I know this
how? Because my new hero, Erik, told me, "It's awesome, best ever."
So, you might well ask, why is he a hero? OK, here's the story. But first, the back
story. This event uses stemless
glassware made by Stolzle, which is important to this tale. The taster
crowd at the Fest has a tradition of clapping and cheering when someone drops
and breaks their glass. This had happened two or three times before Eric gave
me his review. As I turned away to let someone into the table I tagged an elbow
and dropped my glass to the concrete floor. Dang, I thought! But when the
bottom of the glass hit pavement, it just bounced. I made a move to catch it
but down it went, then up again and I hadn't quite caught up. The third hit
finally did the job and I bowed to the cheering crowd, skulking away find a
replacement.
Fast forward to nearly the end of the tasting and I see Erik
coming along across the aisle. Suddenly his glass makes a break for freedom.
Hits, bounces. And again. And again, at which point Erik snatches it in
mid-air. A three hopper and the glass is still intact and back in service.
While Erik (whose last name I never got) pulled off a good save, what about that
Stolzle? I highly recommend those of you with friends having bad hand/glass
coordination get some of these beasts.
If you haven't been exposed to the Garagiste movement or
their tastings and programs, put it on your to-do list. And get The Dirt online by signing up at www.californiagaragistes.com
for news about the organization.
This year's version started with a winemaker's dinner on
Thursday and a meet and greet event Friday evening. Held at Broken Earth
Winery, it was a sell out and featured out-of-area wineries in the group.
Saturday began with two fully subscribed seminars. The first was on the use of
the aroma wheel in helping your appreciation of descriptors used in wine
jargon. The second was a three maker panel discussion of current trends in
using stems and seeds during the fermentation. Opinions on this have varied
over the years and an option that doesn't lend itself to large production
wineries. The process adds subtle changes to tannins and structure of the
wines. If the technique is of interest, Kaena Wine Co., Paix Sur Terre &
Golden Triangle wineries were the wines presented. All are very low production
but some delicious samples were tasted.
The main event included nearly five dozen wineries with
twenty or so varietals in the mix. Several food vendors also offered product to
sample, ranging from olive oil to brownies. I didn't get a head count but think
this was the largest crowd ever but a change in tasting table layout made it
seem less crowded than last year. And if three to five hours of wine tasting
hadn't worn you out, there was the After Party with beer from Paso's
"Barrelhouse" micro brewery. Loud and proud AC/DC tribute band High
Voltage kicked out the jams so the ladies could dance and the guys sit and
watch, just like junior high. A fun and
well done festival, with a great and knowledgeable group of wine lovers in
attendance. Can't wait for #6.
