Learn About Wine Blog

After six years of producing the STARS of Santa Barbara in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, LearnAboutWine took its well known wine classic to Orange County.  The South Coast Plaza played host to an amazing display of food and wine hysteria as Jason Bentley of KCRW played an epic soundtrack of well timed music that keep the energy high, the charity profitable, and the wineries optimistic about their future success in the Orange County market place.  Ian Blackburn, owner of LearnAboutWine.com said “the idea was always about increasing the visibility of these fantastic wines to the ideal audience, it’s all about drinking the best local wine and Santa Barbara is it.  We have been pounding this drum long before SIDEWAYS came along and since the movie, the industry has continued to grow, improve and change with the times.  Santa Barbara represents our best efforts, our best vineyard land and some of the best stories in wine.”  

All total, the Second Harvest Food Bank will receive proceeds from healthy ticket sales and a generous silent auction, as well as a few very generous gifts from top sponsors like Disney, South Coast Plaza and William Gillespie Foundation… it was not only our first event in Orange County for many years, says Ian, but we had to elevate the Second Harvest events of the past – which didn’t really fit with the great Mall in America… this was a direct hit, with a gorgeous affluent crowd of likely customers, and incredible participation from the top restaurants in Orange County.

The success of this event was due to the great team work of a number of top PR, Marketing, and promotion professionals, the team at South Coast Plaza and the quality reputation that LearnAboutWine and KCRW bring to the table… it was a total value proposition that was well received and we benefited everyone… a win- win – win – and that is the way it should be.   We went “all in” and its wonderful when the efforts are all received.  It wasn’t perfect on our side, but we did a great job and we know where we can improve.

DJ Jason Bentley (Host of KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic) put on am incredible show.

Everyone here at LearnAboutWine is very exited to announce our first ever Napa Valley excursion! We will be taking a group in July to our favorite Napa Valley locations! Check out the official agenda below!

The Napa Valley Tour.

You are one of the FIRST to be invited to join our exclusive Napa Valley Tour!

This will be our only weekend Napa Valley tour this year…so get your place quick before it sells out!!! 

Ian Blackburn, Founder of Learn About Wine and Master of Wine student is your host and I will ensure you have an amazing experience no matter what wine level you are.
TWO WAYS TO JOIN US

Package All INCLUSIVE – includes 2 Nights Hotel at the Luxurious Napa Valley Lodge and Full Napa Valley Tour

• • Includes 2 Nights accommodation at Napa Valley Lodge
  • Tour is conveniently located around your hotel (Tour starts & ends at your hotel, dinner locations are walking distance to your hotel)
  • Full Napa Valley Tour – see itinerary below
  • Includes all tips, gratuities, taxes and all meals.
  • $999.00 per person based on double occupancy ($1099 after 6/15)
  • Single supplement is an additional $395
  • Airfare is not included

Package BE A PART OF THE TOUR – Full Napa Valley Tour without Hotel

• • Full Napa Valley Tour – see itinerary below
  • Includes all tips, gratuities, taxes and all meals.
  • $699.00 per person (when paid before June 15^th, $750 after 6/15)
  • Excludes Hotel and Airfare

Important Information:

• • Tour starts Friday 10^th July at noon, and ends Sunday 12^th July at 3pm
  • This tour is very intimate and personal, small group limited to 30 guests.
  • No changes can be made to the packages
  • We can accommodate dietary restrictions with proper notice
  • Full payment is due by June 15^th. 
  • We can arrange for transport from your airport arrival/departure for a small fee of approx $50 each way per person
  • Once the $200.00 deposit is made – a trip program and bill will be issued.

Agenda:

FRIDAY – JULY 10^th

12 noon:  Check in for the weekend

We will gather at the Napa Valley Lodge in Yountville, a fantastic hotel location near the French Laundry, Bistro Jeanty and Bouchon .  The rooms have king size beds (I have only 3 rooms with two Queens) with an average rate close to $450 per night (Learn About Wine has an exclusive discounted Hotel Rate which is included in Package A).  You can choose to make your own accommodations or stay here with us. The rooms are very luxuriously appointed and include breakfast. 

12:30 pm:  We depart for Duckhorn Vineyards – Experience terroir Napa Valley

A luxury coach will pick us up and take us away as a group to Duckhorn Vineyards.  Duckhorn has long been renowned for their tremendous Cabernet, and Merlot based wines.  We will learn about the development of Napa Valley and the unique qualities of its soil structure.

2:40 pm:  We depart for Paraduxx Vineyards – An experience in blending

About 10 minutes down the road from Duckhorn, we will visit a sister property at Paraduxx along the Silverado Trail.   The architectural innovation of the estate is a unique ten-sided fermentation building, which houses a contemporary winemaking facility.  Some of Napa Valley best blends are made at Paraduxx and you will have your chance to play wine maker and blend your own wines.

5pm – Return to the hotel for a rest and change of attire.

6:30pm – Depart for Quintessa Vineyards – Dinner in the Vineyard

One of Napa Valley’s most picturesque vineyard settings, and one of the most delicious producers!   Dinner will be a celebration of the best of Napa Valley.

Saturday – July 11^th

Breakfast is included at the Hotel and Bouchon Bakery is across the street.

9:45 AM – Depart for exclusive experience on Howell Mountain with Cakebread

Cakebread Cellars will pick us up in a coach and take us to Dancing Bear Ranch on Howell Mountain (20 minutes) where we will hike approximately 1.5 miles (dress correctly).  The Cakebread culinary team will be waiting for us with a wonderful lunch and tasting at the Howell Mountain Cabin.  Following lunch, we will return to the winery so you can stock up on your Cakebread wine!

4pm – return to Yountville Hotel location to rest, shop, and reload.

6pm – depart for Maine Lobster Bake at Ma(i)sonry Napa Valley

Blackbird Vineyards president Paul Leary will welcome us to their wine, art and design gallery in Yountville. Trust me when I say that is 100% gorgeous!  – We will stroll from our hotel location – passing the infamous restaurant, The French Laundry, as well as a few other hot spots to hobnob in Yountville – to a luxurious Lobster Night!  The Blackbird wines have been some of the most exciting new bottlings in the Napa Valley and we will be able to experience a selection from their portfolio as well as wines from the Ma(i)sonry wine collective (such as Tor Kenward Family Wines, Brown Estate and Lail Vineyards).

Sunday – July 12^th

10am – Depart for Viader Vineyards, Picnic with the Winemaker and Family

11am our coach arrives at Viader Vineyards for Sunday Picnic at Viader! Viader is recognized around the world for consistently producing high quality red wines, the estate cuvee is a personal favorite!  One of the most picturesque estates is wine, the mountain top location will provide the perfect backdrop for our  experience.

3pm – Return to the Lodge to depart – and transfer to the airport.

Transfers are not included, but can be scheduled for you from the hotel to the airport.  (approx $50 per person/ each way)

Click HERE to Register Now!

A $2000 Value – Now on Sale for ½ Price at $999 ($699 without hotel)

Day One:

Duckhorn and Paraduxx Events – worth $100

Quintessa and Dinner worth $250

Hotel night worth $550 (half of this as your sharing a room)– ($450 plus almost 20% tax!)

Bus with professional driver

Professional Guide that provides service and perks

Value $800 pp

Day Two:

Cakebread Experience – worth $250

Blackbird Lobster Night – worth $200

Hotel night another $275

Bus with professional driver

Professional Guide that provides service and perks

Value $1000 pp

Day Three:

Viader Picnic $200 pp

Bus with professional driver

Professional Guide that provides service and perks

$350 pp

Over $2000 worth of greatness and uniqueness that money can’t buy anyway!

Our summer series at the Grove is off to a great start!   The Great Aussie BBQ was a huge success thanks to the hard work of the vendors, the Grove,  and the LearnAboutWine team.

We produce events large and small in some of LA’s top locations like the GROVE, Two Rodeo, Staples Center, The Peninsula Hotel, The Beverly Hills Hotel and private homes.

Join us for Summer TASTE – the first Wednesday each month at the park in the Grove!

Click here to see more photos from the event!

LearnAboutWine on Indie 103.1’s Wino Wednesdays!

Ian is on the air right now! Tune in at www.indie1031.com !

If you missed the show, we will provide a link to the podcast as soon as it’s available.

About German Wine Part I

Imagine making wine for 1000 years and developing an evolving number of rules to improve the wine and celebrate the best wines of the region.  It was a good idea, until the label was decorated with so many terms that it looked like a war hero where all their bags and medallions to a point you couldn’t determine the rank.

Today, German wine has an interesting problem, there is a lot of wine, but its owned by hundreds of brands, all small, and all hoping to purchase more land – but there isn’t any great land to purchase.   As the economy dictates, wineries do end up selling and small advances can be made – but most of the advances are in the areas of different wines, even none Riesling wines that do not need to come from the great vineyards that are carved in the southern facing slopes.  Modern advances with none Riesling grapes give financial growth but may undermine the true Nobel status of the Riesling and I think everyone realizes this is the wine that matters in the end.

The Soft Economy

Today, the German industry realizes now that a majority of their business is in the United States, what they probably knew years ago before the market developed – the US customer only speaks and understands English and has no appreciation for the tradition of German wine law.

The following wine label terms you will find on the label.

Weingut – means winery

Gutsablung – means Estate Bottled

Not all German wines are Riesling, but the noble wines are.  I will speak about the wine laws as they apply to the Riesling in the fine quality wine category, also known as Qualitatswein or Qualitatswein mit Praditkat – which describes the ripeness of the wine in terms of total must weight of sugar or Oechsle.

ONE:  The wines typically have the name of the Weingut on the top

Weingut Dr. Robert Weil (producer name)

or

Weingut S.A PRUM (producer name)

TWO:  Then the name of the place is celebrated – where? in Germany the grapes came from.  This gets pretty specific as the families that make the wine may own a very small plot of land inside of the vineyard.  So small that the flavors are very consistent year to year and vintage quality is the variable.

First, the name of the location with and –er added to the name of the place.

(in regards to Weingut Robert Weil)

Kiedricher Klosterberg (however the –er is now being dropped to make it simple)

Kiedrich Klosterberg (meaning from the area of Kiedrich, in the vineyard of Klosterberg)

Or

(in regards to Weingut S.A. PRUM)

Urziger Wurstgarden

From the town of Urzig, the vineyard called Wurstgarden (spice garden)

So the names of the fancy places are many – don’t let them hang you up.  Some are more famous than others, and the most famous are being celebrated now with a “1er” or Grand Cru status (new since 2007).

THREE:

Next is the ranking of Pradikat – the Quality and or quantity of the ripeness as measured, and ranked.

The names are

Kabinett – ripe but focus is on the slate character and minerality.

Spatlase – riper with more juice per grape than Auslese.

Auslese – can have some botrytis, but unnoticeable as possible.

Beeren Auslese – can have significant botrytis, more than the Auslese and very ripe grapes are used, some with juice and some with raisin character

Trockenbeeren Auslese – this is the highest quality or the Botrytis infected wines, and the berries are all infected with little to no juice.

Icewine – No Botrytis – must be frozen berry and is typically picked around Christmas or early January.

For more on German Wine Laws CLICK HERE