Wine Club Insider backatcha!

We’re in the turbulent “April showers” period, alternating between 65 and sunny, and 35 and snowy, but generally getting warmer… the golf courses are all open now, even if they’re still passing out hand warmers at the first tee.

This past weekend, we split our time between Seattle and Coeur d’ Alene, where we donated a wine dinner for 8 to the local Chamber of Commerce “Aw$um Auction,” their major fundraiser of the year.

We participate in several charity events each year, and I’ve got to say that they are some of the most enjoyable things we do.

There are so many worthy causes and charities, and this is a great way to be a part of the community and to help people. Just as important, you get to meet some great people, many with similar interests, and the networking that happens can be fantastic!

Even beyond the people who win our dinners, they always bring friends who have friends, and so the circle grows.

We also try to attend as many of the functions ourselves as we can, because, hey, they’re plain fun! The best events may have as many as 100 wineries pouring several hundred different wines, so you’ve got to plan your tastings accordingly… learning to taste and spit is essential if you don’t want to end up under a table somewhere (not that I know ANYONE who would have done that…)

I’m not sure how many different wines I have bought or ordered at these things, but it’s in the hundreds of bottles… I admit that I can get caught up in the moment, but, hey, it’s all for a good cause, and the wineries often go all out… I’ve also joined a few wine clubs based on the wines I’ve tasted.

Many of the large format bottles I have collected (most autographed) I have won at various live and silent auctions during charity events, and because of that, they have a certain special significance that you can’t buy at the store.

So, go ahead and check out your local charity and wine event scene… you’ll end up hooked on helping good causes, as well as on having a great time, and you’ll probably end up with some free wine glasses!

Cheers,

WIne Club Insider out.

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Wine Club Insider back with you.

There is spring in the air (finally?) here in the Pacific northwest, and it’s a sunny day. Even if the temp is still around 30, it just has that feel of spring. To top it off, my bi-annual shipment from Isenhower Cellars is supposed to arrive today, with a great selection, including a Horse Heaven Hills Syrah, a Petite Verdot, and one of my favorites, the Bachelor’s Button Cabernet! www.isenhowercellars.com.

I love Isenhower’s wine, and their “FOI” (Friends of Isenhower) wine club let’s me keep current with their top wines, as well as a unique wine made only for wine club members.

I’m also expecting my Pepperbridge Reserve Cab shipment soon as well… one of my favorite wines of the year… ahh… I love spring!

There are also quite a few wine and charity events over the next few weeks, and multiple tastings, as people get out from the winter doldrums, and we are involved in several, donating wine and dinner parties to worthy causes, including the Chamber of Commerce ‘Commodores,” a women and children’s center, and a cancer charity. There are very likely several of these types of events in your area as well, and I encourage you to get out and support them.

It is a great opportunity to try new wines from (often) dozens of wineries, try some neat foot or hors d’ oeuvres, get back in touch with other like-minded folks in your area, and to support some great causes… the coolest thing is that most of these events are very reasonably priced, with tickets in the $15 - 25 range, which, for what you get, is a steal! Seriously! This is less than a movie and popcorn, offers a great evening out, and hey, you might even get a souvenir wine glass out of the deal!

Back atcha soon!

Cheers,

WIne Club Insider out

As I was puttering around my wine cellar

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Wine Club Insider back with you.

My dearest friend came to town over the weekend, and though we got together primarily for training for our upcoming race, we never fail to enjoy a glass of vino. Our selection of choice this trip was actually a thank you gift I had received from some friends called “Three Blind Moose,” and I must admit I was a bit nervous before trying it.

I also now freely admit that it wasn’t too bad at all! www.threeblindmoose.com is the home of the Moose family of wines, and it’s a pretty cool site, complete with shirts, hats, gear, and a selection of tasty, inexpensive wines. Our Cab goes for $8.99 per bottle, and was easily twice that good.

Besides the Moose, the other event that is happening soon is the local Oenological (or Enological) society fundraiser banquet/dinner.

Enological Societies are groups of folks who get together to share and learn more about wine.

Yup. Our kind of people!

http://spokaneenologicalsociety.org/ is the home of the Spokane version, and there is also a North Idaho version, a Seattle version, a Portland version, a Des Moines Iowa version… get the picture?

There are hundreds (thousands?) of these groups across the country holding social events, tastings, dinners etc, all with great newsletters, opportunities to taste new wines, meet new friends and do some good for your community as many have charitable arms as well.

Here is a blurb from the Spokane Chapter March newsletter:

“For the March tasting we are going to be sampling a total of SEVEN (7) red and white wines from around the world, and all of them except one will be under $15 retail. In addition, all of the wines have been sourced through one local wholesaler, the newly expanded Odom Corporation, which distributes wines throughout the northwest and Alaska. Specially invited guest representatives John Sportelli from Seattle, and Katie Hutchinson from Spokane, will present the wines.

 The special distinction about these wines is how they illustrate what value there can be in wines that are not “Glamour-Priced.” This is not something new to Enological Society members, however it is always fun to find new and interesting wines from here in the USA and around the globe that satisfy the palate as well as the purse. One surprise, and truly “glamour” red wine that retails at more than $70 will cap the evening, a wine that has been brought into Spokane specifically for this tasting. Happy Tasting!!”

So, sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

I would highly recommend checking out the local chapter of your enological society and getting plugged in to a bunch of neat people who love wine as much (or maybe even more!) than you do!

Cheers,

Wine Club Insider out.

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When last we met…

WCI back with you, remembering the heady first weekend in Napa!

Back at the Zinfandel House, at breakfast that morning, one of the guests raised their champagne and cranberry in a toast: “May this be the last sober breath you take!” And I’ll be darned if it wasn’t!

Wineries somewhat selfishly restrict their hours to a measly 7 or 8 per day, as if they have a life, or families or something, so wanting to get the most out of the limited “visiting” hours in the valley, we started early, after having established our game/battle/drinking plan for the day:

We had the list of the wineries we most wanted to stop at (and that we could get into), and added a couple that George and Bette. We marked them on the map, considered the traffic, and set out, planning to start at the south end of the valley, and working our way back north.

The first stop was a winery that we had never heard of, and that George arranged for us: Jarvis Cellars (www.jarviswines.com)  turned out to be one of the greatest finds!

Located at the extreme southwest end of the valley, Jarvis is the highest elevation winery in Napa, located way up off Monticello Road. When we pulled up, there was no sign of a winery, other than a magnificent vineyard. There were no buildings visible at all. After announcing ourselves at the gate, we followed the signs to the “parking meadow,” which was really a meadow. Still no winery.

We followed the brick path–the “Yellow Brick Road,” my wife said, and headed toward the mountain. We rounded the curve, and there, cut into the very bedrock of the mountain was a giant parabolic door, with “Jarvis” carved into the rock overhead.

Once inside, we joined up with the other 8 lucky folks, and were met by our cheerful guide.

Nothing unusual, so far, right? Well, let me tell ya…

The ENTIRE winery is located inside the mountain! Everything! They used giant tunnel digging machines from England to create the magnificent hallways and caverns, all built around the streams and waterfalls running inside the mountain.

Every barrel of their ultra-premium wine is no more than 100 paces from winemaker Dimitri Tchelistcheff’s office. Dimitri is the son of Andre’, widely reputed as the “Godfather” of Napa wine making, and is a legend in his own right.

The attention to detail is amazing: the bathrooms have fiber-optic lights, and the women’s has more stalls than I have ever seen. To get to the tasting room, you cross the stream on stepping stones… all in all, an amazing feat of engineering.

They also have a ballroom that seats hundreds of people, where they host several annual events to benefit arts in the area, including the Jarvis’ own school of Spanish Opera.

During our tasting, William Jarvis came in and chatted with us (as a side note, I’ve been to the winery three times, and he has stopped by on all three occasions) about his wines and his other projects.

This is a stop not to be missed, and it became my second wine club. I joined the “Inner Circle” club first, which allowed you to get credit for bottle of Jarvis you bought at a wine shop or even a restaurant! With that, you get a variety of perks, including tickets to the ball. I also joined the regular wine club, which offers rare and amazingly elegant creations, many of which are only for their members.

Jarvis is highly recommended, and you won’t go wrong in gifting a bottle of their “Lake William” to any wine lover!

Tomorrow, we start down the dusty wine roads north along the Silverado Trail!

Until then,

Cheers,

WCI

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