Simple Hedonisms

Posts Tagged ‘alexander valley’

Earlier this year, Simple Hedonisms reviewed the tasty Long Gamma white blend, so I was quite pleased when I got my hands on a bottle of the Long Gamma red to taste.

Review

Ever have one of those weeks you wanted to clone yourself to get more done? As a lover of Wine Country Events, its a weekend like that, starting tomorrow. Just North Sonoma alone is a hotbed of activity.  Featured below are some of the highlights.

Taste Alexander Valley – Saturday & Sunday 11-4

The folks in Alexander Valley, a wine region in North Sonoma, have outdone themselves with a stunning array of food and  wine pairings, and entertainment to boot at many. 35 wineries, some open only for this event, are pouring great wines, pairing savory wine country food.  Check out previous articles for details. Tickets are no longer available online here, are $75 at door. That’s a bargain for ten hours of Sonoma entertainment.

The event kicked off last night with the Opening Night Gala at Rodney Strong’s rarely open Crown Vineyard. It’s sold out, sorry, I did say to buy early!

Plan your day using  Tips & Suggestions for June 5&6 Taste Alexander Valley.

Russian River Single Night (Single Wines, not people) – Saturday 630-10pm

C. Donatiello Winery
4035 Westside Road
Healdsburg, CA  95448

The Russian River Wine Growers are hosting a new event, this Saturday night, Singles Night. No,  its not a meat market, its for everyone, the ‘Single’ being single varietal (grape ) wines. This fun filled, unique is at C. Donietello Winery. Get there on time for the special tasting in the cellar room that starts at  630. Bring friends to bid on the very cool auction lots, specially designed to win/share with friends. Details here and here. The list of Single Night participating Wineries is pretty spetacular. As of now, some tickets are still available, but have been selling briskly.

8 at the Gate – Sunday, June 6th  11am to 4pm.

8 at The Gate is a special treat if you are a club member of one of these 8 wineries: Balletto Vineyards, Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Dutton Estate Winery, Hanna Winery, Iron Horse Vineyards, Marimar Estate and Taft Street Winery. I am a little miffed about short notice for this event, (I am a member) and overlap to the Taste Alexander Valley event. I know overlap is sometimes inevitable, but it would be nice to see the North Sonoma Wine Road appellations try and co-ordinate; I’d have liked to attend, and spend money at both events.

The event is a traveling farmer’s market with each winery pouring their best wines, offering irresistible wine club discounts and showcasing a local food purveyor and fresh produce from their own winery gardens. For this one special day, you can visit the 8 neighboring wineries, and receive all the privileges of being a member for the day. The wineries are within three miles of each other at the gateway to the Russian River Valley, so it’s a perfect fit for a one-day excursion. Each membership 4 accompanying guests to share in the fun.

Windsor Oaks: Chillin by the Pinot Pond – Saturday & Sunday  11 to 4

Windsor Oaks Vineyards, 10810 Hillview Road, Windsor, CA

Another great venue, only open 18 days a year. Chill Out by the Pinot Pond at Windsor Oaks Vineyards and Winery on Friday June 4^th, Saturday June 5^th and Sunday June 6^th from 11 to 4!  If you have a passion for Pinot, you will love tasting and comparing several their artisan Pinot Noir’s.  Other award winning wines will also be poured.  Order a gourmet box lunch to enjoy pond-side or bring goodies from home.  $10 tasting fee waived with purchase.

Kendall Jackson Farm Stand – Saturday 10-2

The Kendall Jackson Wine Center culinary gardens are home to hundreds of fruit, vegetable and herb varietals from around the globe. It’s the source of fresh produce for our own culinary team and many exclusive restaurants in the Bay Area, and now  sharing their bounty  at the Kendall-Jackson Farm Stand!

• Purchase Heirloom Vegetables from the Gardens
• Chef’s Cooking Demonstrations
• Garden Seminars with Master Gardeners
• Wine Tasting and Education

The first Saturday of each month May through October, starting on Saturday, May 1.

Kickoff of 20th Annual Summer Concert Series at Rodney Strong Vineyards  – Kenny Loggins, Saturday 4 pm

This year’s Rodney Strong Concert Series includes returning greats and winery first-timers that make a stellar lineup for the winery’s 20^th annual concert series.

The season will kick off on June 5^th with Kenny Loggins. As a solo artist Kenny went on to stardom with such top hits as “Whenever I Call You Friend”, “I’m Alright”, “Footloose” and “Danger Zone.” I ran into the head of PR last night at the TAV Gala Event, and was told a few tickets ere still left.

Season passes and individual concert tickets are available here or by calling (707) 869-1595 ext. 4.  Tickets can be purchased in person at the Rodney Strong Vineyards Tasting Room. Doors: 4 p.m./Show: 5 p.m. Tickets VIP: $110/GA: $75. For more information click here.

For additional events, check out the Wine Road and Inside Sonoma websites.

Have a GREAT Weekend enjoying the Simple Hedonisms of Wine Country, cheers!

Unless you have been in a cave, or not reading my blog, (tsk tsk) as a wine lover you know this weekend is the Taste of Alexander Valley, a spectacular wine and food event, where for only $55 (with promo code) you can visit 35 wineries pouring world class wines, paired with gourmet food bites.

Wineries survive on wine sales, and look forward to these events for the opportunity to meet people face to face, try their wines, and if they like them, take some home. During the Taste Alexander Valley, many wineries offer exceptional incentives make that decision a little bit easier.

Winery Sales Promotions this weekend include:

• deLorimier Winery: Is offering  50% off Case only special (mix & match ok)
  • 2004 deLorimier “Mosaic” Meritage ($40 retail)
  • 2005 Preston Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon – Alexander Valley ($36 retail)
  • 2005 Preston Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – Alexander Valley ($52 retail)
  • 2005 Dry Creek Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($24 retail)

  Plus Free Shipping on Orders of 3 or more cases. Limited quantities of above, so don’t wait!

• HANNA: Is offering 15% off any 6 bottle purchases (30% to wine club members).

• Joseph Family Vineyards: Will be offering its Alexander Valley Cabernets at a 10% discount off the regular retail 750 ml bottle price of $40. The wines that will be offered and available for tasting are the 2005 ( 92 pts. Wine Entusiast): $36 [Limited Availability]  and the 2006 ( Double Gold, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competion; 90 pts. Steven Tanzer): $36
• Rodney Strong (Sunday only): Is offering 20% discount on purchases of six bottles or more

• Simi Winery: Will be offering 25% off of any mixed 6 bottle combo except older/library vintages and large format. Also, the famed Sonoma County Chardonnay at $10 a bottle by the case only normally $18 a bottle.
• Sausal Winery: Is offering 15% off any 6-pack and 20% off any case purchase.
• Terroirs Artisan Wines: Is offering 25% discount on the  Palmeri 2005 Syrah Van Ness Vineyard. Regular price is $37.

• Trione Vineyards and Winery: Is offering:
  • 2007 Sauvignon Blanc; regularly $23, during TAV it will be $16 per bottle.
  • “Russian River Blow Out!” Buy a mixed case (4 each) of our 2006 Pinot, 2006 Chardonnay and 2007 Sauvignon Blanc for $269, regularly $384!
  • All guests receive 20% on our 2005 single vineyard Reserve Cabernet and our pre-release 2006 Red Wine (usually ONLY discounted to wine club!) Club members receive 30% off!
  • Social Media and 4Square Gurus – Tweet with #Trione, #TAV10 -  check in, tweet us, post a  pic on Twitter or Facebook and show it to receive the wine club discount on featured wines!
  • VIP Tour and Tastings for 6 to everyone 100^th guest (follow on Twitter w/#Trione and @TrioneWinery)

• White Oak Winery: Will be offering a discount on their 2007 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. Normally $16.00 a bottle: $11.95 for one bottle, $9.95 per bottle if you purchase a 1/2 case, $8.00 per bottle if you purchase a case. Also, all White Oak non-wine merchandise will be $10 off! Items less than $10 are “Buy one, get 1 50% off”.

This is a great opportunity to stock up, Buy Local, and have memories later to remember the event; if you enjoy the wine and the hospitality, grab a few bottles. Per yesterday’s article, Tips & Suggestions for June 5&6 Taste Alexander Valley, don’t forget to pack a cooler, or two!

Have a GREAT wine and food filled weekend – You can follow my adventures, tasting notes, and pics on Twitter (hash tag #TAV10) and Facebook.

Twitter posts are also displayed right here on the blog on the Tweetedia widget on the right column of the blog.

Cheers!!!

We are just a few days away from the Taste of Alexander Valley, a fun filled weekend, I am very much looking forward. Thirty-five Wineries, many without tasting rooms, or open to public are pairing their wines, with gourmet food, and in many cases entertainment. Reviewing the list last night, planning my route, was making my mouth water – the wineries have really outdone themselves.

Planning Your Stops

If you have read my articles before on events, you will recall a consistent theme of making a plan. Taste Alexander Valley has a little more leisurely pace than some of the Sonoma events where you have to choose from 100+ wineries in a few days, but I have always found the event more enjoyable if I take a few minutes with a map, the list of offers by winery and make an ‘A’ list of those I don’t want to miss. You have unique opportunities, such as “Outlaw 7″ seven very small wineries,  you may not come across otherwise.

I find it fun to also have a bit of a theme for the weekend; is my main focus this time exploring wineries I have never been too? Maybe its on a hunt for a certain type of varietal (wine type). Maybe mostly visit favorites. Maybe the music and/or food offers are the theme. I often do one theme one day, and one the other.

My two personal quests for this event: (1) visit as many new wineries as I can, as I have tended to focus on my faves like Stryker Sonoma, Trione and a few others repeatedly, more from habit and friendship.  (2) My love affair with Rhone wines (22 wonderful varietals from the Rhone region of France) after attending Hospice du Rhone remains at an all time high, so I will be seeking these out. I have already marked producers of Syrah, Grenache, Viognier; I am hoping to find some other Rhone varietals and blends. (Petite Sirah doesn’t count sorry.) Shout out to me if you have one, or know of one!

Print out the two page overview, look at the map make some notes, give it some thought, I promise you’ll find the investment worthwhile instead of randomly driving and stopping.

The Alexander Valley website also has a great sorting tool where you can search by wines produced, amenities and more.

What to bring

As a near professional eventer, I have a standard list of things I load up to have on hand:

• Clothing: Yes, wear clothes. Plan on layers, the day starts cool and warms as it goes. Most events seem focused on outside, but if you spend anytime in a barrel room or cellar, the temperature will be 58 degrees, you’ll want a layer to put on. Weather info here.
  
• Credit Card: This is a great time to buy wine; some of these wineries don’t have tasting rooms, or limited distribution. If you find something you like, buy a bottle or 3. Many wineries will be offering sales on releases and cases, which I will feature in a article tomorrow.  Many of these wineries are (very) small business and family owned, and they aren’t non profits, they stay in business via wine sales. These events don’t generate profit, they actually cost the winery money unless sales are good. Please support small local business and artisans.
• Cooler. I actually bring two. One small one with soft drinks, water, caffeine sources, fruit, and a second larger one for wine. There is no better way to ruin wine then to leave it in a 75+ degree car for the afternoon.
• Spit Cup: Most consumers are not going to do this, but I am relentless on sharing how this changed my tasting experience. If you become a hard core wine taster, you eventually have no choice to learn this; taste 50+ wines in an hour and you learn why the big red plastic cups are prevalent at industry events. It takes as little as 6-8 oz of wine to impact your sensory analysis and judgement, and move from wine tasting, to drinking.  Nothing wrong with the latter, if being responsible, but it depends on your goal. Tasting room staff should generally recognize a more serious wine taster and buyer, and you usually also get more interesting pours. At a minimum, especially in the first few hours as you warm up, make use of the dump bucket – its not an insult to take a taste, and dump out the rest.
• Sunny Disposition: You are in gorgeous wine country, having fun. Smile, relax, breathe the great air and be one with the vineyard. If it gets busy, go easy on that staff (often volunteers) helping out. Saturday afternoon is generally the busiest time, so I plan accordingly and seek out the less beaten paths.

For participating wineries, the article I wrote a few months ago  may be of interest: Wine Road Barrel Tasting & Social Media – Optimizing Your Event

Still haven’t bought a ticket yet? Don’t wait, the Friday night opening Gala has already sold out. You can save $20 buy buying online in advance, AND use promo code FBOOK.

I hope that is helpful, don’t hesitate to post questions, suggestions, or comments – I want to hear from you!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow (or sign up for email updates) for a special article on Sales Promotions by participating wineries.

Cheers, and hope to see you there! You can also follow my adventures, tasting notes, and pics on Twitter (hash tag #TAV10) and Facebook.

In my last post about the upcoming Taste of Alexander Valley, I mentioned there will be several ways to win tickets. We gave away tickets last Friday night at the Sonoma Facebook Wine Meetup. Today Simple Hedonisms and Alexander Valley Winegrowers kick off the Alexander Valley Trivia Contest. Below are 4 Trivia questions, that come right from the Alexander Valley Winegrowers website. (please note, contest is now closed)

To Enter The Contest:

• Make a comment on the blog with your answers to the questions. I will see these, but they will not be published until the contest has ended so people don’t copy answers.
• The person with the most answers correct wins. If there is a tie, a drawing will be made.

All questions come from information on their website, and is considered the source for correct answers:

1. What Winery produces a Grenache?
2. What year did Alexander Valley received federal recognition as an AVA?
3. Which Winery is the Farthest North (by map)?
4. Which 3 Wineries are listed as available for Weddings and Events?

Contest Winners will be announced Friday  at noon.

!Make sure you leave contact info! (and check email/blog/FaceBook for winner announcement)

One additional  chance to win:

One final winner will be drawn from email subscribers of Simple Hedonisms. To win you must have a validated (accepted) registration for blog email updates. (You get a simple two2 sentence summary of new blog posts via email.) These email updates are brief, secure, and never distributed.

The contest begins NOW – Good luck!

(and don’t forget to use Promo Code: ‘FBOOK” – when ordering tickets for a special discount!

Summer is here in Wine Country, and the plethora of amazing food and wine experiences is getting ready to ramp up, right through fall Harvest.

One of the highlights of the start of summer, is the Taste of Alexander Valley, an incredible event featuring food and wine pairings, and entertainment from 35 wineries in gorgeous Alexander Valley. I have yet to visit a fair number of these, and I bet many gems await your discovery as well.

Two Days of Casual Elegance, World Class Food and Wines

The event is June 5 & 6th, from 11-4 pm. Only two days, so many great places, so little time – will need a plan! Luckily the Alexander Valley website is very well done with great interactive tools and maps, the ability to sort by many different ways including varietal (3 wineries make Tempranillo – who knew?!), even sort by dog friendly! As the event gets closer, I will write an article to assist with planning your days, but all the tools are here.

For only $65, a weekend ticket provides you the chance to experience 35 wineries hosting their own special parties offering wine and food pairings, live entertainment and special weekend wine discounts. For a list of Participating Wineries and a Description of their featured pairings, click HERE.

*Special Offer* Enter Promo Code: FBOOK when you purchase online, and get $10 off – thats the entire weekend of premium food, wine, and entertainment in gorgeous Alexander Valley, for $55. To purchase tickets online CLICK HERE.

There are new wineries, as well as wineries not normally open to the public or without tasting rooms participating – have to admit a few I never heard of. (Check out the ‘The Outlaw 7′ pouring at the  Geyserville Inn: Icaria Winery, Joseph Family Vineyards, Kelley & Young, Pendleton Estate, Quaking Hills Winery, and Wilson Fleming Estate Winery.)

Friday Night Opening Gala

For those Hedonists looking for even more culinary and wine delights, there is a special event Friday night to kick it off,  The Opening Gala. Friday June 4 from 5:00–8:30 PM at Rodney Strong’s renowned Alexander’s Crown Vineyard estate. The Gala will feature reserve wines from throughout Alexander Valley and a variety of exquisite small plates prepared by Peloton Catering. There will also be live swing music by Stompy Jones, a well known San Francisco bases sextet. Mingle with Alexander Valley’s winemakers, winery principals, and vineyard owners at “The Crown”, amidst stunning Alexander Valley views. Tickets are  $90 with limited availability, and nearly sold out.

Win Free Tickets

Taste of Alexander Valley has been generous enough to donate tickets for promotional giveway. Two winners will be selected this Friday, May 21st, at the Sonoma Facebook Wine Meetup, in downtown Healdsburg, at the new Roadhouse Winery. Early next week, we will announce a contest for drawing for an additional winners, so stay tuned. And in yet one more chance to win, there will be a drawing for tickets to email subscribers of Simple Hedonisms. (top right.) Come back for details, as well as Tips on planning your event, as well as a special article on Winery inventory promotions.

See you in Alexander Valley – Cheers!

Northern California Wine Country has many events, and its been a passion and pleasure of mine to attend many. While there are many good ones, there are a few that are GREAT. One of my favorites is this weekend’s Wine Road’s Wine & Food Affair. I feel some events are becoming a bit pricey for what they deliver; the Wine and Food Affair is one of the best values, and experiences Sonoma that Wine Country has to offer.

This special “Tasting Along the Wine Road” is November 7 & 8,  Saturday & Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm.  A Wine & Food Affair is the “premier event for the Wine Road, featuring a weekend of wine and food pairing in the Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys.”

So what is this about? 80 wineries along the Wine Road (aptly named ‘Heaven Condensed’ ) offer food pairings to go along with their wines being poured. This is a ‘passport’ event – meaning you pay one fee, and can visit as many participating wineries as you wish. At just $60 for the entire weekend,or $40 for Sunday, this is an amazing value. People who pre-registered also get a great cookbook of the recipes.

So 5 hours a day for 2 days, and 80 wineries. How do you pick?  I have a (longish) list of Wine Road favorites, but rather than rattle those off here (email me), I am going to try and stay neutral, and offer other suggestions to enjoy this event. And this is about food pairings, not just wine.

The Golden Rule:  PLAN! Plan, plan, plan, plan. Did I say plan? Do you close your eyes at Safeway and throw random articles into your cart? No. So, don’t just drive down Dry Creek, or Westside Road and stop anywhere. There are great resources on the Wine Road website I am going to suggest – follow and use them.

So where do you start?

First are you going for one day or both? If only one, then its really important to map out a hit list, and start early.

1. What varietals (wine types) do you prefer?

You can partially match areas to this. Of course some wineries produce from all over, but generally if you prefer say, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, you should spend time in the area around Forestville – Sebastopol and visit places like Lynmar, Moshin, Balleto etc. These geographic lines do get a bit blurry though, as great Pinot houses like C. Donatiello, Thomas George, etc. are further North. Dry Creek Valley is known as Zin country, but many wineries produce a host of other varietals, especially Syrah, and sometimes Cab, Petite Syrah, and others, as does Alexander Valley. You may want to consider focusing on lighter varietals, like Pinot, in the morning, and then try more full-bodied wines in the afternoon.

(2) Use The Wine Road web site to assist you.

It has many great maps and sorting tools. My favorite page allows you to click and sort by varietals (wine types), region, and amenities. This latter one is very useful for identifying wineries that are open ‘By Appointment’ only. There are a number of wineries participating such as Acorn, John Tyler, Windsor Oaks, etc that normally are open to the public only by appointment, so this event is a great way to just pop in and experience those wineries without having to plan ahead a make an appointment.

You can also use the amenities sort feature to identify the wineries with picnic facilities,  If you are really organized in planning your route, you can land at a good picnic spot right around lunch time.

(3) Consult the Participating Winery List.

Eighty wineries are participating – but the Wine Road has over 150 wineries, so don’t assume, double check. Especially for the wineries that are open by appointment only -some of these aren’t participating. It also doesn’t hurt to check with your favorite wineries if they don’t show up as participating. Mounts Family Winery in Dry Creek for example, isn’t on the official list, but will have free tastings for ticket holders, and is offering a food pairing.

(4) Bring a Spit Cup.

If you are serious about tasting wine, and hitting as many wineries as you can, I strongly urge you to bring your own spit cup. Spitting into a dump bucket in a crowded tasting room isn’t something I recommend, and many people find it unpleasant which is one reason why more people don’t. That’s why at industry events and wine classes, red plastic spit cups are usually available. They’re easier to use, unobtrusive, and allow for discreet spitting for those who are shy about spitting in public. I can’t underscore this enough – if you taste 4-5 wines at each location, you may not realize that you are easily consuming 1-2 glasses of wine per locale. However, as little as 5-6 ounces of wine is a enough to start to impact your palette and judgment. Yes the food will help a bit, but not enough, if you are making many stops. At a bare minimum, dump varietals you don’t care for. But that is only going to help a bit. Give spitting a try — for the morning at least.  You will be glad you did!

(5) Bring a cooler. And your wallet.

If you like a winery, or they treat you extra special, buy something (or a few somethings!). They are artisans, but this isn’t charity. Weathermen are calling for mild weather this weekend according to the current forecast. It is supposed to be cloudy and 69 on Saturday, and 70 and sunny on Sunday. But these forecasters are the same guys that predicted that the harvest rain would only last one day.  Heat is the enemy of wine…even a few hours of heat and sun will negatively impact a bottle. Bring a cooler just in case, and you can stock it with water, red bulls, and nibbles.

6. Start Early, hit off the path wineries later.

The well-known wineries, closer in, can get quite mobbed, especially by mid afternoon. Try and be there when the bell dings, and get an early start. When you map out your route, perhaps do the less familiar wineries, or those off the beaten path, later in the day.

7. In the event you DON’T Pre-Plan (tsk tsk) at LEAST print out the event page which lists the food pairing, and the participating wineries, AND the modified Wine Road map that shows ONLY the participating Wineries.

8. Be Courteous,  Please

Some wineries are going to get busy. Try and be respectful of sharing the tasting space (do not stand 4 together at the bar, talking about your shoe purchase). Bond with your significant other and share the space one behind the other, thus doubling the space. Wearing perfume, talking at 120 decibels on your cell, chewing gum, trying to steal wine (true story), or being inebriated and harassing a tired pourer are all faux pax.

(Note to Winery owners and staff – I have witnessed some appalling treatment at Passport events, especially the recent Eastside bunch event. In a down economy, and a push to sell Direct to Consumer (DTC), a little pre-event pep talk to your team may be in order. In years past, events like this were where I discovered some of my favorite wineries and – as a result of positive experiences –joined the wine club. I have heard several horror stories lately of prominent industry people going tasting anonymously and being treated inhospitably. )

Let’s all have fun – we are blessed to be surrounded by good people, good food, good wine; and this weekend is a culmination, and celebration of all three.

Cheers!

Saturday, September 5, 2009
MacMurray Ranch, Healdsburg

The 30th Annual Showcase Taste of Sonoma was a culinary, hedonistic heaven, and one of the best organized food/wine events I have ever attended. (and I have attended a LOT.) This event is part of series of Sonoma County activities hosted all weekend.

To start, it’s hosted at the beautiful MacMurray Ranch a venue only open for special events. Hidden from the road, nestled amongst hills, is an amazing valley with gorgeous views. It’s a picture perfect post card-like vista of Sonoma County.

It’s amazing how an event with 2,400 attendees, 120 wineries, and 60 chefs can feel so unhurried and un-crowded. Huge kudos to the organizers for their execution.

I loved the layout. Food and wine was organized into four main tents, one for each of the primary Sonoma regions: Dry Creek, Russian River , Sonoma Valley, and Alexander Valley. Since I live in the area and explore here often, I was more inclined to focus on Sonoma Valley , since it’s an area I get to less. Of course I went through all four tents. Repeatedly. Started with whites….made the rounds, paired with food. Next, Pinots. Rinse repeat. Then on to bigger reds, and I focused on less common varietals.

If you are a Signature Visa cardholder (like my United Visa) not only was the event discounted $50, you were also treated like royalty with a special area and gift. This event was a bargain at $95. (anyone who lives/visits Sonoma should have one for the winery bennies – click the link for details.)

Gloria Ferrer Bubble Lounge: REALLY nice setup area, right at the entry, complete with comfy chairs. What better way to start with bubbles and food pairings?! Gloria Ferrer was a class act as always, with three different bubble offers and food pairings. Pizza Politana had an INCREDIBLE thin crust fig pizza that was to die for, and paired well with their Royal Cuvee. Gloria Ferrer’s new Va Da Vi cuvee has been a smash hit for them. Production is currently ramping up, and is also just now hitting some retail venues. Its Cuvee Club pickup month, so looking forward to another visit soon!

There were also a number of seminars, chef contests, and other interesting activities if you could break away from eating and imbibing.

To keep up with Social Networking, there were ten laptops for patrons to update Facebook, Twitter, Snooth, and also to upload pics. For the technically challenged, friendly assistance was on hand. This turned out to be a godsend for any AT&T user, as there was almost no signal anywhere, and my iPhone was demoted to picture taking.

I was somewhat surprised to see people walking around with beer(!). Stella Artois was pouring Stella, Hoegaarden, and Leffe (the latter two being great beers) served in a free proper-style Belgian glass, with logo.

I will make a quick mention for some special things that caught my eye. My apologies to the many great others I didn’t get to. It may have been that I just got too carried away enjoying the event to take anymore notes.

Food:
- Autumn Barber at Aioli Deli/Catering did a delicious pulled pork slider with slaw. As a six year resident
of the Carolina’s, this was noteworthy stuff. Go Aioli!
- Epicurean Connection: Sheana again had great food, and a gelato people where hunting everywhere, and a line always in queue
- Hopmonk Tavern had a yummy lamb bite with pureed squash.
Many others as well. Everything I sampled was creative and delicious.

Sadly, I didn’t get to taste the fried chicken from Susan/Jeff Mall’s Zin Restaurant. The line was always long and I forgot to circle for the third time. (But I frequent Zin regularly, so I don’t feel too deprived.)

Wines:
Again, a dizzying array of choices. I tried to stay away from usual faves, and explore new. I was pleased that I was usually able to engage in meaningful dialogue. Its always great to meet owners, wine makers, and other knowledgeable staff, and I enjoyed the chats almost as much as the wine.

Spann Vineyards: I made up for my faux pas of not tasting Spann at the Family Winery event, and was pleased to meet Peter in person. The chard/viogner blend was a hit on my palette, all fruit, great balance…will be coming soon to purchase. The Mo Jo Super Tuscan red blend was also great…but then I am a sucker for well- made Sangiovese. I wish I could attend Spann’s tasting event Sept 12th, but that Saturday is already quadruple booked. Do treat yourself if you can make it.

VJB Cellars: great Italian varietals: Barbera, Sangiovese. Well made, neutral oak, all fruit, palette pleasers. They also make (weren’t pouring) a Montipulciano. Guess I will be making a visit soon.

Soujorn Cellars: Three great Pinot offers, but hands down the Gap’s Crown Sonoma Coast. They were just awarded a 95 score by the Pinot Report, was a crowd pleaser, and my Pinot pick of the day. (Amongst many stunning choices.) This Pinot is under allocation, only three per purchaser – hurry!

I, of course, did stop for quick tastes of some of my usual Russian River and Dry Creek favorites that were there (some weren’t) including Kokomo, Acorn, Lynmar, Thomas George, and more…

I was thinking this morning on how fortunate I am to live in such beauty and great culture. To be surrounded by warm, fun people who love life is a blessing. Kudos to Signature Visa for pulling this together and to share with so many people the jewel that is Sonoma County is.