January 28, 2010 – 10:10 am
If you will be in Temecula, California for Valentine’s Day, consider making reservations at Thornton Winery. This dining specialty will include a table for two with a rose for your sweetheart. Price is $85 per person with discounts available for club members. The price includes a choice of seating locations, live music and a gourmet dinner. The three course dinner also includes a passed hors d’ oeuvres tray. Wines included will begin with a Thornton Brut and follows with Chardonnay, Sangiovese and a late harvest Zinfandel with dessert. No matter when you visit Temecula, Thornton Winery is a delightful winery to visit. To discover special events, visit their website event’s page.
Cheers! Kathy
January 26, 2010 – 11:48 am
The South Beach Wine & Food Festival will be held from February 25-28, 2010.
In an effort to help the people of Haiti, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is donating 100% of the gross advance ticket sales of the South Beach Diet event Fun and Fit as a Family.
Advance tickets for the Fun and Fit as a Family event are a reasonable $20 and can be purchased at www.funandfitasafamily.com. Purchase advance tickets before 3pm on Friday, February 26th, 2010. Funds raised for Haiti will be donated to the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
In addition a donation center will be set up to collect clothes and canned goods for the people of Haiti suffering from the catastrophic earthquake.
About the South Beach Wine & Food Festival:
This annual festival has been in existence for several years and has grown from a one-day event to four days. Included in the list of events are wine seminars, gourmet dinners, debates, and much more. The South Beach festival helps the Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management Teaching Restaurant and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center.
Help others and enjoy yourself at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival!
Cheers! Kathy
January 25, 2010 – 12:45 pm
Randall Grahm is well known in California for his winery Bonny Doon Vineyard, winemaking, unusual wine bottle labels and author.
After reading Been Doon So Long: A Randall Grahm Vinthology published last year and following Randall Grahm on Twitter, I feel as if I know Grahm and would like to know more about him. So when I have the opportunity to learn more about the founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard, a renowned winery in California, I take the time.
On January 20, Bill Daley of the Chicago Tribune published an article “Bonny Doon founder is a punster d’vine” in which he included an online interview with Randall Grahm. Information obtained in the interview included why Grahm produces wine as well as his forecast of the wine industry in the next 10 years. Grahm also writes about the California wine industry and what it is doing wrong as well as right.
Anyone wishing to read a review of Been Doon So Long, can find it on the Wine Trail Traveler website.
Cheers! Kathy
January 23, 2010 – 9:11 am
Considering a trip to Portland, Oregon this spring? Wine enthusiasts may want to consider spending April 10 and 11 in wine country and enjoy the 2nd annual North Willamette Vintners Wine Trail Weekend. Twenty-one wineries will be open for this event. Some of these wineries are usually not open to the public.
Tickets are available at the door for $45 or those wishing to save $10 can purchase tickets in advance for $35. Included in the price is a kit that has a reusable wine tote, wine glass, restaurant, hotels and winery coupons and discounts. Designated driver tickets are only $10.
Participants will have the opportunity to enjoy tasting new releases, reserve labels and barrel tastings. They can also learn about wine and food pairings. Visit Ponzi Vineyards and meet Nancy Ponzi, author of The Ponzi Vineyards Cookbook. Activities will also include learning label, cork and wax wine bottles.
For reviews about several Oregon wineries visit the Wine Trail Traveler website. Located in Gaston, Oregon Kramer Vineyards is a partner of Wine Trail Traveler.
Cheers! Kathy
January 22, 2010 – 10:13 am
Stores throughout the country are allowed to ship thousands of goods directly to consumers. Think about it. Televisions, computers, potato chips, chocolates, books…. As you know the list can just go on and on. Look at all that Amazon offers consumers. As a long time resident of Maryland, I have been waiting and waiting to be able to have the opportunity to order a bottle of wine online or belong to one of the many wine clubs available throughout the country. Make 2010 the year that the Maryland legislature members realize that direct wine shipping will help both the consumers who elect them and the state coffers which have been decimated.
Please support Direct Wine Shipping by contacting the Maryland state legislator members and by signing the petition at Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws.
For an additional article about the direct shipping initiatives in Maryland, read Dave McIntyre’s article, “Why Maryland Consumers can’t buy wine online” in the Washington Post.
Cheers! Kathy
January 21, 2010 – 3:54 pm
Save the date February 6 and 7. It’s not too late to consider a visit to the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia to discover artisan wines, culinary seminars, food and art. Seminars include Olive oil Tasting, Teasosphy Tea Tasting, Lobster Cracking Demo and more. Exhibitions will include Artist Attic, Spice Rack Chocolates, Sweets By Greeks, Jewelry Works, Time to Wine, Pearl Fine Teas, Peter Tomlinson Photography and many more. Numerous Virginia wineries will also be available.
To discover more information visit the 4th Annual Virginia Wine Showcase website. Tickets can also be ordered on line or purchased at the door.
Cheers! Kathy
January 20, 2010 – 1:07 pm
After tweeting yesterday about the Virginia Wine Festival next month, I heard from a fellow Tweeter who mentioned a wine festival in California.
The Pacific Coast Wine Festival is significant because the beneficiary of the event is the Pacific Symphony. If you are a wine and music lover this is your opportunity to enjoy yourself at a fundraiser. Delight in wine, dinner and a wine auction while helping the Pacific Symphony. The event features dinner, wine tastings, sommeliers and an auction with a variety of items.
The festival is scheduled for March 6, 2010 and will be held at the Island Hotel in Newport Beach. A limited number of tickets are available and begin at $250 each. Cash donations and wine donations are also accepted. Remember this is a fundraiser. For more information visit the Pacific Coast Wine Festival website.
Cheers! Kathy
-1.5in.jpg)
Why Didn’t I Think of That? A Wine Label That Focuses on Sustainability
How many times have you thought, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Kudos to Doug Miller for devising a wine label that focuses on sustainability.
Miller created a label that looks like a nutritional list but focuses on sustainability. Doug Miller, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, has devised a wine bottle label, “Production & Transportation Facts.” It reminds one of a nutritional label perhaps on a box of cereal. However this particular label focuses on providing sustainable information for buyers of a bottle of wine.
Included on the label will be the environmental impact rating of between 1 and 5. Also included will be percentages of Distance of Transport for Materials, raw materials used and information for proper disposal of the item. To discover more about the Production & Transportation Facts label view this article.
The pros of this type of additional label will be to inform consumers of the impact of a particular bottle of wine on the environment. Will consumers purchase a bottle of wine due to this label? However, the cons I find include how to determine the data and will oversight be necessary. Will wineries willing accept adding yet another label to their wine bottles? How will the labels account for the distribution of the wine? Miller is continuing to work on perfecting this wine label concept.
There is definitely an interest in this type of information being available to consumers. Miller was chosen to present this unique wine label at The Economist magazine’s Carbon Economy Summit.
Cheers! Kathy