New Wine Products

 

I receive a lot of wine related products for the tasting room.  

This sippy cup idea is the latest thing to come across my desk so I thought I would share it. 

I kind of hate to admit it, but this particular "stem" has merit. 

Pool party where you don't want glass?

Hot tubbing?

Sports events? Beach picnics?

Backyard BBQ?

Tailgating?

I try not to get too hung up on drinking wine from a proper vessel, sometimes, you just have to go with the venue. 

Cheers! 

Vino Cruz

Right after Thanksgiving last year, I popped over "the hill" from San Jose to Santa Cruz and met Steve, the new owner of Vino Cruz. We were early, but Ryan (he runs the shop and tasting bar) was nice enough to let us in and start browsing while he set up the tasting area.

There were seven of us in our group but we still managed to zip through the selections and talk "shop" before the next group of visitors came by to steal away Ryan's attention.

Overall it was nice to see the place re-arranged, I thought the layout was welcoming and the new bar and chairs were comfortable. The artwork changes periodically keeping the walls and space fresh and inviting AND the tasting menu changes often!

In keeping up with social media, they update events and tasting menus almost daily on Facebook.

Specializing in local wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, these guys know their stuff and are passionate about sharing their knowledge.

Vino Cruz

725 Front Street #101

Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-426-8466

Santa Cruz Mountains Vintners Festival

June 4 & 5 Western Side of Santa Cruz Mountains

June 11 & 12 Easters Side of Santa Cruz Mountains

www.scmwa.com

The Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association is pleased to announce the 22nd Annual Vintners' Festival "A Taste of the Mountains" This years' Vintners' Festival will be held on two consecutive weekends. The first weekend, June 4th & 5the, the festival will be hosted at wineries and restaurants in Santa Cruz County. The second weekend, June 11th & 12th, the festival will be hosted at wineries and restaurants in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Wineries participating in the Vinters' Festival will be pouring from 11:00am to 5:00pm with restaurants closing at 4:00pm.

Saratoga Stroll this Saturday May 21st

Saturday, May 21, from 3pm til 6pm.

Don your best bonnet and come out to enjoy the incomparable charm of Saratoga Village on a spectacular spring day!

Enjoy a leisurely stroll through the unique shops and restaurants of downtown Saratoga, while sipping wines from 18 local wineries, many of whom may be new to you: Big Basin Vineyards, Dancing Creek, Jazz Cellars, House Family Winery, Generosa, King’s Mountain Vineyard, Loma Prieta Winery, MJA Vineyards, Naumann Vineyards, SKOV, Stefania, and Villa del Monte. Bid on unique magnums and wine lots from Cinnabar Winery, Burrell School, Cooper-Garrod, Guglielmo, Mountain Winery, Savanah-Chanelle, Stefania, and Poetic Cellars.

Feast your eyes on art, jewelry and painting demonstrations. Groove to live music by The ONES, Rodrigo Teague and Asher Stern. Indulge in gourmet food by Tabitha and T3, including outrageous jams and sinfully rich chocolates. Treat yourself to a flirty new hat from Black Cat Hat. Dress up any outfit with a colorful corsage from Floral Fantasia. Score some new eyeshades or a roomful of new window shades.

Linger afterwards and dine at one of our world-class restaurants, many of which will offer special dining incentives, including 10% off, exclusively for Stroll patrons that evening.

Tickets will sell out quickly! $35 in advance, $40 day of (if available)

http://www.saratogachamber.org/spring_wine_walk.htm

Winemaker Dinner at Twist in Campbell

Join FOW and Stefania Wine for dinner at Twist!

When: Sunday May 22nd, 6pm
Where: Twist Bistro, 245 E. Campbell Ave, Campbell

Starters: Twist Salad or Onion Soup or Eggs Poached in pinot noir

Main Choices: Tri-tip or Catch of the Day or Chef Dominiques Vegetarian plate

Sweets: Chocolate Mousse or Espresso ice cream or Cheese platter

Paul and Stefania will pour wine from the current release and spend as much or as little time as you like talking about anything and everything.

Members: $60/per person
NonMembers: $70/per person

Cost is all inclusive (food/wine/tax/gratuity)

Checks and menu choices need to be posted no later than Saturday, May 14th

email to cherylmarkman@hotmail.com for the payment mailing address

www.stefaniawine.com

Tasting Notes on Older Wines.

Last night we opened two wine from the 2006 vintage.

2006 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch. - This is in a really good drinking window right now. The tannins are soft and lots of secondary flavors coming through with the plum and berry fruit. Originally I put a shorter drinking window on this and I think now to 2013 is prime for this wine.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Uvas Creek Vineyard - The was also really good last night, with round tannins, lots of berry and cherry fruit and a long finish. Worth trying at 5 years old and rounding out really well. There's a nice spice on he finish.

I'm going to open a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Uvas Creek soon. The 05 and 06 both went through rough patches from age 3 1/2 to 4 when they seemed disjointed without a long decant. The 07 has been the same for a few months now and I want to check if it's coming out of that.

Bottles and Bins Recipes p. 108

I recently acquired a book titled Bottles and Bins Recipes, published by C. Mondavi & Sons: 1965

As I was perusing the titles and the recipes and casually thumbing through it, I came across this poem by Miriam Allen deFord on page 108.

Young Dionysus ranged the earth
To teach the sons of man
A magic of surprising worth --
And vineyards thus began

Now, drainers of the grape-born cup,
Remember him, your guide,
And toast him as you gaily sup
At this glad Christmastide.

And as the old year sinks to rest,
Praise him in draughts of wine
Who gave to all mankind his best --
The secret of the vine!

To a Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!

Cheers, SR

FOW Annual Holiday Party

Ring in the holiday season with FOW at:

The Blue Pheasant Restaurant
2210 Stevens Creek Blvd
Cupertino, CA 95014

Thursday night, December 9th

Appetizers at 6:30
Dinner at 7:30
Games and Dancing 'til 11:00 p.m.

Live Music by The Lyratones!

$55 per person, all inclusive (food, wine, music, prizes)

Send your checks, payable to FOW, no later than 12/1 to:
Paul Skov
PO Box 895
Los Altos, CA 94023-0895

Indicate your choice of entree:
Chicken (with mushrooms and artichoke hearts)
Salmon (topped with dill sauce)
Prime Rib (au jus and fresh horseradish)
Pasta Primavera (fresh veggies over linguine)

Dressy Holiday Attire

Oktoberfest Quiz and Answers

1. How many liters of beer are consumed during Oktoberfest season?
A. 1 million
B. 10 million
C. 7 million
D. 5 million

2. The original Oktoberfest celebrated?
A. The marriage of Prince Ludwig & Princess Therese
B. The coronation of Prince Ludwig
C. The marriage of King Helmut & Princess Elizabeth
D. The success of the fall harvest

3. What event caused an interruption in the annual Oktoberfest celebration?
A. The assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
B. The Napoleonic wars
C. The Great European Plague
D. The country wide famine

4. Why is Oktoberfest celebrated in September?

5. Most beer served at Oktoberfest is called_______________?

6. In what month was beer usually brewed and why?

7. What is the average attendance of Oktoberfest each year?

8. The following breweries are represented at Oktoberfest except for: (one)
Augustiner
Hacker-Pscharr
Hobrau
Lowenbrau
Heineken
Paulander
Spaten-Franzislaner

9. Where is Oktoberfest held?
A. Berlin
B. Bavaria
C. Hamburg
D. Munich

10. How long does it take to brew an Oktoberfest beer?









ANSWERS:

1. C

2. A

3. B

4. Better weather

5. Marzen

6. It was brewed in March, cellared in the summer and ready to drink in September.

7. 6 million people; 85% from Germany

8. Heineken

9. D

10. 6 months, March-September

UpComing Event At Arcadia!

Do NOT miss the November event if at all possible, it's going to be one of 2010's highlights (based solely on my personal experience at Arcadia, and I've met Matt, a great winemaker).

Fernwood Cellars and Arcadia Restaurant at the Marriott San Jose

Join us for a luncheon featuring Fernwood Cellars owner and winemaker, Matt Oetinger.

When: 12:00 – 2:00 p.m., Sunday, November 14, 2010
Where: Arcadia, at the Marriott
100 W San Carlos Street, San Jose, CA 95113
(408) 278-4555

Menu:

First Course:
Arcadia Salad with Fuji Apples, Candied Walnuts, Blue Cheese
Paired with 2008 Estate Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
-or-
Ahi Tuna Poppers with Wasabi Caviar, Ponzu Vinaigrette
Paired with 2008 Santa Clara Valley Riesling

Entrée Course:
Phyllo Dusted Sole with Herb Brandade and Sauce Dijon
Paired with 2008 Estate Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
-or-
Beef Short Ribs with Horseradish Whipped Potatoes
Paired with 2007 Mirepoix

Dessert Course:
Banana Tart with House Made Caramel and Rum Raisin Ice Cream
Chocolate Molten Cake with Salty Caramel Ice Cream and Hazelnut Praline
Coffee or Tea

Cost: Members: $50.00 per person – all inclusive
Non-members: $55.00 per person – all inclusive

RSVP: Please call for payment deadline and mailing address

Cheryl Markman
(408) 578-8315

Note: This date is firm. If the number of confirmed reservations is too low, the event will be
cancelled on November 5 in order to avoid being charged the minimum guaranteed amount.

Cheers! Stefania

New Concept in Stemware

Not everybody is hip to new ideas or concepts, but check this out:




This not yet patented stem design is available from Chevalier Collection in Beverly Hills, CA, for a fancy price tag.

The idea is that the wine is aerated within your glass rather than using other hand held devices.

http://chevaliercollection.com/collection.php

Harvest 2010 Santa Clara Valley

I poked around some of the winery websites in the area and the consensus about Harvest 2010 so far is that it's behind "normal". At Clos La Chance, they are running about a week behind in veraison and anticipate the first grapes coming to crush in another week or so.

For Stefania Wine, the vineyards we manage in Morgan Hill and Los Altos Hills are on track, but running about two weeks past "normal". The grapes at the "estate" (our suburban home in South San Jose) vineyard are also about two weeks behind normal. The fruit we have growing in Woodside still has not yet started veraison. The cabernet sauvignon is likely a loss this year, or we harvest in December...it's too soon to tell for sure.

Some of the other high altitude vineyards are reporting similar conditions and much of it has to do with the weather. The very wet winter was fabulous for the roots and quenched the vines from the past few drought years, but then the cool Spring got everything off to a very slow start. It would be great for everyone, tomato growers too, if we had some very warm days all through September and October.

Historically we have a cooling trend and sprinkles around the 1st and 2nd weekends in October so we'll see what impact that has on ripening this year.

July 17th Event Summary

Join us for a day of touring and tasting in South County. We will visit five wineries, two of which
are FOW member wineries, and we will end our day with a pot luck dinner at one of our member
couple’s home

On the Agenda:
10:00 a.m. Sycamore Creek
11:30 a.m. Martin Ranch Winery

SANDWICH BREAK*

1:00 p.m. Solis Winery
2:30 p.m. Creekview Vineyards
4:00 p.m. Satori Cellars
5:30 p.m. BYOB Potluck in Gilroy

*SANDWICH SELECTIONS
Grilled chicken with havarti cheese, bacon and avocado on whole wheat bread
Roast beef with blue cheese and caramelized onion on split crust bread
Tuna salad with cheddar cheese and dill pickle on rustic Italian bread

Cost: Members $15.00, Non-members $20.00
Please indicate your sandwich choice with your RSVP (or I will decide for you!).

RSVP with your check made payable to FOW
No later than Saturday, July 10 to:
Cheryl Markman
4982 Collomia Court
San Jose, CA 95111
(408) 578-8315

To see full event details:
http://www.fowca.org/docs/jul2010.pdf

Castillos Winery Event, June 26th

From Roni Jo at Castillos:

Hello everyone,

This is a busy time of year and the weather is so unpredictable!! Please don't let it keep you from attending our first Comedy show on June 26. Flyer with all of the info is attached, although, we have added a third comic to the lineup, a gal named Shannon Gittens. You can send a check to the address on the flyer. We will be in Italy until mid June. Vivienne and I have the privelege to sing with the choir at the Vatican. We will be performing 6 concerts total, in Venice, Florence and, of course, Rome. So it would be greatly appreciated if you could have your reservation and payment made prior to June 6th, so that I can finalize all of the details before we leave. We don't return until June 22. We do have limited seating so don't wait. Thank you so much and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards, Roni Jo 408 595-3145

Sips From the Board

Information from the board meeting held May 25, 2010.

• FOW is in the process of becoming an associate member of the Wineries of Santa Clara Valley.

• Welcome new member Jim Nash.

• In order to proceed with the museum project, FOW needs volunteers to participate in various committees such as Fund Raising and Volunteers. Interested members can contact Marv Bamburg.

• FOW members are urged to attend the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers’Association's 2010 Vintners' Festival "A Taste of the Mountains" which takes place over the first two weekends in June in lieu of an FOW monthly event.

Upcoming events include the following:

• July 17 - a visit to Sycamore Creek Vineyards, Martin Ranch Winery, Solis Winery, Satorie Cellars, Creekview Vineyard

• August 21 - a visit to Clos la Chance, Castillo Hillside Shire Winery, and Guglielmo’s Harvest Festival

• September 18 - Annual meeting

Silver Mountain winery needs your help

You may already have heard about Silver Mountain's fight to be allowed to open to the public. They are asking for help from supporters to call or write to the Santa Cruz planning department. Also if you're free on Wednesday May 26th in Santa Cruz it would be extremely helpful if you can attend the hearing in person. It will be held at 9AM in the Supervisors chambers in the County Building on Ocean Street in Santa Cruz.

Founding Member of FOW Obituary

Bro. Norbert J. Korte, S.J.

Resident of Los Gatos

Brother Norbert J. (Biz) Korte, 80, died May 12, 2010 in Regis Infirmary, Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, after a long illness. He was in his 59th year as a Jesuit Brother.

Biz was born December 23, 1929 in San Francisco and raised in Oakland. He graduated from St. Ignatius High School (Class of 1948) and attended Santa Clara University, 1948-51. Biz began his Jesuit life at Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, in August of 1951.

With the exception of one year at St. Ignatius High in San Francisco, all of Biz' Jesuit assignments were at Sacred Heart Novitiate. In 1969 Biz began his work for Novitiate Winery, a job loved and for which he is known throughout the country. Over the years Biz became the public face of the winery. He promoted wine tastings and other events as the winery became more oriented towards the commercial wine market. When the winery closed in January 1986, Biz was on hand liquidating the inventory and locking up the door.

After the closing of the winery Biz did various in-house jobs at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center. Because of failing health, he spent his last few years as a resident of the infirmary at Sacred Heart.

Biz was a big man physically. He was gregarious and friendly, a man of great emotions and of high ideals. He was not afraid to express his opinion and you always knew where Biz stood on any given subject.

He was active in the Lion's Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and was a founding member of the Friends of the Winemakers, a group dedicated to preserving the history of wine making in the Santa Clara Valley. As a Lion, Biz acted as the group's chaplain and worked closely in support of the San Jose Blind Center and its teaching activities. For almost two decades he played Santa Claus at the Los Gatos Christmas Parade.

On the occasion of his Golden Jubilee as a Jesuit, Biz reflected, "my life has been full of God's graces; I have much to be grateful forfrom caring for the aged, typing invoices, knocking on the doors of countless parishes selling altar wine, to balancing the books of the community." All this was done with a generous heart.

Biz is survived by his brother George Korte, and his sisters Marla and Mary Norbert Korte.

The funeral Mass will be on Thursday, May 20 at 10:30 AM at St. Mary's Church, 219 Bean Ave., Los Gatos. Committal Service at Santa Clara Mission Cemetery will immediately follow the Mass.

Donations in Br. Korte's memory can be sent to the California Province of the Society of Jesus, P.O. Box 68, Los Gatos, CA 95031. Funeral arrangements by Darling-Fischer Chapel of the Hills, Los Gatos, CA.
Published in San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on May 16, 2010

Wineries of Santa Clara Valley 2010 Spring Celebration

Saturday, April 24th
noon -- 5pm
Casa de Fruta Country Park
10021 Pacheco Pass Hwy
Hollister, CA (appx 15 miles East of Gilroy)

FOW members can buy tickets for $45. Guests or Non-members $50
Make checks payable to FOW by Friday 4/16 and mail to:

FOW Activities Coordinator
4982 Collomia Court
San Jose, CA 95111

Your ticket price includes wine tasting, steak bbq, and live music by The House Rockers.
Look for the FOW RESERVED picnic tables.

Rain or Shine; no refunds

January Event Rescheduled for April 3rd

The January event listed here:

http://fowca.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-event.html

Has been rescheduled

What: A Comparison of Old World and New World Wines
Pot Luck Hors d'oeuvres (preceding) and Pot Luck Dinner (following)

When: 4:30 – 8:30 PM, Saturday, April 3, 2010

Where: Home of Claire and Monty Boyer
Saratoga, CA

Cost: Members: $20.00 per person and a Pot Luck dish to share
Non-members: $25.00 per person and a Pot Luck dish to share

How: email to wine@stefaniawine.com for directions and payment instructions

February Event

FOW Members & Friends:

The FOW event for February features food, wine, socializing and a presentation from the FOW Museum Committee. You will bring food, wine in a brown paper bag and an open ear or two. It should be interesting. FOW for years has dreamed of establishing a museum to document the history of wine making in our local area--not a small task. Come and find out what the Museum Committee has been up to. The deadline for getting your check to Cheryl is Wednesday, February 24.

The event is Saturday evening, February 27, starting at 5:00 PM.

DETAILS:

Wine Museum Project Proposal followed by
Blind Tasting of Chardonnay and Syrah and Pot Luck Dinner
When: 5:00 – 8:30 PM, Saturday, February 27, 2010
What: 5:00 – 5:30 - Welcome wine and Hors d’ouevres, provided by members of the FOW Board
5:30 – 6:30 - * Presentation by Marvin Bamburg on the FOW Wine Museum Project
6:30 – 8:30 - ** Blind Tasting and Pot Luck Dinner
Each couple brings: 1 bottle of wine** and 1 pot luck dish to share
Each single brings: 1 bottle of wine** or 1 pot luck dish to share
Where: Town and County Mobile Village Clubhouse
195 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123
Cost: Members: $2.00 each (plus wine and/or pot luck dish)
Guests: $5.00 each (plus wine and/or pot luck dish)
* The first Friends of the Winemakers Advisory Board was formed in 1975 for the purpose of preserving the art and history of winemaking in the Santa Clara Valley. An important part of their vision was to establish a museum to document this history. A possible site was selected but the project did not prove to be feasible. The group continued to explore new ways to recognize this dream and now has what appears to be an appropriate venue. The Museum Committee has developed some conceptual plans and a rudimentary business plan for this
project, a presentation of which will be made at this meeting. “Buy-in” by the membership is essential if this project is to proceed and succeed. Please plan to attend and express your opinions.
** This will be a blind tasting of Chardonnay and Syrah. The wines should be brought in a plain paper bag and preferably be a current release from a Santa Clara Valley or Santa Cruz Mountains winery. We’ll taste the wines blind, enjoying the pot luck dinner as we do, vote on our favorites in each category, and then the wines will be unveiled.