How Many WiSH-es Came True (Originally posted April 2013)

December 24, 2021 by evebushman

This wasn’t the first time Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting has done a wine tasting event, however, it was the first time I did a wine event with my close friend Marlee Lauffer. In hosting “A Toast and A WiSH to the Future Leaders of Santa Clarita”, with Marlee at the beautiful brand new Old Town Newhall Library, I think we both survived unscathed and in fact, did more than that: The event raised over $24,000 and WiSH is more than doubling it to buy over $60,000 in WiSH list lab science equipment for every single school in the Wm. S. Hart District!

l-r: Amy Daniels, Marlee Lauffer and Gail Pinsker

I had other friends I had already worked with before helping again: Claudia Sheridan coordinated all of the volunteers and was our official event planner, and my VP Michael Perlis edited all of my press releases, donated wines from his cellar and worked the Eve’s Wine 101 table at the event. And, the woman that came to our Pour Into Sandy event to enlist me for her event, WiSH Education Foundation Executive Director and Board Secretary, Amy Daniels, worked tirelessly to make the evening perfect. Gail Pinsker, Public Relations Officer Wm. S. Hart Union School District, secured several sponsor and also assisted Amy.

Not to bore you with thanks after thanks (see every name I could remember below) let’s jump to how the first ever wine event that benefited the William S. Hart District – 100% of what we made went back to programs in our junior and senior high schools – turned out.

Red Carpet Entrance, Wine, Food and Fun

“Ha!” That’s what Prime Publication’s graphic designer Alex Hafizi wrote back to me in nearly every email and Facebook message I sent him regarding this event. His amazing participation, and the support of the Magazine of Santa Clarita, really set us up for success. Alex did our event art, coordinated a cover photo shoot for Marlee and me at the Old Town Newhall Library, provided our event photography, and a red carpet – complete with a “step and repeat” backdrop so that our guests felt like movie stars from the get-go.

I met most guests at the door, while my co-host Marlee greeted them once they ascended the staircase. Starting out with a glass of sparkling wine in one hand, and the event program in the other, guests used the map in the program to plan their tasting experience to the fullest.

Passing through the upstairs glassed-in hallway, guests got their first look at the newly remodeled Main Street from the two-story height, and looked over some of our exclusive, privately donated, silent auction items.

The private “study rooms” seemed to work out well for everyone as they meandered from one to another; stopping in to sample from all of the wonderful food and wine vendors. The central area, for more vendors, had many comfy chairs fitted with pull out desks. Normally reserved to prop up a book or a laptop, for our event they were used for plates, glasses, rest and conversation.

l-r: Bruce Fortine, Duane and Pauline Harte

One surprise was Richard G. Ortega, the owner of the University of Mixology, who arrived with nearly a dozen volunteers and – Herradura tequila and limes!

At our Eve Wine 101 table my husband Eddie diligently toiled away while I circled the rooms to check in with the vendors and the guests. Eddie wasn’t alone at our table, our VP Michael Perlis and his wife Karen worked the other side of the table. The table was very popular! Of course I sampled at least four bottles that came from my own cellar and from the Perlis cellar…we were one of three “library” wine tables. A play on words, our “library” wines came from local private cellar collections.

I would love to tell you that I sampled everything (see Participants and Donors below for the comprehensive list) but I was just too busy schmoozing all the VIPs (below under the Seen section) to do it justice, so I asked friends for their comments.

What Guests Said

Mike Lebecki: “Awesome event last night! That library is gorgeous! The view down Main Street from the glass wall… Architectural genius!”

Cheryl Gray: “Volunteered for 1st (hopefully annual) WiSH: A Benefit for Future Leaders of Santa Clarita. What a great event! Hope you made a ton of $$. Loved the event and will volunteer for future events. Congratulations to Marlee Lauffer, Eve Bushman and Gail Pinsker for a great event!!!!! Had a blast checking in everyone. Then got to enjoy the great event. Thanks for letting me be a part of the inaugural benefit!”

Steve Lemley, winemaker/owner, Pulchella Winery: “You and the crew did a fantastic job. It was a great turnout and Pulchella was honored to be involved.”

Beth Greenwald: “Well done Eve!!”

Judy Penman: “A fabulous event at a great location thank you for letting me volunteer for this event you are best wine goddess ever. Hugs, Judy.”

Michael Perlis: “It was really gratifying to participate in this event. Never before have I received so many positive comments from attendees. The quality of the food and wine, combined with the beauty of the setting and the great layout, made for a truly wonderful experience for everyone. The WiSH Foundation and all involved have set the bar very high for future events in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

Jeff Jacobson, Director of Wine for the Vine 2 Wine Classic: “What a fabulous event. Well done!!”

Chef Dusti Patterson: “Hey Eve, Had a great time at the WiSH event last night. Thanks for the invite, I got so many good comments on LeMaes Food. If you ever need my services again for such an event as this, don’t forget me. God Bless and keep up the good work, we need more people who care about their communities. Thanks again.”

Louise Castaldo: The event last night was fabulous! Good job!

Participants

Bagrationi Wines, B & P Wine, Nuggucciet Cellars, Two Hearts Vineyard, Oaks Grille at TPC, Pulchella Winery, Gagnon Cellars, Ventura Limoncello, TGIC Importers, Iron Horse Vineyards, Caterer Dusti Patterson, Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewing Company, Salt Creek Grille, Eve Wine 101, Edna Valley Vineyard, J Dusi Wines, Oil and Vinegar Valencia, Persia Restaurant, Stephen Hemmert Vineyards, Wildflour Gourmet Baking Company, Cheers@All Corked Up and Trader Joe’s.

Donors

John Shaffery, Wine Dogs, Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs Resort, Clos Pepe Vineyards, Culinary Wonders, Valencia Wine Company, Michael and Karen Perlis, Marlee Lauffer, Laine Hedwell, Gerard Zanzonico, A/K Printing, Barrel 27, Gloria & Larry Stahly, Loring Wine Company, Fiddlehead Cellars, Ken Brown Wines, Jeannie & Chris Carpenter, Louise Castaldo & Kerry Malony, Rose & Steve Chegwin, Vines Restaurant, The Egg Plantation, ForWhiskeyLovers.com, Regusci Winery, Erin and Tim Dixon, Derrick and Maureen McKaughan, Ma Maison, Chartwell’s School Catering, Barnes & Noble.

Sponsors

CDW/Cisco, The Magazine of Santa Clarita, Spirit Properties, Oasis Associates, Chiquita Canyon, Fagan, Friedman & Fulfrost, Ruhnau Ruhnau Clarke and Associates, Sempra Energy, California Credit Union, Hunt C. Braly, Attorney at Law, KHTS AM – 1220 and SCV TV.

Seen

l-r: Margo Martini and Dawn Oliver-Smith

Kelly Abbott, Susan Arellano, Rebecca Bacon, Amanda Bahnmaier, Bryan Balling, Gary Bedol, Marguerite Berg, Sue Bird, Hunt Braly, Sherril Britton, Jeff Brown, Brent Bush, Michele Buttelman, Dave Caldwell, Chris and Jeannie Carpenter, Steve and Shelley Cassulo, Louise Castaldo, Lynda Chadwick, Rob Challinor, Steve and Rose Chegwin, Steve and Carla Corn, Chef Cindy Schwanke, Ken and Trudy Edwards, Geri Crescioni, Mike Dean, Don and Cheryl Dellepiane, John Dortch, Rhondi Durand, Julie Edwards-Sanchez, Kerri Emmer, Morgan Empey, Bruce Fortine and Gloria Mercado-Fortine, Beth Girardini, Katherine Gonzales, Moe, Linda and Alex Hafizi, Charles and Wendy Heffernan, Elizabeth Hopp, Jeff and Joan Jacobson, Michele Jenkins, Marcus Juarez, Dennis Junker, Charlotte Kleeman, Hale and Coleen Kuhlman, Jody Liss-Monteleone, Joan MacGregor, Eileen Mann, Carol Masnada, Stacey Mayfield, Jim Monica McClafferty, Simon and Shannon Mee, Jodi Moriguchi, Brenda Neilson, Heidi Novaes, Rand Pinsky, Bonnie Rabjohn, Larry Rasmussen, Roberts, Manuel Rubio, Holly Schroeder, Scott Shannon, Jack Shine, Dante Simi, Dawn Smith, Richard Smith, Larry and Gloria Stahly, Daniel Sterkel, Marguerita Stone, Steve and Julie Sturgeon, Fred Trueblood, Rodney Wright, Steve Zimmer, Scott and Vanessa Wilk.

l-r: Laine Hedwell, Linda Hafizi, Rose Chegwin, Elizabeth Hopp, Marlee Lauffer

Special Thanks

Amy Daniels, Rich Daniels, Marlee Lauffer, Eddie Bushman, Claudia Sheridan, Gail Pinsker, Michael and Karen Perlis, Alex Hafizi, Rick Gould, Elena Galvez, Erin Christmas, Jessica Sutoro, the Scott Jeppeson Group (Scott and Roxanne Jeppeson, Antonio Dangond and Roger Brooks), Ed Masterson and the Old Town Newhall Library.

Volunteers

Headed up by our event planner and volunteer coordinator Claudia Sheridan, we also were lucky to have help from the local University of Mixology, Judy Penman, Cheryl Gray, Alesia Humphries, Patti Handy, Mary Bradway, Rich Daniels, Shanna Pinsker, Denise Westenhofer, Ron Ratliff, Ellen Hawthorne, Robin Wimsatt, Jessica Rowe, Carmel Farnsworth, Michael Farnsworth, Eileen Gunning, Sue Ann Nelson, Naidene James, Coreen de los Reyes, Cathy Craig, Tanya Spiegel, Brenda Schaecher, Cindy Palomino, Gwen Parlee, Jennifer Primero, Vickie White, Diane Stacy, Chelsea Johnson, Geoff Whitaker, Denise Anderson, Valeria Buccola, Jennifer Williams, Kathy Hunter, Jacky Seeley, Recyl Chapman, Janice DeStephano and Cheryl Ingrassia.

Perlises Pick: What Wines We Are Drinking At Home – Part 5

June 26, 2021 by Michael Perlis

We were initially planning to continue this series on lighter wines that we are enjoying at home with some more Northern California wineries, but the recent collaboration with Eve reviewing some rosés pointed Karen and me in another direction.

Ted Plemons of Cass

We drink rosés all year long but I realize that some wine drinkers especially fancy them in warmer months so it seemed like a good time to report specifically on a few of those that we have been pleased with recently.

One rosé that we really have been fond of is called “And Why Am I Mr. Pink?” – interesting name, no? The wine is produced by the Underground Wine Project, which is an intriguing name in its own right. I contacted them for more info, and they suggested I reach out to Trey Busch, Winemaker/Partner of the well-known and highly regarded Washington state winery Sleight of Hands Cellars. His response:

“Thanks for writing, and hope your liver has been holding up this past year :).

The Underground Wine Project is a collaboration between Sleight of Hand Cellars and Mark Ryan Winery. Mark and I have been friends for a long time, and we started the brand in 2007 with 100 cases of Syrah. That has transformed into adding And Why Am I Mr. Pink? to the lineup, as well as our 2 red wines, Idle Hands and Devils Playground.

We wanted an edgier brand than either of us have now, and the UWP allows for us to play in that area. Our Mr. Pink Rosé is mostly Sangio with some Syrah as well. All stainless steel (no barrel aging). We wanted to make a porch pounder rosé and this fits the bill. Juicy, terrific fruit, but then awesome acidity to hold it all together. We are making about 14,000 cases a year with the goal to increase production moving forward. National exposure with Whole Foods has helped.”

From Karen for the 2018 vintage: White/pink floral nose, light to medium finish, clean mouthfeel, moderate pear fruit, definitely a porch pounder as we were relishing it on our backyard patio on a warm Saturday evening with light nibbles for dinner.

Another winery that I’ve been a big fan of over the years Cass Winery in Paso Robles. [Yep, Paso again. I make no excuses, Paso wines are some of our favorites.] And I couldn’t pass up their special offer for Valentine’s Day of a dozen rosés. [Get it? Of course you do.]

From Karen for the 2019 vintage of the Cass Oasis Rosé: White flower floral note, dry medium body, red ripe berry fruit from the 63% Mourvedre, fresh, soft and hint of sweetness from the 37% Grenache.

Finally, an article about rosés wouldn’t be complete without the one that Karen has pronounced as her favorite for the last few years from Hoi Polloi winery right here in the Santa Clarita Valley. Doug Minnick [one of the founders of the Garagiste Festivals – I am so looking forward to these returning!] and his partners produce an assortment of terrific wines.

From Karen for the 2018 vintage of the Hoi Polloi Rosé from the Colburn Vineyard, Paso Robles: Fresh, crisp, true strawberry nose, medium to long clean finish, elegant, well-rounded body, silky soft tannins, this rosé of Grenache never fails to deliver!

Underground Wine Project

www.theundergroundwineproject.com

Cass Winery

www.casswines.com

Hoi Polloi

www.hoipolloiwinery.com

Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 30 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers.

Perlises Pick: What Wines We Are Drinking At Home – Part 3

April 24, 2021 by Michael Perlis

When I started writing this series of articles about the lighter wines Karen and I have been drinking recently, I hadn’t really thought that so many of them would be from Paso Robles. After all, Paso’s reputation [at least in my mind] is for big delicious Reds, and there certainly are a lot of those coming from this area. And we don’t limit ourselves to PR’s AVAs, as I expect you know. But, as I’ve said, great winemakers make great wine, regardless of color, and here are three more wineries that produce some of our favorite lighter wines from the area. As an added bonus, they are all somehow connected to each other.

We’ve actually known Guillaume Fabre of Clos Solene www.clossolene.com the longest of these three, having met him at an event back in 2009. He was pouring his first vintage – a delicious Roussanne – and was still assistant winemaker at L’Aventure. But 2009 was long ago. We’ve followed him to the shared Paso Underground tasting room in downtown to Paso Robles and then to Tin City just south of downtown Paso. Now he and his wife Solene have their own property in the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles, from which they are creating some of the best wines in the region. I’ve always felt that his Red wines did a great job of showing how their inherent power could be softened into elegance without losing the characteristics of Paso.

The lighter wines are equally as stylish. Karen loves all of them when “paired with our “Snacks– Hunkered Down” nights of charcuterie and/or smoked fish, various cheeses, dried and fresh fruit, followed by lemon cookies or a scoop of ice cream.”

The pink La Rose is a Rhone blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Cinsault and Syrah, made from grapes specifically farmed for rosé – no saignee here! Very pale in color that belies the complexity of the wine itself.

Clos Solene’s Hommage Blanc is a classic white Rhone blend of mainly Roussanne plus Viognier and Grenache Blanc. Karen found it to be “full bodied…flowers, fruit, spices…”

Finally, En Coulisse is 100% Chardonnay from Santa Maria Valley’s Bien Nacido Vineyards. A nice rich Chard, and [per Karen] “not overpowering with oak, vanilla or butter but fruit forward…”

Guillaume is also partner in another Paso Robles winery with his brother Arnaud –

Benom Wines www.benomwines.com. They originally took over Clos Solene’s spot in Tin City, although I believe they have now moved to a larger space in the same area.

The name Benom is a riff on the French word “binôme” which translates to “a project together”. These French brothers have successfully combined their homeland’s heritage with all that Paso has to offer, with their blends showing what can be done by them in a place with no rules. No surprise, again, that the red wines are great, but this article is focusing on these lighter wines.

The L’Essor rosé combines Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon and Contrast is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Neither of these could be made back home due to the rules about combining grapes from different regions. And they clearly should be. Karen loved the “bright fruit” of the L’Essor and found the Contrast to be “crisp, clean, full of fruit…”

As I mentioned at the start, this article is about three wineries that are somehow connected. Arnaud Fabre of Benom is also marketing director at Law Estate Wines www.lawestatewines.com, another winery that we first tasted at a festival. This time it was the Ojai Wine Festival back in 2013, when Karen came up to me and said “you really have to try Law”.

As always, she was right and we have been big fans since. We met GM Oliver Esparham at the Ojai Festival and have visited him and the rest of our friends at Law at the state-of-the-art winery and tasting room many times – once even before it was complete. The winery and vineyards high up on Peachy Canyon are amazing in their own right. But, that would mean nothing if the wines didn’t match. And they definitely do. The Law wines are truly some of the best ones around.

With regard to lighter wines, Law makes two. The Rosé blend is typically Grenache based while the white Rhone blend Soph [named after the Laws’ granddaughter] is usually about half Roussanne. The exact blends vary from year to year for both of these, but they are always stunning and are present on our table [and in our glasses] often. I love that the description on the website refers to Soph as “an extremely moreish wine”. We definitely agree on that.

Next article, we’ll finally leave Paso Robles and look at wines from farther north. Unless I change my mind.

Clos Solene

www.clossolene.com

Benom

www.benomwines.com

Law Estate Wines

www.lawestatewines.com

Perlises Pick What Wines We Are Drinking At Home – Part 2

February 6, 2021 by Michael Perlis

I’ve written about Stillman Brown and the wines he makes somewhere in Paso Robles often enough over the last several years that people might think I owe him something. All I really owe him is a thank you for his delicious wines as well as for his witty emails. Karen and I have really enjoyed all his wines, but since this series of articles is primarily about the “lighter” wines that we’ve been enjoying at home, I thought I’d share with you two of those that were released most recently. And rather than bore you with my descriptions, I figured I’d just turn you over to Swilly himself:

The deal goes down with Stillman in the La Quinta parking lot — photo by Mike Ortiz (Photo is from this website’s library, taken well before Covid.)

“2019 Chateau d’Abalone Vermentino. It’s light and it’s big, it’s crisp and it’s soft, and it smells like….Vermentino, not like table grapes, dirt, and Muscat de Middleman was added instead of the best possible yeast for the variety. Unusual vine canopy management and my little enological tricks – a ‘secret ingredient’? – make a difference, I think: it’s the equal of the 2015, which … oh well, how about a more recent brag? The new swill slayed all comers at a post-Christmas party I was semi-forced to attend, There were some pretty good palates there, but a few belonged to “snobbeliers” so I didn’t mention that the wine was still in bottle shock at that point. It might have been interpreted as winemaker egomania watered down to mere smugness…

2019 Colossus Viognier. There would have been more if not for Bambi & family, who munched away undisturbed for the extra weeks it took to ripen everything this year, but I did manage to get enough to partly fill a beautiful Caucasian 265 liter barrel – second use, as when new it had held the previous vintage only three months. Second is not second best for barrel fermented whites, sez me. I also had enough to partly fill a 55 gallon stainless drum. (Fill >80% and ferment —> yeast lava flow.) No sweetness, no cloying warm climate perfume, no “it’s cool climate Viognier, it’s supposed to be thin and weird'” Santa Barbara marketing spin. It’s 31 proof.”

Did you follow all that? Yeah, me neither.

From Karen: But the wines were great. These wines go with all our “lighter meals” – turkey, chicken, fish and also what we like to call our “snacks” nights – shrimp cocktails or even steak tartare. Add some fruit, cheese and crackers and we can have dinner on the table in 10 minutes. We know these wines complement whatever we are having for dinner.

The bad news is that I expect these wines are long gone. The good news is they were released about a year ago, so maybe we can expect something equally exciting sometime soon. But the only way that you will know is if you get on his email list, so contact him at swillyidle@gmail.com. You’ll have the opportunity to get some wonderful wines and also some entertaining emails.

Vintage Eve Circa 6/2018: Henry Wine Group’s TASTE THE WORLD 2018

January 5, 2021 by evebushman

A grand tasting showcasing the Wines and Spirits of The Henry Wine Group. Over 300 producers from around the world…the owners…people behind the scenes…

This is not the first time I’ve been to the grand Taste of the World event put on by the Henry Wine Group. I got wind of it a few years ago when my contributing editor and VP Michael Perlis attended. Soon we both were attending, and eventually, as I learned my way around we agreed: I would cover the spirits and Michael would cover the wines. As the wineries have a larger presence you may agree that Michael got the better gig, but as he has to write about it all, I’d say I got the best deal. LOL.

Henry Wine Group now uses the name Winebow.

Fun Factoids: Within 30 minutes of tasting and spitting out…my lips got numb. Kind of a new phenomenon for me. With wine your teeth and tongue get more stained in tasting and spitting than in drinking alone. In both instances you don’t swallow. You usually don’t swirl some spirits (in one class I learned that swirling “makes an angry scotch angrier”) but you do smell, then taste, hold in your mouth to let it do its thing, expectorate it all, pour out any remainder in the tasting glass and then rinse your glass with water if changing spirits. (This is a good time to drink some water too.) Even with all that, I did not make it through all of the spirits in the tasting lineup. I purposely skipped any I had had before as well as many in the last couple of tables as palate fatigue (tongue now numb) had set in. So if you are a rum, tequila or Absinthe lover (I’m an Absinthe lover for anyone making the perfect Sazerac) you can stop reading now, and please accept my apologies!

What I Tasted (if you just want photo coverage go here for three grids)

Osco Oakland Spirits Company, Glasshouse brandy – think Vodka flavored like the botanicals found in Gin, and then some – I enjoyed the Spicy Chinese Mint, Marjoram, Trade Winds (yes, salty air and the sea were an inspiration) and Shiso (as in the savory Umami in Japanese foods).

Rough Rider Double Cask Rye Bourbon, Three Barrel Rye, Cask Strength Straight Bourbon and Cask Strength Rye.

Pine Barrens Barrel Aged Gin (barrels held single malt whisky prior to the gin) and American Single Malt Whiskey.

Del Professore Vermouth Blanco and Vermouth Rosso. Both had amazing flavors and made me think of the past, where people sipped Vermouth on its own, over ice, in a little glass. I think this is a trend we could see again – especially with these Vermouths. The distillery was founded in Italy in the late 1800s.

Sibona Grappa Riserva, Port Wood Finish.

POLI Dal 1898 Grappaioli, Cleopatra and Sarpa – all excellent Grappas.

Bache Gabrielsen VSOP and XO Cognac (The XO was to die for)

Spirit Works Distillery – the entire lineup – Vodka, Gin, Barrel Gin, Straight Wheat Whiskey, Straight Rye Whiskey and a surprise: Sloe Gin made from macerated Sloe berries (think of a small round berry, blackberry in color, and adding both color and sweetness to Gin. Read more here) which was great alone but would also lend itself well in a cocktail.

Tullibardine Single Malt Whisky: both The Murray and the 25 year old. There were three others I tasted that were all less than 10 years old, none with an age on the label, but tasty just the same so keep an eye peeled for those: 225 Sauterne Finish, 228 Burgundy Finish and Sovereign finished in ex-Bourbon barrels.

Meletti Liqueurs I’d had before but the family member that I had met years before had returned, so I dove in to taste a few of their newer liqueurs: 1870 Bitter Aperitivo, Anisette and Dry Anisetta.
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All excellent!

And that, as they say, is all she wrote.

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.

Perlis Picks: Vintners Resort!

December 19, 2020 by Michael Perlis

The last time Karen and I visited Vintners Resort in Santa Rosa was in 2019. At that time, the additions of the modern luxury suites and rooms and amenities such as the new spa and pool were in place and the transition from Vintners Inn to Resort was complete.

My plan was to write about this for your reading pleasure late last year or early this one. Delays on my part pushed this farther out than anticipated, and then the world changed. Trying to tell you about the place we visited late last summer seemed perhaps a little irrelevant. What is relevant is what they are doing now and going forward.

Don’t get the wrong idea. The changes made last year are pretty exciting, completing the vision of a property modeled as a modern Mediterranean village, including a harvest table in the onsite vineyard for celebratory meals. And with Vintners Resort now in its 40th year, there is a lot to celebrate.

It’s just that celebrating is a little different right now.

Vintners Resort, in addition to being our favorite place to stay, is known for hosting amazing events, both indoor and out. Those are currently on hold, but staying at the resort certainly isn’t. They’ve indicated that guests are not put in adjoining rooms in order to maximize social distancing, and rooms are given extra sanitizing as well as 24 hours of non-occupancy between guests. So, capacity is reduced accordingly.

Meals are as great as ever, just a little different too. With the River Vine café temporarily closed until next spring, in-room dining is the next best thing. Admittedly, I was a little worried about how my poached eggs would weather the journey across the property, but they were perfect. [Yes, poached eggs are a thing for me.]

Late afternoon and evening dining are available at The Front Room and of course, at John Ash & Co., either dining on the patio or to-go back to your room. Both options are stellar [we know because we tried both] but I highly recommend you don’t miss the opportunity to dine at John Ash under the stars.

When I asked General Manager Percy Brandon what he would like people to know, he responded: “We’re open. We’re ready. And we are following protocols.”

Their website lists in detail what all these protocols are:

https://www.vintnersresort.com/experience/covid-19-policy/

We always love our visits to Vintners Resort. This one was no exception. For as long as I can remember, the property has always had the slogan “Celebrate Everything” but that can easily be augmented with the mantra of “Be Respectful” and the staff has really taken this to heart as well.

Not only is the property itself beautiful and quite peaceful, but it is also ideally located for day trips to the Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, the Sonoma Coast and more. I can’t imagine a better place to stay in Sonoma County Wine Country.

Be sure to sign up on their website and follow them on Facebook. Now is the time to get great deals.

Vintners Resort

https://www.vintnersresort.com/

4350 Barnes Road
Santa Rosa CA 95403

Why I Go Both Ways: Enjoying Wine and Spirits

June 19, 2020 by evebushman

When I first started drinking wine and decided to spend the time and money for further education and certification, I didn’t think about studying spirits as well. However, the course I wanted offered by WSET at the time, included both. (WSET stand for Wine and Spirits Education Trust. In the last few years they have split the two certifications, though they still go by the WSET name.)

L to R: Claudia Sheridan, Denise Lowe and Eve Bushman shortly after receiving out WSET pins in 2010.

It was in those classes that I got to spend time learning about a wide array of wines as well as spirits. It might have been where the bug for spirits bit me. If you were to talk to my husband he would say that his interest in single malt scotch was what swayed me. (He may be right as we cover more than one whisky event a year. That category alone includes his beloved single malt scotch as well as rye, bourbon and blended scotch whisky.)

Fast forward a few years and I found myself offered not only wine tasting opportunities but spirit tasting as well. There is one event that offers both wine and spirits, and in those my Contributing Editor Michael Perlis usually covers the wine while I do the spirits. It’s a bit different than wine tasting – the offered taste is smaller, you still sniff and taste, but spit all out as the alcohol levels are so much higher. With that said, I usually only make it halfway through a spirit tasting until my lips grow numb and I have to take a break.

From spirit tastings I moved into a little bit of mixology classes and started experimenting with making cocktails at home. We hit on a few favorites and have stuck with them over the years.

My husband, also a lover of both wine and spirits, started buying me gifts that the home bartender would need, and I returned the favor and found him some unique items as well.

We now have travel kits, three or four shakers, different measures of “shot” glasses, bar spoons, single “rock” makers, simple syrup, brown sugar, sweet and dry vermouth, Amaro, Compari and other mixers, as well as a nice array of bitters, cherries, oranges, limes and lemons at any given time.

One friend, a fellow wine writer, asked me how I could like both wine and spirits. I found the question in and of itself to be peculiar, but answered anyway, I felt – and still do feel – that there are just as many discoveries in aromas and flavors in both. If you can detect things like fruit, nuts, botanicals, earth and wood in your wine you will be pleased to learn that some of the same aromas and flavors are in your spirits.

On hot days we often enjoy chilled Viognier, Chardonnay, Picpoul de Pinet, Sauvignon Blanc, sparkling…basically any white wine that we own. But, on some hot days we also have been known to enjoy a gin Martini, Moscow Mule, Aperol Spritz, Sazerac, Negroni, Margarita, Rob Roy, Old Fashioned or a Manhattan. Usually how it works is that we have a cocktail before (aperitif) or after (digestif) dinner, and a nice bottle of white wine with warm weather dishes such as salads, seafood, chicken and cheese plates. During the cooler days of fall and winter we often enjoy Rhônes and Bordeaux varietals with dinner, but still enjoy a cocktail before or after.

After our best meals, which usually means a beautiful sous vide filet and a red wine from our cellar, we often finish our evening not with a cocktail but with a nosing glass (aka a Glencairn) of one of our favorite single malt scotch whiskies. Then we linger over those flavors as well.

Now, how do you imbibe? Maybe it’s time to widen your taste profile a bit.

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 (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

Perlis Picks: Some Wine History Books

May 23, 2020 by Michael Perlis

I find myself reading more lately, so I thought it was a good time to catch up on some books to review and suggest to our readers.

We’re going to start by going way back.

Painting by Ferdinand Deppe, photo credit California Historical Society.

In Tasting the Past: The Science of Flavor and the Search for the Origins of Wine, journalist Kevin Begos chronicles his first taste of a red wine from his hotel mini-bar in Jordan made by the Cremisan Winery and Monastery. The wine and winery were both unfamiliar to him [and definitely to me and I expect probably to you too]. That bottle set him off on a multi-year, multi-country quest to learn about the grape varieties that went into the truly old-world wines, many of which are not known of at all in the United States, such as Jandali, Hamdani and Baladi. Tracing the history and combining that quest with a healthy dose of wine science results in a fascinating story that left me wanting to learn more. Told in an engaging and witty style, Begos is definitely someone I’d like to share a bottle of something obscure and interesting with.

Tasting the Past: The Science of Flavor and the Search for the Origins of Wine

By Kevin Begos

https://www.amazon.com/Tasting-Past-Science-Flavor-Origins/dp/1616205776

Jumping forward (a lot) is Crush: The Triumph of California Wine by John Briscoe. This book traces the history of wine in California from the 1700s, with the theme of the crises over which the California wine industry has triumphed. While Prohibition might be the first thing to come to mind, the author also discusses the San Francisco earthquake, world wars and phylloxera, as well as economics and politics, as impediments over which the California wine industry has been ultimately triumphant. Briscoe, who lives in San Francisco, is himself a poet, lawyer and author of other published books as well as being co-owner of the fifth oldest restaurant in the United States – Sam’s Grill.

Crush: The Triumph of California Wine

By John Briscoe

https://www.amazon.com/Crush-Triumph-California-John-Briscoe/dp/1943859493/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1588273558&sr=8-1

About the only thing not covered in great depth about California wine in Crush is the story of wine in our own Los Angeles area. Thomas Pinney nicely fills that gap with The City of Vines: A History of Wine in Los Angeles. I first became familiar with Mr. Pinney’s work when I read his exhaustive two volume A History of Wine in America (which I highly recommend). This book enables Pinney to provide a much more micro analysis of how much wine dominated our local area and environs. Of course, I had known for some time that the wine industry in L.A. today is a mere shadow of what it used to be, but I had not realized to what extent this was true. The list of street name origins alone is enough to drive this point home. Alas, those are mostly about all we have left of that legacy. Many factors contributed to the demise of the Los Angeles wine story – prohibition, rising real estate values, population changes, Pierce’s disease are just some of them.

The City of Vines: A History of Wine in Los Angeles

By Thomas Pinney

https://www.amazon.com/City-Vines-History-Wine-Angeles/dp/1597143987/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=city+of+vines&qid=1588273634&sr=8-1

The last part of City of Vines touches a little on the resurgence of winemaking in LA County, with mentions of Rosenthal and Moraga along with Reyes up here in the Santa Clarita Valley. But followers of Eve’s Wine 101 know there is a lot more than that going on. In the SCV alone we have Pulchella, Hoi Polloi, Pagter Brothers, to name just some of them. Farther northeast is Golden Star and down in Los Angeles are Byron Blatty as well as Angeleno in downtown L.A., among others. While these developments were probably not considered significant enough at the time to be included in the book, there is actually even more going on, which I will tell you about soon.

Perlis Picks: Membership with the Historic Vineyard Society

January 18, 2020 by Michael Perlis

I’ve written about the Historic Vineyard Society various times over the years. This organization is near and dear to my heart, dedicated to the preservation of California’s historic vineyards, so many of which have been lost to development or replanted to grapes that are currently in vogue and therefore more profitable. Karen and I have had the pleasure of attending some of the society’s events and we’ve encouraged others to do so as well. We’ve also made some great friendships along the way.

But now there is an opportunity for fans of these important historic vineyards to assist in the efforts of the HVS on an ongoing basis. I recently received the following email:

You are invited to become part of the HVS family

Dear friends,

Since HVS launched almost ten years ago, we have been driven by our commitment to preserving California’s historic vineyards. Many of these vines have been around much longer than we all have, surviving two World Wars, Prohibition and an ever-changing economy and climate. We started HVS to save historic vineyards, and our mission is even more important today as it was back then.

We are continually working to initiate projects that move this goal forward, but we need your help to do so.

We have decided as a Board to open up an HVS membership, one that involves an annual commitment to HVS at various levels. Why? We continue to operate with almost no overhead, but we do have a small amount of expenses to keep HVS up and running.

For those who want to take their involvement with HVS one step further, click the link below to make a commitment to supporting HVS each year. For as little as a few cents each day, you can help keep these precious vines in the ground. Thank you for your consideration, and as always, let us know if you have any questions or feedback.

Best,
The HVS Board of Directors

Signed:

Mike Officer

Tegan Passalacqua

Morgan Twain-Peterson

Bob Biale

David Gates

Mike Dildine

For those of you who are fans of old vineyard sites, especially those dedicated to Zinfandel, Syrah and great old field blends, you’ll definitely recognize at least some of these names.

Emily Rasmussen, HVS Administrator, sent me some additional information:

We have been floored and so excited by the response to our newly launched membership. We’ve started to add our members to our new Supporters page, linked here.

Here is a bit more info than we have in the email:

We offer incremental benefits as follows, listed individually on each membership page:
- Old Vine ($50/year) and Centenarian Vine ($100/year) Members receive:
  - Your name listed on the HVS website’s Supporters page
  - A welcome gift from HVS
- Ancestor Vine ($500/year) Members receive:
  - Your name listed on the HVS website’s Supporters page
  - A welcome gift from HVS
  - First access to purchasing tickets to HVS events
- Historic Vine ($1000/year) Members receive:
  - Your name listed on the HVS website’s Supporters page
  - A welcome gift from HVS
  - First access to purchasing tickets to HVS events
  - One complimentary ticket to each HVS event

Membership is a way of committing to a yearly donation to HVS. Donating is completely optional: all are welcome to support HVS by receiving our emails and attending our events, or by making a one-time donation at any amount using our Donations Page. Donating/not donating, joining/not joining membership will not impact anyone’s status on the HVS mailing list or one’s ability to attend events.

All those on our mailing list will receive the same offers to purchase tickets to HVS events (and wine, if applicable).

Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Thanks so much for your support, Michael!

For anyone who has an interest in helping with the preservation of these old vineyards, this is a great opportunity to participate [along with attending events and purchasing wine, of course]. I already see some names I know on the HVS Supporters page and I’m looking forward to seeing more.

Vintage Eve Circa 8/2016: Taking Over Skirball, Rhone Rangers LA 2016 Part One

August 13, 2019 by evebushman

The Rhone Rangers rode into the Skirball last weekend and as a major Rhone wine lover I was thrilled to attend the tasting again. A seminar and luncheon was also offered in the day’s events, see an upcoming article from Contributing Editor Michael Perlis as he covered that portion.

Wine 101ers: What is a Rhône

Basically Rhône grapes were born in the Rhône Valley of France and are now grown here in the U.S. The most common reds make up the “GSM” blend: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. On the white end you may have already had a Viognier – think Sauvignon Blanc without the high acid and with more delicate fruit. Other whites that may have crossed your palate are Roussanne and Marsanne, sometimes alone or in a white Rhône blend. If you want to wine geek out more here is a listing of “The 22 Rhone Ranger Grapes” direct from the Rhone Rangers website.

Tony Quealy from Halter Ranch Vineyard and Gary Stewart from Four Brix Winery.

Wineries A-F (Part Two, Wineries H-Z will run next week)

For some of you that think I was nuts to skip a particular winery…it may have been because I “Gave a Positive Review Already” and chose to forage on to other wineries. These wineries will be noted as GPRA and will have a hyperlink to my review…if I can find it. While some others, that may have been equally stellar as those I did visit, suffered my absence (Ha!) due to me suffering a wee bit of palate fatigue, so those are noted as SPF. (Editor’s note: any links for the West Ranch Beacon, aka WRB, are now closed, the webmaster chose not to save the links when he closed up his site. Also note that every article I wrote for the WRB is re-purposed on this site every Tuesday.)

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/eve.bushman/posts/10208640076546763?pnref=story

Adelaida Cellars – GPRA I will never forget the wine dinner I had with some nicely aged wines from the Adelaida cellar – and a lesson that Paso wines don’t have to be drunk right away. http://www.westranchbeacon.com/category.php?catg=8&id=2721 and http://www.westranchbeacon.com/visit-article-archives-view.php?catg=8&id=6287

Andrew Murray Vineyard – SPF

Beckmen Vineyards – Enjoyed the 2013 Cuvee Le Bec Red Blend and a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon at a tasting two weeks ago with Tasting Room Mgr. Neil Redmond (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208567024880517&set=pcb.10208567026520558&type=3&theater) so I skipped the Cuvee at this tasting but really enjoyed a big yet balanced wine club offering: The 2014 PMV Syrah Clone #1.

Bernat – SPF

Bonny Doon – Rock star (and there were a few of them at the event repping their wineries) Randall Grahm poured about a dozen of his wines. I had been a fan of his “Le Cigare” label for as long as I can remember. Well, at least since I first heard the story about the law against landing a flying saucer in the vineyards of France. This time I really liked the 2011 Le Cigare Volant Red Blend, 2011 Le Cigare Volant Reserve Red Blend, Clos de Gilroy Grenache, 2014 Old Telegram Mourvedre and the 2011 Bien Nacido Vineyard “X-Block” Syrah. My absolute faves being the Reserve, Mourvedre and the X-Block.

Broken Earth Winery – SPF

Calcareous Vineyard – A beautiful winery with an expansive view for picnickers paired with equally outstanding wines. Been a favorite of mine for many years, so it was a treat to see them at Rhone Rangers. This time I enjoyed the fruit and spice in the 2013 Syrah, the 2016 Tres Violet blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre, the 2013 Moose blend of Syrah and Petit Verdot and the tart and bright 2015 Lily Blanc blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne and Viognier. I had a full lineup to taste back in 2011 here: http://evewine101.com/2011/04/29/calcareous-vineyards-lineup-paired-with-pals/ 2014 here: http://westranchbeacon.com/weekly-column.php?id=2342 and most recently here: http://www.westranchbeacon.com/visit-article-archives-view.php?catg=8&id=6287

Cass Winery – GPRA http://www.westranchbeacon.com/weekly-column.php?id=5402,

http://evewine101.com/2016/01/05/vintage-beacon-april2011-a-truly-inspired-cass-wine-pairing-dinner/ and most recently: http://www.westranchbeacon.com/visit-article-archives-view.php?catg=8&id=6287 another rock star, Ted Plemons, co-owner of Cass Winery was pouring once again. This time I only had one: the 2013 Rockin’ One Red Blend, tasty stuff.

Chacewater – GPRA http://www.westranchbeacon.com/weekly-column.php?id=5402

Clayhouse Wines – SPF

CONSILIENCE WINES – SPF

Derby Wine Estates – Enjoyed the steely fruit in the 2014 Picpoul Blanc, the 2012 Grenache Blanc, 2012 Fifteen 10 Red Blend, the very big 2013 Petite Sirah and the spice and bright red fruit of the 2011 Mourvedre. One of my favorite tables.

Ecluse Wines – GPRA Tasted these Paso wines very recently, and I loved their entire lineup. http://evewine101.com/2016/02/26/ecluse-unlocking-a-paso-favorite/

Epoch Estate Wines – The two red blends were simply awesome: the Syrah heavy 2012 Ingenuity Red Blend and the Big/Spicy/Yummy 2013 Estate Red Blend.

Fess Parker & Epiphany – GPRA and SPF

Four Brix Winery – GPRA I was just at the winery this past April however I didn’t get to see co-owner/winemaker Gary Stewart – yet another rock star – at that time. It was nice to be able to chat with him at this event…and see that he was pouring all of my favorites. Don’t miss the “Smitten” Viognier.

http://www.westranchbeacon.com/weekly-column.php?id=6074

Part Two of this story will run next Tuesday.

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.