The Grand Tasting is the largest tasting of Rhone wines in
the United States, with 90 producers pouring over 400 wines. We love the event not only for the wine but
for the opportunity to meet and talk with talented winemakers passionate about
making beautiful wine and expanding wine consumers’ palates.
Tickets for
seminars and VIP tasting (morning seminars and 1:00-6:00 PM tasting) and
general admission to the Grand Tasting (3:00-6:00 PM) are still available. If you’re attending just the Grand Tasting,
use
discount code GT-20 for $15 off
general admission. The Craneway Pavilion site features ample parking, gorgeous views, and easy access from San Francisco with
ferry service and shuttles to and from the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station.
A big tasting event like this one requires a strategy. This year I’m focusing on
returning to my favorites, perhaps in reverse alphabetical order, starting in
the “T’s”:
Two Shepherds: Winemaker William Allen, a leader in the
Rhone Rangers movement, is crafting gorgeous, bright, complex, food-friendly
Rhone varietal wines with fruit sourced from cooler climate vineyards in Russian
River, Santa Barbara, and El Dorado.
Right now my favorites are the ’11 and ’12 Grenache, ’11 Syrah-Mourvedre,
and the ’12 Pastoral Blanc blend. His
Grenache Blanc is also always a standout.
See our post on
Two
Shepherds.
Truchard Vineyards: Truchard Roussanne from the family estate in Carneros
is a consistent winner—the kind of wine that, when you see it on a restaurant
menu or on the store shelf, you know you will enjoy and that will go with
almost anything you’re eating. Tony and
Jo Ann Truchard are always a delight to visit with at this event.
Skylark Wine Co.: I always love tasting John Lancaster and
Robert Perkins’ red Rhone blends, and their Pinot Blanc is one of my favorite
white wines right now. At last year’s
Rhone Rangers, their Syrahs from Knights Valley and Rodgers Creek/Sonoma Coast
were highlights at last year’s event.
Qupe: A Santa Barbara winery whose lineup I wish I
tried more often: Qupe has a standout
lineup of Syrahs, and they make a beautiful Marsanne.
Quivira Vineyards and
Winery: As a longtime fan of and
member at Quivira in the Dry Creek Valley, I am completely and appropriately
biased about this winery. Recent
vintages of their Grenache, Elusive red Rhone blend, and
Rose
have been superb. I’m hoping that they’ll
be pouring their newest addition, the ’12 Roussanne-Viognier.
Morgan Winery: This Santa Lucia Highlands producer might be
better known for its Pinot Noirs, but Morgan makes terrific Syrahs as
well. At a recent Syrah blind tasting
and dinner, the ’10 Tierra Mar was a winning domestic Syrah—bright and tart with
beautiful herbal and cola notes.
Kieran Robinson
Wines: Kieran Robinson is assistant winemaker
at Jericho Canyon in Calistoga and also makes Syrah sourced from Bennett Valley
under his and his wife Kristie’s own label.
Simply put, the ’10 “Le Voyaguer” Syrah is stunning, and very Cote Rotie-like—dark,
elegant, earthy, and peppery. Don’t skip
this table.
Domaine Terre Rouge: Amador County producer Bill Easton makes
wonderful Syrahs and red Rhone blends including the popular Tete-a Tete. The Ascent Syrah is prized, but I prefer the
DTR Ranch Estate Syrah from the cooler climate Fiddletown appellation.
David Girard
Vineyards: This Placerville producer
always pours delicious Grenache and Mourvedre at this event and sends some of
the nicest staff you’ll meet all afternoon.
Clos Saron: Sierra Foothills winemaker Gideon Beinstock’s Heart
of Stone Syrahs and
Tickled
Pink Rose were standouts for me at last year’s event. I recently drank the ’07 Heart of Stone Syrah,
and though it was wonderful, I wish I had held on to it longer. Beinstock’s red Rhone wines are made to age a
long time.
Campovida: The Brix Chicks are fans of this Hopland
producer. The Campovida Grenache Rose is
on one of my favorite Roses in the last couple of years and shouldn’t be missed
if the Campovida team is pouring it at this event.
It's been kind of a busy winter and Spring apparently has left the building. So when I had a houseguest and a heat wave I dove into my samples and came up with some refreshing Wente wines
The 2010 Reliz Creek Pinot Noir ($28) we paired with conversation. This wine comes from Arroyo Seco in Monterey County. The aromas had great typicity of the area rich with red fruit a touch of spice and tobacco. The flavors were tart with a nice finish. 
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