Cafes & Wineries

One of my favorite events each year involves the opportunity to sample some of the best wines that Napa produces in a given vintage. At Premiere Napa Valley, an auction that serves as the world’s most expensive “bake sale” to support the efforts of the non-profit Napa Valley Vintners Association, journalists like me get a chance to sneak a taste of hundreds of unique wines that are purchased by the nation’s top wine retailers at staggeringly high prices.

This year, as every year, 200 member wineries each crafted a unique auction lot of wine that in most cases represents the very best wine that they are capable of producing. Some bottle five or ten cases of wine from their best barrel and some make a unique blend from their two best vineyard blocks. No matter what their composition, each auction lot must be a unique wine that will never be available anywhere else, and implicitly, it must be as good as possible, to ultimately fetch the highest price.

So what’s the good in me tasting wines that neither you nor I will ever get a chance to taste again, let alone purchase one day? As I swoon over some of these wines, I often ask myself the same question.

Some of these wines can actually be purchased by the public, though they require persistence to track down, plus a cavalier attitude towards the price of wine. When the 5 cases of Shafer Sunspot Vineyard Cabernet that sold for $37,000 last Saturday eventually get sold, I shudder to think what the price per bottle will be. The event web site lists the buyer of each lot and their contact information if anyone really is interested in finding one of these wines.

Many of the lots are spoken for well before the gavel falls — purchased by wine retailers and brokers who essentially take orders (and bundles of cash) from their best customers, and then show up to invest, as if they are managing a wine hedge fund.

For the rest of us, apart from offering a ringside view on the uppermost echelon of California wine buying, the Premiere Napa Valley auction provides three main insights:

1. The measure of demand strength for the luxury end of the Napa wine industry
2. A gauge of the quality of wine that a large number of Napa producers can make when they really try
3. A broad sense of the qualities of a particular vintage — in this case, 2008

I attend every year for these insights, along with the fantastic food and laid-back camaraderie that accompanies the event.

This year’s event was a marked contrast to last year’s, which came hard on the heels of the recession. The room was packed, the energy high, and the bidding enthusiastic, if somewhat less extravagant than in years past. However, while the highest price that any lot fetched was $37,000, many of the final prices were higher on average than in many past years. This translated into auction proceeds of almost $2 Million, a significant jump from last year’s $1.5 million, and slightly lower than the $2.2 million raised in 2008 before the stock market crash. It can be dangerous to extrapolate anything about the larger wine economy from the bubble-like world of Napa, but that didn’t keep the optimism out of the room, nor the spring out of many steps. In general, it felt like a recovery.

As for the 2008 vintage in Napa, the best word to describe it is: massive. The wines are huge, brawny, and rich, but the best maintain a good acidity and balance that will make them truly tremendous by the time they are release 2 years from now. Some wines suffer from extremely aggressive tannins, though they are on the whole much smoother tannins than in 2006. My sense is that well balanced wines from this vintage, like 2007, will age extremely well.

The Premiere barrel tasting is quite a marathon, especially for a guy like me who sets out to taste literally every single one of the 200 wines on offer. I have to work my ass off in order to get through them all. This year, I tasted all but one. When I first got to Anomaly Vineyards’ barrel they weren’t yet pouring, so I skipped them and forgot to go back. Oops.

Despite being a several-hour-slog through a lot of big wines, I really enjoy the opportunity to sample fabulous work of 200 master craftsmen and women. This year included some real highlights, including another phenomenal late-disgorged sparkling wine from Schramsberg, the still cloudy late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Honig, and several Cabernets and Bordeaux blends, including the stellar offering from Spottswoode. And while I can’t get my hands on any of these specific wines, having tasted “the best they can produce” I am always reminded which labels to look out for as I’m in search of great reds from Napa.

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9.5
2008 Barnett Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Cardinale Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Chateau Boswell Winery “The Fourth Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Corison Winery “Premiere Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 HALL “Sacrashe Vineyard - Block 2″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2009 Honig Vineyard & Winery Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford
2008 Hourglass “36-24-36″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 J. Davies Vineyards “Jack’s Block, 96 Vines” Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Lang & Reed Wine Company “Parcel 33″ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Larkmead Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Lewis Cellars “Premiere Blend″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 PlumpJack Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2007 Porter Family Vineyards “Duet” Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Schrader “Double Diamond Turbo X” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1994 Schramsberg Vineyards “1994 Reserve - Late Disgorged” Sparkling Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Spottswoode Estate Vineyard &amp Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Spring Mountain Vineyard “Vertical Gobelet Vines” Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Staglin Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Venge Vineyards “Family Reserve, Oakville” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
NV ZD Wines “Petit Abacus” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5
2007 Astrale e Terra Syrah, Atlas Peak
2008 Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Blackbird Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 BOND “Quella” Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Cain Vineyard &amp Winery “Francois’ Pick” Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Carter Cellars “Envy” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Clark-Claudon Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Cliff Lede Vineyards “Let It Be Layla” Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Coho “SummitVine Ranch Upper Block″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Coup De Foudre Winery “Upper/Lower Valley Love Blend” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Darioush Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Diamond Terrace “Two Mountains″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Domaine Chandon “Barrel Select” Pinot Meunier, Los Carneros
2008 Duckhorn Vineyards “Three Palms Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Ehlers Estate “The Geomancer″ Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Fantesca Estate & Winery “Tastes Like a First Kiss″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Farella-Park Vineyards “Terrace Reserve” Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Gargiulo Vineyards “OVX Estate Blend” Meritage, Oakville
2008 Gemstone “Essence of Gemstone″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Girard Winery “Mountain Cuvee” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Hestan Vineyards “Stephanie Selection” Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2009 Hill Family Estate Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Los Carneros
2008 Howell at the Moon “Knoll Vineyard Clone 4″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Husic Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Jones Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Joseph Phelps Vineyards “Backus Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Kuleto Estate “El Coyote″ Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 La Jota Vineyard Co. Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Ladera Vineyards “Two Mountains” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Livingston Moffett Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Martin Estate “Premiere Row″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Mi Sueño Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Newton Vineyard “Piece of the Puzzle” Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Ovid Napa Valley “Block 1A″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Page Wine Cellars “Your Personal Stash” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Parallel Napa Valley “Two Hills” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 PEJU “P.S. We Love Rutherford” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Pillar Rock Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Pride Mountain Vineyards “Premiere Napa Valley Cuvee” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Realm Cellars “Premiere Cuvee” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Reynolds Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Rocca Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2009 Saintsbury “Brown Ranch” Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Seavey Vineyard Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Shafer Vineyards “Sunspot Vineyard″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Signorello Estate “Big Rock Cuvee″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Silverado Vineyards “SOLO, Double Block” Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Sodaro Estate Winery Petit Verdot, Napa Valley
2008 Stags’ Leap Winery “Ne Cede Malis Estate-Grown Field Blend” Petite Syrah, Stags Leap District
2008 Sterling Vineyards “Three Palms Vineyard″ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Swanson Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Switchback Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Terra Valentine “Fleur De Lys” Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountain District
2007 Tom Eddy Winery “Block One Plus” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 TOR Kenward Family Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Tuck Beckstoffer Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 White Rock Vineyards Petit Verdot, Napa Valley

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2008 Amuse Bouche Winery Merlot, Napa Valley
2009 Arietta “A-grec” Semillon, Napa Valley
2008 Ashe Family Vineyards “One Acre” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Barlow Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Behrens Family Winery “Cemetery Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Bennett Lane “Calistoga Appellation Lot” Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
2008 Beringer Vineyards “Mountain to Valley” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Black Coyote Chateau Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak
2008 Bravante Vineyards Red Table Wine, Howell Mountain
2008 Buoncristiani Family Winery “Fratelli Fervor - Stagecoach Vineyard″ Malbec, Napa Valley
2008 Cakebread Cellars Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Chappellet Winery and Vineyard “Heaven on the Hill” Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Chateau Montelena Winery “Montelena Estate G Block Old Vine Finale” Cabernet Sauvignon, Calistoga
2008 Cimarossa “Poppy Flats” Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Conn Creek Winery “Lucky 13″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Continuum Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Cornerstone Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Dyer Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Diamond Mountain District
2008 Elyse Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Etude “Vine Hill Ranch” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Far Niente “Martin Stelling Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Fontanella Family Winery Merlot, Mount Veeder
2008 Frank Family Vineyards “Winston Hill Block 5 (Heart Block)” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Frazier Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Frias Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Grgich Hills Estate “Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon” Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 Groth Vineyards & Winery “Core Blend” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 Hess Collection Winery, The Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder
2008 Hewitt Vineyard “Unique Hewitt Vineyard Blend with Petit Verdot” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2007 Hopper Creek Winery “Proprietor’s Private Estate Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville
2008 John Anthony Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
2008 Keenan Winery “Tribute Part 3: Grand Classique” Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Krupp Brothers “Two Bald Heads Cuvee” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Meander “The Twist″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Miner Family Vineyards Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Monticello Vineyards “Yewell Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Mount Veeder Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder
2008 Nickel & Nickel Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 O’Brien Estate Cabernet Franc, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley
2007 O’Neill Vosti Estates “3×3″ Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Oberon Wines “Hillside Reserve, Michael Mondavi Family Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Paradigm Winery Cabernet Franc, Oakville
2008 Paraduxx Red Wine, Howell Mountain
2008 Raymond Vineyard & Cellar “The Final, Final” Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Renteria Wines “Vintner’s Cuvée″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Revana Family Vineyard “Premiere Cuvee″ Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Rombauer Vineyards “Proprietors Reserve Stice Lane” Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Round Pond Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Rubicon Estate “Estate Clone 29″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Rutherford Hill Winery “Premiere Blend” Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Schlein Vineyard “Schlein Vineyard Special Cuvee” Bordeaux Blend, Oakville
2009 Snowden Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars “The Alchemist” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Tetra “ARTET” Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Thirteen Appellations Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Tierra Roja Vineyards “Katharine’s Blend” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2009 Truchard Vineyards Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Viader Vineyards & Winery “Roaring Twenties” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Vineyard 29 “The St. Helena Special” Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Volker Eisele Family Estate Bordeaux Blend, Chiles Valley District
2008 von Strasser Winery “Rudy’s Choice” Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2008 Alpha Omega “Proprietary Red Wine″ Red Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Ardente Winery “Organic” Cabernet Sauvignon, Atlas Peak
2008 Atalon Winery “W.S. Keyes Vineyard″ Merlot, Howell Mountain
2008 Barbour Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Bouchaine Vineyards “Auction Select Best Barrel″ Pinot Noir, Napa Valley
2008 CADE Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Clos Pegase “Tenma Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Coquerel Family Wine Estates Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Emblem Wines “Michael Mondavi Family Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Faust “A Faustian Bargain” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Frog’s Leap “Galleron Vineyard” Petite Sirah, Rutherford
2009 Gamble Family Vineyards “Gamble Vineyard″ Sauvignon Blanc, Yountville
2008 Ghost Block Bordeaux Blend, Yountville
2008 Judd’s Hill “Friends at Harvest / Lot 15″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Juslyn Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Kenefick Ranch Winery Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Lail Vineyards “Henry″ Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley
2008 Larkin Wines “Pritchard Hill” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Long Meadow Ranch Winery “Spice Rack″ Petite Sirah, Rutherford
2008 Louis M. Martini Winery “Premiere 254″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Madonna Estate “Barrel Selection” Pinot Noir, Los Carneros
2008 Merryvale Vineyards “St. Helena Estate” Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Moone-Tsai Vineyards “Caldwell Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Oakville East Wine Company Red Table Wine, Oakville
2008 Oakville Ranch Vineyards “The Queen” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2007 Palmaz Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Paoletti Estates Winery Malbec, Napa Valley
2009 Pine Ridge Vineyards “5 x 5″ Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Robert Craig Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2008 Robert Mondavi Winery “To Kalon Vineyard, Monastery Block” Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville
2008 ROY Estate “Voix Basse (a whisper)” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Sequoia Grove Vineyards “She Walks in Beauty” Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Silver Oak Cellars “A Tale of Two Ranches” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Soñador Cellars “Dream Weaver” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Spelletich Cellars “Premiere Pinot” Pinot Noir, Napa Valley
2008 St. Clement Vineyards “Armstrong Ranch″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Diamond Mountain District
2008 St. Supery Vineyards & Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford
2008 Steltzner Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Summers Estate Wines Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Terlato Family Vineyards “Premiere Assemblage″ Red Table Wine, Napa Valley
2008 Trinchero Napa Valley “East to West Mountain Cabernet Cuvee” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Turnbull Wine Cellars “Courage″ Cabernet Franc, Oakville
2008 Twomey Cellars “SCR″ Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley
2008 Vineyard 7 & 8 “Collaboration″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 VinRoc Wine Caves “Koko’s Block” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Whitehall Lane Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 William Hill Estate Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Zahtila Vineyards Zinfandel, Calistoga

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2008 Ahnfeldt Wines “Quid Pro Quo IV” Bordeaux Blend, Napa Valley
2008 Antica Napa Valley - Antinori Family Wine Estate “Ante Up in ‘08″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2007 Boeschen Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
2008 Chimney Rock Winery “Tomahawk Vineyard, Premiere Cuvée″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 Clos Du Val Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District
2008 David Arthur Vineyards “Prima Annata″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Freemark Abbey “York Creek Cabernet” Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain District
2008 Harris Estate Vineyards “Melange Magique″ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Hendry “Vintner’s Barrel Selection” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 JAX Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Work Vineyard “Napa Valley Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2008 Trefethen Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

With all the fanfare surrounding Cabernet and Pinot Noir coupled with the obsession this country seems to have with Chardonnay, it’s sometimes hard for people to remember that California produces a lot of other different kinds of wine. It’s even harder, it seems, to get people to drink some of it.

Enter what may be the most unique wine festival in California and perhaps the country. Some of the most under-appreciated and least consumed wines in the state are those made from grapes like Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Riesling. There aren’t a lot of places in California where these grapes thrive, but the Anderson Valley, three hours north of San Francisco, is the de-facto home for growing and making wines from these varietals in the style common to the French border region of Alsace.

California-grown Alsatian-style wines are not plentiful, nor are they particularly well publicized, but that seems to suit both the winemakers of Anderson Valley, and the folks who have been happily buying their wines for years. But in the interest of spreading the word, and the love, a couple of years ago all the winemakers who produce these wines decided that they needed to get together to showcase and celebrate their shared passion.

2010 marks the 5th Annual Anderson Valley Alsace Varietals Festival. The event continues to draw a loyal following of wine lovers as well as those curious (and lucky) enough to make the trek into the idyllic green of Anderson Valley in February.

The events begin at 8:00 AM Saturday morning, February 20th, with a technical seminar on growing and making Alsatian style wines given by both local and visiting winemakers. The grand tasting begins afterwards at 12:30 and goes until 3:30 PM, after which attendees have a chance to relax before a winemaker dinner begins at 6:30 at the historic Booneville Hotel. Tickets are available for each event separately, or as a package. On Sunday the 21st, most wineries in the valley hold open houses with food and, of course, more wine to taste. If you can find a nice B&B to settle into on Friday and Saturday night, you can make quite a nice weekend of it. And if not, well, the drive is quite pretty.

5th Annual Anderson Valley Alsace Varietals Festival
Grand Tasting February 20, 12:30 PM
Mendocino County Fairgrounds
14400 Highway 128
Boonville, CA 95415 (map)

Tickets to the Grand Tasting are $65 and the seminar costs $45, or you can buy a joint ticket for $100. As a nice gesture to the long drive that some may make, you can also buy a designated driver ticket that gets you food only for $35. The winemaker dinner costs $125. Tickets should be purchased in advance online.

If you’re planning on making the drive, make sure to give yourself plenty of time, and if you get carsick, take something in advance, as the road is quite twisty. Here’s a site that has some lodging options if you need them.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

I’ve referred to it in the past as “the beast.” Possessing tannins that need to be tamed through intelligent winemaking, Petite Sirah can truly be a monster of a wine. One of the least-well -known red grape varieties that are commonly grown in California, it does not command legions of rabid followers like those who attended today’s ZAP Zinfandel festival, or the loyal drinkers of Cabernet, or even those who swear by Syrah, from which it takes its misleading name. In the right hands, however, Petite Sirah can be a stunning wine — deep, resonant, and rich.

Petite Sirah has been grown in California for a long time, but apart from some limited success in the 1970s at the hands of Carl Doumani and Stags’ Leap Winery, wines made exclusively from this grape variety never really earned the respect or attention of mainstream wine lovers in any significant way.

Yet producers all over the state continue, quietly, to make Petite Sirahs, and many have no trouble selling them at all to an equally quiet, but passionate following of wine lovers.

And occasionally, these producers, not so quietly serve up their wines with roast meats and chocolate for anyone who dares drink on the dark side, if you’ll pardon the expression. The next opportunity you have to sample their wares will be Friday, February 19th, when the society of winegrowers and makers known as P.S. I Love You holds its annual tasting at The Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda.

By then you should be:

a) sufficiently recovered from the Zap Zinfandel festival

b) in the mood for something other than Zinfandel

So go check it out. Who knows, perhaps you′ll fall in love too. The event web site has a list of the wineries pouring this year as well as a list of the tasty treats that await you in addition to wine.

P.S. I Love You Dark and Delicious Tasting
February 19th, 2010
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The Rock Wall Wine Company
2301 Monarch Street
Alameda, CA 94501 (map)

Tickets are $60 per person and in the past they have sold out. If available, tickets will be sold at the door for $70. They should be purchased in advance online.

My usual recommendations for such public tastings apply. Wear dark clothes; arrive well slept and with food in your stomach (or chow down when you first get there); drink lots of water; and SPIT if you want to actually learn anything and enjoy yourself. These are big wines, often high in alcohol.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

You folks are phenomenal. Thank you so much for your support. With your generous donations of both prizes and bids for them, we raised $70,900 for the UN World Food Programme. That’s a truly remarkable amount of money, and a testament to the passion and generosity of you, my readers, and the blogging community as a whole.

If your name appears in the list below as one of the winners, I will be contacting you over the weekend with instructions on how you can claim your prize (I will put you in touch with the folks that offered it, and you can coordinate).

For those who offered prizes, I will also be in touch to let you know how to proceed.

Congratulations to all the winners, and I hope you enjoy the fruits of your generosity. If you happened to bid on other prizes besides wine related ones, you can find the master list of prize winners at Chez Pim.

WB01 Dinner with NY Times Wine Critic Eric Asimov
Winner: Sonya Philip

WB02 The Brunello Experience: A Week’s Stay at Il Palazzone in Montalcino Tuscany
Winner: Liz Mortensen

WB03 Sustainable Napa from Clif Family Winery & Holme Grown Wine Tours (incl 6 bottles)
Winner: Alejandro de Jesus

WB04 2 Nights and Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara Wine Country (incl 6 bottles)
Winner: Josh duLac

WB05 Two Magnums of Wine from Soter Vineyards (incl 2 bottles)
Winner: Christina Arndt

WB06 The Old School Wine Collection (incl. 6 bottles)
Winner: Anya Naschak

WB07 The New Guard Wine Collection (incl. 6 bottles)
Winner: Ori Kushnir

WB08 Wine Book Bonanza
Winner: Lynne Newton - Carlson

WB09 Magnum + Case of Verge Syrah, and a Tour of Bradford Mountain (incl. 13 bottles)
Winner: Thomas Pantelis

WB10 Wine Bottle Hurricane Lanterns from Savoring Thyme Gifts
Winner: Ursula Pieper

WB11 Two Nights + Dinner +Tour in Tuscany at Il Borgo at Castello Banfi
Winner: Ori Kushnir

W᧔ Cape Ardor Collectors Executive Wine Gift Set (incl. 3 bottles)
Winner: Ligia Ortega

W᧕ Banned in ‘Bama Wine Gift Box (incl. 8 bottles)
Winner: Jeffrey Petree

WB14 A Case of Your Own Custom Blended Wine
Winner: Cindy Ruth

WB15 Stolzle Decanter and Four Wine Glasses
Winner: Ligia Ortega

W᧘ Happy Canyon Wine “Horizontal″ (incl. 14 bottles worth $584 retail)
Winner: Susan Brodie

WB17 Wine Jewelry, Wine Book gift package from WinewomenPSP
Winner: F Brooke Clendaniel

WB18 The Twisted Six Pack (incl. 6 bottles)
Winner: Leigh Iwanaga

WB19 The Twisted Tour and Pick Any Bottle (incl. 1 bottle)
Winner: Hank Shaw

WB20 Vinography as Your Sommelier for the Night (incl. 4 bottles)
Winner: Randi Axelrod

W᧝ Brazilian Cachaças Tasting Set (incl. 5 bottles)
Winner: Jason Dietz

WB22 Dinner with Randall Grahm, a Special Bottle of Wine, and His Latest Book
Winner: Margaret Pillgrim

WB23 VIP Wine Country Tour with VIP Hostess Alana Gentry aka Girl with a Glass
Winner: Renee Kuo

WB24 Cashmere and Cabernet From Wine Valet
Winner: Deborah Bower

WB25 Magnum of Torbreck Wine plus Private Vineyard Tour
Winner: Edmund Thralls

W᧢ A Wine Vacation at Meadowood Resort in the Napa Valley
Winner: Christina Sorenson

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

It’s that time of year again. I know of no other event that seems to bring out the inner wine lover in so many San Franciscans more than the annual ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) Festival. It never ceases to amaze me how many people turn out with such enthusiasm for this single varietal festival. Don’t get me wrong. I love Zinfandel — unabashedly so. But I tend to forget how many other people do too. Especially those that live in San Francisco.

Of course it’s not just San Franciscans that turn out for this one-of-a-kind weekend. People come from all over. The Zinfreaks crawl out of the woodwork, so to speak, and march their way into San Francisco to celebrate their grape of choice, along with the rest of us who sometimes wonder where the rest of these folks hide themselves the rest of the year.

But come one, come all, there’s plenty of Zin to go around.

The annual ZAP festival is comprised of several events. The week begins on Thursday January 28th with the Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing, a walk around event that features dishes prepared by chefs from all over the U.S. specifically designed to match Zinfandel wines. Attendees can wander from station to station with glass and plate in hand trying different combinations of food and wine until they find their favorites (or until they topple over like plump rabbits in a food coma).

Friday features a series of seminars that allow attendees to taste flights of wines in a guided fashion with commentary from winemakers, as well as the Evening with the Winemakers. This event features a live auction for charity, a pre-dinner tasting, and a sit-down dinner with winemakers. You can buy some great wine while giving to charity, and then you can have a great meal while a winemaker pours a selection of their wines and answers all the questions you ever might have about making Zinfandel.

And finally on Saturday, the ultimate San Francisco wine tasting begins. Starting at 2:00 PM, the floodgates open and hundreds of Zinfandel wines are available to the public for tasting. There is simply no other opportunity like this to educate your palate about Zinfandel as a wine, and no other chance to so easily discover new Zins for yourself.

The event tends to get a little crazy as the afternoon progresses, both in terms of the size of the crowd and its level of inebriation, but don’t let that stop you from showing up early, enjoying yourself, and then making your exit before the sloshing and stumbling begin.

Especially because you might get to go to the tasting for free

I’ve got four tickets to give away to the Grand Tasting on Saturday, January 30th. All you have to do in order to win is get creative. I’ll give the four tickets to the folks that provide the best/funniest/most heartfelt/strangest/etc. explanation in the comments section of this blog about why they should get a free ticket to the tasting. I’m the sole judge and will pick the best four submissions based on my own arbitrary criteria. Be sure to leave me your e-mail address in the field provided. I’ll accept submissions until January 21st.

Have fun!

ZAP Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Festival
Grand Tasting: Saturday January 30, 2010
Doors open to the public at 2:00 PM (members can get in an hour earlier)
Herbst and Festival Pavilions
Marina Boulevard
San Francisco, CA 94123 (map)

Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $59 if purchased in advance (which you should do most assuredly). If any tickets are left they will be $69 at the door. Tickets for other events range from $95 to $210 depending on the event. ZAP members receive discounts on all tickets. For more information about the event and to purchase tickets, please see the ZAP event web site.

Tasting tips: I recommend wearing dark clothes that you won′t mind getting a drop or two of red wine on when someone accidentally jostles your glass (or theirs). I recommend showing up with a full stomach, drinking lots of water as you go, and spitting instead of swallowing. You ain′t got any taste buds in your throat, and if you want to learn anything you need to stay sober. Otherwise you’ll be one of the drunken fools that everyone makes fun of at 4:30 PM on Saturday.

See you there.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

Wine lovers in Beantown, listen up. Right about now you may be wondering just what you’re doing freezing your keisters off in the depths of yet another winter. But January provides at least one good reason: the Boston Wine Expo.

There are very few reasons that I’d venture out to Boston in the middle of winter, but let me tell you, the Boston Wine Expo is almost enough of a reason for me to jet on out there from San Francisco. Almost, but not quite. However, if I lived anywhere within 100 miles of the Boston, I would be at the Seaport World Trade center on January 23rd and 24th.

The Boston Wine Expo claims to be the largest public wine tasting event in the entire country. I don’t know if that refers to the crush of people who usually attend this event or the folks that are pouring. 440 different exhibitors pouring more than 1,800 different wines. is definitely a lot no matter how you slice it.

There are so many different options for what you can do (seminars, guided tastings, food pairings, dinners, concerts, you name it) and what sort of tickets you can buy to do them (reasonable to super expensive), I’m not even going to try to summarize what’s on offer. Go check out their web site and figure it out for yourself. What I would be most interested in personally are the grand tastings where you get to taste a lot of wine, and their special Grand Cru Wine Lounge where you pay more to taste a lot of even better wine.

If you enjoy wine there’s very little excuse not to go have a looksee at what is certainly the best opportunity to educate your palate that you’ll get all year, let alone in the dead of winter.

The 19th Annual Boston Wine Expo
Saturday January 23 and Sunday January 24, 2010
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Seaport World Trade Center
200 Seaport Blvd.
Boston, MA, 02210 (map)

Tickets range in price from $85 for a day of tasting to $175 for a full pass, and they get more expensive after Saturday, January 16th. Buy them online in advance to save money and avoid standing on lines when you get there.

And remember my tips for making the most of these large public tastings: get a good night’s sleep before hand; show up with a full stomach; wear dark clothes; drink lots of water; and for heaven’s sake, SPIT !

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

Every budding wine lover faces what can often seem like a daunting mountain to climb. There are so many wines in the world to learn about and experience, it’s not hard to feel overwhelmed. It’s also quite common to feel a certain sense of frustration, the kind characterized by an ambition that far outstrips our own means to fulfill it. Many of the wines that passionate wine lovers wish they could taste are simply out of reach — too rare, too popular, and too expensive.

When I was first starting out in my journey down the roads of wine, the most mysterious and inaccessible wines for me were from Burgundy. My budget allowed for spending $20 to $30 on a bottle, and when it came time to try some French Pinot Noir, that didn’t really (and still doesn’t) buy me very much. I heard people talk about the magic of Burgundy, heard them whisper exotic names in hushed tones, and I so desperately wanted to know what they were talking about. But as a twenty-something kid with only so much disposable income, I had no way of unlocking that box.

What I didn’t have for so many years, but so desperately wanted, was an opportunity to taste some of Burgundy’s greatest producers, side-by-side. What I really wanted fifteen years ago, was La Paulée.

Often referred to as the greatest Burgundy tasting held outside of France, La Paulée is an annual event started in 2000 by sommelier Daniel Johnnes in the spirit of an event known as La Paulée de Meursault, which has been held, in some form or another since 1923 in and around the commune of Meursault in Burgundy, France.

The French version began as a communal dinner among wine producers, and evolved into its modern incarnation as an extravagant lunch that follows the Hospices de Beaune wine auction every year. This luncheon (to which I have never been) is really more of a feast of wine that begins in the early afternoon and lasts well into the evening. It is marked by good food and in particular, by incredible old Burgundies brought from the personal cellars of all who attend.

It was this spirit of conviviality, as well as this passionate consumption of what he considers to be the world’s greatest wines, that prompted Johnnes to hold his own such celebration in New York. In the 8 years since it began, this celebration has evolved into one of the most exciting and sought-after wine events in the world, and in particular, one of the best opportunities for members of the public to taste top Burgundy wines outside of France.

On Saturday, March 13th, the La Paulée Grand Tasting will be held at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, and for $275, you can taste a lineup of Burgundies that should make any serious wine lover weak in the knees. The list includes some of the region’s best producers, as well as a special selection from the village of Meursault. If you’re not familiar enough with these names to know, trust me when I say that the opportunity to taste these wines is well worth the $275, considering that several of the bottles poured, if you were able to find them at all, would cost you north of $500.

The Grand Tasting will feature mostly 2007 wines and a few 2006. But Burgundy is only really good once it has some age on it in my opinion. For those who agree with me, and who are willing to part with a little (OK, a lot) more money, the Gala Dinner following the tasting will be the opportunity to taste older vintages from the producers attending, but also to sample wine brought from the cellars of the many attending wine lovers, in keeping with tradition. That opportunity costs $1400, and is purported to be like dying and going to heaven for those who love Burgundies. Other events this year include a seminar run by Allen Meadows of Burghound, a chance to compare 3 vintages of select producers’ wines, a lunch with wines donated by top collectors, and more.

In these tough economic times coming up with the money to attend a tasting like this can be a challenge for many, which is why this may be the first year that it takes some time for the event to truly sell out (though at least the dinners and other events probably will eventually). Two years ago, even tickets to the Grand Tasting were hard to come by. I usually post about events a couple of weeks before they happen, but to make sure you get a chance at tickets, I’m writing about it now, 2 months ahead of time.

If you can figure out where to come up with the cash, it is quite a worthwhile event for anyone seriously looking to educate their palate, or quench an obsession.

La Paulée Grand Tasting
Saturday, March 13th
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Westin St. Francis Hotel Grand Ballroom
335 Powell Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Tickets for the Grand Tasting are $275. Tickets for the other events run from $135 to $2750. They all can be purchased online.

Learn more about the event on the official web site.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

You people are awesome. Thanks to your help as donors, bidders, and all around generous humanitarians, as of midnight on 12/31/09 when the Menu for Hope raffle closed, we raised $77,900 for the UN World Food Programme. Every single cent of that money is going to poor farmers in Africa, and you deserve a round of applause.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now, the waiting begins. Check back here on Vinography or on Chez Pim on January 18th for the announcement of the winners!

Hope your 2010 is off to a wonderful start. Thanks to you, mine most certainly is.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

There′s still time to win some really fabulous prizes, as our annual Menu For Hope. charity raffle has been extended until the very last moment of 2009. For anyone that doesn′t read Vinography regularly, and may have missed all the hoopla thus far, here’s how it works. A $10 donation to the World Food Programme gets you a raffle ticket and a chance to win the item of your choice from one of hundreds of fantastic things around the world.

I am the host of the wine related prizes, of course.

Since I posted the original list, I’ve added several fantastic prizes, including:

- A spa vacation at Meadowood Napa Valley
- A magnum of Torbreck Wine from Australia
- A overnight stay in a B&B in Napa with a private wine tasting tour
- A cashmere and Cabernet combo

Plus, there are lots of other wine related items from other regions around the world.

What’s more, the folks behind the scenes at A Menu For Hope have designed an incredibly cool bidding tool / donation wizard that eliminates the clunky copy/paste work that you normally have to do. Check it out. It’s a one-stop shop for bidding on any raffle item, and it also shows which items have more bids, and which ones are receiving less attention (and you are therefore much more likely to win!).

For those of you that have already donated, thank you so much. Based on your generosity we have already raised more than $73,000 for struggling African farmers. For those of you who haven’t yet donated, I would like to appeal to several of your key sensibilities. Please consider even a $10 donation, knowing that it might just land you a vacation, a case of wine, or anything else that you might enjoy.

Check out the full list of available prizes and help us out.

Original post by Alfonso Cevola

We’re headed into the final stretches of the holiday craziness. If you’re like me, you’ve already started to consume wine in rough proportion to the number of presents left to wrap, and you find yourself wishing that everyone else around you would start drinking, too.

But even as the stress of the holidays mount to a fever pitch, we need to make sure that we keep it all in perspective. We′re all incredibly lucky to be sitting under a roof somewhere with electricity and heat and clean water and food in the fridge. There are those whose survival, let alone comfort is much less assured than ours.

Which is why, every year, lots of us bloggers get together to run Menu For Hope.

There are just two more days left in this charity raffle, where a $10 donation to the World Food Programme gets you a raffle ticket and a chance to win the item of your choice from one of hundreds of fantastic things around the world.

I am the host of the wine related prizes, of course.

Since I posted the original list, I’ve added several fantastic prizes, including:

- A spa vacation at Meadowood Napa Valley
- A magnum of Torbreck Wine from Australia
- A overnight stay in a B&B in Napa with a private wine tasting tour
- A cashmere and Cabernet combo

Plus, there are lots of other wine related items from other regions around the world.

What’s more, the folks behind the scenes at A Menu For Hope have designed an incredibly cool bidding tool / donation wizard that eliminates the clunky copy/paste work that you normally have to do. Check it out. It’s a one-stop shop for bidding on any raffle item, and it also shows which items have more bids, and which ones are receiving less attention (and you are therefore much more likely to win!).

For those of you that have already donated, thank you so much. Based on your generosity we have already raised more than $40,000 for struggling African farmers. For those of you who haven’t yet donated, I would like to appeal to several of your key sensibilities. Please consider even a $10 donation, knowing that it might just land you a vacation, a case of wine, or anything else that you might enjoy.

Check out the full list of available prizes and help us out.

Happy Holidays,

Alder

Original post by Alfonso Cevola