Festival date:Saturday, June 26, 2010
Festival Venue:Paraiso Vineyards,Soledad, CA
Festival theme:The Monterey County Vintners and Growers Foundation, a non-profit charitable organization representing over 80 wineries and grape growers in Monterey County, is pleased to invite hiking enthusiasts, nature lovers, viticulture partners, and the community to participate in the 1st Annual Winery Vineyard Walk on Saturday, June 26th at Paraiso Vineyards.
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1998 Alexander Valley Chardonnay
I took to this wine like I would take to Anna Kournikova at a summer tennis camp… clean, ripe, refreshing and hard to resist.
This Chardonnay is a pure Alexander Valley treasure. Some of the northern Sonoma County coolness has imparted a unique and tasty quality to this wine. I have been drinking bigger and fuller Chard’s lately and enjoy them, but I took to this wine like I would take to Anna Kournikova at a summer tennis camp. They are both clean, ripe, refreshing and hard to resist.
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You wouldn’t toss a new driver the keys to a 1965 427 Shelby Cobra and tell the kid to “see what this thing will do” … and I shouldn’t be anywhere near this bottle of 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild.
The Gin Guy gets to finally review a wine. And for my wine I would like to review the bottle in front of me. This 1982 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild has waited a full 20 years and it’s ready to be drank. Or drunk. Or whatever’s the proper wine term. I realize that I am staring at label designed by John Huston that marks one of the very finest wines ever bottled on this civilized earth. I have my Riedel glasses, a pencil, and my Damn Good Wine Tasting Sheet. Hell, I’m even wearing a white lab coat.
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Warm Chicken Noodle Salad with 5-Spice Dressing
Festival date:5-7 June, 2010
Festival venue:Auditorium Rainier 3
Festival Theme:The Festival’s philosophy is based on the promotion of traditional or innovative wineries that, with different choices in the vineyard and in the cellar, want to reflect the identity of their terroirs, into the glass of wine.
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Varietal:Merlot
Appellation:California, Sonoma
Style:Red
Price:$18
WOW Rating:90
Entering stage left is rich plum with a plume of fresh thyme in the hat. Flavors of complexly ripe fruit with, again, nice herbal nuance, then plum, blackberry, a hint of earthy dust, along with delicate floral hint of violets. This soft but assertive red will match a big steak, or any assertive red meat dish.
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Varietal:Chardonnay
Appellation:California, Sonoma
Style:Dry White
Price:$15
WOW Rating:93
This Chardonnay exhibits ripe melon, mineral/limestone and lime/citrus in the nose. The sip presents a wine with restraint, though there is citrus marmalade and toffee. The Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay is bright, complex and beautifully balanced.
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Eventually, you may find yourself turning from a wine connoisseur to a wine collector. It’s not just that you want to preserve bottles of terrific vintages, storing them up against the lean years. You’ve suddenly realized that a bottle of great wine might be as strong an investment as a block of Microsoft stock. Collecting wine is a lot different from just buying wine. For one thing, it’s going to cost more.
On the other hand, collectors have an opportunity to get their hands on wines that most people can only dream about tasting–rare vintages of such depth and complexity that their proper accompaniment is the roasted haunch of some extinct animal. That bottle of ’85 Cabernet that you paid $35 for can now be worth as much as several hundred dollars.
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Festival date:Saturday, May 8 · 5:00pm – 10:00pm
Festival venue:Mission Ranch – 26270 Dolores Street, Carmel
Festival theme:During the event, we will honor Rich Smith, owner and President of Paraiso Vineyards and Valley Farm Management, for his contributions to the industry, which began in the early 70′s.
About the organizer:Monterey County is a world-class wine and grape-growing region, which the Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association (MCVGA) strives for all to experience. In order for people to experience Monterey’s wine country, MCVGA hosts three events each year: The Annual Winemakers’ Celebration, a one-day event held the second Weekend of August (Our 2010 event will be held the first weekend in August) and The Annual Great Wine Escape Weekend, a three day event held the second Weekend of November
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