Those who enjoy the finer side of life can indulge in wine tasting year around in the fine state of California. Starting in Paso Robles, we are going to take a look at the annual wine tasting festivities in the Northern California region.
A Relaxing Drive In March
Paso Robles is a three-and-a-half hour drive, going south from San Francisco. On the third weekend in March, Paso Robles holds their annual Zinfandel Festival. In 2008, the event will be staged on the weekend of March 14-16.
This three-day festival offers Winemaker dinners, food pairings, seminars, open houses and special tasting opportunities at more than 90 wineries in Paso Robles Wine Country, accentuating the main event on Saturday evening.
The Zinfandel Grand Tasting, featuring Zinfandel from more than 40 area wineries, is scheduled between 7-9:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, at the conclusion of the Live Auction. Zin-friendly hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction, featuring a wide variety of wine and lifestyle packages, will accompany the Grand Tasting.
You can learn more about this festival by visiting: http://www.pasowine.com/events/zinfandelfestival.php
25 Years In May
Tiburon, California, is just north of San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge and on the East side of Richardson Bay.
The annual Tiburon Wine Festival sold out in 2007, four days ahead of the event, so it is recommended that you get your tickets early.
The 2008 Tiburon Wine Festival is a one-day event, to be held on Sat. May 17, 2008 – 1-4 p.m. It will feature premium wines from 65 wineries, 20 restaurant and food booths, and live entertainment on the waterfront.
Tiburon is considered to be one of the top five wine tasting events held each year in California. This year will certainly be no exception. To learn more about this 25th Silver Anniversary event, visit: http://tiburonwinefestival.homestead.com
Monterey County in The Spring
Located near the world-famous Carmel and Monterey Bay, the Chalone Appellation, situated in the Gabilan Mountain Range of Monterey County consistently produces some of the finest wines in California.
When describing the 2004 Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay, the Tasters Guild Orlando (Florida) said it has low tannin, medium body and is very dry. The same vintage was given a ranking of 87-points by Wine Spectator.
The Chalone Appellation benefits largely from its unique geography, which helps to add to the overall quality of the wines they produce. The area offers jagged volcanic rock merging at the Pinnacles, bright limestone, decomposed granite soils and rolling green vineyards in the midst of it all.
The resulting wines from the Chalone Appellation wine-growing region are lush, concentrated and have a distinctive mineral taste, and are frequently given 90 point scores at wine tasting events.
In 2008, the annual Pinnacles Wine Festival is scheduled for April 26th, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Soledad, CA. 2008 will mark the fifth year for this annual event. The details of the 2008 festival had not yet been set at the time of this writing, but previous years brought together all 14 wine producers from the wine appellation, with an abundance of five-star restaurants participating in the event.
To get the updated information on the Pinnacles Wine Festival, hosted by the Inn at the Pinnacles, in the heart of the Chalone Appellation, please visit: http://www.pinnacleswinefestival.com/
Three Days In May
Lodi, CA is half-an-hour south of Sacramento, and Lodi Lake is the venue for the 4th annual Lodi ZinFest to be held May 16-18, 2008.
The weekend starts with Vintners’ Grille at the Lake with a wine reception on Friday night at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m., dinner will be served. And right after dusk (around 8:15 p.m.), the “Light Up the Lake” fireworks display will start. Only 700 tickets will be available for Friday night’s festivities and tickets must be ordered in advance through the Lodi Winegrape Commission.
The ZinFest Wine Festival will run from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday at Lodi Lake. Visitors to the Lodi ZinFest will be able to taste award-winning wines from over 40 Lodi wineries. Local wineries will be on-hand to let festival visitors taste many delicious wines including Lodi’s heritage grape, Zinfandel.
Lodi ZinFest includes wine tasting, live entertainment, cooking demonstrations, wine seminars and lots of fun. Food and merchandise will be sold separately.
This event wraps up on Sunday, with more than two-dozen local wineries offering open house and tasting of their complete line of wines, as well as other special activities.
To learn more about Lodi ZinFest or to order tickets, visit: http://www.zinfest.com/
Sacramento In June
The Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) hosts the annual Sacramento Grape Escape. This event is typically held in June, although at the time of this writing, the date for the 2008 Grape Escape has not yet been established.
In recent years, the Sacramento Grape Escape has featured more than 100 of the Sacramento Region’s award-winning wineries and restaurants, from eight area counties.
The Annual Grape Escape is an all-inclusive event to celebrate the region’s award winning wine country and its highly touted local cuisine.
Check the Sacramento Grape Escape website for the most up-to-date information: http://www.sacramentograpeescape.com/
Labor Day in Sonoma Valley
Just 45 minutes north of San Francisco, Sonoma Valley vintners come together every Labor Day weekend and very generously do whatever it takes to raise millions of dollars for charities. By 2007, the Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction had donated more than $5 million directly to Sonoma Valley charities during the previous decade.
The Sonoma Valley Harvest Wine Auction is a multi-day event that includes elegant winery dinners and upscale food events, unique sit-down wine tastings, a colorful picnic and the unparalleled main event live auction.
As Labor Day weekend gets closer, you should be able to find more information here: http://www.sonomavalleywine.com/harvest_main.asp
Celebrating New Orleans In Napa Valley
On October 4, 2008 – 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Napa Valley will have their annual Wine Country Cajun Food and Music Festival. The spirit of Mardi Gras and the flavors of New Orleans come to Napa Downtown for this spirited celebration of Bayou life.
This event generally features informal New Orleans’-style street parades, Zydeco dancing and New Orleans-inspired food and wines from Napa chefs and wineries.
This event caters more to families than most wine tasting events held around the state during the year. The Wine Country Cajun Food and Music Festival also features roving musicians playing Dixieland jazz, blues and gospel music.
To learn more about this event, you can visit: http://www.napadowntown.com/cajun-festival.napa
The Four S’s Of Responsible Wine Tasting
Before you travel, we encourage responsible wine tasting. Regardless of your alcohol choices, the consumption of alcohol will still impair your ability to respond, therefore slowing your reaction time when driving.
Your safety and the safety of those on the road with you, relies upon all drivers being of sober mind and spirit while on the road. We enjoy our wines as much as the next person, but we want to encourage the responsible consumption of alcohol and responsible wine tasting activities.
The four S’s of responsible wine tasting are: Swirl, Smell, Sip and Spit (not swallow). Be safe, and enjoy the best that California wine country has to offer.
…
Rustin McLeod writes for the Wine Interview website, which is an excellent resource for all wine-related information. They interview winery operators, wine growers, wine experts and wine tasters. They present their information in the form of wine interview videos, wine articles, and wine expert blogs. Launched in February 2008, Wine Interview is based in the heart of California Wine Country, and it is the destination website for wine lovers everywhere. http://www.wineinterview.com
Read more articles written by Rustin McLeod
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