07 Jan Please The Palate January 2025 Newsletter

Happy New Year! Happy 2025!

Looking back at 2024, there was a lot of travel. I traveled a total of 135 days, which was 1/3 of the year! This included 5 trips to Santa Ynez, 3 trips to San Diego, 3 trips to Oregon, 2 trips to Paso Robles, and 2 trips to Sonoma, as well as trips to Sedona (Arizona), San Francisco, Lodi, Cienega Valley, Livermore, Temecula, Napa, and New York. Internationally, I took a trip to Mexico City and three trips to Italy! I just returned from my third trip to Italy where I spent a month in Umbria and Piemonte, with short visits to Tuscany and an overnight in Franciacorta.

In addition to the travel, I wrote 130+ articles and blog posts, completed 61 interviews for the 2025 Slow Wine Guide USA, did 34 interviews for the Wine Soundtrack USA Podcast, and did 18 videos for Crush On This on YouTube.

I was a judge at 3 wine competitions – the San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge, the Critics Challenge, and the Central Coast Wine Competition. I moderated a panel at the Palm Spring Pinot Fest.
And I co-hosted 11 virtual wine tastings with winemakers for the Forgotten Grapes Wine Club.

And I created and launched the first annual Festival of Forgotten Grapes, celebrating all of the fun “forgotten” grape varieties that make up only 7% of what is planted in California. In 2024, we hosted 200 attendees and 38 unique wine brands. We poured 130 unique SKUS and 75 Forgotten Grape varieties. There was a retail component to the event! 600 bottles of wine was sold with 45% of the 200 attendees purchasing wine! Ratings for all aspects of the event scored at a rate of 4.3 or higher (on a 5-point scale), and 89% of respondents said they planned to attend next year. So now I am working on the 2nd Annual Festival of Forgotten Grapes and hope to see you there!

Here’s hoping that 2025 will be a productive and successful year for all!

Cheers!

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Mark your calendars! Save the date!

Be Original. Drink Bold. Taste Different.

Get your tickets for the Second Annual Festival of Forgotten Grapes

Saturday, March 29, 2025!

VIP Tickets: $99
GA Tickets: $59 (until January 30th)

Details and Tickets at festivalofforgottengrapes.com

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Plan A Private Wine Event or Wine Trip

Plan your next private or corporate event with Please the Palate. You bring the people; Please the Palate will bring the fun. Whether you are a novice or an avid enthusiast, tastings can be arranged to meet your level of experience and tastes. From wine basics to regional and varietal specifics to cocktail making, the best way to understand and describe what you like is to taste, taste, taste! Parties, networking events, and dinners will be elevated to a higher level and leave a lasting impression when a wine and/or spirits element is added. Our wine and cocktail experts will educate, engage, and entertain you and your guests. Tastings are custom-designed to meet your interests and can be arranged as a seated class-style or more casual event.

Want to take a group on the road? Let Please The Palate help you plan your wine trip to Santa Ynez, Paso Robles, Sonoma, Napa Valley, Livermore Valley, Suisun Valley, or Valle de Guadalupe. A trip with Please The Palate includes unique, individualized itineraries, meeting winemakers, and more.

Contact info@pleasethepalate.com for more information.

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Upcoming monthly virtual wine events:

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.

Upcoming Dates:

January offering:
Bokisch Winery (Lodi)
1 white wine + 3 red wines
$109 + tax ($147 value)

February offering:
Tansy Wines (Sonoma)
4 wines
$109 + tax

March offering:
Roark Wine Company (Los Olivos)
4 wines
$109 + tax

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 the Western States (AZ, NV, OR, ID). For additional states, please contact us.

For a complete list of upcoming events, visit the Events Calendar on www.pleasethepalate.com

View the entire Please The Palate January 2025 Newsletter.