Go ahead and block off the evening of Tuesday, October 15, because you’re going to want to attend the 10^th Annual Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting Event in San Francisco.  The occasion honors wineries from around the world that delivered the best overall performance in Wine & Spirits Tastings throughout the year and attendees have the opportunity to taste wines from all of the honorees.  One of the best international-in-scope Food and Wine events around, this year’s celebration takes place between 6:30 and 8:30 pm at City View at METREON (135 4^th Street, San Francisco, 415-369-6000). 

Bergstrom Wines, one of six wineries from the Willamette Valley at the 2013 Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting

Start the fun with Champagne from Louis Roederer and Oysters from Hog Island Oyster Co., enjoy several pours from the 2013 Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the Year, and then finish your experience off with Port from Niepoort and Chocolate Truffles from Sôcôla Chocolatier.  This is a sublime opportunity to sample wines from California, New York, Oregon, and Washington at the same time as international wines from Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa and Spain.

Errazuriz, one of the Chilean wineries at the Top 100 Tasting

Since its inception, this event has been produced in San Francisco with Bay Area chefs and local artisanal purveyors serving small bites to complement the bottlings of the honored wineries. Tickets for the Top 100 Tasting Event are available online for $105 each or VIP Early Admission (allowing you to enter an hour earlier at 5:30 pm) is $150 per person. Ticket purchasers will also receive a one-year subscription to Wine & Spirits magazine.  To buy your tickets, please go here.

Curious to learn more about the wineries that made the Wine & Spirits Top 100 this year?  The Wineries of the Year will all be profiled in the Winter issue of Wine & Spirits, available on news stands nationwide on October 15th, 2013.

As an introduction, here are some of this year’s domestic winners:

• Bergström Wines (Newberg, Oregon)
• Calera (Hollister, California)
• Cristom (Salem, Oregon)
  

  Cristom

   

• Drew Family Cellars (Philo, California)
• Dusted Valley (Walla Walla, Washington)
• Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards (Sonoma, California)
• Hermann J. Weimer Vineyard (Dundee, New York)
• LIOCO Winery (Santa Rosa, California)
• Mark Ryan Winery (Woodinville, Washington)
• Qupé (Los Olivos, California)
• Robert Craig Winery (Napa, California)
• Robert Keenan Winery (St. Helena, California)
• Truchard Vineyards (Napa, California)
• von Strasser Winery (Calistoga, California)
• Williams Selyem (Healdsburg, California)

And here are some of the international honorees:

• Antinori (Bolgheri, Italy)
• Château de Beaucastel (Southern Rhone, France)
  

  Vines at Chateau de Beaucastel

• Concha y Toro (Santiago, Chile)
• Cune (Rioja, Spain)
• d’Arenberg (McLaren Vale, Australia)
• Dr. Loosen (Mosel, Germany)
• Errazuriz (Aconcagua Valley, Chile)
• Estate Argyros (Santorini, Greece)
• Louis Roederer (Champagne, France)
• Niepoort (Duoro, Portugal)
• Penfolds (Barossa Valley, Australia)
• Produttori del Barbaresco (Barbaresco, Italy)
• Royal Tokaji (Tokaji, Hungary)
• Saint Clair Family Estate (Marlborough, New Zealand)
• Zorzal (Mendoza, Argentina)

To see the complete list of wineries participating in the 2013 Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting Event, or to purchase tickets by October 14, please go here.

Truffles from Socola Chocolatier

In addition to wineries, Wine & Spirits magazine also recognizes the Bay Area’s New & Notable Restaurants and local artisan purveyors each year.  Therefore, in between sips of wine you you will be able to sample offerings from establishments such as A16, Avedano’s, Coqueta, Hog Island Oyster Co., Kika’s Treats, Lolinda, Mr. Espresso, St. Vincent, Sour Flour, and Tribune Tavern.  Started by sisters Susan and Wendy Lieu, Sôcôla Chocolatier returns this year with their handmade truffles (our favorites last year were the Pumpkin Burnt Caramel Truffles and Sriracha Flying Rooster Truffles). 

The Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting Event raises money and awareness for groups that work to protect water resources, and a portion of ticket prices will be donated to San Francisco Baykeeper.  Founded in 1989, their mission is to protect and enhance the water quality of the San Francisco Bay for the benefit of its ecosystems and human communities. They are one of twelve members of the California Coastkeeper Alliance, a non-profit organization that coordinates, supports and enhances the work of local California Waterkeepers in order to ensure Californians enjoy clean water and a healthy coast.

We thoroughly enjoyed last year’s Top 100 Tasting Event and highly encourage you to attend this year’s  event.  Parking is easy (the 5^th Street and Mission Street Garage is across the street) or you can take public transportation (City View at Metreon is  just one block south of the Powell Street Station BART exits at 4^th and Market).  Don’t miss your chance to taste highly acclaimed wines, meet the winemakers, feast on delicious bites, and enjoy an array of artisan specialties.