Sactown Magazine's Best of the City (Special Issue)

While we're on Sactown's Best of the City issue (definitely go pick one up), we should point out that they ran a page on one of our absolute favorite non-wine people. Sactown Magazine makes him out as the "Best Guy to Trade Places With," implying that his job is all fun, but in actuality, Charles Bamforth is an Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Brewing Science, and the Department Chair of Food Science and Technology at the University of California, Davis. It may be fun to drink, but he's certainly serious about what he does. Bamforth is all about beer, and if you've never thought about beer in the terms usually reserved for wine, you should take a read through Bamforth's delightful book, Grape vs. Grain. If you've ever had the pleasure of hearing Bamforth speak, then you know he's incredibly intelligent and informative, but equally entertaining and approachable. His book reads in the same fashion, and like the best educators, Bamforth teaches a great deal while keeping you entirely interested in the subject. He has a unique gift - and, in spite of his promotion of beer, he has a great fondness for wine as well. How can you not like that?

Sactown Magazine's Best of the City (Special Issue)

We love Sactown Magazine at Sacramento Winescape, and in the magazine's special collector's Best of the City edition (out now), the magazine says that the best "Corner for Lattes and Cabernet" is the corner of 29th and S streets. The "lattes" of course refers to Temple Coffee, and the "cabernet" refers to the new home of Revolution Wines, Sacramento's first urban winery. The location is still under construction, but Revolution expects to have the new tasting room open by August of this year. Small plates for wine pairing and live music will make this a great spot to hang out in when you want a "winery" as opposed to a "wine bar," but you don't want to leave town.

Revolution has just launched their new website, which is, in fact, a blog. You can check out the construction updates there.

http://www.revolution-wines.com/

Selland's 2nd Wednesday Wine Tasting

The Sacramento art scene may have "Second Saturday," but Second Wednesday belongs to wine lovers at Selland's Market Cafe. Once a month on the 2nd Wednesday between 6:00-8:00 (or 6:00-9:00 - depending on the season), Selland's treats guests to a $20 tasting of five select wines. The nice thing about Selland's is that they really know their wines and they make a point of not only exposing you to California wines, but also mix in wines from around the world. Selland's also has a nice wine collection that changes frequently, always allowing for new and interesting purchases. Set your calendars for the second Wednesday and never miss a tasting!

For the food lovers, Selland's is also a great stop, with lunches, dinners and desserts always prepared on the spot. You can take advantage of weekday wine and dinner specials ($25 for two), which is a nice work-night wine break right in Sacramento.

http://www.thekitchenrestaurant.com/sellands/wine/reserve_tasting.html

Whites 101 (07-17-10) @ Lava Cap Winery

Lava Cap Winery (El Dorado County) is ready to teach you a little bit about white wine. Rick Kushman, the Sacramento Bee's wine columnist, will cover the basics on tasting whites, and Lava Cap will talk about growing these grapes. As you might know, the Sierra Foothills are primarily known for red wines, so to have a feature on whites is pretty spectacular.

At over 3000 ft, Lava Cap Winery has some of the highest altitude vineyards in the US. A little added trivia - July 17th is also Disneyland's birthday. =)

Tickets to the event are $25.00, and they can be purchased from the wine shop link on Lava Cap's website.

http://www.lavacap.com/index.html

Bray Library Tasting (06-12-10)

Bray Vineyards (Amador County) will have a vertical tasting on the 12th to showcase their cabernet sauvignon. The vertical tasting will go from 2002 to 2007 vintages, and their cabernet is aged in both French and American oak. If you've never done a vertical tasting, this is a great chance to see how wine changes in color, tannins and taste from year to year. Only $3.00 (wine club members are free).

http://www.brayvineyards.com/

Raley's Grape Escape (06-05-10)

If you love wine and you live in Sacramento, then you probably already know about the Grape Escape. This event brings over sixty wineries and forty restaurants to downtown Sacramento. The great thing about the Grape Escape is that it's the event that focuses on the greater Sacramento wine region - Lodi, Amador, El Dorado, Nevada City, Clarksburg - all wine producing regions of the Sierra Foothills and northern Central Valley.

Grape Escape Website

Paso Robles in Sacramento (04-19-20 - 04-20-10)

Distinct indeed. Paso Robles has gone from being a region thought of as producing stock grapes for jug wine and filler grapes for the big Napa wineries into a respected wine region of its own. So much so that Paso moved far ahead of several other "up and coming" wine regions in terms of quality and notoriety. Set in beautiful scenery, the wineries of Paso Robles are as bold and impressive as their wines. It's a bit far from Sacramento for a day trip, but this month the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance will bring its Grand Tasting Tour to Sacramento - for the very first time! Lots of red wine blends are the trademark, but you'll find plenty of good varietal wines as well.

Grand Tasting Tour Website

ZinFest (05-14-10 - 15-16-10)

The annual fun fest will happen again this year at Lodi Lake. The annual ZinFest has become a huge happening that brings together hundreds of the Lodi region's best known viarietal - zinfandel. The artwork changes each year, although the woman is the same, so be sure to look for the new posters for 2010. Also, be sure to buy an official bottle of zinfandel especially created for the 2010 year.

Disney's California Adventure Food & Wine Festival

Disney's California Adventure is gearing up again for the annual Food and Wine Festival (April 16-May 31). Disneyland might not be the first place you think of for wine, and indeed, Walt Disney didn't want alcohol in the park. When Walt Disney World opened in 1971, the resort's hotels served alcohol, but none was allowed in the Magic Kingdom. In 1982, under CEO Ron Miller (Walt's son-in-law and now, interestingly enough, the co-owner of Silverado Vineyards in Napa Valley), EPCOT Center opened and the World Showcase pavilions served alcohol appropriate for each nation. This was Disney's first in-park drinking. A decade and a half later, Epcot began its International Food and Wine Festival and the concept worked so well and was so popular that it was taken to Disneyland Resort and added to California Adventure a few years after that park opened in California. California Adventure had a wine history of its own, however. When the park opened as Disneyland's second gate in 2001, the Golden Vine Winery (sponsored by Robert Mondavi) had a tasting room, and upscale restaurant, a market, and mini-vineyard near the center of the park. While Mondavi later pulled out its sponsorship and the Golden Vine was cut back in terms of its offerings, the Food and Wine Festival has now become a popular event at the park. The event combines wine tastings, wine pairing seminars with several exclusive demonstrations. There are always plenty of celebrities on hand, some of them chefs, some of them not, to give the event a special flavor.

Behind the Cellar Door (03-06-10 - 03-07-10)

Amador County's Behind the Cellar Door is a wine event that combines tastings, barrel tastings, library tastings, food pairings, seminars, music and an all around good time at over thirty wineries in the area. The region is known for its bold reds - zinfandel, sangiovese and barbera, but you'll also find some syrah, petite sirah and vermintino. You can purchase tickets at this link.

Foreplay Valentines Release Party

Toogood Winery in the Fairplay district of Amador County is releasing their new Foreplay on Valentine's weekend (February 13-14). A perfect name for a romantically themed red wine, you can take part in the private release party for $27.50, which includes lunch in their underground dining room and a complimentary bottle of wine. Not a bad deal for a date at all (not too mention that you're right across from Van der Vijver Winery).

Sibling Rivalry - Napa Cabs vs. Sonoma Cabs.

Sibling Rivalry is going again on February 21st, with cabernet sauvignon as the subject for this month's match-up. Last month was zinfandel, and the turnout was enthusiastic for the first go around. This month will take place on a Sunday night, so plan accordingly. Click here to view the evite.

Wine & Chocolate Weekend (02-13-10 - 02-14-10)

Lodi's wine country is gearing up for another great pairing - wine and chocolate. Get your favorite valentine and head down to Lodi where over 40 wineries are participating in the event. Besides the great wine, there are lots of prizes to be given away. Visit the Wine and Chocolate website for details and maps. This is the 13th year for the event.

Bring Out the Barrel (01-30-10 - 01-31-10)

El Dorado County has a great little event this weekend. Bring Out the Barrel lets you taste the new vintages right out of the barrel for about twenty of the El Dorado County wineries. El Dorado has some altitude, which is one of the great aspects of being in Sacramento. We can have wineries that get a little snow - something you'd expect in the northeast, yet it's only an hour from town. Get up there and get your futures lined up for what might be a great season.

Sibling Rivalry

We've gone a little out of the Sacramento region for this one...or have we? One of the great things about Sacramento's Winescape is that Napa Valley is just as close as parts of El Dorado County. Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley have always competed, and now it's on full swing for the public to decide. A set of official judges preside over the tastings, but all are invited to make their own decisions on the best wines. Twenty-six wines in all. Sibling Rivalry, which takes place in Rutherford in Napa Valley, is set to become a monthly event. This month is zinfandel, next month will be cabernet sauvignon. Find Small Lots Big Wines on Facebook so that you'll be sent an eVite to the next tasting.

58 Degrees & Holding Co.

Wednesday nights are the day of the week for 58 Degrees and Holding Company's weekly tastings. The tastings are designed around a theme, and at $10.00, very reasonably priced. It goes well here to say that some of the best food for wine is made at 58 Degrees, and it's easy to settle in and have a round of appetizers and then hang around for dinner. The spot is excellently put together, and adjoining the wine bar is a full wine shop so you can buy what you like after tasting. Great way to spend the middle of the week, and say "hi" to Gabe if you see him.

Selland's

Continuing the off-season theme, Selland's Market Cafe has a weekly dinner special available Monday-Saturday. Dinner for two and a bottle of wine. All for $25.00. Not bad if you're looking for a good way to enjoy a little wine, have some good food and watch your wallet at the same time. Selland's, for such a small place, has a great wine selection that's constantly changing. A good mix of California wine and wine from around the world - so keep going back for something new all of the time. Remember, Sacramento is in the center of wine country! You never have to go without.

Tasting Room Tuesdays

While the vineyards are in winter and the wine world is (a little) quieter, there's still plenty of wine-to-do around Sacramento. Now is a great time to get out to some of the local restaurants and wine bars that do regular tastings and see what's being offered. Arden Fair's California Cafe has Tasting Room Tuesdays from 6:00-8:00 each Tuesday. The tastings feature California wines (naturally) poured by local wine reps. The tasting fee of $10.00 is waved if you stay for dinner, so make an evening of it.