Round Up: Favorite Wine or Cocktail Events

It’s no secret that Eve’s Wine 101 co-hosts Cocktails on the Roof (save the date: 8/25/17!) and is currently recruiting wineries – and guests – to Wine in the Pines. (That date is set for 6/10/17).

Cocktails logo newThis got me to thinking…what are the best wine or cocktail events our readers/followers have enjoyed and would recommend? So I got some answers from Facebook friends, hyperlinked the event websites for you and added my own notes in italics if it’s an event I’ve attended before:

Robin B: The ones we used to have in SCV which were lots of fun. (The Santa Clarita Wine Fest is the one that Robin B is referring to. The same people that run the LA Wine Fest run it, and I’ve been talking with them as they might bring it back for 2018! So stay tuned! It was/is our only large wine festival held in the Santa Clarita Valley.)

Kathie W: Cocktail event – obviously Cocktails on the Roof. (Clearly, a winner to me! If you Google our event you will see lots of pre and post event coverage for our 2015 and 2016 events. All of the money goes straight to the WiSH Education Foundation that serves all of the students in the Hart District = our middle schools and high schools.)

Jeannie C: The Assistance League Santa Clarita 10th Annual Sunset in the Vineyard is scheduled for the 1st Sunday in November at Compa Vineyard, November 5, 2017. Our inaugural was 2008! From 7 vintners, food made by the ladies from AL, music from an iPod (the event has now has grown) to 20 vintners, 2 craft breweries, the Culinary iCUE chefs and students, Dole/Humphries and friends, Valet parking, not to forget amazing community partners, a live and silent auction – and all the proceeds benefit Operation School Bell and those in need in the SCV! We’ve come a long way baby! (We’ve supported this event since the start. Don’t have much to add to Jeannie’s words, except to say that this is the singular SCV event that showcases local winemakers, some commercial and some not, so it would be tough to find some of these wines anywhere else! Or the opportunity to talk to home winemakers about their craft.)

Terri S: Any of the Rhone Rangers events…the walk around Grand Tastings are superb. (We have been covering the RR events for years. Best way to learn about domestic red and white Rhone grapes being grown here, and the awesome Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre blend, aka the GSM, that is a favorite to many. Rhone Rangers LA is 3/25.)

Russ B: Passport to Dry Creek Valley. They have a theme at each winery such as circus, beach, pirate, the movie Caddyshack, the Kentucky Derby and a Masquerade. They also have food at every winery. Great event. (4/29-30.)

Marleen R: Gosh so many. I loved Pinot Days (6/3), Celebration of Harvest Santa Barbara (10/6-9), and Ventura Winter Wine Walk (12/2). California Wine Festival (held this past Jan 2017) and of course Wine in the Pines are good one too. I look at the participating wineries and what they have to offer, besides location and value price. (The only event here that I still attend is Wine in the Pines. Look for upcoming press on that one, but I will share that this is my ultimate favorite outdoor venue for wine tasting. Why? It is wide open, you are surrounded by nature and PINE TREES.)

Lisa D: This year is SITV 10th Anniversary. Great local event.

Scott K: The Park City Food and Wine Classic is a mind-blower. (For those that want to travel, this event in Utah will be July 6-9.)

Lauren G: Inexpensive but tasty! (Lauren has volunteered for us in our Pour Into events. We raised money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti and the Hurricane Sandy. Our minimum donation was $25 for the tasting event, with local cellar owners and winemakers donating all the wines. The venue, All Corked Up, is sadly no longer available but we would love another local venue to step up the next time we feel the urge to help others via a wine event.)

Me: Masters of Taste is a richly designed event held on the field of the Rose Bowl with wine, spirits, cocktails and food samples from the best restaurants in LA will be held on 5/7, Lucky Rice LA on 7/28 works with Bombay Sapphire Gin and serves up both Asian inspired cuisine and more, and LA Weekly’s The Essentials held on 3/26 is another event with a heck of a lot of food to sample, wine and spirits, and exceptionally large!

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

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