Category Archives: Wine Travel

LocalWineEvents Indexes Wine Tasting Tours & Dinners

Local Wine Events

If you’re looking for a place to taste a variety of wines and even wine and food pairings, you’ll want to check out LocalWineEvents to find local wine tasting events and meals.

Unless you’re on the mailing lists of the companies and vineyards that put on wine tasting events and meals, you’re essentially out of the loop when it comes to finding out about them. LocalWineEvents indexes tasting events by state and city and provides an overview of the event including the cost—whether a flat fee, a per ounce fee, etc.—as well as the menu for the event and whether or not food will be served. In addition each entry has contact details in the form of a web site, phone number, and/or address.

You can browse listings in a variety of ways searching—by events at a location you enjoy visiting or put on by a particular company whose events you have enjoyed. Alternately you can hit up the local calendar and browse by day to see what’s going on during the time you have available.

LocalWineEvents is free and requires no signup to use, you contact and pay the event host directly.

By Jason Fitzpatrick | Source :: Lifehacker

Will Sonoma’s Slowness Drive Tourism?

Will Sonoma's Slowness Drive Tourism

In this fast-paced world slow is becoming more and more of a virtue. The wine country town of Sonoma has received an official designation as a “slow city” by Cittaslow, an international group that advocates for a more relaxed way of life. Sonoma is the first place in the United States to win the title partly because the town has sought to create an old-fashioned small-town atmosphere.

The Cittaslow network includes 129 towns spread across 29 nations. The town each have populations of less than 50,000 and are evaluated on criteria including environmental management, infrastructure, quality of local historic buildings, parks, local produce, products, craft, and availability of healthy eating.

While a recent NY Times article questioned whether or not the “slow city” label is a sign of a wealthy enclave stuck in a rut, it is hoped that the new title might attract more tourists. After all, these days one of the major reasons people go on vacation is to escape the pace of their hectic lives. Where better to do that than in a town celebrated for its quality of life? A bunch of hotels including the Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa are celebrating the news.

The end of this month might be a good time to visit. CittaSlow President Gianluca Marconi, director of CittaSlow International Pier Giorgio Oliveti and Dr. Paul Knox, professor and senior fellow from Virginia Tech will make an official visit to Sonoma beginning January 26 to tour Sonoma’s many “slow” features like wineries, restaurants and community gardens and talk with the community about the slow” philosophy. Slow Food Sonoma Valley, led by Gary Edwards, will host a Slow Soup Supper featuring locally grown winter vegetables.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

Robertson Wine On The River

Robertson Wine River

From 16 – 18 October 2009 the Robertson Wine Valley hosts the popular Robertson Wine on the River festival. This idyllic open-air wine festival takes place on the banks of the Breede River at the Goudmyn Farm on the R317 road between Robertson and Bonnievale.

Just imagine a setting with the river flowing by, vineyards all around, beautiful hills and shading trees. Add to that live music, plenty of wines to taste, picnics and other local produce – and you’ve got yourself a spring festival not to be missed!

Tickets can be bought online on www.webtickets.co.za or at the festival gates. For more information contact the Robertson Wine Valley Office, Tel: 023-6263167, E-mail: manager@robertsonwinevalley.com

San Francisco Celebrates Pinot Days

San Francisco Celebrates Pinot Days

Think that the ZAP Festival is San Francisco’s only varietal fest? There is also the Pinot Days event held in the same place, Fort Mason. The event, which takes place from June 24 to June 28 includes winemaker dinners, focus tastings and more.

The big event is the Grand Festival on June 28th which hosts over 220 Producers from California, Oregon, New Zealand and Australia and like the Zinfandel festival offers the chance to compare the different expressions of pinot from a variety of places and producers.

The tagline for the event is Serious Wines, Serious Fun, a phrase that embodies the spirit of the food-friendly and sophisticated pinot noir. The main tasting is $50.

By Deidre Woollard | Source :: www.luxist.com

Four Premium Wine Tube

It is nothing out of the ordinary to see exclusive whisky’s presented in a cardboard tube as sales promotion, whereas the whisky still is and will be bottled in a glass bottle. Although also the first impression with this new packaging for the premium quality Cabernet wine of Four Wines, that impression, however, is wrong. The tube indeed is the second packaging, whereas the wine is stored in a plastic bag with spigot. In other words a luxurious bag-in-box or bag-in-tube packaging.

Four Wines offers his premium Cabernet, made from 92% Cabernet Sauvignon and 8% Petite Sirah by the renowned winemaker Barry Gnekow, in a stylish cylindrical box or tube, as upscale alternative to the common rectangular bag-in-box packaging or the traditional glass-with-cork bottles.

Skipping the relatively expensive traditional glass-and-cork packaging, enabled Four to create a much higher quality wine for its eco-friendly packaging and still being price-competitive. As a consequence, Four Wines is the first up-scale Cabernet Sauvignon produced in a non-traditional packaging. According to the company this wine is comparable with Cabernets double the price and is far superior to the quality of the wines usually packed in bag-in-boxes or similar packages.

The unique 3 ltr wine tube, in which the wine stays fresh up to four weeks after opening, is not just an outstanding wine in a beautiful packaging. The attractive, innovative packaging has a 50% lower CO2-emission compared to traditional glass bottles. According to the company, a standard glass wine bottle of 750 ml generates approximately 5,2 kg CO2-emission when transported from California to a shop in New York. The Four 3 ltr tube generates approximately half the emission per 750 ml. Moreover the wine tube gives 85% less waste and is made from 100% recyclable material, while the labels are printed with a printer powered by wind energy.

Source :: Best in Packaging

Merus Winery, Napa Valley

merus winery 1

merus winery 2

merus winery 3

We love a fine wine, especially when it can be ingested in as thoughtful an environment as this one. Welcome to Merus, a "designer" winery like no other.

Located in the Napa Valley in California, Merus looks more like a Michelin-starred restaurant than your average cellar-door retail outlet. Exposed beams are the only nod to the past in this interior design strategy, which is thoroughly modern with a hint of Californian warmth. Amsterdam-based Uxus Design is the architecture and design firm behind the winery which will open in early 2009. With more than a few inspiring, high profile projects under its belt, Uxus is one of the Netherlands’ hottest design studios.

It’s been a busy year for Uxus, who have unveiled a number of other great retail design projects recently including the new Heineken ‘concept’ bars which will open in airports across the globe and one of Europe’s coolest McDonald’s play areas in Amsterdam.

Source: www.thecoolhunter.net

The Worlds Top 10 Wine Destinations

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, has announced the top 10 wine destinations in the world, according to TripAdvisor editors and traveler popularity.

"In addition to supplying some of the finest wines to the world, these destinations offer visitors outstanding hotels, restaurants and wine tours," comments  Michele Perry, vice president of global communications for TripAdvisor.

1. Geaux Bordeaux: Bordeaux, France

Perhaps the world’s most famous wine destination, the Bordeaux region of France has long been renowned for its vineyards that produce everything from delicious table wines to the most expensive bottles in the world. In Bordeaux, the French passion for food and wine unite for a sensational wine-tasting experience.

2. Golden Grapes: Napa Valley, California

Napa Valley has long been synonymous with superb wine and striking scenery, both of which draw millions of wine lovers to the region each year. Home to nearly 400 unique wineries, the valley has a Mediterranean climate that is ideal for growing a variety of grapes, from Cabernet Sauvignon to Zinfandel.

3. Keen on Chianti: Tuscany, Italy

Famed for its reds like Chianti and Montalcino, the Tuscany region of Italy is a delight for the senses. Celebrated not only for its vineyards and its cuisine, its sheer natural and historic beauty make it one of the world’s most sought-after destinations and a magical place to taste the local "vino."

4. A Bit of the Bubbly: Champagne-Ardenne, France

The Champagne province is famous for the beloved sparkling white wine that shares its name. Its neatly-tended vineyards amongst a picturesque natural landscape, rich history, and unique culture make this region as vibrant as its effervescent wine.

5. Raising the Barossa: Barossa Valley, Australia

This scenic region in Southern Australia is highly regarded for its Shiraz and its other robust varieties of red wine. Characterized by its visibly rich German heritage, along with its rolling, vine-covered hills, Barossa Valley is a uniquely beautiful destination for sightseers and wine connoisseurs alike.

6. Spanish Inbibation: La Rioja, Spain

Spain’s most famous wine destination, Rioja is divided into three regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Baja. Most recognized for its outstanding reds, the region’s wines are particularly distinctive because of the oak aging and delicious vanilla flavors.

7. To the Moon: Sonoma Valley, California

Nicknamed the "Valley of the Moon" by legendary writer and one time Sonoma local Jack London, the Valley features amazing vineyards, with particularly remarkable whites, as well as beautiful scenery and charming towns.

8. Grand Central: Valle Central, Chile

Just outside the Chilean capital of Santiago, the gorgeous Valle Central set among the Andes Mountains and Pacific Ocean is internationally acclaimed. Wine enthusiasts will be particularly fond of the Maipo Valley’s cabernets, and the Curico’s chardonnays.

9. Great Escape: Stellenbosch, South Africa

Home to one of South Africa’s most visited wine routes, Stellenbosch is the heart of the Cape Winelands region, with more than 100 wine cellars to visit surrounding the culturally rich center town of Stellenbosch.

10. Blanc Stare: Marlborough, New Zealand

Located on the southern island of New Zealand, Marlborough is widely regarded as the country’s birthplace of winemaking. Famous for its white wine varietals, the region is best known for its delectable Sauvignon Blancs.

Flora Springs Winery Tasting Room

floratastingroom The Flora Springs Winery in St. Helena, California has one of the most intriguing tasting rooms I’ve seen in a while. The Room was designed by Joe Miroglio of Miroglio architecture and the stucco stripes are meant to evoke the look of the caves where Flora Springs has been aging their red wines year after year for 30 years. Inside there is a 32-foot, steel and oak tasting bar.

There are also private tasting rooms and upper and lower patios terraced by rippling covered roofs. There are tastings at the Popcorn Bar as well as the Temptastings in the Tasting Cave which include food pairings matched to small production wines.

Tasting prices range from $15 to $50 for the single vineyard pairing.

By Deidre Woollard.