It’s almost time for the 3^rd Annual West of West Wine Festival on August 2-4, 2013, so don’t miss your chance to celebrate the finest wines of West Sonoma Coast.  Join the area’s top producers and growers at a weekend of wine tasting, seminars, and award-winning cuisine.  Most of the WOW events will be held at The Barlow facility in downtown Sebastopol, so come on over and enjoy some of the most acclaimed cool‐climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah wines produced today.

To make things easier for you, the West of West (WOW) Wine Festival activities include two Grand Tasting events, one on Saturday August 3^rd between 3:00 and 6:00 pm and one on Sunday August 4^th between 1:00 and 4:00 pm.  These are rare and exciting opportunities to conveniently taste the wines of more than 40 producers and growers whose high-quality wines have been made from grapes grown in areas such as Annapolis, Fort Ross/Seaview, Occidental, Freestone, Green Valley and the Sebastopol Hills.  If you’re already booked for something else on the 3^rd, you may want to know that the Grand Tasting on the 4^th actually comes with a lower entrance price.

Due to the popularity of the West of West Wine Festival, a few activities quickly sold out but you can still get tickets for most events including Winemaker Dinners on August 2^nd and the Grand Tastings.  Keep reading and we’ll tell you more, and then for complete details about the Festival and to purchase tickets please go here.

West of West Wine Festival – Friday, August 2

The West of West Wine Festival will kick off on Friday evening  with a series of intimate Winemaker Welcome Dinners.   Seats at the table are available at:

• Halleck Vineyard, where you will sip wines on the deck, while gazing at Mt. St. Helena in the distance, and then enjoy a five-course gourmet dinner prepared and served by the Halleck sons with courses paired to a selection of Halleck Vineyard wines.  ($140 per person)
• Joseph Phelps Vineyards, where you can help celebrate Joseph Phelps’ 40^th Anniversary at their charming Guest Center in Freestone with a multi-course dinner paired with a selection of the finest bottlings from the winery, all hosted by Bill Phelps.  ($175 per person)

Please note that in order to purchase a ticket for a Winemaker Dinner, the person must also purchase a ticket to either Saturday’s or Sunday’s Grand Tasting.

 

West of West Wine Festival – Saturday, August 3

Saturday’s full schedule for the West of West Wine Festival takes place at The Barlow Event Center (6770 McKinley Avenue, Sebastopol).  This action-packed day begins with a Seminar Series which includes a boxed lunch at intermission.

• From 10:00 to 11:30 am, the first seminar is “Diamonds in the Sky:  Taste the Terroir of the Fort Ross – Seaview AVA” where you will be guided through the AVA from North to South.
• From 11:30 am to 12:45 pm, enjoy a boxed lunch and maybe explore The Barlow a little.  The former Barlow Apple Factory has been reinvented to better serve the community.  Bringing together the best local artisans, the Barlow has (or will have) cheese makers, coffee roasters, bakeries, produce vendors, butchers, fish mongers, and other specialty retailers.
• From 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm, the second seminar is “Syrah with a Unique Perspective” which features eleven wines from seven different regions.

The Seminar Series (Saturday) and Vineyard Tours (Sunday) are available at a combined price of $200 per person.

Shortly after the second seminar, the Grand Tastings start.  The first West Of West Wine Festival Grand Tasting takes place between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm on Saturday and offers a rare opportunity to collectively taste the wines of over 40 producers and growers from western Sonoma County.    Winery participants include Benovia, Ceritas, Cobb Wines, Flowers Vineyard & Winery, Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery, Freeman Vineyard & Winery, Halleck Vineyard, Hartford Family Winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, Lattanzio Wines, Littorai, Marimar Estate Vineyards & Winery, Pahlmeyer, Paul Hobbs Winery, Peay Vineyards, Ramey Wine Cellars, Siduri and Sojourn Cellars.  For a full list of participating wineries, please go here.

Grand Tasting tickets are $125 per person for Saturday.   Complementing the wines at the Grand Tasting will be foods from popular local purveyors such as Hog Island Oysters, Boccalone, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Co., Liberty Ducks, Rocker Oysterfeller’s, Village Bakery and Taylor Maid Farms.

Wrapping up the day on August 3^rd is a Grand Dinner from 6:30 to 10:00 pm, featuring a “Low Country” seafood dinner prepared by James Beard finalist Steven Satterfield of the famed Miller Union Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia.  This lovely dinner quickly sold out.

 

West of West Wine Festival – Sunday, August 4

On Sunday, guests who have purchased a combination WOW Seminar Series and Vineyard Tour ticket (see above) will start their day with Vineyard Tours held at select wineries from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.  Your destination may be Freeman Vineyard (1300 Montgomery, Sebastopol, 707-823-6937), Halleck Vineyard (3785 Burnside Road, Sebastopol, 707-829-8170), or Doc’s Ranch Vineyard (3945 Doc’s Ranch Road, Occidental, 415-342-4303).  Learn about the extreme growing conditions, clonal selections or just take in a typical morning in this beautiful region (and your visit includes a boxed lunch).  

Wrapping up the day, and marking the end of the 2013 West of West Wine Festival, is a second Grand Tasting at The Barlow from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.  The same wineries and food purveyors will be available as during Saturday’s Grand Tasting (please see above), but tickets for Sunday are only $100 per person.

Once again, for complete details on the Festival and/or to purchase tickets, please go here. 

 

The West of West Wine Festival is brought to you by the West Sonoma Coast Vintners (WSCV),  an association of wineries and growers who are passionate about farming wine grapes on the coastline of Sonoma County.  WSCV is dedicated to preserving and protecting the history, landscape and culture of the West Sonoma Coast, and to promoting its wines to consumers, trade, and the media.