Vintners Hall of Fame 2010 Inductee Luncheon

Vintners Hall of Fame - CIA GreystoneLast year in late November, I had the very fortunate opportunity to attend the 2010 Inductee Luncheon for the Vintners Hall of Fame at The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone in St. Helena. CIA Greystone is the premiere college for the culinary arts, with the main campus at Hyde Park, New York. They also have additional campuses in San Antonio, Texas and in the imposing former Christian Brothers stone building in St. Helena, California. It is here at Greystone that they have converted the old winery Barrel Room into a an impressive showcase of the many men and women that have shaped the wine industry in America.

Pre-WBC09: Twisted Murphys Wine'n!

Twisted Oak Winery - Pre-WBC09 Murphys/Calaveras CountyWhat happens when you get bunches of wine bloggers all together to take over a small wine country town? Mine cave-ins, death, destruction and mass group arrests! OK...that didn't quite happen, but mass chaos, super amounts of fun and the realization that Calaveras County is an up-and-coming wine region with Murphys leading the charge as a boutique wine destination definitely DID occur. The Twisted Oak Winery Pre-WBC09 Murphys/CalaCo wine event had dropped, and there was no going back!

JJ Buckley's Tuesday Night Bordeaux at La Folie

I attended a most enlightening Bordeaux tasting a couple weeks back, courtesy of JJ Buckley Fine Wines, an outstanding online purveyor of wine based out of the SF Bay Area. The event was held at the well known French restaurant La Folie, which also provided the nibbles that were served alongside the wines that night. Tuesday Night Bordeaux aimed to prove to its lucky attendees that good to outstanding quality wine can be had in Bordeaux at affordable prices. All of the wines were $35 and under, with most falling into the $25 and under range.

Espiritu de Argentina Winemaker Dinner @ Destino SF

Espiritu de ArgentinaOne recent bright evening in San Francisco, The Lady and I had the opportunity to head below the border, as in below the Equator…to Argentina! A new wine label is set to drop on our half of the Earth called Espiritu de Argentina. Combining the efforts of the US-based Cecchetti Racke, Espiritu de Chile and Argentine winery Bodega Monte Real, it will feature a full line of affordable and Argentine wines. Lady and I met in front of the resto Destino, where we would have the lucky opportunity of getting a sneak peak at these quaffable wines paired with a one-time 7 course small plates meal, all courtesy of Balzac Communications.

Beaulieu Vineyard 2006 Georges de Latour Release Party

Beaulieu Vineyard (BV)Sometimes life just nicely comes together. Sitting down at the end of the 2009 North American Wine Bloggers Conference in the sunny courtyard of Dry Creek Vineyard, I happened to sit across from one Jill Dever (Twitter). She being the Visitor Center Coordinator at Beaulieu Vineyard and the newly minted social media queen of all that is BV. We got to chatting and she mentioned that BV was really looking to expand its presence in social media, particularly with wine bloggers. A card swap, a few introductions and a new wine journey had begun!
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