Where to get away and celebrate white wines. More from Modesto wine columnist
Are you ready for a quick getaway weekend? Tickets are available for Anderson Valley’s Winter White Wine Celebration, Feb. 18-19. This festival lets you choose your own VIP wine experience. How cool is that? Each food and wine experience is seated and lasts one hour, with up to four per day. That’s a total of eight decadent tastings. If your escape weekend includes a few friends, team up and enjoy this sumptuous experience together.
One of Anderson Valley’s earliest producers, Handley Cellars, will be hosting a special Saturday evening Winemaker Dinner where they will be pairing their most exclusive white wines with an Alsatian-inspired dinner. Lula Cellars will offer tasting flights off their estate vineyard of six wines featuring their highly sought-after Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay paired with Lula signature paella.
Phillips Hill Winery will be offering traditional French bites to pair with tastes of their handcrafted white wines including Gruner Veltliner, Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as library wines. Are you ready to go? It will be an amazing VIP getaway weekend. To find out more, go to AVWINES.com. Cheers!
2023 San Francisco Chronicle Sweepstakes winners
More than 60 judges, representing various North American wine regions, evaluated 5,500 wines from nearly 1,000 wineries in late January. Here are the S.F. Chronicle Sweepstakes winners.
Sparkling: Chandon Brut de Pinot Noir, $27
White: V. Sattui Winery 2020 Chardonnay, Napa Valley, $39. Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards 2021 Green Lizard Gruner Veltliner, Umpqua Valley Oregon, $36
Rose: 2022 Rose Sangiovese, Mendocino, $24
Red: 2019 Iron Slope Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, $65. St. Anne’s Crossing 2020 Los Chamizal Malbec, Sonoma Valley, $38
Specialty: 2014 Dessert Wine Barbera, Sierra Foothills, $60
Packaging: Adobe Road Winery, Nevada, The Racing Series, a four-bottle gift set of red blends, $369
For a complete list of the 2023 awards go to winejudging.com. Also, make sure you read the best of class tasting notes by veteran wine judge Mike Dunne.
What’s On Our Table
The selection of Iberian wines at the Grocery Outlet are really a steal. The 2019 Fonte das setas from Portugal and the 2017 Crianza Villarrica Rioja from Spain are delicious and both under $6.
Australia has a tariff issue with its biggest market, China, and those Aussie wines need to find some shelf space. I bought a Dynamite Vineyards 2021 Merlot from South Eastern Australia at Costco for $8.99 and with a $4 discount it’s under $5. Stay tuned. Cheers!
Questions? Comments? Find me on Facebook or at rgwinton@yahoo.com.
