04 Apr Please The Palate April 2023 Newsletter
We are already three months into 2023. Time just keeps flying by! The year started out with a bit of travel. I first traveled with girlfriends to Valle de Guadalupe in Baja Mexico. Then I went to Arizona with my dad to attend the Super Bowl. And I have traveled to Paso Robles, Santa Barbara, and Sonoma. Looking ahead, I will be returning to Sonoma, as well as Santa Ynez and Paso Robles. There are also a couple of trips to Italy on the horizon. And I will be judging two wine competitions in June. I thought the year started out slowly but sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
I had the pleasure to contribute to the 2023 Slow Wine Guide USA. This was the 6th edition of the guide and my first time contributing. The Slow Wine Guide USA is part of a worldwide movement that began in 1986 when Carlo Petrini founded Slow Food in response to the incursion of industrial fast-food chains in Italy, and operates under the same motto “Good, Clean, Fair.” The Slow Wine Guide USA features wineries that do NOT use synthetic herbicides. The 2023 Guide has several hundred entries and I wrote 28 of them. And now I am starting to work on the 2024 Guide for next year and am aiming for 60+ entries.
The Slow Wine Guide USA 2023 gives you a year in the life of the vineyards and wines with winery profiles and wine-tasting notes. The 2023 Guide costs $25 and I am happy to offer you a 10% discount.
To purchase a Guide, CLICK HERE and use the Coupon Code: winemember10
Upcoming monthly virtual wine events:
Attention Rhone wine lovers!
Thursday, April 27th at 4 pm PST, I will be moderating a virtual panel discussion for the Rhone Rangers about “Santa Barbara County”. The Rhone Rangers is America’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to promoting American Rhone varietal wines. The organization is made up of wineries in which 75% of their production is made up of one or more of the 22 traditional Rhone grape varieties. For this upcoming virtual event, we will feature 4 winemakers from Santa Barbara County who will share why Rhone grapes thrive there, what they love about the grapes and more.
There is NO cost to participate. The virtual tasting is open to everyone. If you want to taste along, you can order wines directly from each winery.
Featured Winemakers/Wines:
Doug Margerum, Margerum Wine Co. (2022 Margerum Estate Viognier, Los Olivos District)
Bob Lindquist, Lindquist Family Wines (Lindquist 2021 Marsanne, Ibarra-Young Vineyard, Los Olivos District)
Sam Schmitt, Folded Hill Winery (Folded Hills Winery 2020 Estate Grenache)
Dusty Nabor, Dusty Nabor Wines (2020 Kimsey Syrah from Ballard Canyon)
To join the webinar on April 27th, use the link below:
If the button above does not work, paste this into your browser:
https://us06web.zoom.us/w/84620132770?tk=mW1Ly2urzM-ymzda1IZbDacEZ-8bUipor3nsuggJFfE.DQMAAAATs8DBohZPeUFlZzdkWVFWT18yZjdiZmdSM0J3AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA&pwd=VTlLWHREemJXQXVBUkRyNkEvTS9oZz09
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Forgotten Grapes Monthly Virtual Tastings with Winemakers
There are more than 3500 wineries in California. That is a lot of wineries. Many of these wineries are small, family-owned businesses making anywhere from 500-5000 cases. At Please The Palate, owner Allison Levine loves to seek out these small producers and introduce them to friends through stories and events. Each month, in partnership with Chris Kern of Forgotten Grapes, we will offer 4 wines for $109 from one of these incredible producers. You will also be invited to our virtual tasting with the owner or winemaker on the second Thursday of each month.
May offering:
Detente Wines (Paso Robles)
1 white wines + 1 rosé wine + 2 red wines
$109 + tax ($130 value)
June offering:
McKahn Family Vineyards (Sonoma)
1 white wines + 1 rosé wine + 2 red wines
$109 + tax ($140 value)
July offering:
Deux Punx (Napa Valley)
5 wines
$109 + tax
August offering:
La Mesa (Amador County)
1 white wines + 1 rosé wine + 2 red wines
$109 + tax ($136 value)
If you are interested, please email me at info@pleasethepalate.com to let me know you would love to receive one of the $109 bundles (plus shipping if out of the Los Angeles area).
Forgotten Grapes is not a club and there is no commitment. Each month, a bundle of wines will be offered for a special price. If you are interested, you can order them. I’ll take your credit card and delivery information and will charge your card. If you live in Southern California, delivery is FREE and will be personally delivered to you (contactless). If you live beyond Southern California, wines can be shipped – $25 in California and $30 outside of California to Western States (AZ, NV, OR, ID). Additional states, please contact us.
For a complete list of upcoming events, visit the Events Calendar on www.pleasethepalate.com
Read the entire Please The Palate April 2023 Newsletter.