera labels. This is a virtual event which includes the cheese and wines sent to your home. The event host is Jill Giacomini Basch, a co-owner of Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co. and the winemakers. The date is September 25, 4 to 6 pm. Complete details and Ticket Purchase information.

September is California Wine Month

how wine is made
Harvested grapes ready for the stainless steel fermenting tanks

There are many exciting virtual events taking place across all of California wine country. September is California Wine Month, with the grape harvest taking place all month long. Check the Virtual Event Calendar and see which ones meet your wine fancy. Take advantage of these one-of-a-kind special tastings. See California Wines

Quivira Farm-to-Table Dinner Series for 2016

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quivira-vines

Quivira Introduces New Farm-to-Table Dinner Series for 2016

Introducing a new Quivira Farm-to-Table Dinner Series for this summer. The Farm-to-Table Dinners showcase talent from some of the Bay Area’s top chefs and the winery’s own bounty of Biodynamic and organic foods. Beginning in July, Quivira will partner with four chefs on a series of multi-course menus using only ingredients and wines grown on the Quivira Vineyards Biodynamic gardens in Dry Creek Valley.

The Lineup of Chefs for Quivira Food and Wine

  • The Farm-to-Table Dinner Series will kick off on July 23 with a menu crafted by chef de cuisine Anthony Jimenez of The Table, one of San Jose’s premier restaurants. The Table is renowned for contemporary American cuisine and driven by a passion for genuine hospitality, recognizing that many of life’s best memories are created around a table.
  • On August 13, Quivira will present a Mexican regionally-inspired meal prepared by executive chef Sophina Uong of Oakland’s Calavera. Chef Uong will make Oaxacan-focused fare inspired by the region’s ingredients, artists and craftspeople.
  • The August 27 event will showcase cuisine from Madera, the acclaimed restaurant at Menlo Park’s luxurious Rosewood Sand Hill Resort. Madera’s chef pays homage to the Bay Area’s history and culinary traditions, creating fresh and cohesive dishes inspired by the region’s bounty.
  • The final event takes place on September 18, featuring cuisine prepared by the executive chef and owner of San Francisco’s AQ, Mark Liberman. AQ is known for its innovative use of locally-sourced produce, meats, fish and dairy prepared with classical French techniques.

Each menu in the Farm-to-Table Dinner Series will be carefully paired with a selection of Quivira’s finest wines. Guests will have the pleasure of enjoying their meal on the estate where the ingredients were grown and harvested. The events will all be held at Quivira Vineyards beginning at 6:00 p.m. The cost is $145, all-inclusive, and early reserved tickets will be available for $130. To purchase tickets call (707) 431-8333 or email [email protected]

Quivira Vineyards is located at 4900 West Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448. The telephone is (707) 431-8333. Additional information is available at www.quivirawine.com.

Biodynamic vineyards at Quivira

Biodynamic vineyards at Quivira

Additional information on the Dry Creek Valley

40 years after Judgement of Paris – strange facts

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chardonnay-paris-block

These are the same vines that created the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay

40 years after Judgement of Paris – strange facts

Both Chateau Montelena and Stags Leap Wine Cellars are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the “Judgement of Paris.” It’s a great anniversary in wine and a great PR event for these two wineries and the entire Napa Valley wine industry. The blind tasting results shocked the world of wine and put the Napa Valley on the map as one of the great wine regions of the world. The tasting took place in Paris and was organized by Steven Spurrier, a London wine merchant. French wine experts blind tasted California wines against the great Bordeaux and White Burgundy wines of France. To the absolute shock of everyone, the top Cabernet Sauvignon was a 1973 Stags Leap Cellars and the top Chardonnay was a 1973 Chateau Montelena, both from the Napa Valley. If you would like to learn the full saga of this famous tasting, read George Taber’s “Judgement of Paris.” George Taber worked for Time Magazine at the time and was the only reporter present at the tasting. The book is a comprehensive look at the events leading up to the tasting, how the tasting was done, and the wine world’s reaction to the outcome. 40 years after the Judgement of Paris, a few strange facts remain that are seldom mentioned in reports of this historic wine tasting event.

Chardonnay grapes not all from the Napa Valley

chardonnay montelena

Agreement to sell Chardonnay

If you visit the Bacigalupi Vineyards’ tasting room near Healdsburg on Westside Road, you will see this framed document. It shows a 1973 agreement made by Charles Bacigalupi to sell 14.165 tons of Chardonnay grapes to Chateau Montelena. These grapes came from the Bacigalupi Vineyards in the Russian River Valley. These old Chardonnay vineyards near the tasting room are producing grapes to this day. It is also known that an additional 20 tons of the 1973 Montelena Chardonnay came from another grower in the Alexander Valley. Exactly how much of the Montelena Chardonnay came from the Napa Valley is not exactly known. We do know that Mike Grgich was then the winemaker at Chateau Montelena and produced this historic Chardonnay.

Stags Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Stags Leap 1972 Cabernet

1972 Cabernet

The reports stated that the 1973 Stags Leap Cellars was the first vintage produced by Warren Winiarski. Folks were raving about the astonishing fact that a first vintage produced by a winemaker could be so good. However, little known to but a few, this was not the first vintage for Stags Leap Wine Cellars. A 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon was produced and that was the first vintage at Stags Leap. Warren Winiarski was not happy with this wine and decided not to release the wine. But before that decision, some of the 1972 made into a few wine shops.

“Bottle Shock” movie loosely based on fact

It is rather amazing that a true factual movie of this event has not been made. Some of you have seen the movie “Bottle Shock.” It is an enjoyable movie but loosely based on the real facts of the Judgement of Paris. Mike Grgich, the winemaker at the time at Chateau Montelena, is not even mentioned in the movie. The saga of the Cabernet Sauvignon tasting is not featured. However, in the works is a film that will be based on George Taber’s book. The screenplay was written by Robert Mark Kamen of “Karate Kid,” “Lethal Weapon 3” and “A Walk in the Clouds” fame.

Additional Information on the 40th anniversary of the Judgement of Paris

 

Two important Wine Country Charity Events

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#LakeCountyRising Charity Wine Auction

The devastating Valley Fire of 2015 destroyed many homes in Lake County. Please help the people of Lake County by your presence at the #LakeCountyRising Charity Wine Auction. Congressman Mike Thompson and grape grower Andy Beckstoffer will be present to assist the legendary auctioneer Fritz Hatton. The auction will take place on March 20, 2016 at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena. Proceeds from the action will be used to support the long-term rebuilding efforts in southern Lake County. Complete information on the action and to reserve your spot are at #LakeCountyRising – Recover, Rebuild, Renew.

Giving Kids Hope at Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa

This fundraising event will take place on May 21, 2016 at the Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa at 5:30 pm. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is pleased to present GIVING KIDS HOPE, an exclusive and interactive food and wine experience featuring Sonoma winemakers from Cast Winery, Gregory James Winery, Paradise Ridge Winery and others. Proceeds will directly support the Research Institute for Children’s Health at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, which aims to improve outcomes for children who suffer from devastating diseases and disorders by accelerating breakthroughs into new treatments and cures. To learn more about the Research Institute for Children’s Health or about opportunities for sponsoring this event, please contact Patrick Savage at 216.368.1191 or [email protected]

A link to the Research Institute For Children’s Health may be found here http://casemed.case.edu/pediatrics/kid. The Institute was formed to further the work of the founder, Mitch Drumm, who discovered the gene which causes Cystic Fibrosis in the 1980s. Of further interest to wine lovers, Andy and David Beckstoffer will be in attendance, as will winemakers from Sonoma and Napa Valley.

TAPAS Society Wine Tasting

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Presidio San Francisco

Presidio San Francisco

TAPAS Society Wine Tasting in the San Francisco Presidio

What a gorgeous setting the Presidio of San Francisco makes for an afternoon of wine tasting! Forty wineries poured a variety of red and white wines of the Spanish grape varieties. Most of the wineries were from California, several other were from Oregon, and two from Arizona. We have been attending the TAPAS (Tempranillo Advocates, Producers, and Amigos Society) Tastings for the last five years. In our view, this was the most impressive of the annual TAPAS tastings, now in its 7th year. We have seen a big increase in the number of Spanish varietals and, more importantly, a big improvement in the quality of the wines.

We only had 2 hours to taste, so we did not stop by all the wineries that were present. Our intent was to try new wineries and their Spanish wines. We skipped ones that we know and love, and that included Abacela, Kenneth Volk and Twisted Oak.

These are the wineries that we thought were making impressive Spanish-style wines:

Baiocchi Wines and Vineyards

The Baiocchi winery is located in the Fair Play region of El Dorado County. The owners do not have a tasting room in Fair Play, but have set up a tasting room in Sutter Creek in Amador County.  There are eight tasting rooms in this lovely gold mining town of the Sierra Foothills. Baiocchi poured three wines, all delicious and well made. We loved the Grenache Sharon’s Vineyard priced at $39.

Bokisch Vineyards

This Lodi winery was very impressive overall in all the white wines. I’m sorry to say we ran out of time to swing by and try their reds. Marcus Bokisch, the owner and winemaker, grew up in Spain and found a spot in Lodi to successfully grow many types of Spanish grapes. The Albariño, Granacha Blanca, and the Verdejo were all superb and priced at $18. We learned from Liz Bokisch, Marcus’s wife, that it is becoming increasingly clear that Lodi has the ideal climate and soil for growing Spanish varietals. So many Lodi wineries are producing Spanish varietal wines that some have nicknamed Lodi “Lodiberia.”

Harney Lane

This is another terrific Lodi winery producing two outstanding Spanish wines. The Albariño is very delicious and I have seen this wine at Whole Foods for $15. The Tempranillo is also excellent at $25.

HillCrestVineyards & Winery

Dyson Demara

Dyson Demara

This was perhaps the star of the show for us at the TAPAS tasting. Owner and winemaker Dyson Demara made the trek down from Roseburg, Oregon, to pour his fantastic wines. Hillcrest Vineyards is the oldest winery in Oregon and said to be the first winery in Oregon to produce a Pinot Noir. Unfortunately, none of the HillCrest wines are distributed in California. Use the online wine shop at the HillCrest Website to order wines.

Tangent Winery

We have had the Tangent Albariño from the Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo several times. It is a tasty wine sold for around $10 and is widely distributed. Perhaps even more enjoyable was the Grenache Blanc, also from the Edna Valley. This is a new wine for Tangent. 1500 cases and the suggested retail price is $17.

Turkovich Family Wines

Luciana Moreno Turkovich

Luciana Moreno Turkovich

We are putting the Turkovich winery on our “must visit” list for the Spring season. Luciana Moreno Turkovich is a young winemaker from Argentina. She grew up in Mendoza where winemaking was a part of her daily life. Luciana and her husband Christopher are the winemakers at Turkovich. They poured four wines all from vineyards in Yolo County. The Albariño may have been the best of the Albariños at the conference. The Tempranillo and the red blend we tried were terrific wines. The Turkovich tasting room is located in Winters, CA.

To learn more about the TAPAS Society, head to their Website: http://www.tapasociety.org/

Big Surprises at the Chilean Wine Tour

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With stops in Chicago and San Francisco to promote the wines of Chile, the Chilean Pro Wine Tour made a surprise announcement to those attending a seminar for the wine media. We attended this event in San Francisco on Tuesday, October 9, and learned that there is a new appellation law in Chile that divides the country’s wine regions vertically into three distinct viticultural areas. The law is so new that moderator Joshua Green, Editor of Wines & Spirits, stated, “Many in the wine community of Chile do not know about the new appellation law as yet.”

Costa, Entre Cordilleras, and Andes Appellations

The reason for the new appellations is that the old ones were too broad and did not benefit the consumer. The old wine appellations amounted to political areas, with little to do with the regions’ soil and climate conditions. As you can see on the Chilean wine map, the new appellations are divided from West to East. The Costa Appellation is influenced more by its marine climate of the Pacific Ocean and, in many areas of the coast, its limestone soils. The Entre Cordilleras zone is made up of the center valleys of Chile, where there are many microclimates and soil types. In general, the temperature range in this zone will be the highest of the three appellations. On the eastern edge of Chile, the Andes Appellation includes the vineyards that are on the slopes of the great Andes Mountain Range. In order for any bottle of wine to be labeled with one of these three appellations, 85% of the wine must be made from grapes from the new zones.

Chilean wine appellations, Costa, Entre Cordilleras, Andes Zone

The new wine map of Chile

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Woodinville – a wine tasting haven

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Who would ever believe that a small city with over 100 tasting rooms could exist without a single vineyard nearby? We are talking about Woodinville, WA, a town with a population of 11,000, situated 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. It all started when Columbia Winery and Chateau Ste. Michelle set up shop in Woodinville many years ago. Slowly but surely, tasting rooms began to spring up here and there. Today Woodinville is a mecca for small family-run wineries. I doubt if there is any city in the U.S. that has more tasting rooms per capita than Woodinville.

We spent two days in Woodinville last week, barely enough time to get the lay of the land. We visited several tasting rooms, having a most enjoyable time and discovering the boutique wines of Washington.

There are a few tasting rooms scattered here and there in Woodinville, but most of them are congregated in two areas, the Hollywood Hills and the Warehouse District.

Hollywood Hills

This area is a mix of tasting rooms, small shops, restaurants and wine bars. Four complexes within walking distance of each other make up the Hollywood Hills area. We started our exploration at the Purple Café and War Bar at 14459 Woodinville Redmond Rd. NE. “The Purple,” as the natives call it, has four locations all centered around the Seattle area. It is a terrific wine bar and one of the best we have experienced. The food is delicious as well. Just a few storefronts away from the Purple, we found very nice wines at the Sparkman Winery and William Church.

In another complex is the Station Pizzeria with the Gorman tasting room and Phillips tasting room adjacent. The three share a patio, and one can order from the Pizzeria and then order samples of wine from either tasting room. No worries about the weather because the heat lamps are always at the ready. It is a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Station Pizzeria in Woodinville

Patio at Station Pizzeria and the Gorman and Phillips tasting room

Warehouse District

The Warehouse District is a breed of a different color than the Hollywood Hills area. It is in a commercial area and as far as I could tell, has nothing but wineries in the industrial complex, perhaps as many as 50. Most of these are working wineries, making their wine in the back of the warehouse and showcasing their wines up front in their tasting rooms. Tasting rooms vary from elaborate to quite simple. At first, we thought the place was a little depressing with no scenic views of hillsides or vineyards. We arrived a little before noon, and the area seemed desolate, with very few wineries open. When we left, hours later, the warehouse area was packed with wine tasters.  Since the wineries are small, you are likely to find the family members and winemakers working the tasting room. That makes for a much more enjoyable visit.

Karen Wagner, owner of Alta Cellars

Owner Karen Wagner works the tasting room at Alta Cellars

The wineries of the Warehouse District are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 5 pm, or for special evening events. All the wineries get their fruit from eastern Washington. At harvest, the grapes are shipped to wineries in the Warehouse District in less than four hours. We ran into one tour van that shuttled visitors to the various tasting room locations with a Hop-on-and-off type tour.

One of the wineries we enjoyed on our Woodinville journey was Page Cellars. Here in a one-minute video where the owner and winemaker Jim Page tells us about his winery and others in the Woodinville area.

Take a look

Top Things to Do in Wine Country in January 2011

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Now is the best time to travel to the wine country. I know it can be cold or rainy this time of year, but it so peaceful and relaxing because the huge crowds are missing. Here are some recommendations for formal and informal events that are happening in wine country in January.

San Francisco: “How Wine Became Modern” + the 20th Annual ZAP Festival

Etienne Meneau, Carafe No. 5, 2008, fabricated 2009

Well, San Francisco is technically not wine country but there are two events that are sure to attract wine lovers. The first one is happening at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, “How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now” on view through April 17, 2011. S.F. MOMA is offering enticing promotions to encourage you to visit this wine exhibit: If you not currently a member, you can receive a 10% discount if you join between now and April 17th. After you visit the exhibit, you can use your ticket stub to receive wine-related discounts in San Francisco and Sonoma County. Additionally, you can enter the SFMOMA Uncorked contest to win a Luxury Wine Adventure in exchange for bringing natural used corks to the museum for recycling. Wow!

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Albariño on the Rise at the Tapas Grand Tasting 2010

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It seems like a lot of California wineries these days are jumping on the Spanish Albariño bandwagon. Why? Because this wine is tasty, crisp, and refreshing. It is a wonderful diversion from the popular varietals of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. It screams for seafood. At the Tapas Grand Tasting we were delighted to find a good number of the wineries pouring samples of Albariño wine.

We love everything about Albariño wine and we drink it often. When we were in Spain in 2007 we visited the tiny town of Cambados. The town is the center of the Rias Baixas wine region where the Albariño grape is almost exclusively grown. We happened to be in Cambados at harvest time. What a treat! There are many very small Albariño vineyards, farmed by homeowners, surrounding Cambados. They passionately farm their vineyards with many using no poisons or fertilizers. We watched at the Martin Códax co-op winery as these farmers proudly brought in their grapes to be part of the co-op bounty.

An Albariño cluster characteristically has two branches, small & large

An Albariño cluster characteristically has two branches, small & large

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TAPAS Wine Tasting 2010 — Our Favorites

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Tapas stands for Tempranillo Advocates, Producers, and Amigos Society. Some 50 wineries poured Tempranillo and other Spanish and Portuguese varietals at Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavilion this past Saturday, June 5th. It was a pleasant but somewhat eerie atmosphere in the Herbst Pavilion, with wineries spread out along the perimeter walls. We are used to four times as many wineries and a ton of trade and media representatives packed like sardines at Fort Mason tasting events. At the Tapas we had plenty of elbow room and, best of all, many opportunities to talk to the winemakers and winery owners.

We spent four weeks in Spain in 2007 and explored the Toro, Ribera del Duero, and Riojo wine regions where Tempranillo is king. Ever since that visit, we have been constantly on the lookout for great-tasting Tempranillo wines. The Tapas tasting is the perfect opportunity for wine lovers like us to discover Tempranillo and other Spanish varietals.

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CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY REGIONS:

Carneros • Livermore • Lodi • Mendocino • Monterey • Napa Valley • Paso Robles • Santa Barbara County • Santa Cruz Mts. • Sierra Foothills • Russian River • Sonoma Valley

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