Wine Events: October 2009 Archives

By Deirdre Bourdet

The film Bottle Shock tells the tale of the 1976 "Judgment of Paris," where California wines beat out their French counterparts in a widely publicized blind tasting.  This week in Napa, three local merlots go head to head against three from Bordeaux at Back Room Wines' Thursday night tasting event. It won't be blind, but it will be delicious.

Press Release

SANTA CRUZ, CA - In an effort to promote wines produced in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Capitola's landmark Shadowbrook Restaurant is offering Winemaker Wednesdays, featuring half-price wines from the appellation now through May.

Each week Shadowbrook will be featuring two to four wines from a Santa Cruz Mountains winery, offered by the bottle or glass.  Wednesdays, beginning at 5p.m. a representative of that week's winery will offer tastings and information from a table set up in the restaurant's Rockroom Lounge.

That night all wines from the week's winery, whether ordered in the bar or dining room, by the glass or bottle, will be 50 percent off the regular price.  Featured wines will also be available in flights (about 2.5 oz, also half-price), accompanied by complimentary appetizer.

ST. HELENA, CA - Great news for wine enthusiasts anticipating the tasting of the 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape vintage at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone with Robert M. Parker, Jr. Three more wines have been added to the flight, making a total of 21 wines from this excellent vintage to be tasted. This annual event has generated an endowment in excess of $1 million for Wine Advocate scholarships for the CIA's Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies. This year's tasting is scheduled for Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. at the CIA's Napa Valley campus.

When Parker first reviewed the 2007 Châteauneuf du Pape wines, he awarded them ratings in the mid to high 90s. According to Parker, "the entire vintage will be very long-lived given the extraordinary balance in the wines. (And) given this quality, the high demand and limited supply from these producers makes 2007 one of the most collectible vintages in recent memory."