Wine Market Journal Launches New, Powerful Rare Wine Valuation Website

December 31, 2020 by evebushman

NEW YORK (PRWEB) – Wine Market Journal, the world’s premier resource for wine auction values and market trends, announces the launch of their new platform with additional features and extensive new data sources. With over 2.5 Million trades reported worldwide, the website empowers its subscribers and data partners with the most accurate and up-to-date rare wine valuation information.

For over 20 years, Wine Market Journal has tracked and reported every significant in-person and online rare wine trade in the world. Leveraging the power of millions of rare wine auction transactions, the Wine Market Journal reports stock market-like indices for the most active and important wine regions and market sectors. The platform also announces upcoming auctions.

“We are excited to unveil an all-new platform that brings powerful features and a broader data set to rare wine traders and collectors. Since 1997, we have painstakingly collected and published trade data from the world’s most significant auction venues. With our new website, we now offer actual wine sales transactions from over 25 top fine and rare wine retailers,” says Peter Gibson, Publisher of Wine Market Journal. “This information was never before available, and the enhanced features allow trade partners, investors and top collectors to make the most informed and accurate buy and sell decisions for rare wine ever.”

Wine Market Journal has proven to be the most comprehensive and trusted tool by auction houses, rare wine retailers, and major stakeholders in the world of fine wine collecting and investing. This powerful platform now grants commercial data partners access to over 1.1 million retail rare wine transactions.

Dave Parker, CEO Benchmark Wine Group comments, “The Wine Market Journal is the primary source of valuation information used by Benchmark Wine when making offers for top wine cellars. We’re looking forward to the additional auction and new retail trade information offered out to data partners, and Benchmark is proud to contribute our retail results as part of that program.”

The dataset from Wine Market Journal powers the cellar valuation feature on CellarTracker and is used by Benchmark Wine Group for wine appraisals and proprietary pricing tools.

“We are expanding data partner program to all interested wine retailers and auction houses,” continues Gibson.

For more information on The Wine Market Journal, contact Michelle Erland at Michelle@parallel36.com or Pia Szabo at Pszabo@parallel36.com.

About Wine Market Journal: Wine Market Journal is the wine industry’s most comprehensive and trusted resource for wine auction trade values and market information. Since 1997, the Wine Market Journal has tracked every solid lot wine auction trade reported by the major houses in Europe, Asia, and the United States. Data is reported in the timeliest fashion and with utmost accuracy. Wine Market Journal is the only resource, online or in print, to track increasingly important internet trades and is powered by a database of over 2.5 million unique values. Wine Market Journal is owned by First Growth Technologies, the official wine appraiser for Silicon Valley Bank and AIG.

Benchmark Wine Group Named One Of The 50 Best Wine Retailers In America by Wine Enthusiast Magazine

July 16, 2020 by evebushman

NAPA, CALIF. (PRWEB) – Benchmark Wine Group, the largest online retailer of rare wine, has been named one of Wine Enthusiast’s 50 Best Wine Retailers in America for 2020. Benchmark successfully established its place as a top wine retailer with an inventory of over 70,000 bottles, expertise in wine authentication, and the customer service you look for in a brick-and-mortar.

“We are very excited and honored to be named one of Wine Enthusiast’s 50 best wine retailers in America. We would not be here without our loyal customer base whom we have built very strong relationships with over the years,” comments Dave Parker, CEO of Benchmark Wine Group, “I want to thank our passionate staff for working tirelessly to ensure the highest quality of customer service is met each day.

With $36M in annual sales, an estimated 3% market share of the US’s $1.1B online wine sales, and 4% of the $1B rare (i.e., back vintage) wine market, Benchmark Wine Group is the largest single retailer in the rare wine category nationwide. Benchmark Wine Group has grown at a cumulative annual growth rate of over 19% through strategic acquisitions, proprietary valuation, and pricing methods, making it one of the fastest growing online alcohol retailers; in an industry growing at 2%, by comparison.

Over the past eighteen years, Benchmark has acquired for resale some of the most sought after wines on the planet. Their Napa-based inventory features more than 10,000 SKUs of rare and well-aged wine, including verticals of Colgin starting at 1994, six pack horizontals of Petrus 1998 and large format Cheval Blanc 2005.

During these trying times for society in general and the hospitality industry in particular, Benchmark Wine Group has made it a goal to support their trade customers, helping them liquidate their wine inventories, purchasing over $200,000 of top wine from on-premise accounts. Recent purchases include over 1800 bottles from a 3 Michelin star restaurant and over $35,000 of Burgundy, Italian, and German wine from another Michelin starred account. Recently, they partnered with the United Sommeliers Foundation for their ‘Raid Y(our) Cellar’ virtual tasting series.

Parker continues, “Supporting United Sommeliers foundation during the COVID-19 Pandemic was an easy decision for us. Whether a customer, employee, or a host during a dinner event, the Sommelier community has been an important part of the growth of not just our company, but the wine industry.”

For more information on Benchmark Wine Group please contact Michelle Erland at Michelle@parallel36.com or Pia Szabo at pszabo@parallel36.com.

About Benchmark Wine Group: Benchmark is the leading source of fine and rare wine for wine retailers, restaurants and collectors around the world. Based in Napa Valley, they acquire the most sought-after wines from private individuals and professional contacts. Their staff draws on decades of industry experience and is dedicated to providing exceptional service to all clients. Benchmarkwine.com offers 24 hour access to their cellar, displaying inventory in real time, ready for purchase.

Vintage Eve Circa April 2017: Cork Dork by Bianca Bosker, Reviewed by Wine Geek Eve

February 25, 2020 by evebushman

My first thought when I picked up Bianca Bosker’s Cork Dork tale was oh boy, I was going to learn some new tricks here. Three hundred pages later I not only learned a cellar full of tricks but also felt a whole lot better about being a wine geek myself. Bosker’s cork dorkiness went way past mine because in one year to my ten she had risen from novice to passing the Certified Exam given by the Court of Master Sommeliers, one of if not the most respected sommelier certification programs available in the world.

Cork Dork, photo from Copperfield’s Books.

As my wine 101 columns have covered some of what Bosker writes I will limit what I share to what may be new to readers, especially those interested in being a cork dork/sommelier:

Share time with a wine mentor, someone with greater knowledge than your own, to learn from.

Wait for that epiphany moment, Bosker’s was in watching a blind tasting and being taken aback in all that can be determined such as a new vs. old world wine, the varietal, vintage year and grape(s).

If you are interested in Court know that there is no class – you are given a reading list of 11 books to study. Three of the 11 are wine encyclopedias. There are 17 steps alone that are needed to successfully pour a glass of wine…and 95% of people fail their first try at the exam.

Developing a “sense memory” is something I’ve already done, but Bosker explains new ways to develop your senses beyond sniffing your spice rack or garden.

Assign words and make associations to aromas to help you recall them.

You will learn that viscosity comes from sugar, acidity produces saliva on the tongue, alcohol leaves a burn…and so on.

You may need to adjust your habits for wine tasting. Brushing your teeth and drinking your coffee several hours before tasting wine is logical, but rinsing your mouth with a white wine may be less obvious.

There is a long list of “don’ts” imposed by the Court. Those can be adjusted, logically, depending on the type of establishment you will be working for. Restaurants have their own rules.

If you are interested in all things olfactory and the importance of detecting aroma, Bosker covers this at length, including scientific study. Olfactory training is just as important, if not more so, than detecting flavors. We read about the Aroma Wheel invented by Ann Noble, wine tasting that is taught in primary French schools, paying $800 for an olfactory seminar and putting a sample, say a pineapple spear, directly into a glass of white wine – all for the sake of wine education.

Of course a sommelier has to be aware of wine prices. Not only because they may have never afforded the same wine they may find themselves trying to sell – and have to know everything about it anyway – but also to gauge the comfort zone of diners. (There seems to be a lot of “wine profiling” going on behind our backs when we go out to dinner!)

If you can attend free events as a budding somm, or a writer, do it. This is training at its best. If you can get into a wine “orgy” like the La Paulee Burgundy fest that Bosker scores, you may see so much decadence – drinking rare and/or high dollar wines to excess while taking “wino selfies” – that you will gladly return to the freebie tastings that truly let you sit back, relax and educate your palate.

In conclusion, after her year Bosker submits to a type of MRI where she tastes wine via a tube – no color and no odor can be detected. Her MRI results, showing high levels of brain activity – were common to other sommeliers while the test group – the novices – were not as active. Read the book to see what this proves. But suffice it to say, I’m going to keep studying wine to try to get where Bosker and her colleagues are.

From Press Release

Amateur drinker and professional reporter Bianca Bosker didn’t know much about wine until she infiltrated a group of New York sommeliers who could, after a single sip, identify the grape a bottle was made from, the year, and where it was produced, within acres. Impressed by their sensory powers, she set out to discover what drove their obsession and whether she too could become a “cork dork.”

Her hedonistic journey, recounted in CORK DORK: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste (Penguin Paperback Original; March 28), takes readers inside Michelin-starred dining rooms, blind tasting groups, a mass market wine factory where flavor scientists reign, wine “orgies,” and Bianca’s brain (via an fMRI machine), answering: What’s the big deal about wine? Are palates born or made? Can tasting better lead to living better?

Bianca Bosker is an award-winning journalist who has written about food, wine, architecture, and technology for The New Yorker online, The Atlantic, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and The New Republic. The former executive tech editor of The Huffington Post, she is also the author of Original Copies: Architectural Mimicry in Contemporary China (University of Hawaii Press, 2013).

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.

CELEBRATING THE 10th ANNUAL ULTIMATE WHISKY AND SPIRITS EXPERIENCE -NTH 2020 APRIL 24 – 25, AT WYNN LAS VEGAS

February 3, 2020 by evebushman

The Universal Whisky Experience presents to you the Nth 2020, the World’s Premier Luxury Whisky and Spirits Experience. Hosted at The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, this master event showcases the best brands of both whiskies and spirits from all over the world. We are the only event in the world where you get to sample the most premium, rare, unique and expensive whiskies and spirits from all the major houses worldwide.

Celebrating a milestone year with its 10^th Anniversary celebrations at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, you will find an experience to deliciously overwhelm your tasting senses. Indulge in exceptional whisky tasting opportunities, mingle with master distillers, blenders and mixologists and learn more about the whisky and spirits world in the most unique event of its kind.

Universal Whisky Experience and the Nth –founded By Mahesh Patel back in 2011 is excited to bring this event to Wynn Las Vegas as a reflection of the past 10 years and the amazing journey it has been for us all. Showcasing some of the world’s Most Expensive Bottles, Unique Master Classes, Luxurious settings and meeting new great friends. The Nth 2020 Experience will be the start to a new revolution in Whisky and Spirits Tasting around the globe.

Come celebrate with us and walk down memory lane enjoying our Amazing Journey since 2011 –https://universalwhiskyexperience.com/amazing-journey/

The Nth has a reputation for curating unforgettable experiences for whiskey aficionados. “This year we have raised the bar. We have sourced a selection of the world’s most expensive and rare whiskies for tasting. We are also introducing new events, dinners and sessions to the schedule that will truly wow our guests” says Patel.

This years’ experience will include a few surprises:

Start of the Tenth Anniversary Celebration Special Master Classes
High Roller Lounge Featuring the most exclusive super pours for tasting
Showcasing world’s most expensive bottlings from all over the WORLD
Grand Finale with over 200 whiskies and spirits under 1 roof at the Nth Main tasting event

Guests can enjoy a menu of exclusive experiences, including:

The rare “Super Pours” representing whiskies and spirits valued at more than$300 a dram
A stroll-around tasting featuring the world’s most distinguished and coveted whiskies and spirits
Direct access to meet the makers of the best whiskies and spirits in the world with Exclusive New Launches
Wines, Champagne and delicious hors d’oeuvres

Two experience levels are available to purchase:

High Roller Experience –Friday, April 24 – Saturday April 25, 2020

The premium package includes exclusive access to all show events and tastings including: High Roller Lounge featuring exclusive High Roller Super Pours, Private Events with other High Rollers, One-on-one meetings with brand ambassadors, The Nth main tasting event, Master Classes, Dinner Reception, High Roller Gift bag, cigars and more…

Purchase Tickets here:

https://universalwhiskyexperience.com/high-roller-ticket-2020/

Connoisseur Experience – Saturday April 25, 2020

Guests seeking a high-touch experience with a few extra indulgences without going over the top will enjoy the Nth main tasting event, tasting all Whiskies and other Fine spirits, Super pours, hors d’oeuvres, and receive a cut crystal Glencairn tasting glass.

Purchase Tickets here:

https://universalwhiskyexperience.com/connoisseur-experience-ticket-2020/

Garagiste Glendale: Kick Off Party and Grand Tasting

July 12, 2019 by evebushman

Don’t travel through Glendale often, and never been to the Glendale Civic Auditorium, but I’ve covered numerous Garagiste events in LA held at The Wiltern, Santa Monica Bay Women’s Club and Union Station. Traveled to Paso for the event more than once, beginning with their first fest in 2011. And very happy to see that this event, voted the “Best Wine Festival by USA Today readers, has now reached as far as Sonoma and Doug Minnick (one of the founders) said it was their 24th. There’s a reason for their growth and success. We look forward to Garagiste to catch up with small wineries that have been there from the start, and discovering new ones. Here is what we found in Glendale:

Longtime Garagiste founders and organizers l to r: Doug Minnick, Dave and Lisa Dinsmore.

Starting with the “Kick off Party” night of rare, reserves, pre-releases, barrel samples and club member only wines that included a yummy buffet from Fired Up Chef Services (photos), the next day I had a seminar on the growing group of vintners that make their wines from LA Country grapes and then came the grand tasting (more photos). I grouped the kick off party and grand tasting wines together in the Wineries section below and, due to length, will share the seminar and tasting in a separate article on this website today.

Wineries

I have noted the particular wines from either tasting that I found remarkable. If a winery is not noted it doesn’t mean anything in particular, but most likely I just missed them. Asterisks denote wineries at the LA event for the first time:

13th & Third Wines* (2016 Rhone Red), Adron Wines*, Aldina Vineyards* (2014 Cabernet Sauvignon), Alma Sol Wines, Angeleno Wine Co., Ann Albert Wines, Armitage Wines, Ascension Cellars (2015 Soul Searcher Cabernet/Syrah), Bella Luna Winery, Bevela Wines (2015 Unforeseen Alchemy Red Blend), Bodega de Edgar (2016 Nexo Syrah, 2015 Gran Riserva Tempranillo and 2016 Mis Pasos Cab/Tempranillo/Syrah blend), Brooks Note Wines* (2018 Pinot Blanc, 2017 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and 2014 GSM), Byron Blatty Wines (entire lineup with a special shout out to 2016 “Eventful” blend of Tempranillo/Petite Sirah/Merlot), Cavaletti Vineyards (2017 Alicante Bouschet barrel sample and 2017 Vigneron Reserve Syrah/Cabernet), Changing Patterns, Cholame Vineyard (2014 Estate “130” Syrah and 2016 “The Beautiful One” Petite Sirah), Cloak and Dagger Wines, Copia Vineyards (2017 “The Cure” GSM), DB Cellars* (2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Paso and 2011 Sete Barbara, Sierra Foothills), DENO Wines (2017 Arneis, 2016 and 2014 GSM, 2010 Two Bills Zin/Grenache, 2009 Paso Ridge GSM), DeWitt Vineyard* (2015 Estate Syrah and 2015 Estate Touriga), Dusty Nabor Wines (love all the wines, special shout out to their 2017 Syrah, Ballard Canyon. Also his wife Karin’s label, Bolt to Wines 2016 Roussanne and 2017 Syrah)), Enriquez Estate Wines* (2015 Muscat, 2013 “Brisa” white blend, 2013 Reserve Pinot Noir and 2013 Reserva Tempranillo), Etnyre, Ferguson Family Winery* (2016 Boomshakalaka Petite Sirah), Frostwatch Vineyard* (2015 Estate Chardonnay and 2016 Ophira Reserve Chardonnay), Gary Kramer Guitar Cellars*, Golden Star Vineyards (Everything as always, big fans of Lee and Helen Williams), Golden Triangle (2015 Cab/Syrah, Willow Creek), Gravel Pit, Greyscale Wines* (2015 Merlot, Oak Knoll Napa), Hoi Polloi Winery (everything, fan of winemakers Behlendorf and Minnick), Kendric Vineyards, Kings Carey Wines*, Kitson Wines (2015 Rafael el Fils Estate Cabernet Sauvignon), Lions Peak Wines* (2012 Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc), LXV Wines (2016 Reserve Cabernet Franc, 2017 “Crimson Jewel” Super Tuscan blend and 2016 “Secret Craving” Bordeaux blend)), Marin’s Vineyard (nice discovery: 2017 Malbec and 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, MCV Wines (2016 Petite Sirah and 2016 “1105” blend), Metrick Wines, Montagne Russe (2015 Dragon’s Back Chardonnay, 2016 Dragon’s Back Pinot Noir, 2016 Alder Springs Syrah), Ocean’s Churning* (another cool discovery: 2014 Chardonnay Los Carneros, 2016 Chardonnay Sonoma Coast and 2014 Heritage Clone 4 Los Carneros), Playground Cellars*, Powicana Farms (2013 Petite Sirah and 2015 Port), Record Family Wines, Republic of Pink, RF Fine Wines* (2015 Arbre Petite Sirah), Rhonedonnee Wines, Say When Wine* (2017 Petit Verdot, 2018 “Stipa” Rose of Mourvedre, 2017 “When” Pinot Noir and 2017 “Rasi” Pinot Noir), Torch Cellars (2018 Tannat/Syrah Rose and 2013 Illumination Red blend), Turiya Wines (Divine Force Cab/Sangio/Petite Sirah), Two Papas Wine* (everything, I’m a fan, 2018 Grenache Blanc was new), Two Shepherds (sorry to have missed this one today), Velvet Bee Wines*, Vino Vargas, Wander-Must Wines* and Zanoli Wines (2016 Syrah).

http://garagistefestival.com/

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.

Paso: The 8th Annual Garagiste Festival, Rare and Reserves and Grand Tasting

November 30, 2018 by evebushman

Over 60 Garagiste winemakers – aka garage winemakers, most of whom don’t have tasting rooms and don’t produce over a certain number of cases annually – would be pouring for the 8^th Annual Garagiste Festival in Paso Robles. We’d covered this event in Los Angeles and Paso Robles over the years and oftentimes these wineries would grow – they would have to leave the event to make room for new Garagistes. This turnover meant an influx of new discoveries every year, as well as seeing some winemakers that have remained small and we could then taste their new vintages.

The Garagiste events, co-created by our very own Doug Minnick of Hoi Polloi and the Double Trouble Wine Room on Main in Downtown Newhall, is also the non-profit brainchild of partner Stewart McLennan.

In this two-day Paso event Minnick and McLennan had separated the rare and reserve tasting from the main event by a day. I loved the idea as I usually experience palate fatigue after the first tasting anyway. Combining my notes with day two, the wines of special note have the winery names in bold, with the Rare and Reserves noted as RR in bold as well. And, as is my usual disclaimer, if I missed a winery or a wine it wasn’t due to any distaste but can only be blamed on palate fatigue and/or I had already tasted their lineup at Garagiste Santa Monica earlier this year:

Adron Wines*

Alta Colina

Armitage Wines*

Artisan Uprising – RR: 2015 Tempranillo and 2017 Sangiovese.

Ascension Cellars – RR: 2012 Trinity GSM and 2012 Soul Shaker Cabernet Syrah blend.

Bevela Wines

Bolshoi Family Wines*

Bon Niche Cellars – RR: They did a vertical of their Bordeaux Blends including a 2010, 2012, and 2015. I liked the balance of the 2012 the best.

Caldera Cuvee

Caliza Winery – We have tasted Carl Bower’s wines off and on over the years at this event, happy to have tried them today as enjoyed: 2015 Azimuth GSM, 2015 Syrah and 2014 “Cohort” blend of Petite Sirah, Mourvedre and Syrah. All wines are from estate vineyards.

Circle B Vineyards

Cloak & Dagger Wines

Copia Vineyards – RR: 2016 “The Story” blend of Grenache and Syrah.

Corner Cellars*

Cutruzzola Vineyards

Decroux Wines*

DENO Wines

DeWitt Vineyard*

Diablo Paso – RR: 2014 Tempranillo Gran Reserva. Learned that these were grapes sourced from Napa and had spent 42 months in oak. My second favorite of the rare and reserves.

Dusty Nabor Wines – RR: I’ve liked all of Dusty’s wines at Garagiste, this time it was a 2016 NSO, meaning for “No Special Occasion”, California Red Wine for $19 that was the winner!

Gary Kramer Guitar Cellars* – RR: A barrel sample of Malbec? I hate barrel samples as it’s all oak to me sometimes, this one was nice indeed.

Golden Triangle

Hoi Polloi Winery – I stopped at the table to say hello, but I have had their wines many times as they have a tasting room five minutes from my home in Santa Clarita.

Hoyt Family Vineyards – RR: 2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was my favorite of the entire rare and reserve tasting.

Jardesca*

Kaleidos Winery – RR: 2015 Praying Mantis Syrah.

Kitson Wines*

Last Light Wine Co

Leverage Wines – RR: 2017 Chardonnay and 2016 Trajectory GSM blend.

Lost Blues

MagnaVita Cellars*

Marin’s Vineyard

Mastro Scheidt*

MCV Wines – RR: 2011 1105 Petite Sirah blend. Also enjoyed to of their 2015 Petite Sirah – one from the Rosewynn Vineyard and the other from the Gemeny Vineyard.

Merisi Wines* – RR: 2016 Los Carneros Grenache.

Montage Russe

On Your Left Wine Co. – RR: A fellow wine taster sent me here. 2015 Two Wheeler Grenache Mourvedre that hadn’t been released but I thought was ready and a 2014 Single Track Syrah.

Pagter Brothers Winery – Of course I stopped in to say hello, even though the share a tasting room with Hoi Polloi (see my notes above) and was rewarded today with a wine club only pour of their 2016 Petite Sirah. Well done!

Pelletiere Vineyards – RR: 2015 Reserve Sangiovese and 2016 Lagrein (Lagrein is the name of the grape.)

Powell Mountain Cellars – RR: 2010 and 2011 Pinnacle Bordeaux blends.

RF Wines – Enjoyed their 2015 Exceed Malbec, 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon and their 2015 Petite Sirah was my favorite at the grand tasting.

RN Estate Winery – 2015 Estate Cabernet Franc, 2014 Cuvee des Trois Cepages Bordeaux Blend and 2014 Malbec.

Saint K Wines

Seven Angels Cellars

Seven Oxen Estate Wines

Sea Shell Cellars

T. Berkley Wines* – 2016 Cabernet Franc, Napa.

Tlo Wines – 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Lucas and Lewellen.

TOP Winery

Torch Cellars

Transmission Wine Co.*

Turtle Rock Vineyard – I had enjoyed a wine luncheon highlighting Turtle Rock Vineyards so I was thrilled to try the new 2016 Willow’s Cuvee GSM with a touch of Tempranillo and the 2016 Maturin Rhone Blend from the James Berry Vineyard. (Winemaker Don Burns is the assistant winemaker at Saxum.)

TW Fermentations – RR: 2015 Cultivator blend and a newly released 2015 Merlot.

Ultima Tulie

Vandella Vineyards*

Vigo Cellars*

Vinemark Cellars

Vino Vargas

Volatus Wines – RR: 2008 Reserve Red – a Syrah and Petite Sirah blend.

Willow Creek Wine Group*

*First time pouring at the Paso Festival.

To see the photo grids from all of our Paso winery visits from this trip click this.

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 15k 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. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com

Glion Awards Honorary Doctorate Degree to World’s Best Sommelier Paolo Basso

November 18, 2018 by evebushman

MONTREUX, Switzerland (PRWEB) – Glion Institute of Higher Education, a world-leading hospitality management institution, has granted Swiss-Italian sommelier Mr Paolo Basso the degree of Doctor honoris causa in an awards ceremony held at the institution’s flagship Glion campus on 24 October 2018. The honorary doctorate was awarded in recognition of Mr Basso’s achievements in oenology and the wider field of hospitality, and his transmission of expertise and excellence to future generations.

Photo from Glion Institute of Higher Education Facebook page.

Mr Paolo Basso, award-winning sommelier
A passion for oenology has taken Mr Basso from his native Lombardy, in Italy, to a global career as a renowned sommelier. His persistency and quest for perfection has earned him accolades such as Best Sommelier of Switzerland (1997), Best Sommelier of Europe (2010) and Best Sommelier of the World (2013).

Based in Switzerland, Mr Basso currently delivers the weeklong “Universe of Wine” course at Glion, which forms part of the mandatory practical arts curriculum for all first-semester bachelor’s degree students. Topics covered in the course include wine-making processes, wine tasting and food pairing, understanding the value of wine, and business concepts such as investing in fine and rare wines.

At the worldwide level, Mr Basso also represents Glion as a global brand ambassador. “As an essential part of luxury hospitality, oenology is core to our practical arts curriculum. We are therefore delighted that Mr Basso is able to share his vast knowledge and experience with our students and the next generation of hospitality leaders,” said Georgette Davey, Glion’s Managing Director. “This is a wonderful opportunity for Glion students to benefit from Mr Basso’s expertise and to learn by example. Mr Basso embodies key values that we strive to instil in our students, such as humility, passion and the drive for excellence.”

In addition to teaching students at Glion, Mr Basso hosts a series of gourmet dinners open to the public at Le Bellevue, Glion’s student-operated gastronomic restaurant. Featuring food and wine pairings selected by Mr Basso, the most recent dinner took place on 25 October 2018, with two more scheduled for 2018.

Useful information

Le Bellevue
Glion Institute of Higher Education
1823 Glion-sur-Montreux

Reservation
http://www.glion.edu/restaurants
T: +41 21 966 35 25
E: reservations(dot)bellevue(at)glion(dot)edu

Opening hours
Mon – Fri
12:00 – 14:30
19:00 – 23:30

Glion Institute of Higher Education
Founded in 1962, Glion Institute of Higher Education is a private Swiss institution offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees in hospitality, luxury and event management to an international student body across three campuses in Switzerland and London, UK. Glion also offers a dual-degree MBA and MSc programme in partnership with Grenoble Ecole de Management.

Part of Sommet Education, Glion is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (formerly the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc.). Glion is ranked number five of the world’s top institutions for hospitality and leisure management and number one worldwide for employer reputation (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2018).

For more information, visit http://www.glion.edu

Scotland: How Was The Scotch Whisky Experience?

October 26, 2018 by evebushman

When in Scotland you do the Scotch whisky, right? For whisky 101ers that means blended or single malt Scotch whisky – not rum or bourbon or rye or any other whisky (or whiskey) you can think of that is made in any other way in any other country. Yes, you can call them all whiskey, but only blended or single malt made in Scotland is to be called Scotch whisky. Though at press time there are some distilleries, in Japan and the U.S. I think, that are fighting to use the spelling whisky over whiskey. But, I digress. Let me get to the point.

In our whisky “barrel” and getting ready for a wild ride!

We were in Scotland for a little over a week. We started in Edinburgh and had a three-day trip planned to tour distilleries in the Highlands and Speyside, two well known whisky making areas.

But, again I digress. The best way to start you own whisky journey in Edinburgh is at The Scotch Whisky Experience, a beautifully architected building at the base of the infamous Edinburgh Castle and at the top of the Royal Mile.

Why start here? Because you will feel – and be – a lot more educated in every pub, bar and liquor store in Scotland (and anywhere else you shop for whisky) if you know a little about what you like and don’t like in a whisky.

So, not to digress again, lets get started. Make a reservation for your one-hour trip – or longer if you want to linger over a dram, aka ounce, or two. It begins with an amusement park ride with a ghost narrator giving you a wee lesson in how whisky is made, then you get to view a large panoramic film experience that will give you a lay of the different whisky-producing areas and what their each distinctive shaped still pots and water source gives to the whisky – and a real yearning to visit.

Next we learned how a blended whisky starts with grain alcohol and the master distiller then selects different single malt whiskies from different areas to create the perfect blend.

There was a moment, a hesitation, when those single malt fans, like myself, paused and thought, heck that master distiller is doing an incredible job. We need to give blends more credit! Single malt Scotch whisky wasn’t as popular as Irish whiskey until the master distillers created blends.

Then comes an easily understandable interactive lesson about the different aroma profiles of each area: Highland, Speyside, Lowland, Islay and Campbeltown. We were getting a true “sense of Scotland.” And we’re not done. Based on the different aromas explained, each guest is given a scratch n’ sniff card to match with the corresponding aromas – from nuts to dried fruit to spice to cigar and so on. Learning about the specific aroma profiles and then immediately scratching the corresponding spot on the card made it an easy lesson for all to grasp.

Based on what you liked in those aromas you are then prompted to select the type of whisky that would appeal to you. Then your guide (we had the awesome Heather that has been with them 12 years and writes a fine blog on their website too) will pour your taste. But then…

…you are invited into the final mind blowing room. The largest collection of whisky in the world. Tips on how to smell, taste and evaluate your dram while in the center of this room is a killer experience. As we sampled our whisky, the group – after having been on a ride and in three different rooms – quieted. While the collection may have begun with a private donation of five bottles, we learned, it now was unparalleled in existence. I asked about the oldest bottles and discovered two: from 1897 and 1904. The amount of evaporation in one amounted to at least one third of the bottle, and it had never been opened.

We learned that some of our takeaways were exactly what the creators of The Whisky Experience were looking for: more respect for blended whisky, appreciation of the different whisky-producing areas – the experience is meant to “springboard” consumers into distillery visitors – and finally, to learn and enjoy from private tastings. One last thing they have for us and another reason to return: a training school.

We ended our tour with a visit through another tasting area, more like a bar with whisky flights and/or by the dram purchases, rare bottles for purchase and a nice little gift shop. Now, we were more than ready for our three-day whisky tour. Except we still had trouble pronouncing the words “Slainte Mhath” that many say as they drink their drams!

www.scotchwhiskyexperience.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/ScotchWhiskyExperience/

https://www.instagram.com/scotchwhiskyexp/

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. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com