Howard Kleinfeld’s Latest: Cabernet Confessional…Look Out – Sip Happens

April 23, 2021 by evebushman

In 2014 I read and reviewed Howard Kleinfeld’s book, Dial M for Merlot. I had to go back and find the review, read it over and be reminded how much I liked it and the hero Justin James. Here’s a snippet of the story I shared:

Soon our hero is well-attached to the woman of his dreams, and new wine friends that introduce him to a world of wine tasting that culminates in a trip to VinExpo in Bordeaux, France. Once there the sinister plot begins to unfold involving a wine business magnate that is hated by his young sexy wife, her lover/his employee, an aged nun, a nunnery, a former business partner, most of James’ friends and soon James himself.

And the reason I wanted to read my review again: Howard Kleinfeld has a new book for me to review: Cabernet Confessional. And our hero, Justin James, would return! This time, according to the back cover, James’ “path leads him to Sonoma Valley in northern California where his life takes a new and totally unforeseen direction. Join him as he travels down a bumpy, wine country road where the ghosts from his past, his hopes for the future and his increasingly turbulent present collide in a fiery explosion of murder, mistaken identity and red wine. Lots of red wine.”

My review

Staring with the prologue, and a September 2019 lightning strike that “kills one, injures three” according to The Herald Tribune, we go back in time and place, to Palm Beach, Florida, to catch up with Justin on New Year’s Day, and what promised to be the best year of his life. It was the end of his first six months with what also appeared to be his soulmate/sexmate, a woman named Destiny Verrano.

From there we meet successful wine distributor Cosmo Koulouris and his not-so-successful son Klitos, leaving the question of a successor open: another door has opened for our hero with the “Golden Palate”.

Soon we are introduced to a set of characters in Timber Valley, California, an “old school wine country town” with new councilman and land-grabber Nigel Hathaway, Colonel Richard “Dick” Davenport fighting over eminent domain, and different townspeople that could go either way. Soon the path that Justin was on would intersect with those fine squabbling folks in Timber Valley.

Are you keeping up? I’m not one to reveal details or “spoilers” but just enough information to pique an interest. Howard, our author, has set a stage for mystery indeed, adding more characters and more wine as our mystery unfolds in Northern California’s wine country.

Before the tale has been told Justin will have more than one turning point. And while mystery does lead to mayhem and murder, for Justin it also leads to coming to an unexpected discovery of his true lineage, and how he is forever connected to some of the people in Timber Valley. This discovery comes at the end of the book, and begs the question, how soon will Kleinfeld give us a third volume?

Look for Howard Kleinfeld’s books (may be listed as Howard K.) at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or https://howardkbooks.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.

Vintage Eve Circa 12/2018 – Local Author John Carter Pens Book on Wine and Cheese Pairings: Red, White and Bleu (Eve is highlighted)

April 20, 2021 by evebushman

I’ve known John Carter for many years, and it’s been a pleasure to watch his wine journey from selling great bar parts to now hosting this collection of interviews with experts on wine and cheese. Happy to be one of his subjects to share my own story, I also enjoyed reading the book to learn from the experts.

top row l-r: Tim McDonald, Richard Jennings, Eve, Steve Peck. bottom l-r: Eva and Fred Swan, Steve Heimoff, Gina DeGirolamo. (Just wanted to share this pic of Tim, the same night I interviewed him.)

From Michelle Chiu I learned about a new app that helps people find the right wine for their specific tastes; from Laurie Forster I learned that “if you can’t pronounce it, you should be drinking it”; I now want to do a wine tour with Leslie Frelow’s company in Maryland; from Jill Gerda I learned that there’s more to cheese than just the color; reading about Chris Hanson of the Laurentia Vineyard in Ohio I now understand a bit more about wineries that have to deal with blizzard conditions; Brian Heath and his vineyard in Texas…he makes wine there and buys grapes from Paso as well.

From there I learned from Stacie Hunt, who I’ve taken classes from as well as judged with. I always look forward to classes with Stacie. In her interview I did learn a few more things about her, including this gem when she was explaining her interests in Baja winemaking, “Grapes are very much like we are. Malbec doesn’t taste like Malbec in France at all when it’s coming from Argentina, but it’s wonderful and it’s delicious. The same goes for Nebbiolo in Baja, California.”

Washington state winemaker Reid Klei echoed my sentiment, and the sentiment of many of us in the book, in how there is too much “pretentiousness” in the wine industry – in between all of the great wine and cheese pairings we were asked about – and I hope this book helps to change that negative perception.

Another peer I’ve also had the honor to interview myself that is in the book is Tim McDonald. Tim is a revered wine judge I hope to judge alongside with someday! In the meantime, in this interview, new for me was his suggestion that we try more imported wines even though we’re here in California and home to some of the best wines.

Okay, that’s enough of a teaser from me. Grab the book so you can get the full story, and read the interviews from those I didn’t mention: cookbook author Jorj Morgan, lifestyle expert Jojo Pasters and one of the “five best female wine professionals in the world” – Amy Reiley.

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.

Seasoned Wine Writer and National Geographic Photographer Collaborate on the Definitive Santa Barbara County Wine Book

April 1, 2021 by evebushman

At over six hundred pages, Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County delivers the most in-depth study of Santa Barbara wine country yet

“When I first met Matt Kettmann a few years ago, he was pretty laid back, but very engaged with Santa Barbara County wine. He turned on a new level of commitment to the wine region when he decided to write a book with photographer Macduff Everton, longtime chronicler of the area with candid, off-center, fun, and telling images. This is a great and precise exposition of a great and abundant wine region, Santa Barbara County.”— Jim Clendenen, Au Bon Climat

Santa Barbara, CA – Unlike Northern California regions like Sonoma and Napa, where countless pages in numerous books have waxed on about their people and places, Santa Barbara wine country is decidedly lacking in books about the region, with just a handful published over its entire modern history. That’s changing this year with the publication of Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County, an intimate yet sprawling 632-page study of more than 100 wineries and vineyards in the region by writer Matt Kettmann and photographer Macduff Everton.

Photo credit: Santa Barbara Independent

Santa Barbara County winemaking pioneer Richard Sanford (Founder, Sanford Winery, Alma Rosa Winery) who penned the book’s forward, says, “In Vines & Vision, Matt and Macduff have captured that pride with their photographs and profiles of the important people and places in our wine region. They are uniquely qualified to tell this story.”

“This felt like an opportunity to do my part in showing others what makes our region so honestly special, from the unique geography to the colorful characters,” says author Matt Kettmann (editor at The Santa Barbara Independent and Wine Enthusiast), who’s been covering the region as a journalist since 1999 and reviewing more than 150 Central Coast wines every month since 2014. He collaborated on the project with renowned photographer Macduff Everton (National Geographic, Conde Nast), who has photographed the area’s winemakers and vineyards since the early 1990s. After working together on Around the Table, a book about The Lark, a popular Santa Barbara restaurant, the two plotted out plans for a wine book over pints of Guinness in the fall of 2017.

“It’s been a longer than expected haul,” says Kettmann of the process. “We’ve spent almost three years corralling grape growers and winemakers for photo shoots, interviewing so many of them again, and, in some cases, hanging out for the first time.”

The results are riveting reading, with winemakers, farmers, and vineyard workers sharing their stories in ways that are often unexpectedly candid. While exploring the vineyards, Everton made fast friends with the many Spanish-speaking workers, as he’d spent so many years of his career covering the Maya people of Mexico, as detailed in his book The Modern Maya Incidents of Travel and Friendship in Yucatán (Univ. of Texas Press).

“Macduff made an immediate and deep connection with the hundreds of farmworkers who do the hard work in the vineyards every day and began shooting portraits of them as well, toting a portable backdrop along to every visit,” explains Kettmann. Those efforts expanded into a separate chapter called “El Buen Equipo,” or “The Good Team,” which features those farmers as well as people in every other role required to bring a vintage to market, from PR pros and marketing executives to wealthy proprietors.

With over 100 chapters, Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County focuses on the people, places, history, geography, and diverse culture in one of America’s leading wine regions. It shines a bright light on both familiar and famous faces from the region, as well as the industry’s often unsung heroes; the laborers, farmers, office workers, and numerous others who are vital to and instrumental in taking each and every vintage to market. Because of its comprehensive nature, Vines & Vision will be the primary reference text for this region for decades to come.

Lane Tanner, whose eponymously named brand was synonymous for years with the Santa Maria Valley appellation, says, “Macduff and Matt’s new book is not only a definitive informational source, it delivers seriously fun facts that I have never seen in print before! Super cool read!”

“In a culture increasingly marked by quick sound bites of information and abridged attention span, we seldom have the privilege to experience thorough investigation and discovery,” says winemaker Greg Brewer (Brewer-Clifton, diatom, Ex Post Facto). “Vines and Vision is one of those rare examples which demonstrates a metered pursuit to portray a multi-faceted representation of Santa Barbara County winegrowing. The diversity of this landscape is only rivaled perhaps by the variety of its people which requires not only patience but also a keen eye to carefully uncover. Through their tireless efforts, Matt Kettmann and Macduff Everton have done just that to produce a stunning work which harnesses the intensity of the topography and intimately captures the passion of those working within. The trust and intimacy that they have forged with everyone in Santa Barbara is shared throughout each and every page of this significant work that will forever hold a vital position in the history of this unique area.”

The book also includes essays on the history of the region (bolstered by Everton’s treasure trove of older photos), an exploration of Santa Barbara’s unique geography, descriptions of each appellation, and coverage of an entire growing season, from pruning to bottling. Featuring intimate portraits of winemakers, the book is very personal in nature, driven by the people and places that make Santa Barbara wine country so special.

“This insightful book captures the essence of Santa Barbara County’s soul,” said sommelier and winemaker Rajat Parr. “Matt Kettmann and Macduff Everton dive deep into the terroir of the region and showcase its trailblazers. A groundbreaking resource for the Santa Barbara wine country.”

To purchase Vines & Vision: The Winemakers of Santa Barbara County, visit https://www.vinesandvisionsb.com/. It is also available at bookstores and wineries throughout Santa Barbara County, which are listed on the website as well.

A Review of…by Phil Hofstee

March 29, 2021 by evebushman

A Review of…

“Wine for Normal People (a Guide for Real People Who love Wine, but not the Snobbery That goes with it)”

By: Elizabeth Schneider – Certified Sommelier, Certified Specialist of Wine, MBA, Normal Person

Chronicle Books LLC

Marla and Phil Hofstee

At first glance, “Wine for Normal People” appears to be little more than a highly polished redux of the best-selling “Wine for Dummies” series of wine reference guides. It contains the obligatory pages on wine’s history, production processes, growing regions, and food pairings, but there the similarity ends. This elegantly crafted reference is not intended to turn someone into a wine fan, but to turn a wine fan into a well-informed wine lover. If you are not already a regular wine drinker, this may not be the book for you.

Having said that, the critical question is this. At what point in one’s relationship with wine would getting into this book prove beneficial?

The author addresses my concern at the end of the introduction with this:

“Normal wine person: This is someone who likes wine, like drinking wine, and likes learning about wine but doesn’t like people talking down to him or her or participating in one-upmanship of knowing this arcane fact and that random producer.”

To that end, this book (parenthetic humor notwithstanding) is a smooth reading, artfully crafted textbook and reference for “normal people”.

The first three chapters cover the topics of wine vocabulary, the tasting experience and the wine-making process while never once drifting into the wonky world of wine speak! These should be read like a text book with yellow highlighter in hand. You’ll refer back to them often as you encounter real world situations in your wine journey. Q&A blocks, charts, diagrams, and maps add interesting rest stops along the way.

Chapters 4, 5 & 6 are a comprehensive encyclopedia of wine regions, their history, varietals, governmental influence and culture. While a speed read though these chapters is sure to unearth some interesting tidbits, they should be considered a “go to” reference when trying to demystify the label on that gift Prosecco you got from a friend or on that value priced Croatian wine you picked up on the recommendation of a wine shop staffer.

Chapter 7 & 8 cover food pairing, shopping, and dining, which, with along with considerable trial and error will certainly enhance those experiences for you.

The book concludes with a number of valuable reference pages that can provide a quick answer that “What?” question that’s sure to arise from time to time along the way. There is a comprehensive index to help you navigate the chapters and topics.

The author achieves the stated goal of the book in a big way! Kept light and simple, it breaks down complex concepts into easily understandable bites that will likely stay with the reader for the duration. As a reference, this book should be kept on the eye level shelf in the library of anyone wanting to grow in their wine knowledge and to experience their personal wine journey to its fullest.

Phil Hofstee is a “certified” wine lover, tasting room business consultant, and legendary normal person.

15th Annual Kosher Food and Wine Experience 2021 Goes Virtual- LiveCast Sunday, FEB 21

February 3, 2021 by evebushman

New York, NY – With sold-to-capacity crowds, the annual Kosher Food and Wine Experience (KFWE) is undisputedly among the hottest tickets in the kosher culinary world. These massive events in New York, California, Israel, Miami, and London attract thousands of restaurateurs, chefs, caterers, and foodies who wait all year to sample the latest and greatest in fine kosher wines and creative cuisine.

Fans of the expo will be thrilled to know that social distancing won’t spoil the party this year. In fact, those coveted tickets won’t be needed when the 15^th annual Kosher Food and Wine Experience goes virtual on Sunday, February 21 at 5:30 p.m. Eastern time.

All are welcome to sip and savor with the pros during this free livecast, presented by Royal Wine Corp. Program highlights include guided wine tastings with Jay Buchsbaum, VP of Marketing and Wine Education for Royal Wine; Erik Segelbaum, Food & Wine Magazine’s 2019 Sommelier of the Year; wine blogger Gabriel Geller, Royal Wine’s director of PR; and others.

“We spent quite a bit of time behind the scenes trying to figure out how to safely bring this experience to people while still capturing the essence of the show,” noted Buchsbaum. “Yes, things will be a little different this year, but the virtual format creates new opportunities. For instance, the more intimate setting means we can do a deeper dive into the wines, wineries, and winemaking process.”

Another innovative twist is the Official KFWE Tasting Kit, which will allow home viewers to sample wines with the experts. Each kit includes 100mL samples of 25 featured wines – each enough for 2-3 pours – from some of the world’s most prestigious wineries. Kits also include a tasting guide, recipe cards, and shopping lists so guests can cook along too. Available for $250 (plus processing and shipping fees), tasting kits can be ordered through www.TheKFWE.com. Order by February 12 to ensure delivery in time for the event. Must be at least 21 years old to purchase.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a KFWE without the food. Celebrity chef, restauranteur, and James Beard Award winner Michael Solomonov will be on hand along with Chef Gabe Garcia of Tierra Sur and personalities from Kosher.com, the leading website for all things kosher. Viewers can watch their demonstrations and cook along in real-time. Detailed recipe cards with shopping lists and prep instructions will be available for download ahead of time.

“Just as Erik Segelbaum and Michael Solomonov are respected and admired in the global mainstream wine and culinary world,” noted Royal Wine’s Gabe Geller, “kosher and Israeli wines deserve the same indiscriminating quality and appreciation. KFWE was created to spread that message far and wide. So even though we are presenting on a smaller physical scale this year, KFWE 2021 will drive that message home to more people than ever.”

This year’s event focuses on the following releases – all of which are kosher for Passover:

Carmel Signature Mediterranean 2017

Barkan Special Reserve Winemaker’s Choice Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Shiloh Secret Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

Jezreel Valley Argaman 2017

Binyamina The Chosen Diamond 2017

Gush Etzion Winery Blessed Valley Chardonnay 2019

Tulip Black Tulip 2017

Netofa Dor 2017

Flam Noble 2017

Tabor Malkiya Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Psagot Peak 2017

Teperberg Essence Malbec 2016

Hagafen Estate Bottled Coombsville Napa Valley Dry White Riesling 2018

Covenant Red C 2017

Herzog Variations Be-leaf Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Herzog Generation IX Stags Leap District Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Chateau Leoville Poyferre Saint-Julien 2017

Chateau de Santenay Les Bois de l’Alier Mercurey 2019

Château Guiraud 1er Cru Sauternes 2019

Chateau Giscours Margaux 2017

Chateau Montviel Pomerol 2018

Capcanes Flor de Primavera Peraj Ha’abib Montsant 2017

Elvi Wines Herenza Rioja Reserva 2014

Terra di Seta Chianti Classico Riserva 2016

Sforno Gran Reserva Red Blend Mendoza 2020

For more information on KFWE 2021, to register, or to purchase the Official KFWE 2021 Wine Tasting Kit, visit www.TheKFWE.com. Participants will receive a viewing link for the livecast along with recipes, shopping lists, and a sneak peek at featured wines.

About Royal Wine/Kedem

Since 1948, Royal Wine Corp., also known as Kedem, has been owned and operated in the United States by the Herzog family, whose winemaking roots date back eight generations to 19th century Czechoslovakia.

Today Royal Wine’s portfolio of domestic and international wines range from traditional wine producing regions of France, Italy, and Spain, as well as Israel, New Zealand, and Argentina. Additionally, Royal Wine Corp.’s spirit and liqueur portfolio offer some of the most sought after scotches, bourbons, tequilas and vodkas as well as hard to find specialty items such as flavored brandies and liqueurs.

The company owns and operates the Kedem Winery in upstate New York, as well as Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, a state-of-the-art-facility featuring guided wine tours, a fully staffed modern tasting room, gift shop and catering facilities. Additionally, the winery houses the award-winning restaurant Tierra Sur, serving the finest Mediterranean inspired contemporary Californian Cuisine. Follow Royal Wine on Face Book.com/RoyalWineCorp/, and instagram.com/royalwinecorp/, and twitter.com/royalwinecorp

Flavor First Intuitive Line of Wine Glassware Released in U.S. Market

January 9, 2021 by evebushman

St. Helena, California – For the first time ever, a line of glassware designed around the flavor of wine has been released to trade and consumers in the United States. The set of three glasses corresponds to three key flavor/styles found in wine: Crisp & Fresh™, Creamy & Silky™ and Bold & Powerful™, intuitively putting the power of glass selection in the hands of wine consumers and trade professionals.

Liberating and simple in premise, the Flavor First™ line of glassware was meticulously designed over three years by wine expert and lauded author Karen MacNeil in collaboration with Senior Vice President of Design and Creative Director, Paul Gebhardt of The Oneida® Group, producer since 1880 of fine table and kitchenware to homes and restaurants worldwide.

Their idea was simple—design wine glasses around wine flavor, not around wine regions or wine varietals. Taking into consideration the architecture of the glass, the nature of the human palate, and the desire of consumers and food service professionals to simplify this complex subject, MacNeil and Gebhardt had an “aha” moment together at a wine training Karen conducted for The Oneida® Group. Why, they asked, wasn’t there a stem that took the overthinking out of glassware? Why not focus on the fundamental pleasure and flavor of wine itself?

Trials, tastings, iterations over time, and testing of 40 different design options yielded a simple solution. MacNeil stated, “As a writer and wine teacher who’s taught thousands of people how to taste and evaluate wine, I listen carefully to how people talk about wine and the words they use. Most people are non-technical; they use ideas such as ‘bold reds’ or ‘creamy chardonnays’ to describe what they like. In other words, they use flavor words.”

Always academic and thoughtful in her approach, Karen looked at 35 major grape varieties and realized that the glass diameter at the widest part of the glass had the greatest impact on the expression of the wines. As she states, “Oxygen has a profound effect on wine. For each of our three glasses, the widest part of the glass is at a different position.”

Gebhardt, said of the collaboration, “Karen and her team are amazing, and together we made the idea a reality. Along with flavor as a driver of form, I wanted to create a line that had as many back-of-the-house operational advantages as possible. The design needed to be easy to live with at home, as well as in a commercial operation, both of which are key audiences for our company.”

Importantly, the vessels were designed for daily life at the table, and as such are dishwasher safe. While each glass is endowed with a precision bowl shape and a thin rim typically reserved for glassware three times the price, the carefully calibrated “pulled” stem and foot ensure that the glasses will endure through meals and explorations. All three stems are the same height, making a seamless presentation for a wine tasting or meal with different pairings and ease of storage. The glasses are American designed and made in Germany from lead-free crystal.

The core stems include (all sold at retail in sets of four and six):
Crisp & Fresh™ for champagne, prosecco, sparkling wine, sauvignon blanc, riesling, and pinot grigio plus light rosés and all wines with a fresh, bright quality

Creamy & Silky™ for chardonnay, chenin blanc, pinot gris plus richer rosé wines and pinot noir, chianti, shiraz and all wines with a round, silky texture

Bold & Powerful™ for very full bodied, oaky chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Bordeaux, zinfandel, malbec, Barolo, syrah and all wines that feature a bold texture and firm structural backbone

Petite Stem: Designed for more casual gatherings, a next generation version of the stemless glass but, importantly, with a foot to allow for swirling and easier handling. It’s also great for beer, iced tea, and select cocktails such as a classic Gin & Tonic.

Available for sale in sets of four and six or as a variety set of six with two stems of each, the glasses are available at a number of retailers such as Amazon, wine.com, Macy’s, Dillard’s, TheBay.com (Canada) and are also available at Oneida.com and KarenMacNeil.com. Priced at $74.99 per set of six, the per stem price averages $12.50, extremely affordable when compared to other similar quality wine glasses on the market today.

About Karen MacNeil
Noted writer, author, and educator Karen MacNeil is the only American to have won every major wine award given in the English language. These include the James Beard award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, the Louis Roederer award for Best Consumer Wine Writing, and the International Wine and Spirits award as the Global Wine Communicator of the Year. In a full-page profile on her, TIME Magazine called Karen “America’s Missionary of the Vine.” In 2018, Karen was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Wine.” Karen’s firm, Karen MacNeil & Company, creates customized corporate events for companies and individual groups. Among Karen’s clients are Lexus, Merrill Lynch, Disney, General Electric, UBS, and Singapore Airlines, as well as numerous law, banking, and biotech firms.

Karen is the co-creator and Chair Emerita of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley, which has been called “the Harvard of wine education.” More information about Karen can be found at www.karenmacneil.com.

About The Oneida® Group
The Oneida® Group is a leading global marketer of tabletop and food preparation products for the consumer and foodservice markets. With a comprehensive line of tabletop and food preparation products, they market their products globally under a broad range of consumer brands. Karen MacNeil’s range of stemware falls under both the consumer facing Oneida and the trade focused SAPORUS brand of food service. Customers range from Fortune 500 companies to medium and small-sized companies in the consumer, foodservice, business-to-business, and E-commerce channels. The company operates two glass manufacturing plants in the U.S. and sources a variety of proprietary designed tableware products. Visit https://www.oneida.com/ for more information.

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

September 9, 2020 by evebushman

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.

Wine Times DTLA Presents Eve Bushman – Wine 101, By Tyler Davidson (Reprinted with permission)

August 7, 2020 by evebushman

The wine industry is one often shrouded in mystery and sophistication; sommeliers swish the liquid around in their mouths, speaking of notes and taste lengths as if they were alchemists, so it makes a certain amount of sense that the field can be intimidating. Luckily for DTLA, Santa Clarita Valley’s Eve Bushman has come to town with a series of wine catch-alls for the beginner.

“There’s no way I can know everything,” says Bushman, who even after over a decade in the industry still maintains that she’s what she calls a “101-er,” just like any newcomer. “There’s people out there that have their Master Sommelier degrees that don’t know everything, because there’s always something new coming out.”

Eve’s Wine 101 is a sort of catch-all for wine enthusiasts, sharing press releases, reviews, and various other wine-related content and soon Eve will be sharing her knowledge with Downtown Weekly readers far and wide.

So how did someone like Bushman, who seemingly never harbored any deep-seated dreams of joining the Chevaliers du Tastevin, stumble into this business, let alone spend a decade-plus there?

“My wine interests began when I was probably 22 years old, I had boxed wine in my refrigerator that I put in a glass with ice in it like everybody else,” says Bushman, who would eventually become a connoisseur, traveling with her husband to places like Paso Robles and Napa Valley in California, Bordeaux, France and Ribero del Duero, Spain. But she would only “go pro” when her role as a journalist called for it. “About 10 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, I was writing for my local newspapers […] and I said, ‘I can do book reviews, and I can do wine reviews.”

Writing pieces on wine soon begat invitations to wine dinners, random deliveries of bottles of wine, and the like, something that a person could get used to very quickly.

“I thought to myself, ‘Well, nobody’s sending me any free books and that’s not so exciting anyway.’ And it just became like this fun hobby.”

As for how her “fun hobby” became a long-running website and business venture, Eve Bushman is at once blunt and unapologetic.

“I would bet for most people that do this, their answer would be, you know, the appreciation of wine and getting to like and understand wine, but I’m a full on attention whore,” she says with a laugh. “It’s a lot of fun. I mean, I have people that just say, ‘Can I be your Mini-me? Can I be your wingman at an event?’”

It’s a testament to Bushman’s talent and work ethic that, despite being so straightforward about some of her motivations, she still runs an incredibly efficient business — well, businesses.

In addition to running Eve’s Wine 101, Bushman also provided private in-home wine classes in the pre-COVID era, as well as consulting work. But even with all of her experience and accolades, Eve Bushman still strives to maintain an honest connection with even the most novice of her audience.
“That was one question I had [been asked in] an interview before, ‘Don’t you think that now that you’ve got your certifications, that you’re going to be talking above your reader?’”, says Bushman, who insists that there is no elusive “right” pairing when it comes to wine and food, that it simply comes down to whatever wine one might happen to enjoy, no more, no less.

“I said, ‘Well, if I’m doing that, then I’m doing a disservice to them, no matter how much more education I have.”

For more visit www.evewine101.com

South Coast Winery Wins Big at 2020 Toast of the Coast

August 5, 2020 by evebushman

TEMECULA, Calif. – South Coast Winery, owned by the Carter family, proudly accepted multiple awards at the 2020 Toast of the Coast Wine Competition produced by the San Diego County Fair. The winery won Best Pinot Grigio in the competition as well as a Double Gold medal for its South Coast Winery 2019 Pinot Grigio, along with four Gold Medals and two Silver. Additionally, sister property and member of the Carter Hospitality family, Carter Estate Winery won a Gold Medal in the event.

The Toast of the Coast Wine Competition, which recognizes and promotes wineries producing the finest quality wines, took place February 29 to March 1 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif. A total of 633 wines were judged by 15 prominent wine industry professionals – a group that included winemakers, sommeliers, wine journalists and wine business managers.

“We are honored to continue adding prestigious recognition and top awards to our over 3,000 wine accolades accumulated since our inception in 2003,” said Jeff Carter, president of Carter Hospitality, which owns South Coast Winery and Carter Estate Winery. “The Toast of the Coast citings reinforce our mission to use expert knowledge and craft to produce the very best wines, always retaining a sense of each varietal’s personality and terroir of origin.”

South Coast Winery’s results for this competition: 2019 Pinot Grigio won Double Gold and “Best Pinot Grigio” award; 2017 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir won Gold; 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon awarded a Gold designation; Gold for 2018 Chardonnay Sans Chêne and NV Berenda Road Zinfandel; and 2015 Merlot and 2018 Sauvignon Blanc were Silver winners.

In addition, Carter Estate Winery 2015 Blanc de Noir won a Gold medal.

The Toast of the Coast Wine Competition traditionally culminates with showcasing winning wines at the Toast of the Coast Wine Festival at the annual San Diego County Fair. The festival, originally scheduled for June 13, 2020, has been postponed until June 12, 2021, due to COVID-19.

A list of all winners and additional information is available at thetoastofthecoast.com.

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.

How About An Invitation to Gambero Rosso’s 1st Virtual Master Class?

July 31, 2020 by evebushman

Gambero Rosso is a huge name in Italian wines. They usually have walk around tastings for press, sommeliers, distributors and consumers. With Covid-19 ending all of that I had the remarkable luck to have been offered bottles from 12 wineries to review at home along with a live Master Class on Zoom.

The Invitation

I’m writing with a special invitation to you on behalf of Gambero Rosso, the global authority on Italian wines and publisher of the annual Vini d’Italia (Italian Wines) guide. We would like to invite you to join a small group of U.S. wine writers and key wine trade for Gambero Rosso’s first-ever virtual Master Class, hosted by Marco Sabellico, the guide’s editor-in-chief.

…12 wines will be tasted and discussed, meaning you will receive 12 full bottles of wine…You would be one of just 25 hand-selected participants from the entire U.S. This will be an interactive experience, with opportunities for you to ask questions throughout the tasting…

Wine List and Notes (some are from the winery representatives/technical sheets, the tasting notes are mine and those marked with a plus sign + were my favorites. My husband Eddie joined me for the class.)

PANIZZI

+Vernaccia di S. Gimignano 2019

The name Gimignano on the label is the town in Tuscany where the Vernaccia grapes are grown. It’s not a very well-known wine grape but of top quality. This is their 30^th vintage but back in the medieval times of the 12^th century this wine was the most exported wine. The wines sees no time in oak, it’s all stainless steel. This vintage was described as “not very aromatic” though I found it quite lively with stone fruit and pineapple notes.

BOCCADIGABBIA

Colli Maceratesi Ribona Le Grane 2018

The Ribona grapes, also known as Maceratino, are indigenous and grown in the Maceratesi area. They are 25 kilometers from the sea with both sandy and clay soils. The vineyards are 20 years old. According to the technical notes “whole grape berries, picked slightly over-ripe are added to the wine” following the first fermentation. I noted the salinity in the wine, due to the proximity to the sea air, fresh fruit, as well as an earthy quality.

ZORZETTIG

FCO Pinot Bianco Myò 2018

This winery is in Fruili, and the Spessa vineyard is designated as historical and dates back to the 1950s. The grapes are harvested by hand within the first week of September. I found spice and bruised yellow Delicious apple notes. The tech sheets mentioned having this wine with light appetizers, fish, canapes, Adriatic crab with Arugula. The crab pairing sounded just perfect to me.

CASALFARNETO

+Castelli di Jesi Verdicchio Cl. Crisio Ris. 2016

This was a reserve Verdicchio, grown close to the mountains, dating back to 1995. The wine had a rich mouthfeel with lots of citrus and apple notes. It normally spends some time in oak and a minimum one year in stainless steel. This 2016 has just been released. As it’s a reserve they are aged 18 months. Had it again, two days later, still fresh, vibrant, with tons of fruit.

VELENOSI

++Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Prope 2016

This was my favorite wine in the tasting. I got notes of sweet ripe plums, crushed black cherry, black berry – and a developed maturity for being so young and not decanted. (We left it open and enjoyed it even more with dinner later.) It is 100% Montepulciano grapes, hand-picked mid-October, vineyards are in Controguerra, gravelly soil. The maceration period can extend four weeks according to the technical notes.

CONTE LEOPARDI DITTAJUTI

+Conero Pigmento Ris. 2016

This 100% Montepulciano wine was harvested mid-November from a vineyard in Sirolo in the Conero area. That grapes are picked late harvest – early October to the end of November, barrique aging. Many of the experts in the class had decanted this Riserva Montepulciano wine, some up to 24 hours before, so we swirled like mad and really liked what we found: ripe fruit, forest floor, dusty and tannic.

CONTE EMO CAPODILISTA – LA MONTECCHIA

Colli Euganei Cabernet Sauvignon Ireneo 2016

Another to decant, the wine is a blend of dried wine grapes including 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 4% Carmenere, vineyards are 200 meters above sea level and in barrique barrels for 12 months. Because the grapes are dried, like an Amarone, there is more sugar and a higher alcohol content, 15.5%. They also freeze their yeast for fermentation for all of their wines. The wine was filled with dried fruit, olive, mint, balsamic and tannins. After more time in my glass it was earthier.

DE STEFANI

+Colli di Conegliano Rosso Stefen 1624 2015

This wine is from the Marzemino grape, which is grown in the hillside 50 kilometers north of Venice. (One of the somms remarked that the Marzemino grape is related to the Lagrein grape.) The owner Alessandro De Stefani spoke to us about his wines, and is the fourth generation to run the family-owned winery. The wine was dry, dark, sweet with both honey and Port wine notes as it developed in the glass.

TENUTA MONTETI

+Caburnio 2015

This is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Alicante Bouschet and 25% Merlot, the percentages change with each vintage, 14% alcohol, no fining, no filtering and expected to age over 15 years according to the technical notes. The vineyards are in “the tail of Tuscany, at the coast.” It tasted older than five years to me as it was very balanced, dark fruit, earthy with a lovely nose. Would benefit from decanting too.

COPPI

Gioia del Colle Primitivo Senatore 2015

This wine is from Puglia, chalk and clay soils, 100% Primitivo, handpicked the first 10 days of September, 12 months in Slavonian oak barrels, 13.5% alcohol. We noted that it was aromatic and tart, with raspberry and mint leaves. Most of the somms loved the wine. Fred Swan commented Primitivo has “the same DNA as Zinfandel. (They are) twins that grew up in different neighborhoods.”

CÒLPETRONE

Montefalco Sagrantino 2012

Made with the Sagrantino grape in Umbria, this eight year old wine has the highest percentage of polyphenols in the world according to winery representative Giacomo Alari. Pungent, tart, mushroom and tannic – the wine could probably go a few days in an opened bottle for added depth.

TENUTA SANT’ANTONIO

+Amarone della Valpolicella Campo dei Gigli 2015

Sant’Antonio is known as the father and protector of the poor. Gigli is the name of a flower from the region in Verona. The vines are 40 years old, three months of raisining, three years in new casks. Another favorite in the tasting, and our last. The dried grapes that made up this Amarone offered huge aromatics and flavors, including a nice black cherry.

Facebook links:

Boccadigabbia
CasalFarneto
Còlpetrone
Az. Agr. Conte Emo Capodilista
Vini Coppi
De Stefani
Panizzi
Tenuta Monteti
Tenuta Sant’Antonio
Velenosi Vini
Zorzettig Vini