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Events

A collection of 122 posts

Rhone Rangers and the value of communal marketing

On Tuesday, I handed off the presidency of the board of the Rhone Rangers to Josh Bendick of Holly's Hill Vineyards in the Sierra Foothills after a two-year term. I've served on the organization's board for seven years now, a long time in the

Biodynamics and dry-farming: repairing the failings of "modern" viticulture

Week before last, I had the privilege of representing Tablas Creek at the Yosemite Vintners' Holidays. This event (which I wrote about a few months back in my post 5 great events for food&wine lovers) was as usual a treat, with unexpectedly warm weather, about 175 attendees

A first in-depth look at the 2009 Tablas Creek red wines

2009 was a challenging vintage, with very low yields from three years of drought and some significant April frosts. It was further complicated by a record-breaking October rainstorm that dropped a foot of rain on the vineyard and stopped harvest for three weeks while everything dried out. The net result

Five great events for food & wine lovers

I'm currently looking out at the adobes of Santa Fe, on a beautiful fall day. I'm in town for the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta, an annual celebration of the culinary traditions of one of the best food towns in America. This is one event

A great idea by the Rhone Rangers: Pneumonia's Last Syrah

Most of you are probably aware that Syrah faces a challenging marketplace. Even articles complimentary about Syrahs (as nearly all of them are) feel compelled to begin with a story about how hard they are to sell. A recent article by Eric Asimov in the New York Times began "

How to make the most of trade and consumer tastings

Last Sunday, I was standing behind the Tablas Creek table at the Family Winemakers of California tasting in San Francisco. We were one of 340 wineries pouring wines for more than 1700 trade and 700 consumers (an additional 1700+ trade came on Monday). Family Winemakers (as it's known

Cream of Grilled Asparagus Soup Recipe

Every summer in the Central Coast brings wonderful asparagus to the local farmers' markets. Unfortunately, asparagus is notoriously difficult on wine, to which it imparts a bitter aftertaste. Fortunately, grilling the asparagus solves the issue, and pairing it with a wine with a little natural bite to it like

Changes at the 2010 Paso Robles Wine Festival

We just finished the Paso Robles Wine Festival for 2010. As usual, it was a whirlwind of activity, with a delicious dinner Friday night at the Cass House Inn in Cayucos, pourings with the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance on Friday and Saturday evenings downtown in Paso Robles, and our

Antoine's 1940 Wine List, 70 Years and 40,000% Inflation Later

By Robert Haas While researching another subject on the web recently I came across this article by Jean-Luc Le Dû in the May 8th 2008 New York Times in which he writes about discovering Antoine’s (New Orleans) Restaurant’s remarkable hundredth anniversary 1940 wine list. You can also access

All Things Consumed: Taking A Closer Look at Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc

Each spring we release our flagship white wine, the Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc, to the wholesale market. In advance of its arrival, and in an effort to further celebrate its release, the wine is typically introduced to individual states via a presale, where it is offered to restaurants and retailers