TAPAS Grand Wine Tasting: Tempranillo and Friends in San Francisco

Posted on June 18, 2013 by CraigTG

TAPAS (the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society) brings their 6^th annual Grand Wine Tasting of Tempranillos and other wines made from grapes native to the Iberian Peninsula back to San Francisco this weekend. The 2013 TAPAS Grand Wine Tasting will feature over 35 wineries at the Golden Gate Club (135 Fisher Loop, The Presidio, San Francisco) on Sunday, June 23, between 2:00 and 5:00 pm. Tickets are $60 per person and can be purchased here.

This event is an enjoyable opportunity to focus on varietals that aren’t as commonly found in North America. Many TAPAS members are limited-production, family-owned wineries and will be pouring small lot wines that are not widely available. All of the wines poured at the TAPAS Grand Wine Tasting must be at least 75% made from grapes such as Albariño, Carignan, Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Graciano, Malvasia, Mencia, Mourvèdre, Palomino, Tempranillo, Tinta Cão, Torrontes, Touriga Naçional, Verdejo, and Verdelho. And if Touriga Naçional is around, that means there will be Port. –> please click here to continue reading –>

Get a Taste of Something New: The Vinoteca “Get a Taste” Event in Santa Rosa

Posted on June 15, 2013 by CraigTG

Want to “get a taste” of great wine from wineries you’re probably not familiar with? There’s a fantastic way coming up in Santa Rosa next Saturday for you to check out 15 small production wineries, all under one roof, along with a generous spread of food choices to enjoy. We’re talking about the 6^th Annual “Get a Taste” event at Vinoteca/Vinify (3358 Coffey Lane, Suite D, Santa Rosa, 707-542-3292). Head on over to this state-of-the-art winemaking facility on June 22 and you won’t regret it.

This wine tasting opportunity runs between 12:00 and 4:00 pm on the 22^nd. Based on the wineries participating, you can probably expect to “Get a Taste” of varietals such as Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. You should find a few Rosés there as well.

Tickets for the event are just $20 in advance, and can be purchased here. Your admission includes samples from all 15 wineries, a wide variety of small bites, chances to talk to the actual winemakers, and a commemorative wine glass. If you aren’t able to buy tickets in advance you can probably get them at the door, but the price will go up to $25 so just go ahead and get your tickets now.

Ziggy at Sojourn Cellars

The wineries scheduled to pour at Vinoteca “Get a Taste” are Argot Wines, Baker Lane Vineyards, Bjornstad Cellars, Calluna Vineyards, Couloir Wines & Straight Line Wine, Cowan Cellars, Desmond Wines, Frostwatch Vineyard & Winery, Lattanzio Wines, Olson Ogden Wines, Pfendler Vineyards, Sojourn Cellars, Super Sonoman Wine, Townley Wines, and Westerhold Family Vineyards.
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Santa Barbara Wine Festival: The Best Way To End June

Posted on June 2, 2013 by CraigTG

OK, everybody, let’s all travel to Santa Barbara and taste some wine. The Santa Barbara Wine Festival™ is taking place at the end of this month with delicious wine, outstanding food, and hopefully a dinosaur or two. If you haven’t been before, this is a fun outdoor event (with plenty of shade) and the weather will probably be in the low to mid 70s.

On Saturday, June 29, the 2013 Santa Barbara Wine Festival™ takes place between 2:00 and 5:00 pm at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. You will find wine from 60 premier Central Coast wineries complimented with sweet and savory delights provided by 30 food purveyors.

Watching the Crowd at the Santa Barbara Wine Festival

There was an impressive wine for everybody at last year’s Festival: white wines included Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Torrontes and Malvasia Bianca; red wines included Dornfelder, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Touriga, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. There were also plenty of Rosés to compare and contrast. Adding to the fun was an animatronic dinosaur monitoring everyone’s behavior as he stood sentry next to the bougainvillea.

Admission to the event is $95 per person or $70 each for Museum Members if you purchase your tickets in advance which you can do here. If tickets are still available, they will be sold at the Museum starting at 10 am on the day of the event for $105 per person so it may be safer to just order them now.
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It’s Regatta Time: The Annual Taste of Howell Mountain

Posted on May 30, 2013 by CraigTG

It’s almost time for the 18th Annual Taste of Howell Mountain Wine Tasting and Auction at Charles Krug Winery on Saturday, June 15th, from 12:00 to 5:00 pm. Come join the party at 2800 Main Street (Highway 29) in St. Helena and indulge in the fabulous wines of Howell Mountain accompanied by gourmet food. Tickets for the event are $125 and can be purchased here.

For 2013, the Annual Taste of Howell Mountain is taking on a nautical theme, morphing into “The Howell Mountain Cup – A Wine Tasting Regatta” in honor of the America’s Cup Summer of Racing in San Francisco from July 4 – September 21.

View from CADE Winery, on Howell Mountain

There will be 40 wineries pouring their wines at the event including some of our favorite purveyors such as Arkenstone Vineyards, Blue Hall Vineyard, Bremer Family Winery, CADE, Charles Krug Winery, Cimarossa, Cornerstone Cellars, Duckhorn Vineyards, Dunn Vineyards, Howell at the Moon, La Jota Vineyard Co., Lamborn Family Vineyards, Neal Family Vineyards, Notre Vin, O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery, Retro Cellars, Robert Craig Winery, and SPENCE. To see the complete list of participating wineries, go here. –> please click here to continue reading –>

Taste of Mendocino – A Wonderful Opportunity in San Francisco

Posted on May 27, 2013 by CraigTG

Need to plan your next getaway? If you will be in or near San Francisco on Tuesday, June 11, you should go to the 2013 Taste of Mendocino event taking place between 5:00 and 7:00 pm at the Golden Gate Club (135 Fisher Loop, The Presidio, San Francisco).

Come meet representatives from Mendocino County, a rural county of striking natural beauty, friendly small towns, and excellent wineries just 90 miles north of San Francsico. On June 11th, spend a few hours sipping delicious wine and planning future trips while winemakers, brewmasters, farmers, chefs, innkeepers, and other local artisans share samples of their products and information about this area’s diverse offerings. Admission to Taste of Mendocino is only $25 person, and during the event attendees can taste wine from over 35 wineries all under one roof.

You should go here now to purchase tickets in advance, as the price at the door will be $35 (cash only).

Gerard’s Paella, at the Yorkville Highlands Wine Festival

Come to Taste of Mendocino and learn about attractions and organizations such as the B. Bryan Preserve, Mendocino Art Center, Mendocino County Museum, Mendocino Theatre Company, Point Arena Lighthouse, the Skunk Train, and Ukiah Players Theatre.

Or, get information about events such as the Taste of Redwood Valley (June 14 – 16), Bite Hard Boonville Road Race (June 29), Ukiah’s Sundays in the Park (Summer), Mendocino Music Festival (July), Willits Frontier Days (July), Yorkville Highlands Wine Festival (August), WineSong (September), Paul Bunyan Days (September), Ukiah Country Pumpkinfest (October), Hopland Passport Wine Weekend (October), World Championship Abalone Cook-Off (October), the Wine and Mushroom Festival (November), Crab, Wine, and Beer Days (January), Mendocino Coast Whale Festivals (March), and the Boonville Beer Festival (May).
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SEVEN % SOLUTION Wine Tasting: Time to Try Something New

Posted on May 4, 2013 by CraigTG

Here’s an event that’s new and fun: The SEVEN % SOLUTION Wine Tasting. Next Saturday, Bergamot Alley (328A Healdbsurg Avenue, Healdsburg, 707-433-8720) hosts a wine tasting focused on less-common varietals such as Vermentino, Picpoul, Cinsault, and Aglianico. This is an exciting opportunity to visit Healdsburg, enjoy well-crafted wines, and discover some new varietals (and wineries) you hadn’t been exposed to before. This tasting event runs between 3:00 and 7:00 pm on May 11, and tickets are $40 per person. Please go here soon to purchase your tickets, as the event is expected to sell out.

The wine tasting’s name comes from the group’s calculation that roughly 93% of the North Coast Appellation vineyard acreage is planted to eight major grape varietals (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, etc.). The remaining 7% of acreage is home to numerous lesser known varietals and while these varietals may be heavily planted in their respective native lands (France, Spain, Portugal, etc.) they remain largely unknown to many California wine consumers. Some of the “seven percent” varietals you can expect to taste at SEVEN % SOLUTION include: Trousseau, Semillon, Montepulciano, Chenin, Picpoul, Grenache, Touriga Nacional, Albariño, Mourvèdre, Vermentino, Gamay, Ribolla Gialla, Counoise, Barbera, Grenache Blanc, Cinsault, Carignan, St. Laurent, Tinta Cão, Aglianico, and Verdelho.

Broc Cellars

The wineries at SEVEN % SOLUTION are embracing varietals which show tremendous potential for making delicious, expressive and balanced terroir-driven wines. Creating wines that retain varietal correctness while also exhibiting characteristics true to their California soils and climate is part of the challenge for these winemakers. Participating wineries include: Arnot-Roberts, Bedrock Wine Co., Broc Cellars, Dirty & Rowdy Family Winery, Forlorn Hope Wines, Idlewild Wines, Jolie-Laide Wines, Leo Steen Wines, Massican, Matthiasson, RPM Wines, Ryme Cellars, Stark Wine, The Scholium Project, Two Shepherds, Unti Vineyards, and Wind Gap.
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Come Taste Alexander Valley, Twenty Eight Times

Posted on April 29, 2013 by CraigTG

In just a few weeks, Taste Alexander Valley unfolds over the weekend of May 17-19, 2013, in Sonoma County’s majestic Alexander Valley. Festivities begin on Friday night with an outdoor gala at Trione Vineyards and Winery. On Saturday and Sunday, May 18-19, twenty eight wineries will open their vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms for guests to enjoy the latest releases of their world class wines alongside wine and food pairings, live entertainment, and special wine discounts. The wineries will be welcoming guests between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm each day.

Full details for the weekend, a map of participating wineries, and tickets are available here. Passes for both Saturday and Sunday are $65 in advance and $75 at the door. Sunday-Only tickets are available for $45 in advance and $55 at the door. There are also significantly reduced designated driver tickets available ($20 in advance for weekend, $15 in advance for Sunday only).

The Pool at Francis Ford Coppola Winery

Some of our favorite wineries participating in the 2013 Taste Alexander Valley are deLorimier Winery, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Hawkes Wine, Medlock Ames, Stonestreet Winery, Stryker Sonoma, Stuhlmuller Vineyards, Trione Vineyards and Winery, and White Oak Vineyards and Winery.

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Two Guys From Napa

with Wine Country Travel Advice