winemadeez: Hands On Experiences

We recently had two "hands on" wine experiences that I think are worth sharing. The first happened over the Christmas break up on the vineyard. About a mile up our road at the top of the hillside at 2000' is a 15 acre vineyard with a winery owned and nurtured for 20 years by our neighbors Tim and Kandy Ward. This is the home of Skypine Winery and Vineyards and BOBDOG Wines. On New Years Eve afternoon we were invited up for a barrel tasting of their most recent vintage. The goal of barrel tasting is to introduce people to wines still in

the barrel, help them learn about the wine and better understand what they're tasting and imagine what the future of the wine might be. The temperature outside was a brisk 48 and the rain was starting to fall so we donned our jackets and entered the chilly air of the winery! Tim climbed a ladder up to the first barrel and using what looked like a glass turkey baster drew out some Cabernet, put it into our glasses and the discussion began. He explained that the vineyard is made up of 8 separate micro-climates and soils with five blocks dedicated to Cabernet alone. We loved the stories of how the Gun Barrel and Hayfield blocks were named. We tasted wine from both and at this point in the process they are rich and promising, as is the Cabernet Franc from the Canyon block.

The exciting news is that Tim and Kandy are offering a hands-on vineyard experience that you can share. It comes in three parts; the first one will be next month during the weekend of February 20th. Tim is calling it "Root Camp" where guests will be given a day of vineyard education amid the vines with lessons in pruning, an opportunity for barrel tasting and then a gourmet Winemakers Dinner at Piacere's, a local restaurant featuring Northern Italian cuisine. If you are looking for a truly intimate wine experience and are not afraid to get your hands dirty this will be well worth it. I will write about the other two parts once they are scheduled.
For more information go to www.bobdogwine.com and contact Tim Ward.

Our second hands on experience took place just the other day at the 1st Annual Southern California Pinot Days event held in the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport. The Grand Festival showcased over 100 producers of Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley, Santa Lucia Highlands, Oregon, Anderson Valley, Sonoma Coast, Carneros and the Santa Rita Hills. Our connection to the event was Kathleen Inman owner/winemaker of Inman Family Wines and my sister-in-law! The event took place from 1 -5 pm on Sunday afternoon and we brought a group of four of our close friends. As we checked in, Kirsten and I were handed our "Exhibitor Badges" and we weaved our way to the Inman Family table where Kathleen had things well under control. It was a mad frenzy with 3200 avid Pinot lovers roaming the floor tasting more than 200 wines! It seemed like an overwhelming task but a challenge we were willing to take on! The "hands on"

part came when we manned the Inman Family table to give Kathleen a bit of a break. As we poured her wine to the masses we discovered that people have a real passion for this varietal and in their quest to learn more about it they asked a lot of questions! We were a little nervous at first but what we found was that our "crash course"on the Inman wines being poured coupled with our own knowledge and passion made for a really fun experience! With each question came the opportunity to re-tell the story of each wine being offered. A recurring question was "Which of these is your favorite"? For me the answer was the 2006 OGV (Olivet Grange Vineyard) Pinot Noir.

Other notables at the event included :