Last Sunday I had the distinct pleasure of joining
Lisa de Bruin (
Twitter) of
Wine Diver Girl and
Hahn Family Wines at the inaugural
Hahn Wine Blogger Forum, alongside
many of my fellow wine bloggers. Also invited were various other wine people prominent in the new social media wine landscape, including the busy
Judd Wallenbrock (
Twitter) of
Michel-Schlumberger,
Drink Charitably and his own
Humanitas;
John Pianetta of
Pianetta Winery in
Paso appellation and the man who also straddles many worlds,
Jeff "El Jefe" Stai (
Twitter) of
Twisted Oak and
El Bloggo Torcido. Aside from organizer Lisa, Hahn had a few other people in attendance: Evelyn Pool, VP of Marketing;
Bill Leigon, President; and most interestingly the Winemaker for many of the wines, the nicely zany
Adam LaZarre and the warm-hearted Vineyard Manager,
Andy Mitchell.
I caught a ride up with my comrades-(increasingly)-in-arms, the Brix Chicks, Liza (Twitter) and Xandria (Twitter). Thanks for the ride, ladies! We arrived just as the last piece in our chaotic vinous puzzle pulled up, Thea (Twitter) of Vinquire and Luscious Lushes. A few hello's later and the group decision that we were now "professionally" early as opposed to "unfashionably, do you really need to drink wine so" early...we headed in to the Napa headquarters of Hahn Family Wines.
After getting both of our outfits squared away, we decided to start the celebration of the end of 2008 with a stop at one of our favorite local steakhouses and cocktail bar, Moresi's Chophouse in Clayton, CA. Moresi's is housed in were two historic 1800's era buildings, now combined, in the long-standing rural enclave of Clayton, CA. Ed Moresi, longtime proprieter of the outstanding family dining and sports bar establishment Ed's Mudville Grill (check out the amazing collection of sports memorabilia!) son Dom and the rest of the Moresi clan have created a wonderful stop within the small, comfortable downtown of Clayton. 
This part of the conference was to be an exciting off-site activity, courtesy of 
I was compelled to visit this winery after the great discussion that I had with Nancy Bailey at the previous evening's 