Category Archives: Travels

Event, Music, Tasting, Travels, Wine

My Big Crush in Amador County, Oct 3 & 4

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Finally getting a family trip away and you know there will be wine!  We will be trekking to beautiful Amador Wine Country just in time to experience Big Crush Harvest Festival on October 3 & 4.  It will include 42 Amador Wineries that open up their cellar doors and tasting rooms with ultimate hospitality paired with music, food and fun.  Presale tickets will be sold online until September 29.

amadorBC2015The BIG CRUSH is your ticket to the Shenandoah Valley and Fiddletown appellations, historic main streets of Sutter Creek, Amador City, Plymouth, and beyond!

Two days of bountiful cuisine, world-class wines, along with sounds of acoustic to rock & roll music wafting from every crush pad in the county.  Scenes of teeming vineyards, trudging tractors, bustling crush pads await!

Find me at a winery or follow my social media posts on Sunday Oct 4th to join in on the adventure!

History, Sommelier, Tasting, Travels, Wine

Pure Luxury Transportation supporting Sonoma County Adventures

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Just sending a shout out to Pure Luxury Transportation for their tenth year of partnership with the Sonoma Valley Vintners & Growers Association!

What began in 1991 as a chauffeured ground transportation business with one vehicle, has blossomed into the premier Bay Area transportation provider with the 17th largest fleet in the United States. Gary and Jennifer Buffo, owners of Pure Luxury Transportation, have been consistently dedicated to our local community while their company continues to grow.

Pure Luxury Transportation is dedicated to supporting SVVGA’s programs so that we can continue to increase consumer and trade awareness and subsequently, the financial value of wine grown and made in Sonoma Valley. Not only is Gary Buffo serving as a Board Director, but Pure Luxury is proudly supporting many of the SVVGA programs such as the monthly Concierge Tours, Reserve Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Wine Country Weekend.

black-limoBest of all you can reserve your own personal Sommelier Tour, featuring myself, with Pure Luxury Transportation, offering explorations in various locations throughout wine country.  Schedule your adventure with me by calling 800.626.5466 today!

Event, Film, Food, Travels, Wine

Casablanca @St. Francis Winery on July 16th

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Casablanca will be the featured film this Thursday July 16th at St Francis Winery for the 6th Annual Outdoor Film Festival. While I will be tasting wines in Italy, imagine the amazing pairing you can enjoy with St Francis wines and Moroccan Chicken Tagine & Apricot-Almond Couscous!

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The film begins at dusk, seating begins at 7pm, so you can enjoy the pre-show concert by The Atomic Lounge Show.

Admission is Free!

Festivals, Film, Travels, Wine

Outdoor Film Festival at St. Francis Winery begins July 9th!

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It is time to dust off your picnic supplies for “stars under the stars” at the St. Francis Winery 6th Annual Outdoor Film Festival!

seattlesleepAs tradition holds I will be there for the inaugural evening Thursday July 9th at 7pm for the pre-show concert, the film begins at dusk. However as blog followers already know, I will be leaving the following week on a Mediterranean Wine Cruise with St. Francis President Chris Silva. So join me the first night for Sleepless In Seattle, then follow Chris and my social media to keep tabs on our upcoming European adventure. But don’t forget to catch the other exciting films on the venue!

Here is the schedule to mark calendars:
July 9 Sleepless In Seattle
July 16 Casablanca
July 23 Back To The Future

Event, Food, Tasting, Travels, Wine

Lesson Plan: Catching up on the Mendocino Appellation!

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After a wonderful weekend  at Andersen Valley Pinot Noir Festival, I think is it only fitting that my readers do a little Appellation homework!

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Photo courtesy of John Cesano.

You can study your favorite wine regions at the BuyWine.com site courtesy of contributions by myself and others.

Follow the windy road to Mendocino here!

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 Cheers!  Christopher

Sommelier, Tasting, Travels, Video, Wine

“Zaca Mesa University” Santa Barbara Wine Seminar Spring 2015 – The Highlight Reel

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I am sharing this highlight reel with you courtesy of the Crushed Grape Chronicles.  Zaca Mesa has turned out a plethora of amazing wine makers, my seminar led a discussion with 4 of the best!  Ken Brown, Jim Clendenen, Bob Lindquist & Eric Mohseni – read more in the CGC Article.

They will start releasing the full seminar in segments for you to enjoy on May 20th.  This will include the tasting with wine from each of these amazing winemakers.

Festivals, Food, Sommelier, Tasting, Travels, Wine

Santa Barbara Vintners Festival this week, April 23-26

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The Santa Barbara Vintners Spring Weekend and Festival is nearly here and tickets are almost sold out for the Friday night Vintage Party and Saturday morning wine seminar.

FRIDAY NIGHT VINTAGE PARTY

First join me at the Vintage Party, a traditional La Paulee style dinner hosted by the Santa Barbara Vintners and Mattei’s Tavern to welcome Spring Weekend visitors to Santa Barbara Wine Country on the evening before the Festival. In the La Paulee tradition, attendees will bring their favorite Vintage 2009 or older wine from Santa Barbara County or beyond to share.

THE SANTA BARBARA WINE SEMINAR

Next I will be moderating this engaging wine seminar on Saturday morning before the Festival at the Santa Ynez Valley Marriott. This year it will feature winemakers whose wine careers were influenced by their time working at Zaca Mesa. SBvint2

Awards, Competition, Judging, Tasting, Travels, Wine

Trekking the wine road. . .

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mtveeder2This month leads into a collection of treks that keep me moving throughout April!  So many exciting events that I want to share some details.  Perhaps a few of you will be joining me along the way. . .

Begining this week, on Thursday April 16th, I will be at the Mt. Veeder Spring Tasting, discussing the 25-year anniversary of the appellation at their media luncheon.

This is an exciting event so take advantage to participate in their public tasting, tickets are available at Mt Veeder Appellation.

Even sooner, I will be judging two prestigious wine competitions. The first is the Press Democrat North Coast Wine Challenge, April PD_NC-wine_challange14-15, at the Hilton Sonoma Wine Country Hotel at Fountaingrove in Santa Rosa. Winners of the event will be announced in the Press Democrat.  On May 17, many of these award winning wines will be featured along with dishes made by some of Sonoma County’s top chefs at The Barlowe in Sebastopol.

Then, for the long haul south, I will be at the Sunset International Wine Competition judging between April 26-28.  Besides being one of the top wine competitions in the nation, this year also marks the last time the competition will be held at the expansive Sunset Headquarters in Menlo Park.  For that reason, the other judges and I will be sure to make the most out of this experience, before final sale of the property.  Entries for this competition end on April 17th.

sunset2015You can continue to follow these exploits by virtual means, on my Social Media outlets; Facebook, Twitter  and Instagram.  There will be fun pictures and daily updates.

Last note,  don’t forget that Friday, April 24th is International Sauvignon Blanc Day!  When posting use #SauvBlanc, #nzwine, etc, and don’t forget to spread the word! -CS

Competition, Event, Tasting, Travels, Wine

Move Over Sideways! My yearly sojourn to Santa Barbara.

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It’s time to taste through some of the finest new releases California has to offer at the 33rd Annual Santa Barbara Vintners Spring Weekend, April 23-26. For starters, guests will be able to visit 12 wineries involved in the Vintners Visa festivities going on from Thursday to Sunday. But for foodie lovers, the fabulous weekend kicks off with the Friday Night Vintage Party at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, where star sommelier Eric Railsback and I will help serve Santa Ynez Valley 044magnificent cellar selections from Dierberg and Star Lane Vineyards, Qupe Wine Cellars & Verdad Wine Cellars, Turiya Wines, Dascomb Cellars, Presqu’ile Winery, Imagine Wine, Rusack Vineyards, Melville Winery, and Martellotto Wines.

On Saturday morning, I’ll be leading a special seminar focused on the history of the Santa Ynez Valley, a legendary appellation established in 1983, through the eyes of gifted wnemakers who all worked at Zaca Mesa Winery during the early stages of their careers. Then, it’s time for the Grand Tasting at the River View Park in Buellton. This popular afternoon will feature offering from over 120 wineries paired up tasty bites from the best chefs in the county.

For more information, visit Vintners Spring Weekend.

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