Simple Hedonisms

Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Simple Hedonisms receives a fair amount of invites to attend live Twitter tastings – a format where you receive the wines, and then join other bloggers on Twitter, tasting, chatting and discussing.

I turn more of these down then accept these days, often either because of ‘day job’ travel conflicts or

often the wines are more mass market and just less interesting.

However I was super excited to receive an invitation to taste the great wines of Steven Kent (Mirassou) and his other label La Rochelle.  La Rochelle specializes in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.I discovered the La Rochelle Pinot Noir, some years ago at Pinot on The River and was a big fan.

What’s This All About, and Can I Join?

Live, virtual tastings on Twitter can be quite fun to follow, and better yet, join in. Hand selected bloggers will be comparing notes, and engaging the winemaker in questions and dialog.

You can follow along on Twitter hashtag #StevenKentWines – simply search for it on your Twitter browser or application.  (You can also go to search.twitter.com and enter #StevenKentWines .)

On Twitter, you may join in and ask questions, reply to the winemakers or bloggers etc. (Twitter account required.)

You can also purchase the wines and share your thoughts!

Online Stores:

• La Rochelle
• Steven Kent

Feel free to also call the winery to find out what local shops may have it! Also check Wine-Searcher.com for Steven Kent and La Rochelle.

Wine shops  like K&L Wines, JJ Buckley, and Beltramos carry them, amongst others.

Twitter Handles:

• Winemaker Steven Kent Mirassou – @StevenMirassou
• Steven Kent Winery – @skwinery
• La Rochelle – @larochellewine

Tasting Lineup

From 4-6 pm,  Pacific time, the bloggers will taste through these wines with the winemaker:

1. 2011 “Lola” (Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Blend) $24
2. 2010 La Rochelle Chardonnay, Dutton-Morelli Lane, Russian River Valley $65
3. 2009 La Rochelle Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands $38
4. 2009 La Rochelle Pinot Noir, Donum Estate, Carneros $75
5. 2009 Steven Kent Petite Verdot, Ghielmetti Vineyard, Livermore Valley  $50
6. 2009 Steven Kent Cabernet, Home Ranch Vineyard, Livermore Valley $65

Find one and join us!

For those that miss it, I will add notes to my Cellartracker tasting notes – now over 1,000 notes recorded!

See you on Twitter, and cheers.

Related Articles

Immerse Yourself this Weekend in Pinot Noir

Can you name the second most widely planted varietal in the world? Yes, it’s Grenache. A grape beloved in France and Spain, under appreciated in the US, but growing in popularity.

Indeed, San Francisco wine writer Jon Bonné has been emphasizing  for sometime now that Grenache represents everything American consumers are looking for in wine.

Rhone icon Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon waxes poetic about Grenache regularly on Twitter. The Twitter hashtag has been active for weeks with enthusiasts eager to gush about their passion.

Grenache is  also my persona favorite varietal family. Family? Yes, when we celebrate Grenache Day its not just the red grape Grenache  (Noir) but also Grenache Blanc (yes thats actually a white grape, not a pressed version of Grenache) and Grenache Gris, which is almost non existent in the US, sadly.

Grenache Blanc should be celebrated indeed- with less than 300 acres planted in California, we are fortunate to have it here, thanks to the efforts of Tablas Creek, ten years ago.

What is Grenache Day aka #GrenacheDay

The International Grenache Symposium, led by Marlene Angelloz, an energetic passionate lady I had the pleasure of meeting in Avignon earlier this year, is group dedicated to celebrating Grenache. The Symposium holds a number of events in Europe during the year.  The culmination and global celebration is the third Friday in September, which co-incidentally is mid harvest for most Rhone vintners, self included.

The ‘#” sign in front of Grenache Day is reflective of the Twitter “hashtag” a mechanism that allows users on Twitter to sort the stream of “Tweets” 140 character posts, into one useful feed.

Varietal Days have

become quite popular on Twitter the last few years, and with a little practice is a great way to interact and share with other Grenache lovers.

This is a non commercial, non sponsored event. No monies are collected to participate, advertise, or be a part of. All that is required is a bit of passion, which you will find abound amongst Grenache lovers.

You can follow their website or Facebook page for more information and updates, and global event listings.

The Rhone Rangers Lead The US Charge

The Rhone Rangers are the leading US non profit organization dedicated to the education of American Rhone wines – that is Rhone style wines made from domestic grapes. With Hospice du Rhone seemingly muted and in transition, our organization is more committed than ever to this cause, and have rallied in a big way to support Grenache Day.

I say ‘our’ because I am a steadfast, contributing member. Originally as a ‘Sidekick‘, then on the Marketing committee running Social Media. Ultimately that led to a Board of Directors position, and involvement in multiple committees. In 2011 I proudly also joined as a Vintner.

Not stopping there, most recently, I lead the re-forming of the North Coast chapter, consisting of 32 wineries, mostly in Sonoma county, but spanning Napa, Mendocino, and Lake Counties. If you tapped a vein right now, Grenache might indeed flow.

US Grenache Tastings & Events

Many Rhone Ranger wineries and Grenache producers are doing a number of special tastings, verticals, sales to celebrate.

Highlighted Rhone Rangers events include:

• Four walk around tastings held in Sacramento, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Paso Robles, on Friday Sept 21st. These events are being held at no charge, and are an excellent way for you to experience Grenache Noir, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rosé, as well as blends based on Grenache, and intereact with the winemakers.   A listing of times and locations can be found here.  (You can also RVSP for the Santa Rosa event here, come visit, I will be pouring.)

• As a special warm up for our palates, the Rhone Rangers will lead a two hour Twitter Grenache seminar and tasting, the day before, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.  Each 30 minutes a special guest winery will lead the tasting and questions:

Ridge Vineyards(5:30 PM)

Bonny Doon, Randall Grahm (6 PM)

Two Shepherds (6:30 PM)
Tablas Creek &  Tercero (7 PM).

Any winery can join in with the consumers and bloggers. The more the merrier. Bring a glass of Grenache (we’d prefer domestic for the tasting, but there are no rules) your questions, and be a part of the celebration.

I recommend the use of a tool like Hootsuite for Hashtag sorting, but you can also use the Twitter page via web browser, simply put #grenacheday in the search window.

For more information, and to RSVP, please go to: http://grenacheday12.eventbrite.com/

A Special Day, Amidst Our Most Special (and busy) Time of Year

Harvest comes only once a year, and is a joy filled, sleepless, rewarding time of the year for any passionate winemaker. We get one shot a year to express ourselves in our artisanal craft, factoring in a wealth of moving parts and things we have no real control over. (The largest being Mother Nature.)

Thus it is an extra special gift that wineries are taking precious time away to celebrate this beloved varietal with you. I hope you will by a bottle (or two)

and toast with friends and loved ones, in the spirit of appreciation, and celebration that is intended.

Cheers and Happy #GrenacheDay!

Related Articles

The Chronicle recommends: American Grenache

The Chronicle Recommends: Grenache Blanc

Grenache finds a star turn in California

Wine of the Week, Winery of the Month – Tablas Creek 2010 Patelin de Tablas Blanc

Winery of the Month: Highlights of Bonny Doon Vineyard’s ‘Day of the Doon’ at San Juan Bautista ‘Popelouchum’ Vineyard

Why Rhone Wines & Wine Review: Wesley Ashley Wines – Intelligent Design Cuvee – #WBW71

March 24-25th in SF: “A Weekend Celebration of American Rhônes” or “Palate Enlightenment”. Read, Learn, Share and Win Grand Tasting Tickets

Rhone Rhone Rhone! As I wrote Saturday in

March 24-25th in SF: “A Weekend Celebration of American Rhônes” or “Palate Enlightenment”. Read, Learn, Share and Win Grand Tasting Tickets this weekend its all about Rhone wines.

To celebrate and get the Twitter Hashtag for the event, #RRSF warmed up, the Rhone Rangers (@RhoneRangers and I (@SonomaWilliam ) will be doing a live Rhone wine tasting and ask all of you to join us.

What’s a Live Twitter tasting?

Just grab a bottle of Rhone wine (Domestic please in this case) preferably from one of the 140 Rhone Ranger members, crack it open, and share your

thoughts with the other bloggers, consumers, winemakers that will join us.

We have already lined up many of the Bay Are bloggers to join us, it should be a lively event! The more the merrier.

Details

• Every time you Tweet during the tasting, use the hashtag #RRSF . This is the hashtag for this Weekend’s event – lets get it warmed up.

• The tasting is from 530-7:00 pm Tuesday March 20th, Pacific time.

• For maximum benefit, set up a search column for #RRSF in a aggregation tool like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite – that way all the Tweets for the event are together. Worst case you can also do a search via a web browser simply click here.

Grab a bottle or glass, your smartphone or laptop, and

join the Rhone celebration – Rhone on with #RRSF !

The brief piece we did at Thanksgiving “Our Menu for Turkey Day, and a Great Visual Site – Pi

nterest” was actually quite popular, so we thought we’d do similar for our meal today.

Pinterest holds a lot of potential as a social media site. Don’t let the fact that you have to request an account deter you – one comes fairly quickly.

Sheldon Wines, Krutz Family Cellars, and Simple Hedonisms invites you to join us Sunday October 9 from 2-6 pm for an afternoon of Harvest fun & celebration. This busy time of year comes only once a year, and we’d like to thank our patron and fellow wine-o’s for your support.

 New Day, Slight Format Twist

This month’s meetup is a slighly different format – we are putting side by side a Krutz/Sheldon wine club & futures pick up as well as our monthly meetup. Its also a first to do a Sunday.

The Wine club event is scheduled for *loosely* 2-4 and the Meetup 4-6 pm but we encourage club members, patrons, winery staff and everyone to visit any time between 2-6 that works for you. The more the merrier.

You may RSVP here:  http://octobermeetup.eventbrite.com/

No charge for Sheldon or Krutz Wine Club Members and Futures pickups, or  wine industry (proof may be asked for at check in.) The general public is only $10 ($9 in advance) and includes all tastings from both wineries, some nibbles, and door prizes.

Jump on the Santa Rosa Wine Trail

Attendees will also receive a Santa Rosa Wine Trail card with two stamps. (If you came to our meetup at Inspiration you will now have 3!) Fill it up and enter for a case of wine for $1. You also get complimentary tasting at all members, and free corkage if you buy/bring a member winery bottle to Willi’s Wine Bar.

Door prizes (new change)

Because of the altered format this month, door prizes will be drawn at the end of then event, and persons notified, you need not be present to win.

STAY AFTER; Food Truck Party!

The event ends at 6, but the party continues. Buy wines by the glass starting at only $5 and food truck vendor Ultra Crepes will be selling food. They were

a big hit at my recent Grenache Day tasting, selling 70 plates, both savory and sweet. They will be onsite from 330 pm until 7.

If you think you might stay, answer the question during registration so we can plan on tables & chairs.

Last Friday was International Grenache Day – not as prevalent as Cabernet Day – but people celebrated all over the world, abd hundreds of thousands of people were reached via Twitter during this celebration.

I held a walk around tasting  for 9 wineries and 80 people hosting vintners Quivira, Ridge, Mounts, Sheldon, Wind Gap Wines,  Baiocchi Wine, R2 Wine Co, and last minute entry Stage Left Cellars. More on this in an article later this week.

To compliment this tasting, the Ortman Family was nice enough to send rose’ samples to share, which I splashed in peoples glasses as a palate cleanser and kickoff wine, for save one exception, we had reds all being poured.

The 02 Series

I am a fan of the o2 Series and its concept, and loved the Ortman Cuvee Eddy, 02 Series, San Luis Obispo County Rhone blend when I reviewed it last December.  What is o2?

Wines that are fresh, affordable, delicious, coming from a small family owned winery with 40 harvests under its belt.

Review:  Ortman 02 Series Grenache Rosé – Paso RoblesTo the Eye: Dark Salmon, Watermelon Flesh colored

On the Nose: Peach and Strawberry fill the nose.

In the Mouth: Bright, vibrant, refreshing. Watermelon, citrus. Juicy mid palate, lingering acidity on the finish. This wine is easily downed solo, but would pair with with oysters, salads, grilled chicken or fish, BBQ with tomato sauce, pizza. 14.5% alcohol.

Recommendation: As Lisa Ortman says:

A word from the ladies of Ortman Family Wines: Man up and drink pink!

90 points –  A recommended, high quality, value priced rose’. $16 online, and it appears they currently have great shipping specials – 1-5 bottles shipped to CA is $12, and shipping for 6+ bottles is only a penny. (Welcome to California ABC laws.)

There was only 90 cases made of this great summer sipper – grab a few. And lets get another thing straight –  Rosé is not just for summer – that’s about as true as bubbles are only for holidays. You can enjoy rosé any time of year, and its an especially great food pairing, value priced wine for the holidays – stock up and drink pink!

Info and purchase here. 

Enjoy!

To: All those domestic producers of Grenache, Grenache Rosé, and Grenache Based Blends

From: William Allen; Editor, Simple Hedonisms, Board Member, Rhone Rangers

September 19th, 2011

RE:  Call to Action for #GrenacheDay

Overview: The Grenache Symposium has declared Sept 23rd as Grenache Day. Details and how to list even can be found here. You can also follow the Grenache Symposium on Facebook. The International Grenache Day Google Map is here  and you may find  a help document on how to post your event here.

Based on postings on the official map, domestic support is light, especially in comparison with recent social media #CabernetDay and #Chardonnay day. Yes I know more wineries produce those varietals, but nonetheless some senior players are absent.

It’s possible many wineries do have plans, but haven’t posted them.  Lets change that, I am happy to help. You can also post it on the Grenache Symposium Facebook page, and ask them for help.  I know it’s a busy time – I myself am amid harvest and launching a tiny Rhone label, Two Shepherds.  Nonetheless, anything you can do helps and shows the love. As vintners, writers, consumers and aficionados its time we gave the world’s second most widely planted varietal its due.

Grenache has become my most beloved of red varietals. Wrest it from the hands of New World and Cabernet vintners who want to oak and over ripen it, and it makes a beautiful, feminine wine – elegant like Pinot Noir (minus the Syrah additions) but with a different complexity, nuance, and spice. This was my epiphany Rhone grape, not Syrah. (Which I love and have many cases of.)

Personally I am holding a walk around tasting for 8 wineries and 80 people. Vintners Quivira, Ridge, Mounts, Sheldon, Wind Gap Wines, El Dorado vintner Baiocchi Wine, and R2 Wine Co. It couldn’t be a worse week for me, but if there is ONE social media wine day I WILL support, its this one, and I challenge every single Rhone Ranger member winery, grower, and Sidekick, and of course anyone else who produces Grenache and Grenache based blends, to celebrate in some way. Yes that includes those who fancy themselves Spanish producers of Garnacha as well!

What is Grenache Day (or #GrenacheDay)

It has become increasingly popular for a Varietal to be picked in advance on a predetermined, and then celebrated over Social Media, as well as live events.

While much of the activity and measurement will be based on Twitter, one need not be on Twitter to celebrate.  As a winery, simply spreading the word, holding a tasting, special sales incentives, special bottles, all are valid participation.

On Twitter we use ‘hashtags’ or words that start with a # symbol – this signifies a sorting mechanism, and allows a user in a Twitter platform like Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to see all posts grouped together that use this hashtag.  You can also see basics by clicking: http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23grenacheday

Why have these become popular? The May 26th #Chardonnay day reached over 4 million people, 29 MILLION impressions, and 12,000 related tweets. That’s just ONE medium, add in Facebook, live interactions, and the impact is impressive.    Grenache deserves some love, lets show it.

What Can I Do?

Anything is better than nothing.

If you are a Winery:

• If nothing else, post a simple 8.5 x11 sign in an acrylic stand up on your counter of tasting room and let everyone know its #grenacheday and make sure you pour one.
• Encourage them to check in on FourSquare, Facebook & Twitter, and enter #GrenacheDay when they do – your brand then joins the mix.
• Offer a special price on single bottles, 3 packs, cases.
• Hold a special Grenache vertical or library wine tasting.
• Contact your local restaurant and encourage a pairing, special wine by the glass, or go youself and do a pouring.
• Make sure you post whatever you decide on the Grenache Day Map  here

Encourage participants to mention #grenacheday and your winery bran on Facebook and Twitter.

My blog has  4500 Twitter followers, and 2500 Facebook Fans. The Rhone Rangers, 1500 & 2000. All of these will be used to share your event if I know about it. Also feel free to post it on either or both walls on Facebook and cc both on Twitter.

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/RhoneRangers  and http://www.facebook.com/SimpleHedonisms

Twitter: @RhoneRangers and @SonomaWilliam

You may email me at SimpleHedonisms @ gmail.com  for help. Please note mid week I am out of pocket during the day judging a wine competition, so response maybe after hours.

Bloggers:

Break open a bottle and share your tasting notes with your followers. If you know Grenache producers whom you have a relationship with have sent you samples before, email them tomorrow to get one by Friday.

(Notice I said trusted relationship. This is not an excuse for the sample ho’s to come out of the woodwork, and I will help wineries validate requests if needed. I do PR for several wineries, and some of the correspondence is shameful. Thats terrrific you have a Snooth login -that doesn’t merit you samples because you are too lazy to create a blog, or your last post was 9 months ago about a Cabernet that wasn’t ‘too sweet’. )

Consumers:

Grab a bottle (or three) and some friends and have a great time. Perhaps compare several producers, foreign and domestic. Wine is about exploration, and fun – make it so.

Thanks for your support and Happy #GrenacheDay!

Sincerely

William Allen

• Simple Hedonisms -  Wine Country Lifestyle & Educational Wine Reviews
• Board Member – The Rhone Rangers
  

The  Grenache Symposium has declared Sept 23rd as Grenache Day. The main website still shows the 2010 Sept 24th event, but the press release, and how to map your event, is here. You can also follow them on Facebook here, and their blog here, which also confirms the Sept 23 2011 date. 

Organizations all over the world have already registered their events as you can see on the Google Map. Simple Hedonisms is taking the Sonoma count lead with another greenhouse event, and hope as many of you Rhone Rangers will follow. Personally, its a bad week, as I am locked up for 3 day judging the Sonoma County Harvest Fair competition, and its my birthday week – but hey, what better way to celebrate than recognizing my favorite red varietal.

Calling For Vintners to Participate and Pour, Sept 23 in Santa Rosa  Tasting (And Everywhere)

As a board member of the Rhone Rangers, and  the cat herder leading the new North Coast Rhone Rangers chapter, launching in late September with a new North Coast tasting room map (details soon), I am committed to the cause of domestic Rhone producers, and helping further the cause in the North Coast counties (Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino.)

As I did for #chardonnay day and #PinotSmackdown, I will be holding an ABC licensed, walk around tasting.

Feedback both from wineries and attendees has been extremely enthusiastic – its an evolution of the (yawn) walk around tasting getting long in the tooth.

Why? First, a small, focused number of producers. (In the case of #Pinotsmackdown, gone through an elimination round tasting.)

Second, unique attributes for vintner selection, broadening the attendees exposure, no matter how experienced. (Chardonnay with skin contact. A great 50 case Pinot from Humboldt county, as two of many examples.)

Third, the attendees have been serious wine enthusiasts who ask questions, take notes, and taste, learn – not a drunk fest of baby birds with their glasses out.

Event Details For Vintners

Update: registered Vintners so far: Quivira, Ridge, Mounts, Sheldon, Wind Gap Wines, and El Dorado vintner Baiocchi Wines. Room for only two more!

The official Eventbrite registration is up and has already issued 25 of the 80 attendee spots, not too shabby considering it just went up at 8pm last night!

Details here: http://grenacheday.eventbrite.com/

This event is ABC licensed, and sponsored by the YWCA, to whom a portion of donations go to. Your ‘table fee’ is a bottle of wine of each poured, donated to me as the host, and a $20 donation, or a bottle to the YWCA, which they use for future events and fundraisers.

Your table is provided – you should bring a table cloth, dump bucket, 6-8 bottles (to be safe, average pour is 4-6 bottles), and your a certificate of insurance. (Standard new protocol now I am told.) Use of marketing colleteral, email sign ups, wine club and order forms is suggested.  Up to 2 persons from the winery may attend to pour. (And is encourage so can also walk around.)

Wine poured can be grenache, grenache rose’, or a blend where grenache is the leading varietal. You may call my cell at 415 613 5731 or email me at simplehedonisms at gmail.com with questions. We will cap at 8-10 producers.

Whether you pour or not, if you are a grenache producer or a grenache lover – to take the time to celebrate this wonderful variety.

Cheers!

Related Articles

#PinotSmackdown Greenhouse Tasting Winners & Photos! (Grenache up next!)

Seeing California Chardonnay in a New Light: #Chardonnay Day Greenhouse Tasting, Attendees Top Picks. Up Next – Aug 18 Pinot Day

Wine Tasting Events Must Evolve – An Example at the Saturday June 11th Vinify Winery Collective Event in Santa Rosa

On August 18th,  I am a co-host for Ed Thralls of Wine Tonite for the 2nd Annual #PinotSmackdown. Pinot’s from various regions will be compared and people will vote for their favorite region during this live tasting.

I will be replicating the very successful tasting I did for #Chardonnay day, last month, in my Greenhouse. What will this event be about, and like? You can read the details and summary here in:

Seeing California Chardonnay in a New Light: #Chardonnay Day Greenhouse Tasting, Attendees Top Picks.

Looking for A Certain Style of Pinot Noir

There are a variety of styles of Pinot Noir. Bold and Big; Burgundian. Lighter and more nuanced. I purchase, drink and review them all.

As I did with for Chardonnay, I will be seeking a certain profile of Pinot. There has been moderate wine press recently by Jon Bonne’, Jancis Robinson and others, discussing Pinot Noir starting to return to its more elegant form. Over the years Pinot has crept up in color and alcohol, over ripened and over extracted, chasing the New World Palate, and trying to lure less knowledgeable drinkers weened on Cabernet, who think there is something wrong with red wine that is light in color.

Requirements & Profile

I am looking for Pinot that is more reflective of the vintage, terroir, and is balanced, with good acidity, modest alcohol. If you are a Pinot producer that fits this, and would like to pour, or have sopayday cash loan