Tag Archives: Burning Man

#CabernetDay at #BurningMan 2015

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Burning Man is home to a winery, wine cellars, and plenty of wine!

Is there wine in Black Rock City, home to Burning Man? Or is it only a town of tequila shots and beers in cans and blasters and absinthe and other cocktails?

I’m here to tell you that there is more to drink in Black Rock City than cheap bottom shelf liquor prettied-up with mixers and sweet cheeks served on a mutant vehicle rolling across the desert!

Every year at Burning Man (my first Burn was in 1992 and I’ve been 15x), I have had amazing wine, including my first Barolo in 2009, thanks to Puma who always brings out some pretty special stuff to celebrate the occasion (that’s his dusty pile from 2011 pictured).

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Puma and a pile of vino he brought to Burning Man to share

Many wine makers, from professional to garagiste to home brewer, attend Burning Man and bring wine to share.

In fact, Black Rock City boasts a winery, a cellar to store wine, a Champagne Lounge, and a wine tasting room–with glasses!

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So five years ago when Rick Bakas started up Cabernet Day on the last Thursday before Labor Day, I decided to host a Cabernet Day event in Black Rock City–and I’ve done so in 2011, 2013, 2014 and this year too.

While Cabernet Day is really all about sharing Cabernet via social media, Black Rock City is not known for its connectivity and we were unable to get online in order to post anything in previous years but that did not stop the merriment!

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This year for Cabernet Day I will be at Puma’s camp, Harmonic Convergence where he has promised to uncork at least one bottle of VERY NICE cabernet!

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I haven’t decided what I will be bringing but you know it will be something good. What will be different in 2015 is that we should be able to post pics and notes online as there seems to be decent cell service on the playa this year –and Puma’s camp has wifi (and satellite tv too!)

How will you be celebrating #CabernetDay this Thursday September 3, 2015?

How To Celebrate Int’l Cabernet Day: Cabaret at Burning Man

How will YOU celebrate the 5th annual Cabernet Day the last Thursday in August–this year August 28?

cabernetday2014How about with a Cabaret in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada at Burning Man?

The idea behind Cabernet Day is simple—enjoy any Cabernet based wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet blends) and share your experience on social media sites.

Since I will once again be at Burning Man for Cabernet Day, Jim Morris and I are hosting a Cabernet Day Cabaret Continue reading →

Bicycle Built for Wine: What I want for Mom’s Day & Burning Man!

bikebarIn case you don’t have this leather wine rack for your bike, here’s the way to picnic in style on this bicycle built for two–to have a picnic! Complete with safe storage and travel options for your adult beverages of choice!

Wouldn’t this bicycle be perfect for Burning Man? Or for wheeling around the scenic country roads of wine country? Continue reading →

“Spoon Trick” Saves Birthday Bubbles!

For my birthday  in 2011, I was in Egypt. Last year, I had a huge party. This year, I wanted something more quiet.

EgyptBDayCakeOn the eve of my birthday, we drove late into the night to arrive in the first few minutes of my birthday at Benton Hot Springs Bed and Breakfast in eastern California near the Nevada border. Appropriately, we stayed in the “Cowgirl Room”!cowgirlBenton

In the morning, we soaked in an outdoor hot springs fed pool, enjoyed a delicious breakfast, packed up and put on our ski clothes, and drove 45 minutes to Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra Nevada where, at lunch, we met up with Tony Fletcher, a dear friend of ours from Burning Man, a fellow wine enthusiast and music buff who was in California on tour for his book about the Smiths and who joined us for a weekend of skiing. Tony even bought me a birthday beer of the local Mammoth brewing IPA which went perfectly with my pulled pork sandwich at the Mill Cafe on the mountain. (Read about Tony’s epic powder day at Mammoth the day before–possibly the best day of skiing in his LIFE!)

Because of a reservation mix-up, for our accommodations the rest of the weekend, Tamarack Lodge upgraded us to a luxury two bedroom cabin where this exquisite bottle of Roederer Champagne waited, chilled, which we enjoyed with oysters I brought from the Jolly Oyster in Ventura plus some rosemary crackers and goat cheese.  It was worth every penny (and since it was room service, I’m sure that was a pretty penny!)

That night, we hamammothbirthdayd dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant (review to follow!). While they have a nice list, I had brought something even better, a Marilyn Remark 2003 syrah that fellow wine blogger David Rodriguez (aka @zensolo on twitter) had given me in November (review to follow!)  All in all, it was a perfectly incredible day!

On Saturday we skied all day and we cooked dinner in: arugula salad with portabellas cooked in a 30 year tawny port and fresh manila clams from the Jolly Oyster with an amazing chardonnay from Ojai Vineyards (review to follow!). For dessert, we had the 30 year tawny and salted chocolate almonds.

Sunday morning as we were packing up, I realized there was one glass remaining of the Roederer. I’d never tried the spoon trick before–imagine my pleasure to discover that it works perfectly and the Champagne paired delightfully with my bagel and lox!

Thanks to Mammoth, Tamarack, The Lakeside, The Mill,  Zensolo, Tony, Benton, and my family for such a wonderful birthday weekend!

PS Do you like the daffodils? Believe it or not, I brought them from home!

Related articles

How to Celebrate Cabernet Day 2012

Personally, I can’t imagine a #Cabernet Day better than last year’s at the Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert. I was joined at my Art Predator and Wine Predator camp in Kidsville by Jim Morris (aka Sonoma Wine Guy on Twitter) and Tony Fletcher (blogger, dj and author of several books on music and musicians including Keith Moon) plus author Mark Lorentzen aka Puma who always brings over $1000 worth of fine wine to Burning Man.

Continue reading →