The Bakersfield Voice
Public wine tasting events
Public wine tasting events
Topics: wine
Posted by anncierley Tue May 1, 2007 15:17:48 PDT
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Today I'm going to discuss big public wine tasting events in general and the CSUB Party In The Park specifically — what they are, what purpose they serve, what they cost, where to go and what to do when you get there. Attending these events is a very good way to learn a great deal about many wines in a short period of time, and often without leaving town!
This weekend is the 11th Annual CSUB Party in the Park. It will be held Friday night, May 11 beginning at 5:30 p.m. on the grounds of Alumni Park at Cal State Bakersfield. Over 60 wineries will be pouring at least one wine to nearly 800 people. Cost is $35 in advance, $45 at the door. Phone the Alumni Office at 654-3211 for more information and for tickets.
Large tasting events such as this one occur regularly all over the state and can run for several hours in an evening or afternoon, or even several days. They are run by a variety of different organizations for fun, education and to raise money for local charities
Party in the Park is one of the largest wine tasting events in the valley. This May wine festival has been held by the Bakersfield Wine Society for over 30 years here in town. Several years ago they joined with the CSUB Alumni Association and the joint effort is bigger and better than ever. Here is your chance to attend a wine tasting and see if you like them!
In addition to fun and education, another purpose of these events is to raise money for worthy causes, in this case scholarships for local students. Much of the wine is donated, as is the time and effort of many people so a large sum of money is raised for the local scholarship fund.
Many wineries are eager to attend. Their purpose, of course, is to introduce their latest offerings to the public and make new fans for their wines. Many wine owners are true philanthropists and a great number of wineries — especially those of the Central Coast — are actually coming to show their appreciation to the city and people of Bakersfield, since they see so many of you as visitors to their areas.
Sure, your purpose in attending is to have fun and drink wine, but really go with the thought in mind of discovering new wines that you can purchase locally. Here's your opportunity to try a wine you've just heard about (Mourvedre, anyone?) or taste the wine of a winery or two that you never have been to, or even seen their wines before. I've discussed several wineries in this column recently that are owned and run by Bakersfield people. They will be present. Stop by and try Bob Shore's Arroyo Robles (Paso Robles) wines. Also look for the Bartons at Grey Wolf . Be sure to try the Merlot (their first release) of the Maxwells at Bell Hill. And don't miss the Zaninovich family's Rutherford Ranch wines. I will write about these last two mentioned wineries in coming columns.
There will be a lot of wonderful wines for you to try. Take and keep notes and in one evening you'll have your shopping list for many dinners for the rest of the year. OK, enough of this exhorting you to get there — what can you expect once you do arrive?
First try to get tickets ahead of time if possible. Some of these more popular events sell out. Decide upon a designated driver. There will be coffee and other wares usually for these valuable folks. When you hand over your ticket at the door you will be given a special glass, usually a commemorative one for the event. Finger food is usually available somewhere when you feel in need of a pause in the tasting.
As you enter, look around. You will see a great many people behind a great many tables all around the area. Hopefully there will be signs by them indicating the wineries they are representing. Check it out! Are the wineries in any order that you can determine, such as alphabetical, etc? This will come in handy later when you are trying to tell a friend about the great Pinot Noir you came across 10 minutes ago!
Walk around. Be choosy, you can't taste them all! I usually try about 20 and I have a purpose in mind after I see which wineries are present. I will be interested in seeing if the new releases of favorite wines are as good as last year's — will I like Baileyana's '05 Chardonnay as much as I liked the '04? What do the new Paso wineries taste like? What wines are Sinor-LaVallee pouring this year? Does Chumeia still pour wine from the Santa Lucia Highlands? Or, do something like only tasting Cabernets so that you can compare them to each other. There's so much you can learn.
The people behind the tables should pour only a small amount in your glass. This is all you should really want. Remember this is a tasting, not a contest to determine if you can drink more than anyone else! Pour out any wine you don't drink. This is allowed and there should be "dump buckets" for this purpose. Or use the grass. Just do not swallow more than you need to taste the wine!
Do not be afraid to ask questions of the pourers. Most of them will be from the wineries and will know something about the wines. Share what you learn with your friends. That's an important part of the wine scene. There will be many local wine lovers out there. They will be happy to answer questions and to give you their opinions too.
Above all, have fun! This event is also the kick-off for the marvelous CSUB Jazz Festival, so if you stay late, enjoy the great sounds too!
Wine questions? Email Ann at acierley@etcrier.net
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