What went down in January 2018?

In January we obsessed over Occitanie French wines and cassoulet as well as all things Fetzer via the January #WineStudio Program where we tasted three from the Fetzer label the first week, followed by their 1000 Stories wine aged in bourbon barrels, then Bonterra’s organic and biodynamic wines which we paired with recipes from their website, and finally, their new label Adorada, a wine that stimulates all of the senses. We also showcased Sonoma wines for #WinePW and continued the conversation about the wildfires that struck both ends of the state. Altogether I published five posts and about 7500 words on wine which is a good start on my goal of 108 for the year 2018!

What’s up for February 2018?

On Weds. February 7, Sue and I travel to the Kosher Food Wine Experience at the Petersen Automobile Museum in mid-Wilshire LA. I’ve just got a few finishing touches on that post to go before I hit publish; once it’s published Monday morning, I’ll make a live link here. In it, I explain some concepts related to kosher wine plus tasting notes on a lovely Bordeaux blend from Israel from Carmel. (Note: this wine is a sample and we are getting our tickets comped).

On Saturday February 10, I’m hoping to head up to Solvang for the Garagiste Festival “Southern Exposure” which I attended in 2012 in Paso Robles, and then last year in Solvang. I love tasting wine from small “garagiste” wineries most of which don’t have tasting rooms and are just getting going. It’s a great way to find and connect with “under the radar” small, special wineries, and usually it is the winemaker pouring which provides for an intimate experience. The food last year was great too! (Note: My tickets were comped).

This year, Southern Exposure kicks off on Friday night with a ‘No Repeats, Rare and Reserve’ tasting paired with Neighbor Tim’s BBQ. Saturday starts with a Q&A and tasting with Bob Lindquist followed by the Grand Tasting at Veterans Memorial Hall. Sunday is Passport Day with special deals at participating local wineries for Garagiste Festival ticket holders who want to further explore the area. Buy tickets here.

We’re also excited about attending a Feb. 13 Master Class in LA presented by Evan Goldstein, MS, who is said to be “one of the industry’s most engaging and informed wine educators, in addition to being a leading expert on Portuguese wines.” During the class, Evan will teach us about the grapes, zones, sub-zones and characteristics that “define Alentejo’s wines and collectively establish it as one of the most promising wine regions in southern Europe today.”  I spent a week in the Alentejo in 2009, and last fall I hosted our #WinePW’s look at Portugal so I’m looking forward to this!

As February 14 is Valentine’s Day, we will be featuring that in posts on this blog with these wines from France which we will be pairing with sweetheart pizzas as we celebrate John’s Valentine’s Birthday. We’ve also got a few sparkling wines ready to be chilled!

Finally, Wine Predator is hosting #WinePW and we are prompting participants to discuss wineries owned by women as well as women who are winemakers for February. Read more about the prompt, and the inspirational Sandra Oldfield here.  Read the preview post when it goes up next week, and our posts on the topic on January 10.

We’ve got lots of notes and lots to post — and it looks like we may get into some fermentation following the arrival of this book for us to review!

Stay tuned and please subscribe!

yes there’s a PERFUSION of wine for February!