Eve's Wine 101

Lake County Wines Reach New a Pinnacle

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KELSEYVILLE, Calif., PRNewswire — Lake County received the highest rating ever achieved by a wine from its region – receiving a 96 point rating for the 2016 Sol Rouge Petite Sirah from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

Lake County, a small wine growing region directly north of Napa, used to be part of Napa County and was said to have grown as many grapes as Napa in the 1900s. However, the 1920 Prohibition brought an end to Lake County wine production as vines were removed and planted with other crops.

Lake County’s re-emergence in the wine industry began in the 1960s and grew from less than 100 acres in 1965 to nearly 10,000 acres today. Although large premium Napa Valley grape growers like Beringer and Beckstoffer Vineyards established themselves in the county, few wineries included “Lake County” on their labels, as most wine was often blended into that of Napa Valley and Sonoma wines.

In 2007, a dozen wineries in Lake County including Sol Rouge Winery, established the Lake County Winery Association to promote awareness. At the time, Lake County wines were relatively unknown or reviewed by the top wine magazines with only a few wines receiving a 90+ point rating. Most of these wines were made by Napa winemakers like Thomas Rivers Brown, maker of the Schrader Cellars Double Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon from Beckstoffer’s Amber Knolls Vineyard.

Today, the Lake County Winery Association has over three dozen vintners like Shannon Ridge, Gregory Graham, Brassfield, Hawk & Horse, and Obsidian Ridge, who commonly make wines in the 90-95 point range.  “We’ve seen a trend in higher ratings from all of our Lake County wineries and this rating is just another example of how wineries are producing world-class wines from Lake County,” said Helena Walsh, Director of Lake County Winery Association.

The 2016 Sol Rouge Petite Sirah put Lake County in a completely different league, scoring a 96 point rating by one of the top wine review magazines – the highest in the county’s 50+ year history of winemaking. “I actually never checked on how rare that rating was. I tasted the Sol Rouge Petite Sirah blind of course, along with a few other Petites from Lake and two other appellations, so when I scored it I didn’t know the AVA. It’s a magnificent wine and a great example of how good the Lake County terroir can be,” said Jim Gordon, Contributing Editor, Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

“When we planted the Sol Rouge Vineyard, we sought to grow the best possible grapes to make the finest wine we could,” said Bryan Kane, Co-Owner & Winemaker of Sol Rouge Vineyard & Winery. “When we came to Lake County, the highest rating from one of the Big 3 (Spectator, Enthusiast & Parker) was 92 points. So far, we’ve earned 90–94 points on 44 of our 51 Lake County wines, with the majority scoring 92-94 points.” Bryan attributes the higher scores amongst Lake County wines both improved winemaking and the excellent growing conditions.

“Lake County produces some of the most distinct winegrapes in the world, and over the years, we’ve seen a steady increase in recognition of the region’s wines,” said Debra Sommerfield, President of the Lake County Winegrape Commission. “This impressive rating further substantiates Lake County’s position as a top-tier winegrowing region.”

With all the recent devastation to the Napa and Sonoma wine growing regions caused by the Glass and LNU Lightning Complex fires, wineries have been looking to Lake County for grapes. Jim Smith of Case by Case Wine Brokers states, “We have been challenged as of late with the soaring demand of winegrapes from Lake County. I believe the work is out on what winemakers can expect from our wine growing region.”

“We are honored and excited to have received such a high rating on our 2016 Petite Sirah and expect that Sol Rouge and others will continue to aspire to make highly rated world class wines,” stated Jill Brothers, Sol Rouge Co-Owner and Winegrower.

ABOUT SOL ROUGE

Sol Rouge is a family estate located in the Mayacamas Mountains at elevations averaging over 1800 feet. North of Napa in the foothills of a dormant volcano which formed the North Coast wine country in the Red Hills Appellation of Lake County, this land contains rich, red volcanic soil and, from this unique profile, Sol Rouge derived its name – translating to “Red Soil” in French. This 70 acre estate is planted with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsaut, Counoise, Zinfandel, Petite Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc in a “high vine density” configuration allowing each vine to focus on fewer clusters of fruit, leading to greater complexity. Nestled between Mt. Konocti and Benson Ridge, this aggressive sight is all hillside with slopes up to 60% and is said to be the most aggressive and tightly planted vineyard in the Red Hills, with nearly 6000 vines per hectare in some blocks. For more information, see http://www.solrouge.com

2016 Sol Rouge Petite Sirah Wine Enthusiast Magazine Review: https://www.winemag.com/buying-guide/sol-rouge-2016-petite-sirah-lake-county/

Trapiche is Awarded Top 100 Winery of the Year by Wine and Spirits Magazine

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MENDOZA, ARGENTINA (PRWEB) – Trapiche, one of Argentina’s largest and most historically-important wine producers, announced that Wine & Spirits Magazine has recognized it as a Top 100 Winery of the Year for 2020.

Wine & Spirits designates its Top 100 Wineries of the World annually. The magazine’s editors have tasted thousands of wines from around the world in 2020 to develop a list of the year’s best wineries based on overall performance, in addition to researching profiles on each winner in order to present the background on the vines, farming, and winemaking philosophy which helped create the top-performing wines.

Trapiche earned some of the highest scores in its regional category in the magazine’s blind tastings this year, with one of the most consistent performances over a range of wines. The iconic producer’s top-performing wines for 2020 were: 2015 Mendoza Iscay Malbec & Cabernet Franc (95 points & Top 100 Wines 2020), 2017 La Consulta Terroir Series Finca Orellana Malbec (95 points), 2017 Gualtallary Terroir Series Finca Ambrosia Malbec (94 points), and 2017 El Peral Terroir Series Finca Coletto Malbec (93 points).

For the first time in 17 years, the Top 100 Tasting will be a virtual event. “We’re excited by the new challenge and will work to ensure the virtual event has the same community feel of our Top 100 Tastings in years past,” said Joshua Greene, editor-in-chief of Wine & Spirits Magazine. Representatives of Trapiche, part of Grupo Peñaflor (owned by the Bemberg Family) will be joining the celebration digitally.

“We are humbled by this award, which is a great honor for Trapiche,” says Daniel Pi, Grupo Peñaflor’s Director of Winemaking and one of the most respected vintners in the world. “This is an important recognition of the excellence of Argentina’s unique, world-class terroirs, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the 300 small growers with whom we partner. Since 1883, Trapiche has viewed the exploration of the land and its natural resources as an open door to new challenges and progress—and we look forward to continuing to lead the way for Argentine viticulture for the next century and beyond.”

This award marks an important milestone in Trapiche´s history, recognizing its contributions to the Argentine and global wine industries over the past 135 years, and its impact on local wine tourism and culture in recent decades.

This acknowledgment follows the achievement of many other important milestones: Trapiche has been named New World Winery of 2019 by Wine Enthusiast magazine. Trapiche is the number one Argentinian winery in exports, and the only Argentinian winery recognized six times by the renowned English publication Drinks International in its list of the “Top 50 Most Admired Wine Brands” (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020). Likewise, the winery has recently been ranked for the fourth year running as “Argentina’s Most Awarded Winery” by “World Ranking Wines & Spirits” (WRW&S) and more recently Trapiche has been selected among the World´s Best Vineyards 2020 Top 50 ranking.

About Trapiche

The Trapiche story began in 1883, in a small vineyard called ‘El Trapiche’, in Mendoza, Argentina’s main winemaking region. There, the grapes for the first fine wines were grown. With more than 135 years of experience, Trapiche has earned its place as a pioneer in innovative grape growing and winemaking practices in Argentina.

Exploration and discovery lie at the heart of the winery, which thrives on innovation as a guiding principle in the search for new horizons. Wine is a fascinating territory. Concentrating its efforts in groundbreaking research, Trapiche is driven by a strong will to continue uncovering varietal expressions loved and admired by the entire world. A path forged by hard work and nourished by the accolades that recognize it. A New World for Wine, where Bodega Trapiche continues to stand out.

Find out more about Trapiche: http://www.trapiche.com.ar

About Wine & Spirits Magazine

Founded in 1982, Wine & Spirits is published seven times a year and read by over 200,000 members of America’s wine community. Consumers and wine professionals read the magazine for information on established and up-and-coming regions and producers, the art and science of viticulture, industry happenings and food and wine pairing. Wine & Spirits, the only wine publication to win the James Beard award five times for excellence in wine writing, evaluates more than 11,500 bottlings every year.

PURITY IS THE HIGHEST RATED ORGANIC DISTILLERY IN THE WORLD BASED ON TASTE

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Hundreds of judges and industry experts across the globe blind-tasted Purity Vodka, Purity Spritz, and Purity Gin. The results coming out of multiple prestigious competitions were remarkably consistent, GOLD.

Master Blender Mathias Tonnesson and Master Distiller Stefan Magnusson

ULTIMATE SPIRIT CHALLENGE RESULTS

INTERNATIONAL SPIRITS CHALLENGE RESULTS

INTERNATIONAL WINE AND SPIRITS CHALLENGE

“It is humbling and gratifying to watch so many experts choose Purity completely based on taste,” said Master Blender Mathias Tönnesson. “It takes extra time, care, and attention to source superior ingredients then carefully distill them, it’s reassuring when others recognize the Purity taste shining through.” 

Mathias continues,” We distill our spirit very, very slowly, many times, in a specially designed copper still. It can be compared to when you slowly cook your food at a low temperature. It brings the most taste, character, and depth to the spirit and it’s a process that other brands don’t bother with. For Purity, every step matter because the taste matters. Our goal is to make the best tasting spirit in the world and make products we are proud to sell and to serve to our family and friends.

Our main ingredients, Swedish wheat, and malted barley are carefully selected without any chemical cultivation or processing. We believe that by using organic ingredients it creates a much better-tasting spirit, and of course, is better for mother nature. We also value the quality of the water that we use and believe it’s crucial to the taste. Most brands use only distilled water, which removes any of the natural nuances, sediments, and flavors that help bring out the complexity of the vodka. At Purity, we use naturally soft Swedish water, and as a result, it blends with the other ingredients creating a complex, characterful, and truly unique spirit.”

PURITY CONNOISSEUR 51 RESERVE ORGANIC VODKA

For more information please visit www.PurityDistillery.com

Jaw Dropping Results Breaking for BTI’s 2020 Whisk(e)y Awards

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CHICAGO /PRNewswire/ — Beverage Testing Institute, conductors of the oft-imitated first international spirits competition in the United States, has completed its evaluation of 2020’s Best Whiskies. Twenty-one all-trade blind tasting panels assessed the spirited contenders for quality in the BTI Lab using its proprietary methodology and custom software.

From small US artisans, to Canadian distilleries, to Kentucky powerhouses, here are some of the best of category winners:

Colorado’s Old Elk Distillery came out with gloves on. The 15-year Old Elk Straight Rye and Old Elk Straight Wheat dressed to impress winning Gold and leading their categories. The secret to Old Elk’s success? We think it’s likely the combo of the lifetime experience of Master Distiller Greg Metze (38 years at Seagram’s Distillery) and the exceptional palate of Head Distiller Kate Douglas.

Also, from the “The Centennial State”, the Boulder Bottled-In-Bond American Single Malt from Vapor Distillery set the bar for what ASMW can produce with its 95-point, Gold Medal winning, liquid treasure.  Nods to The QuintEssential ASMW from Iowa’s Cedar Ridge Distillery for a great showing as well at 93 points.

For the Blended Rye Whiskey category, Utah’s High West Double Rye! received a golden accolade solidifying its place as a bar and consumer top-performer.

Rye Whiskey craft dominators Old Potrero from California and Evanston Illinois’ FEW Rye Whiskey excelled at 94 and 92 points, respectively. And Kentucky stalwart, Wild Turkey Rye 101 shined as an expert expression of the Rye persuasion.

There’s no denying that there’s something about that Kentucky limestone-filtered, “branch” water… The big winner was Kentucky scion Doc Swinson’s 15 Year Cask Strength Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which grabbed the only BTI Platinum Medal—the beverage world’s ultimate honor for a spirits brand.

Heavy-medal-laden Kentucky distillery, Sazerac belted out some big Bourbon anthems. Their Colonel E.H. Taylor Single Barrel, Weller Full Proof and Stagg Jr. all hit 95-point high notes.

The Knob Creek 12-Year-Old 100 Proof Bourbon from Clermont Kentucky’s legendary Jim Beam Distillery not only proved that it provides great bang for the buck, but with an sensational 95-point score, will make your taste buds sing.

Flavored Whiskey nods go to the Michigan craftsmen at Journeyman Distillery for their 92-point Field Rye Fig Flavored Whiskey and the from-left-field, only-in-America Skrewball Peanut Butter Flavored Whisky, which are both delicious and far more than just guilty pleasures.

For the full list of BTI’s 2020 North American Whiskey Results visit their free consumer buying guide Tastings.com: http://www.tastings.com/Calendar-Spirits/Review-2020-09-01-North-American-Whiskey.aspx

Across the pond in the World Whiskey Review a record 7 Platinum BTI Medals were awarded to Midleton, Redbreast, Jameson and Kavalan this year. Kavalan from Taiwan shows off its whisky finishing and how their liquid gold and barrels benefit from the region’s warmer temperatures.

Do you know about Jameson’s Bow Street 18 Year Old Cask? It made our judges’ knees buckle as they fell in love with it. At 96 points, gifting this beaut will ensure that your in-laws write you into their will.

Midleton’s Dair Ghaelackh Knockrath may be difficult for Americans to pronounce but even harder to put down. Savory, warming and a spiritual experience. Consistently golden Aberlour grabs 5 gold medals.

On our radar, newcomer Archie Rose from Australia will be a collector’s dream whiskey as we suspect the brand grow and get better and better and better. Slightly peated Irish Blended Whiskey The Legendary Silkie is highly recommended.

The takeaways?

  • No matter the size of the budget of the consumer, delicious North American drams are plentiful.
  • Digging for gold? Get lucky in Kentucky.
  • Ready to venture beyond the bluegrass state? Craft distilleries Journeyman and FEW deliver and show that craft spirits producers have truly honed their technique and distilling skills.
  • Learn to leave the Steakhouse Single Malts to the uninspired. Instead try Aberlour, the malt of the individual.
  • And if you do have some extra dough to dish out for some quality whiskies—our results show, they should be Irish.

For a full list of BTI’s 2020 World Whiskey Review along with detailed tasting notes and cocktail recommendations visit: http://www.tastings.com/Calendar-Spirits/Review-2020-08-01-Scotch-Irish-and-World-Whiskey.aspx

About BTI: Beverage Testing Institute was founded in 1981 with the mission of making the beverage industry better, one brand at a time. Creators of the first international spirits competition in the U.S. they have a rotating monthly category call for their unbiased, professional published reviews. For more information about BTI’s reviews, competitions and other services visit: www.bevtest.com

Portland Cider Co. Brings Home Best Cider from the 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition

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PORTLAND, OR – Portland Cider Co., one of Oregon’s longest operating independent craft cider producers, won multiple categories at the 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition. The cider company brought home the awards for Double Gold Best of Class (Sorta Sweet), Best of Show Cider (Sorta Sweet) and Silver (Kinda Dry). Sorta Sweet took home a Double Gold medal and Best of Class title in the Hard Cider category and Best of Show with a score of 98 points.

The 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition featured wines and ciders that were blind tasted by industry experts, researchers, growers, writers, producers and sommeliers to determine the winners in each category. Judging took place on June 23 and 24, 2020, in Santa Rosa, California.

“Sorta Sweet continues to be our most-awarded cider with seven total Gold Medals to its name,” said Jeff Parrish, co-owner of Portland Cider Co. “It’s gratifying to be awarded for your efforts, especially in a competition that is the caliber of the Sunset International Wine Competition with experienced sommeliers assessing ciders and wine from all over the world.”

Since first entering competitions, Portland Cider Company’s Sorta Sweet has claimed over 15 awards, and since the cidery’s establishment, it has won nearly 100 awards for its products and taprooms, including Best Cider House and Best Cidery in Portland.

Portland Cider Co.’s Sorta Sweet is a love song to the Oregon craft cider movement and the company’s most award-winning cider. It’s semi-sweet, refreshing and effervescent, and is a winning example of the marriage of the owners of Portland Cider: an Oregon native & UK expat on a mission to bring quality cider to the world. The higher levels of natural sugars are balanced with the right amount of tartness that offers a fresh finish that tastes like biting into a crisp apple. Available year-round, Sorta Sweet is made from 100 percent Northwest apples.

While many wine and spirit competitions have been canceled for 2020, the 2020 Sunset International Wine Competition was determined to take place and saw a 10 percent increase in entries compared to the 2019 competition.

“All imaginable health precautions were taken to ensure the safety of judges and backroom staff, while the wines were given the full measure of respect they deserve. Secondly, we are grateful to all the wineries that sent in their wines for evaluation. This year’s entries garnered a record number of Golds and Double Golds, making for a very competitive Sweepstakes round,” said Debra Del Fiorentino, President of Wine Competitions Production & Management, who owns and operates the Sunset International Wine Competition.

About Portland Cider Company

Portland Cider Company was started in 2013 by an Oregonian and a family of British expats with the mission of bringing cider, handcrafted in the English tradition, to the Northwest. One of Oregon’s longest operating independent cider producers, Portland Cider has two taproom locations: the Portland Cider House at 3638 SE Hawthorne Blvd. and the Clackamas Taproom and Cidery at 8925 SE Jannsen Rd, Bldg. F, in Clackamas. Since its opening, the cidery has won nearly 100 awards for its products and taprooms, including being named Best Cider House and Best Cidery in Portland. For more information, visit PortlandCider.com and engage on social media at @portlandcider.

Vintage Eve Circa Nov 2017: Tasting the Double Gold San Francisco Competitions at République

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At the end of October I had a chance to taste a selection of Double Gold winners from the 2016 and 2017 San Francisco International Wine Competition and the 2016 and 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The San Francisco Competitions 2017 Double Gold Tour gives wine and spirits professionals a unique opportunity to taste the Competitions’ top winners and to discover the next trending tastes, styles, and varietals we’ll be seeing in 2018.

At the LA stop on this year’s multi-city tour, the San Francisco Competitions are proud to also offer a seated seminar showcasing Double Gold winning wines and spirits. Join Executive Director Anthony Dias Blue as he gives you a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of the SF Competitions and walks you through the complexities of tasting wines and spirits like a competition judge.  

Wine and Spirits…That I Took the Time to Taste and Loved (I did skip those I’ve already tasted too.)

Cakebread Cellars 2014 Chardonnay, Reserve Family Vineyards, Carneros, Napa Valley; Goodmills Family Winery 2013 Teroldego, Lodi; 1849 Wine Company 2014 Declaration Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley; DeLille Cellars 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Four Flags Red Mountain; J. Lohr Vineyards 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Signature and Premium Bordeaux Blend Cuvee St. E, both Paso Robles; Ordaz Family Wines 2014 Zinfandel, Montecillo Vineyard, Sonoma Valley; IPPIN Junmai Sake, Tamasakee, Shiga Japan and Junmai Daiginjo Sake, Yamada Nishiki, both from Hyogo, Japan.

Mission Vodka, Arizona; Frey Ranch Gin, Nevada; Belle of Dayton Gin, Dayton Ohio; New Holland Brewing Knickerbocker Gin, Michigan; Vanagandr London Dry Gin, A Coruna-Galicia, Spain; Conniption Navy Strength Gin, North Carolina; Stonecutter Spirits Single Barrel Gin, Vermont; Tattersall Distilling Barreled Gin, Minnesota; Springfield Manor Lavender Gin, Maryland; Mad March Hare Small Batch Poitin, Ireland; Hyde 10 Year Old Pure Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Ireland; Rogue Dead Guy Whiskey, Oregon; Whiskey Del Bar Classic Cask Strength Single Malt, Arizona; from Paul John: Bold Indian Single Malt, Edited Indian Single Malt and the Peated Select Cask Indian Single Malt all from Goa, India; Starward Single Malt Wine Cask Whisky, Melbourne, Australia; Kings County Distillery Peated Bourbon, New York; J Henry and Sons 5 Year old Bellefontaine and Cask Strength Patton Road, both reserve straight bourbons from Wisconsin; One Eight Distilling United Whiskey No. 6, Washington D.C.; two Whistle Pig: the Old World Cask Finish Rye Whiskey and the 15 Year Old Rye Whiskey, both from Vermont; Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye Whiskey, Baltimore.

Behind the Scenes with Anthony Dias Blue

Granted, I have judged a couple of times, as I’m sure some of the students in Blue’s class have done, but it’s good to be reminded just how serious the judging is.

  • When the competition began they had a scant 300 entries, now they are up to 2,400.
  • There are 60 judges in the process, and they are made up of experts (reviewers, writers, restauranteurs, somms, etc.) allowing each group to have a good representation in which to judge merits.
  • There are 28 countries from the current competitions.
  • While they usually receive more wine to review, there are still 80 – 100 spirits.
  • Judging is done blind, the bottles are not seen, and they don’t know the price or the area they came from – only the varietal is known.
  • As price is sometime a factor to the general public, and more expensive is perceived as more valuable, the price points of the wine and spirits are not revealed.
  • After the Double Gold winners are awarded, then all of the judges get to taste all of the Double Golds to determine the sweepstake’s winner.

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, 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.

Vintage Eve Circa Jan 2018, “Wine 101: The Demise of the Dinner Party”

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Cruising a foodie group on Facebook one member’s query kind of stuck out in my mind. It was something like, “Does anyone do dinner parties anymore?” About half of the comments, if not more, said no. Due to pets, small dining spaces, children, busy schedules and a lack of ideas.

Bushman Kitchen – overlooking our Napa Valley vineyard (We wish!)

That lack of ideas on what to do for a dinner party got my mind racing. I never run out of ideas. Granted we have a kitchen made for entertaining, and a home that has managed events for up to 75 people, but the size of our kitchen isn’t where our dinner party ideas stem from.

It stems from our interests not only in food preparation and presentation, but also with the wine and/or spirits we want to serve to complement our meals.

If we go back a few decades we began as young married couples often do: experimenting in the kitchen. I happened to share my kitchen with a firefighter that was used to cooking for a dozen or more crew members. Hence, we always had too much. (Truth be told this is still a problem!) We had pals that lived close by that were more than willing to come up for a ready made meal, bring wine, and our Thursday Night Dinners began.

Every other week we walked over to see the Andrews, and they came over to our house on the weeks when it was our turn. Eventually other friends got wind of our dinners and they grew – with more couples and more wine than we really wanted to partake in on a week night.

Fast forward to our third home in Awesometown. Our kitchen prep area is probably four or five times greater than the kitchen was in our starter home was. And now we knew that the kitchen was where the action was. Ed had become an excellent cook, as most fire fighters are, and I was happy to be his sous chef.

Now we plan monthly dinner parties, with a rotating set of pals (as we are all so busy everyone is not always free) and still enjoy the menu planning as well as pulling wines from our cellar to pair. Over the years I have also enjoyed hosting meetings for the different events I’m working on, as well as a monthly Brainstormer’s Group – and these are mostly potluck with some kind of wine or spirit tasting I throw in for fun.

These are the different ideas we’ve tried over the years:

  • We did a large wine event with five different tasting stations where guests moved from room to room, outside to inside, and returned to the kitchen for the final pairing.
  • Hosted a jam-making class!
  • The “Buck Bar” idea borrowed from Lesley and David Solmonson’s book “The Twelve Bottle Bar” where guests are prompted to replace the vodka in a Moscow Mule with rye, bourbon or scotch, and the lime with orange or lemon. Just crafting your own cocktail with all the bartender tools is fun!
  • Pot lucks with everyone bringing one of their prized homemade dishes – can’t ever go wrong with that.
  • Gin or vodka tastings – those are not so usual – after dining.
  • After dinner put on a movie like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off that you can talk over.
  • I’ve done chocolate tastings where I’ve guided guests to go from dark to light, with some wine and port as well, to see how the chocolate flavors develop and change when we study them.
  • An adult Pinata with tiny plastic booze bottles.
  • Make friends with restaurant owners – they make you want to up your game!
  • Play Apples to Apples, or any easy to play game for families, after dinner.
  • Single malt scotch tastings, with minor pairings like grilled sausage and Snicker bars!
  • Wine and Junk Food pairing. We like popcorn and sparkling wine and chocolate candy with Zinfandel – with a lot in between. You have to do some experimenting before you plan this one.
  • After a dinner: blind wine tastings, single varietal tastings, aroma lessons…

So if you were on the fence about planning a fun dinner party I hope this article helped to get your creative juices working. And if you need more assistance, or a really fun guest, you know where to find me!

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, 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.

South Coast Winery Wins Prestigious Cilurzo Winery of the Year Award

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TEMECULA, Calif. – South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, owned by the Carter family, received the important designation of Cilurzo Winery of the Year at the 10th Annual Temecula Valley Xenia Hospitality Awards.

Owners Jim and Jeff Carter, 25-year Temecula vineyard proprietors, received a certificate of recognition on behalf of State Senator Melissa Melendez of the 28thDistrict for “going far beyond the call of duty and doing more than others expect by displaying outstanding hospitality and service to visitors and members in our community.” They also received an awards plaque from Visit Temecula Valley.

“We proudly accept this coveted award of Cilurzo Winery of the Year,” said Jeff Carter, president of Carter Hospitality. From our first planted vineyards at Wild Horse Peak Mountain over 25 years ago to our winemaking prowess and today’s luxurious resort, South Coast Winery Resort & Spa continues to push the envelope to bring the Temecula Valley new and exciting experiences to attract visitors and support the community.” 

Named for the late Vincenzo Cilurzo and his wife Audrey, who planted the region’s first commercial vineyard in 1968, the Cilurzo Winery Award of the Year recognizes a winery operating in the Temecula Valley, which routinely offers an exceptional guest experience through its wine, winery, vineyard quality and appearance and philanthropic endeavors for the betterment of the community. A nominating committee of five members chose the Cilurzo Winery Award winner based on wine making authenticity and quality, 30%; winery and vineyard quality and appearance, 30%; guest experience, 30%; and philanthropic endeavors in the community, 10%.

South Coast Winery Resort & Spa has long been a cornerstone of the Temecula Valley wine community. Its events and programs include hosting a blind tasting event, accommodating overflow parking for Crush, hosting onsite concerts, raising funds for the Inland Empire Autism Society, supporting the American Cancer Society Desert Coastal Area, and arranging activities to benefit Michelle’s Place and the Boys & Girls Club of Southwest County.

On the winemaking side, South Coast Winery’s winemakers continue to experiment with the vineyards, vintages and blends to create some of the most outstanding wines in the Valley that are also extremely approachable, allowing even the newest of wine drinkers to enjoy their visits.

The winery has received thousands of wine awards over the years, including most recently winning the 2019 “Winery of the Year” premium award at the 39thAnnual San Francisco International Wine Competition (SFIWC), one of the oldest international wine competitions in the world and North America’s largest wine judging event. At this event, it was also awarded “Best of Class” for its Wild Horse Peak Mountain Vineyards Touriga Nacional, 2016 as well as 28 other prestigious awards.

About South Coast Winery Resort & Spa

The only winery among the state’s top wineries to claim the title of California Winery of the Year four times at the California State Fair Wine Competition, South Coast Winery Resort & Spa sets the gold standard for excellence amongst California wineries, earning more than 3,000 awards since its inception in 2003. Situated on 63 lush acres, the resort offers a breathtaking retreat for wine tours, romantic getaways and group events with 132 rooms and villas, a working winery and tasting room, gift shop, full-service spa and restaurant.

South Coast Winery offers a broad portfolio of 45 wine labels, the majority of which are available for sampling in its main tasting room – from robust reds such as Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Petit Syrah, Merlot and Pinot Noir to whites including Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Riesling. Also available are sparkling wines, dessert wines and other specialty offerings. The winery employs a staff of skilled winemakers, including master winemaker Jon McPherson and winemaker Javier Flores, both with decades of experience in the wine industry.

For more information, visit www.southcoastwinery.com.

About Carter Hospitality Group

Established in 2011, Carter Hospitality Group, LLC. is a family-owned hospitality company with five hotels and resorts as well as three wineries across the United States. Based in Orange County, California, the company manages and owns a portfolio of luxury properties including South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, Temecula, California; Carter Estate Winery and Resort, Temecula California; Harborside Suites at Little Harbor, Ruskin, Florida; and Carter Creek Winery Resort & Spa, Texas Hill Country. Carter Hospitality Group additionally serves as the owner-franchisee for Red Lion Hotel Orlando Lake Buena Vista South, Orlando Florida. For more information, visit www.carterhospitality.com.

5StarWines and Wine Without Walls: the blind wine tasting that survived a global pandemic

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VERONA, ITALY (PRWEB) – The recent pandemic put the world on pause. This was the case for the wine market as well. 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls, the annual Wine Tasting held in Verona by Veronafiere, did not stand still but reshaped its format into an “agile” edition to follow through with the tasting and turn it into a virtual experience.

While the world was taking a break, so was the economy and everything that goes along with it. Veronafiere was supposed to host not only Vinitaly, the biggest fair in the world dedicated to wine and spirits, but also 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls, a blind wine tasting conducted by a number of wine experts with a range of profiles, such as Masters of Wine (MW), journalists and Vinitaly International Academy (VIA) Ambassadors. Among these were Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW, Robert Joseph, Bernard Burtschy, Joe Fattorini, Regine Lee MW, Sarah Abbott MW, Elizabeth Gabay MW, Michelle Cherutti-Kowal MW, Lin Liu MW, Andy Howard MW, Jonas Tofterup MW, Thomas Curtis MW. Leading the coordination were Monty Waldin, Daniele Cernilli, and Gabriele Gorelli. The ultimate goal was to create a Top-Wines Guide to use as a marketing tool for producers, capable of creating business connections around the world.

As a major aim of the Wine Selection is to support and spur on producers, by giving them the opportunity to create international connections, rescheduling was not an option for Veronafiere. Doing so would have conflicted with the event’s very own mission and vision. The decision was to reshape the format of the blind wine tasting, to make sure that producers would still have results to show for their labor, especially important in difficult times. This is where the term “agile” plays a key role. The ability to move quickly and easily was completely embodied by the team of 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls: if many of the international judges selected for the wine tasting were now unable to get to Verona due to new safety regulations, the team would organize the blind tasting to be conducted from the judges’ own homes, connected to Verona by video conference and WebApp.

The rules and regulations of the tasting stayed the same, but the logistics had been completely reshaped. Now the participating labels—besides being anonymized as usual—had to be classified, baled, and shipped to individual judges all over Europe. Beginning June 10th, each morning the judges prepared their “tasting station.” They’d turn on their computers, open a WebApp, and start the tasting with the supervision of the team in Verona.

The “agile” edition of 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls saw 52 international judges, over 2,100 samples belonging to more than 700 companies, and resulted in 847 wines selected (find the full list on the 5starwines.it home page). Selected wines will be published in the 5StarWines – the Book Guide, will be given the recognition their efforts deserve, and will be able to attend business-to- business (B2B) events with the aim of creating new business opportunities both in Italy and abroad.

In the words of Daniele Cernilli, 5StarWines judge, Doctor Wine, and founder of Gambero Rosso: “This is the first tasting after what happened. We are all trying to get back on our feet and in doing so we show our desire, our pride and our courage in wanting to look at the future with eyes of hope.” None of this would have been possible without the active participation of the judges, who attended several preparation meetings and stored a large number of samples in their cellars. Meanwhile, participating producers waited patiently for the Selection to confirms results, and category winners were finally surprised by the team with a video call announcing the best performing wines.

5StarWines – the Book is the annual wine selection organized by Veronafiere, held in the lead-up to the biggest Italian wine fair in the world. The event is now in its fourth edition. 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls is a blind tasting aimed at shedding light on wineries investing in the improvement of their products. During the event, a highly qualified panel of wine professionals will taste and score—using a 100-point scale—participating wines. In this edition, over 2000 bottles took part in the competition and 847 were selected for inclusion in 5StarWines – the Book. The Guide is a useful tool both on the promotional and commercial side. It introduces international buyers and wine lovers to new wine products of great value. It guarantees wine quality and it maintains and certifies their value at an international level.

Slow Wine Announces New US Editor for the Slow Wine Guide: Deborah Parker Wong!

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NEW YORK (PRWEB) – Slow Wine Editore announces some important changes and news for the next 2021 edition of its English-language edition of the Slow Wine Guide, which this year successfully celebrated its 10th anniversary. Deborah Parker Wong, DWSET, one of the Slow Wine Guide contributors, has recently been named National Editor of the US edition of the guide, thus confirming her dedication and passion to put a spotlight on those American wineries that have made it their priority to be environmentally cautious, according to the “Slow philosophy.” Deborah, Global Editor at Somm Journal and The Tasting Panel, is an opinion-leading wine industry leader, communicator, journalist and author. She also guides tastings and educational seminars, and judges several wine competitions each year.

Bottom Row: Cami Sisk MS, Chairwoman of the Judges Panel Deborah Parker Wong, Eve Bushman, Stacie Hunt.
Top Row: Danny Ronen, Paul Ellis, Cassandra Brown, David Glancy MS, Roger Bohmrich MW

With the growth of “green” oenology in the United States, the guide started to include wineries from California and Oregon in 2017 and announced lately its expansion through Washington state and the east coast, with New York, Virginia, and Maryland wineries soon to be reviewed. “I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the Slow Wine editorial team in the US,” stated Parker Wong, “and am excited to be part of the next chapter in this ever-evolving time.”

The Slow Wine community in the US is steadily growing after having expanded beyond Italian borders just a few years ago. “I’d like to thank former US editor, Jeremy Parzen, for his dedication the Slow Wine Guide and his contribution to our expansion in the US,” stated Editor-in-chief, Giancarlo Gariglio. “We are very encouraged by the positive response so far and look forward to continuing the Slow Wine mission with our American peers for years to come.”

The recent lockdown caused by the pandemic created an uncertain scenario for the Slow Wine movement, whose reviewing process is based on winery visits and blind tastings. To cope with the emergency, the editorial staff has recently announced a new digital approach consisting of virtual visits with producers to gather all the necessary information and parameters required by the guide.

“For ten years,” commented Gariglio, “we have personally visited more than 2,000 wineries, we have met their leaders, walked their vineyards and told their stories. The recent pandemic forced us to modify the way in which we work, but we are not slowing down. Thanks to technology and our learnings during the lockdown, we are substituting in-person visits with virtual meetings and tastings, and the result so far has been extremely successful. We can now share these digital interviews with our readers on our social media channels, a completely new offering for our followers.”

To get your own digital copy of the 2020 Slow Wine Guide, visit this link here. The Slow Wine Tour will come back in the US in 2021 with a new edition that is destined to remain in history.

About Slow Wine
The Slow Wine Guide, published by Slow Food Editore (the publishing arm of Slow Food Italy*), adopts a new approach to wine criticism and looks at a variety of factors to evaluate wineries in their entirety. They take into consideration wine quality, history and adherence to terroir, value, environmental sensitivity and ecologically sustainable methods of practice. Slow Wine was conceived to give a realistic snapshot of the current Italian wine landscape. The guide features reviews of over 500 different wineries, each one visited by Slow Food experts. It is available for purchase on Amazon.com as well as in select bookstores.

*Slow Food International is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it, and good for the planet. A non-profit member-supported association, Slow Food was founded in Italy in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food and fast life and the disappearance of local food traditions, and to encourage people to be aware about the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

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