Like the Phoenix our group rises from the ashes in a (hopefully) new format!!

[andrea...@gmail.com]

Good Day to everyone,

First of all I would like to wish all of you a belated New Year and
hope that this year brings many new wines across your path and that
you have the opportubity to look even deeper into the bottle!

I will be hosting the very first Santa Ynez Wine Night of the New Year
at our home on Thursday, January 31 @ 7:30pm. I would however like to
tweak the format a little (note the day change for January).

This year I would like to start sharing some knowledge on the various
wines we will be tasting, sharing some insights on the region, the
grapes what foods to pair with it and also where in Santa Barbara/
Santa Ynez/Santa Maria you can lay your hands on it - do not worry
there will still be plenty of drinking and eating!!

Food: Please bring something light to "nibble" on.
Address: 1493 Aarhus Drive, #3, Solvang CA 93463
Time: 7:30' ish
Theme: Rhone White Wines

Although we all know the famous Rhone Reds - Syrah and Grenache and to
a lesser extent Mourvedre - the Whites are fantastic - Viognier,
Roussanne, Marsanne and Grenache Blanc. Just look around and you will
find these variatals at Trader Joe's, Cost Plus World Market, Lazy
Acres, Nielsons, Los Olovos Grocer and El Rancho.

The Santa Ynez valley has many producers of Viognier, Roussane,
Marsanne and I have seen the odd bottle of Grenache Blanc. When buying
French wines at Trader Joe's (TJ) or Cost Plus World Market (CPWM)
look for the following:

Start looking for anything that has the name "Châteauneuf du Pape" on
it. That tells you it is a Southern Rhone wine from the premier
applelation (remember the majority of whites from the rhone are
southern rhone.)

1. Château Beaucastel (Perrin Family) - La Vielle Ferme (I have seen
at less that $10 a bottle @ TJ and CPWM in the past) - typically this
is a Grenache Blanc/Roussanne blend. Others to look for are Pélaquié,
Mordorée, St-Cosme, L'Enclos, Guigal, Colombo and Gabriel Meffre -
these should not be more than $15; then you are paying to much.

2. In SB County look for are ( I am trying to keep the bottles priced
under $20 some under $15 - above that price point there are many) :
- Curran (2006 Grenache Blanc);
- Beckman (2005 Le Bec Blanc a blend of Roussanne, Marsanne,
Grenache Blanc);
- Barrel 27 2006 (Viognier, Roussanne, Marsanne from "High on the
Hog" French Camp Vineyard, Paso Robles;
- Carinna Cellars 2006 Viognier
- Lucas & Lewellen - 2005 Viognier
- Zaca Mesa ( 2006 Viognier)

Now there are many other producers such as Consilience, Stolpman,
Eberle, Qupe etc - but then we are going to the $20-$25 price point.

See you hopefull on Thursday January 31st!

In Vino Veritas

Andreas

[Lynzi Blacker]

have it in the calender - hope to see you all there - Jez & Lynzi

[Tara Stephenson]

This is in the middle of SB Film Fest so I won't be able to participate. Did
y'all get the invite to the wine tasting benefit Matt is hosting on Feb 13?
See below. -Tara

-----Original Message-----
From: sbwinos...@lists.sbwino.org
[mailto:sbwinos...@lists.sbwino.org] On Behalf Of Todd Atkins
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 2:27 PM
To: sbw...@lists.sbwino.org
Subject: Santa Barbara Winos -- February 2008

Hey there,

The Santa Barbara Winos have managed to convince Brett Escalera,
Winemaker extraordinaire for Consilience and Tre Anelli, to come down
to SB to talk about his winemaking style and the wonders of the
Consilience label. Matt and I have done some painstaking research at
Consilience and C'est Cheese and have come up with a menu of wine and
cheese pairings that we think you'll enjoy. We may even pair up the
last wine with a delicious truffle from Jessica Foster Confections.

This event takes place on Wednesday February 13 from 6 to 9 PM at EOS
Lounge in Santa Barbara. The cost is $25 per person payable at the
door (cash only). As always we donate the proceeds of our events to
Heifer International (heifer.org), a unique charity that addresses
world hunger, so you can imbibe on a Wednesday night and feel good
about doing so.

Space is limited so reserve your spot ASAP by sending email to rsvp
@sbwinos.org, calling Matthew Dunham at (805) 451-5814, or Todd Atkins
at (805) 689-9300.

Hope to see you there,

Todd