It just so happened that for this year’s PinotDays Grand Festival event I couldn’t attend the media/trade tasting from 11-1 and opted for the public event from 2-6. Last year, one of my wine peeps had complained about the lines and I wanted to see if the organizers had made any changes on their sold-out event.
They certainly had. I never waited more than two minutes for a taste! I think I might have totally scored as it would appear that the media had left at 1pm instead of overflowing to the public event. Two guest writers Mary Bradway and Terri Templeton that covered the event as well as me, and the Slys, paid to attend the second part of the day. They expectorated in the morning; swallowed with the rest of us in the afternoon.
Other friends that I missed in the morning, and/or caught in the afternoon included Rusty and Tracy Sly, Denise Lowe and John Dickey, Xochitl Maiman, Steve and Rose Chegwin, Rob Barnett, Ben, Luke, Jessie and Renee from Hipster Enology, George Skorka and Jennifer Treymayne, Arthur Przebinda, Laura Garcia, Rob and Ann Piscitello, Scott and Natalie Shannon, Steve and Julie Sturgeon…
There was no way anyone got through this entire list of what was offered. And of the ones I could, I put my faves in bold:
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| Me and winery “reps” |
Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards
Ampelos Cellars
Ancient Oak Cellars
Arcadian Winery
Arista Winery
August West
Balletto Vineyards & Winery
Baxter Winery
Belle Glos Wines
Belle Pente Vineyard & Winery
Benovia Winery
Big Basin Vineyards
Big Table Farm
Bouchaine Vineyards
Breggo Cellars
Buena Vista Carneros
C.Donatiello Winery
Cargasacchi Wines
Clos Pepe Vineyards
Clouds Rest Vineyards, LLC
Cuvaison Estate Wines
DeLoach Vineyards
Derby Wine Estates
Domaine Chandon
Domaine Serene
Donum Estate/Robert Stemmler
DUNSTAN Wines – Durell Vineyard
Etude Wines
Fess Parker Winery
Flying Goat Cellars
Fog Crest Vineyard
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery
Frogmore Creek – 42 Degrees South; Tasmania
Gainey vineyard
Gary Farrell Winery
Goldeneye Winery
Grandstand Sports Inc
Gypsy Canyon Winery
Hahn Family Wines
Handley Cellars
Hitching Post Wines
Inception Wines
Inman Family Wines
Keefer Ranch
Keller Estate
Ken Brown Wines
Kendric Vineyards
Kenneth Volk Vineyards
La Fenetre
La Follette Wines
La Rochelle Winery
Ladd Cellars
Landy Family Vineyards
Le Cadeau Vineyard
Londer Vineyards
Loring Wine Company
MacMurray Ranch
MacPhail Family Wines
MacRostie Winery
Mahoney Vineyards
Martinelli Winery
(Segue into Macallan single malt scotch 15 and 17 year olds, nice palate cleanser we enjoyed at the end of the day…)
Meiomi Melville
Montage Vineyards
Morgan Winery
Native9 Wine
Olivia Brion Winery
Pacific Coast vineyards
Pali Wine Company
Papapietro Perry Winery
Paraiso Vineyards
Patz & Hall Wine Company
Pelerin Wines
Perception Wines
Pey-Marin Vineyards & Pey-Lucia Vineyards
Prodigal Wines Riverbench Vineyard & Winery
Roessler Cellars
Romililly Wines
Rozak Scheid Vineyards
Scherrer Winery
Sequana Vineyards
Siduri Wines
Small Vines Wines
Sojourn Cellars
Sokol Blosser Winery
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates/Erath Winery
Suacci Carciere Wines
Summerland Winery
Talley Vineyards
Tantara Winery
Testarossa Winery
THE WINE HOUSE
Thomas Fogarty Winery
Thomas George Estates
Thorne Wine
Three Sticks
Union des Grand Crus Bordeaux Tasting
Vergari
Villa Mt. Eden
Willamette Valley Vineyards
WINDY OAKS ESTATE
Zotovich Family Vineyards
Special thanks to the volunteers that kept us in water, bread and cheese almost all afternoon, and to Steve and Lisa Rigisch for organizing another outstanding event that singles out Pinot Noir.