Saturday, March 29, 2014

WIVI #2 GAINS TRACTION FOR THE LONG HAUL ©



         The second annual WIVI Central Coast Wine & Viticulture Symposium/Trade Show, held last week, set the stage for a third show. Tweaks from lessons learned from the inaugural event in 2013 made this year's format even better and resulted in approximately 40% more attendees at the Paso Robles Event Center. Spread out over more space, adding a new seminar category focused on marketing and the DTC segment, plus concentrating the trade show into a single day were all successful. There were enough "side shows" (including a very popular Wine and Beer Garden sponsored by RadiantFires.com), to help trade show attendance, providing breaks between vendor visits. Those included product demonstrations, a Winemaker Throwdown panel and the Central Coast Salary Survey. I spoke with many who returned from last year and those new to the event. All expressed a high level of satisfaction with the opportunity to talk to end-users about their products and, for second timers, the success of the new format.

Wine Business Monthly and Precision Ag Consulting, the hosts, were aided by dedicated staff, a large group of volunteers and many supportive sponsors. The major promotional organizations from all of the Central Coast wine growing regions and Independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles area added support and wine for the event ending regional tasting. And, with the addition of a series of DTC/Marketing seminars, primarily moderated by Lesley Berglund - Chair of WISE Academy, the scope of educational opportunities was expanded into an additional and important part of the business.  Viticulture and enology are the other main areas of education focus, with multiple offerings each day and a concentration in each area of about seven hours of active class time. There was also a lunch hosted by Rabobank America with a keynote speaker that addressed the state of the world wine business.

Networking was another major feature, both at the trade show and with the well-attended launch party and closing regional tasting event. Future postings will  provide comments on those sessions I attended and my take-aways from keynote and other presentations on the state of the market. I would encourage those who want more inside information and the exchange of ideas with colleagues involved in the wine trade to register early for WiVi  #3 in 2015.

Monday, March 24, 2014

UPCOMING EVENTS FILL CENTRAL COAST CALENDAR ©


            The season is upon us and opportunities to eat, taste and be merry abound. Next up for Paso Robles is the weekend of May 15th and the annual Wine Festival, subject of a prior post.

            Monterey Wine Country will hold the 22nd version of the Winemaker's Celebration on May 3, on Delores St. in Carmel-By-The-Sea. Full details at www.montereywines.org.

            Food & Wine Magazine and Pebble Beach Company host a fabulous collection of wines, dinners, celeb chefs, golf, lodging, education and high end elbow rubbing, April 10 - 13. Various packages are available as well as ala carte' offerings, many of which are selling out quickly. For complete information, reservations for The Lodge or Spanish Bay or playing in the Chefs & Winemakers golf tourney see www.pbfw.com.

            The Central Coast Wine Classic will be held July 10 -13. Locals consider this one of the "big fun" wine weekends of the year and you should too. All you need to know is on the event site at www.centralcoastwineclassic.org, with ticketing and full schedule available.

            A fairly recent addition to groups dedicated to particular styles of wine or wineries in a certain area is the Cabernet and Bordeaux Collective (CABs). They are holding a CABs of Distinction Gala event, featuring 32 wineries that make wines of that description, April 25 - 26. On Friday, wineries will host various events during the day and dinners at wineries and in local Paso Robles restaurants that night.

The Gala on Saturday is at River Oaks Hot Springs in Paso, north of Hwy 46Woff Buena Vista Dr. Samples of wines from CAB affiliated producers will be served with charcuterie and artisanal cheeses. Complimentary lunches are provided by several of Paso's favorite chefs and more fun includes live music, chocolate tasting and a barrel-making demonstration.

Optional Luxury VIP ticket holders will start the day with an exclusive private vintner-hosted reception and lunch at Thomas Hill Organics in downtown Paso Robles at 11 a.m. After lunch, complimentary shuttle service is provided to the event site.  You will be first to arrive and taste through the Reserve wines of all participating producers. VIP guests enjoy private access to their own Lounge and continued access to the Gala from 2-5 p.m.

Premium-Reserve VIP tickets provide early entry to the Reserve Tasting and VIP Lounge access and full access to the Gala. More information and tickets for the event are available at www.PasoRoblesCab.com/events. CAB newsletter subscribers receive a 10% discount on all tickets for this event. The promotional code is: CLUBPRWCA.

            If you are a fan or Rhone varietals or enjoyed my prior piece on the Paso Robles Rhone Ranger chapter gathering last month should get on their email list, a link information about next year's program, which can be found at www.rhonerangers.org/about/pasorobles.php.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

PRWCA GEARS UP FOR WINEFEST ©


                A reminder to those of you living in SLO county. March 15 is the last day to purchase advance event tickets at the locals pricing. This provides a $20 early bird savings for entry into the Grand Tasting.

Also available (tickets and details at www.pasowine.com) are "Can't Hardly Wait" passes with a $10 discount on all three levels of pricing for the packages offered. This also ends March 15. The RESERVE level ducat is $125, Premium entry for $75 and Festival tasting at $55

The Festival takes place Thursday through Sunday, May 15 - 18. It is the 32nd version of the annual event. If you are not familiar with it, the web site above contains not only the information on just the event but information on lodging, dining and winery visits available in the area. My review of last year's Wine Fest can be seen in the archives of this blog. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance folks who are behind getting this all together will also be adding an on-line brochure of what the 130 participating wineries will be offering throughout the weekend, including wine specials, live music, BBQs etc. If not live yet, check back in a few days.

Thursday evening kicks off with various winemaker hosted dining opportunities. Friday's the night for the RESERVE tasting. A selection of some 40 wineries will offer their choice of library wines, reserve level bottles, whites & roses and yet to be released wines. An auction featuring the opportunity to purchase some of these wines is also included, as is an early entry pass into the Grand Tasting. This is accompanied by gourmet bites from local chefs and features locally grown items.

The Grand Tasting is held in City Park on Saturday. Sixty wineries will be pouring, food vendors are on site and various seminars and special tastings take place. Sunday is open to explore on your own.