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.

RANGERS ROAM AT BROKEN EARTH ©

            An annual gathering of the Rhone Rangers, hosted by the Paso Robles chapter, drew a sold out crowd Sunday, February 16, to a full day of events at Broken Earth Winery. I was surprised to find so many of the attendees had come from LA or the Bay area to make the day a focus of an extended Valentine's day weekend. And, to include education on the current state of Rhone varietals in winemaking along the Central Coast as part of that experience.

Bulldog nation was also well represented by members of CSU Fresno Viticulture Club, currently headed by Patrick Tachella. Apparently, they through one heck of an annual BBQ event later this year, to which I received multiple invites. I have the feeling wine may be involved as well.

The morning seminar session took a look at three white, one blush and five red wines, both single grape versions and blends. This represented many of the more well known of the twenty two types of grapes included in Rhone style wine; Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah, Viognier and Mourvedre but also varieties that are lesser known, with only a few acres currently in production, such as Picpoul Blanc, Counoise and Grenache Blanc.

Master Sommelier (and author) Evan Goldstein, acted as moderator for the panel of winemakers whose wines were represented in the two flights of recent releases, primarily from the 2012 vintage. He was also available during the afternoon tasting to those attending just that portion of the event. And to sign copies of his newest tome, Daring Pairings, exploring food and wine combinations outside the box. We first met in 1988 as invitees to the first Court of Master Sommeliers training held in America, in conjunction with the Monterey Wine Festival. Evan currently operates Full Circle Wine Solutions and is very involved in emerging wine markets and wine education.

Chef Jeffery Scott and his crew did a flawless job in both menu items and making the lunch buffet user friendly. Each table was joined by a winery representative who provided appropriate wines to pair with the menu and informational chat with those attending.

Nearly four dozen wineries and 200 wines were represented at the well attended afternoon tasting. Thirty eight silent auction packages were available for bids during the walk around and Vivant provided some excellent cheeses to match with the Rhone-ish flavors. No small feat to pull off, kudos to Jason Hass for his efforts to organize a multitude of details as well as Chris Cameron and Broken Earth Winery for providing the venue and logistics of doing so at a working facility.

Watch for information on plans for next year. The morning session has been an early sell-out for many years and tickets to the tasting only are limited to a manageable crowd size. As mentioned, the event draws far more than a local crowd, so I suggest getting your request in early for this popular and fun gathering.

WILD WINES INCLUDE ZIN AT VINTAGE PASO

            The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance kicks off its annual event offerings with a weekend event, March 14-16. Keying on the 2013 designation by Wine Enthusiast magazine as the "Wine Region of the Year", this should be a crowd drawing kick off to the tasting and winery event fest season. Over 120 local producers will be taking part and offering a variety of special dining, entertainment and rolling out a new vintage in the bottle or still in the barrel.

Check out the full details, including an on line version of the brochure (www.pasowine.com) and use the handy tools to help you find lodging and plan your tour route. For your iPhone, you can download the PasoWineApp for even more suggestions, including local restaurants. For area residents, the print version of the brochure is available at most PRWCA member wineries. In either version, you will see all participating wineries and their specific plans for each day of the weekend event from Friday through Sunday.

If you are coming from out of town, or entertaining friends locally, there are a variety of transportation options from a hired driver for your own vehicle to vans or actual busses. It is never too early to make a reservation if some form of designated driver is in order.

PASO CHAPTER HOSTS RHONE RANGERS EVENT

            The Central Coast is a hot bed of wines made from the many varietals that are made into wines from France's Rhone River Valley. Paso Robles boasts the largest chapter of the Rhone Rangers organization with about four dozen members who will offer a day long combination of education, dining and tasting on Sunday, February 16. The site is Broken Earth winery on East Highway 46. Details are available on line (pasorobles.rhonerangers.com).

A seminar on Rhone Essentials will start the day at 10:30, tickets are $85 and include the education, lunch to follow and the main tasting event. Tasting only tickets are also available for $35 and can be purchased on line. The seminar/lunch is limited (200 tickets) and has consistently sold out well in advance. The seminar will show nine major wine types with wine makers from as many wineries presenting information on various varietal and blended wines from seven or more of the grape types grown in the Paso Robles area.

Lunch is catered by well respected "Chef Jeff" (Scott), a popular local vendor who does many winery dining events throughout the year. Winemakers, owners and managers will participate in passing around a variety of local Rhone style offerings to match with the food and dining with the attendees.

The main tasting, featuring approximately 150 wines, begins at 1:30 and is capped at 400 tickets, meaning 200 available after the seminar participants are included. If you like Rhone wines, that should be your call to immediate action! The tasting includes a silent auction and ends at 3:30. Rhone Rangers is a non-profit and the sales support their scholarship fund.

Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Sets Fest Dates

Here are the dates to mark on your calendar for this year's schedule of Paso Robles Wine Country events:

Vintage Paso: Zinfandel and other Wild Wines, March 14 - 16
Enjoy a zinful weekend with activities including winemaker dinners, exclusive Zinfandel tastings, winery and vineyard tours and so much more!

Wine Festival, May 16 - 18
This marquee tasting event offers the opportunity to taste Paso Robles wine in the charming Downtown City Park, complemented by local epicurean delights.

Harvest Wine Weekend, October 17-19

Wineries celebrate the beginning of the new vintage by inviting you to their individual events that are as diverse as the wines themselves.

TALKING TURKEY PART 2 - LEFTOVERS! ©

            WOW, despite over one thousand grape varietals being grown in Turkey, a very small amount actually becomes wine. Alcohol consumption is low, as would be expected. Yet this where wine was first made. Evidence of wine-making equipment found there may be from 4000 BC.

The Ottoman rulers were not pleased with wine but when their empire collapsed after World War I, the new Turkish president founded the first commercial winery, Doluca, in 1925. Since then the industry has built up slowly, with mostly larger companies but now include a tiny group of small volume wineries. Wonder what the Turkish word for "garagiste" might be.

The majority of wines are produced in eastern parts of the country, near Greece and along the Aegean sea or on the Mediterranean coast. Climates vary greatly from the cooler coastal regions to those inland areas, which are much drier and warmer. Thus, the variance in styles can be great.

A significant number of the major producers are vinifera and have plenty of choices in what to cultivate for wine.. European grapes (or actually those born here and migrating west) are on the rise and made as single varietal styles. More often they are included as blending components. The most popular local grapes have names I couldn't pronounce and have no type face that allows the correct symbols for spelling!

If I actually find a source for something to taste, I'll report back. Also, Turkey has a national spirit called Raki often served cold with meals. This is a pomace based (think grapa) distillate flavored with anise seed. That might be easier to locate and to compare with Sambuca.

TALKING TURKEY ©

            No, not the bird on the table but the country formerly known as the Ottoman Empire. In a recent study of wine grapes under cultivation world-wide, Spain had the number one spot with 13% of the total acres/hectares planted round the globe. Surprisingly to many wine consumers in the U.S., less than half of that is grown in America. That despite a much larger land mass and wine now being made in all but one state in the nation.

The fact is that we are only number six on the list with 6%, just behind TURKEY with 7%. Who'da thunk it? More land is dedicated to wine grapes there than in Germany, Austria, Portugal, South Africa or Australia to name just a few countries known for wine production and consumed around the world. With over thirty years of background in the wine trade or those related to it, I have never actually seen a bottle of Turkish wine but have had many from the neighboring Greece. The search is on, but I'm curious what the market is

With a population about 20% that of the U.S., primarily Sunni Muslims with a large Kurdish influence, this would not instinctively make one think, "World Wine Power House." Yet there they are, right behind number four China (8%) and the more likely sounding Italy (10%) and France (11%).

My mission is to find some Chardonnay de Constantinople or Istanbulian ice wine in time for next year's Thanksgiving dinner. Followed by taffy for desert, served with strong coffee and those killer Turkish tobacco Balkan cigarettes. Well, maybe not the last part. I'll keep you posted!