Luca Currado, Rockstar of the International Wine World, in Richmond Friday Night
Vietti
Posted: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 2:34 pm
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Updated: 1:52 pm, Wed May 1, 2013.
Richmond.com
Posted on
April 30, 2013
You know a winemaker’s a big deal when a local wine shop waits till the last minute to real the name of their all-star guest.
That’s exactly what J. Emerson Fine Wines Cheese did leading up to its announcement that Luca Currado, of the Vietti estate, an Italian winery that’s been making award-winning Piedmont wine for two centuries, will be in Richmond on Friday, May 3.
Currado has been called “one of stars of the Barolo region,” by Wine Inquirer.
He’s famous for not only embracing social media and new world wine techniques, but for selling incredible wine for reasonable prices, according to Genevelyn Steele, wine educator with Dionysos Imports.
“This is like if Meryl Streep decided to come to my high school and talk about acting,” Steele said.
Currado, Steele says, is not a wine maker who needs to travel the world trying to sell his wine. His wines not only sell well, but they sell out.
“So he has genuine knowledge and passion,” she says, to come to a second-tier wine city like Richmond to talk about and taste his wines.
So why is he even coming here?
Gary York, owner of the Northside’s Enoteca Sogno happens to be friends Currado, meeting him on one of his frequent Italian wine tours. York heard Currado was going to be in the states and invited him down for the night.
“I always try to get winemakers into Richmond when I can,” York said.
He said we’re not usually a city they think about when planning tours, but he’s doing his best to change that perception.
York is hosting a small wine dinner with Currado after the J. Emerson tasting, but seating was limited and sold out almost as soon as York announced it (But Enoteca Sogno will still be open for dinner Friday night).
“[Currado’s visit] really is a genuine thank you,” Steele said.
The VIETTI Wine Tasting with winemaker LUCA CURRADO is at J. Emerson Fine Wines Cheese at 5716 Grove Ave on Friday, May 3 from 5 – 7 p.m.
The wine dinner at Enoteca Sogno is sold out, but keep an eye on their Facebook page for future events.
Karri Peifer is the editor of Richmond.com and the site’s senior food writer. Follow her on Twitter @KarriPeifer.
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Tuesday, April 30, 2013 2:34 pm.
Updated: 1:52 pm.
Food, wine and Key West – oh my
There is nothing ordinary about Key West. This Florida resort town – which has “One Human Family” as its official motto — has been marching to its own beat since its early days as a haven for pirates. So it is no surprise that it has put its own unique twists on its annual food and wine festival.
The 4th annual Key West Food and Wine Festival will be held Jan. 24 to 27, featuring local chefs, fresh Florida Keys seafood, fine wines from around the world, and the funky tropical atmosphere that only the island of Key West can provide.
“The festival is a great opportunity to experience Key West’s many outstanding restaurants as well as explore our unique attractions,” said Steve Smith. LGBT sales manager for Florida Keys Tourism and a 25-year resident. “Plus, you get to enjoy winter in the sunny southernmost tip of Florida – while sampling our finest island cuisine as you stroll from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.”
The extended weekend festival will officially begin on Jan. 24 with a casual beach party presented by the award winning Flip Flop wines and food provided by Southernmost Beach Café. Following the beach party, attendees will have the option to continue the celebration by exploring one of Key West’s unique neighborhoods hosting food and wine tours in partnership with local restaurants. Southernmost Beach Cafe will also host a 3-course wine dinner, which will also be available each night of the festival.
On Jan. 25 the day will begin with a series of seminars followed by an exclusive tour of local kitchen’s including that of president Harry Truman’s restored Little White House. There will be a sunset, open-air grand tasting in Key West’s Mallory Square Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden. After the sun goes down, guests can enjoy some rum and cigars at Smokin’ Tuna Saloon or have some locally brewed beer at Old Town Manor. The festivities continue into the night with a “Let them EAT cake” masquerade dance party at The Green Pineapple.
The educational seminars continue on Jan. 26. In addition, gay owners of Azur Restaurant Mike Mosi and Drew Wenzel will host a special brunch with unlimited sparkling wines form around the world. Attendees also have the option to head to Blue Heaven for a coconut recipe contest and try their hand a coconut bowling as well as catch an original Key West shrimp boil at Hogfish Bar and Grill. In the afternoon Key West’s famed Duval Street will host “Uncorked,” a mile long wine tasting, food sampling and shopping extravaganza.
One of Key West’s newest restaurants, Roostica will start the day on Jan. 27 with prosecco and breakfast pizza.In the afternoon there will be a street market with food, jewelry and craft vendors. There market will also include wines to taste and to purchase at a discounted price. The highlight of the day will be the “Seafood Shakedown,” as amateur and professions are invited to compete for the title of Shrimp King or Queen.
Many of the festival events are free and individual event tickets also available for those with an admissions fee. A VIP pass can be purchased that covers entry to multiple festival events. In addition, many of the island’s gay-friendly accomodations are offering special rates, including Pearl’s boutique resort (call for details) and Alexander’s Guesthouse (10% off room rate and a bottle of wine upon arrival; must mention Food and Wine Festival when booking or checking in).
Detailed information on the festival is available at www.keywestfoodandwinefestival.com.
For information on planning a trip to Key West, visit www.fla-keys.com and www.gaykeywestfl.com.
Beyond nouveau hype is a diverse, quality region – Lifestyles & People – The … – Scranton Times
If you have shopped for wine since the third week of November, you likely have encountered Beaujolais nouveau hype.
The slightly sweet, very young, very fruity wine is the first of the 2012 vintage you will see from the Northern Hemisphere. Picked from the low-lying vineyards in the Beaujolais region of the southeastern France, it is rushed through fermentation and into the bottle.
It’s meant to be a fun, fruity wine. In French tradition, households buy two bottles and drink them by New Year’s Eve.
Don’t assume
With all the attention given to nouveau, casual wine drinkers may conclude all Beaujolais is nouveau. But nouveau is just one product of a diverse region capable of making serious, high quality wines – both red and some wine. The hysteria around nouveau often overshadows the other fine wines of Beaujolais.
No matter what you buy, the wine will be made with the red grape gamay, a pinot noir relative rarely seen outside Beaujolais.
Georges Duboeuf is the marketing mastermind behind nouveau. Beaujolais growers love him for making a market for their grapes. Other quality producers in Beaujolais, many of whom have roots in northern neighbor Burgundy, think his work has hurt Beaujolais more than helped it. I joined many others recently in trying the Georges Duboeuf 2012 Nouveau and it was better than in past years. A tasty, fresh wine with candied cherry and black pepper character. In some ways, it may call to mind homemade wine. $13. â â â
Other wines
At $13, nouveau is overpriced. For just a few dollars more, and sometimes a few dollars less, you can do much better with a Beaujolais Villages, made from grapes grown in better vineyards of Beaujolais.
The next level up are Cru du Beaujolais, bearing the melodic names of the 10 regions. The regions are worth knowing because many producers don’t put Beaujolais on the label, fearing their wine will be associated with nouveau. Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent and Régnié are easy to find. You are less likely to see Chénas, Chiroubles and Saint Amour. They all have their charms.
Domaine de La Conseillere 2009 Juliénas, is mouth watering and light-bodied but has big flavors of blackberry, pepper and herb with a short finish. $19. â â â 1/2
Subtle and elegant, Louis Jadot 2010 Pouilly-Fuisse needs to be the right temperature for it to be appreciated. Let it warm a bit from the refrigerator to unveil its light pear, apple and quince flavors with a slight caramel backdrop. $21. â â â â
You can also find white Beaujolais, both as Villages White or under the names St. Veran, Pouilly-Fuisse or Mâcon, all made from chardonnay grapes.
If you enjoy nouveau and have made it part of your tradition, that’s great. But reach out and try the full range of wines from the great region of Beaujolais.
GRADE: Exceptional â â â â â , Above average â â â â , Good â â â , Below Average â â , Poor â .
DAVID FALCHEK, a Times-Tribune business writer, reviews wines each week. Contact him at dfalchek@timesshamrock.com.
Beyond nouveau hype is a diverse, quality region – Scranton Times
If you have shopped for wine since the third week of November, you likely have encountered Beaujolais nouveau hype.
The slightly sweet, very young, very fruity wine is the first of the 2012 vintage you will see from the Northern Hemisphere. Picked from the low-lying vineyards in the Beaujolais region of the southeastern France, it is rushed through fermentation and into the bottle.
It’s meant to be a fun, fruity wine. In French tradition, households buy two bottles and drink them by New Year’s Eve.
Don’t assume
With all the attention given to nouveau, casual wine drinkers may conclude all Beaujolais is nouveau. But nouveau is just one product of a diverse region capable of making serious, high quality wines – both red and some wine. The hysteria around nouveau often overshadows the other fine wines of Beaujolais.
No matter what you buy, the wine will be made with the red grape gamay, a pinot noir relative rarely seen outside Beaujolais.
Georges Duboeuf is the marketing mastermind behind nouveau. Beaujolais growers love him for making a market for their grapes. Other quality producers in Beaujolais, many of whom have roots in northern neighbor Burgundy, think his work has hurt Beaujolais more than helped it. I joined many others recently in trying the Georges Duboeuf 2012 Nouveau and it was better than in past years. A tasty, fresh wine with candied cherry and black pepper character. In some ways, it may call to mind homemade wine. $13. â â â
Other wines
At $13, nouveau is overpriced. For just a few dollars more, and sometimes a few dollars less, you can do much better with a Beaujolais Villages, made from grapes grown in better vineyards of Beaujolais.
The next level up are Cru du Beaujolais, bearing the melodic names of the 10 regions. The regions are worth knowing because many producers don’t put Beaujolais on the label, fearing their wine will be associated with nouveau. Brouilly, Cote de Brouilly, Fleurie, Juliénas, Morgon, Moulin à Vent and Régnié are easy to find. You are less likely to see Chénas, Chiroubles and Saint Amour. They all have their charms.
Domaine de La Conseillere 2009 Juliénas, is mouth watering and light-bodied but has big flavors of blackberry, pepper and herb with a short finish. $19. â â â 1/2
Subtle and elegant, Louis Jadot 2010 Pouilly-Fuisse needs to be the right temperature for it to be appreciated. Let it warm a bit from the refrigerator to unveil its light pear, apple and quince flavors with a slight caramel backdrop. $21. â â â â
You can also find white Beaujolais, both as Villages White or under the names St. Veran, Pouilly-Fuisse or Mâcon, all made from chardonnay grapes.
If you enjoy nouveau and have made it part of your tradition, that’s great. But reach out and try the full range of wines from the great region of Beaujolais.
GRADE: Exceptional â â â â â , Above average â â â â , Good â â â , Below Average â â , Poor â .
DAVID FALCHEK, a Times-Tribune business writer, reviews wines each week. Contact him at dfalchek@timesshamrock.com.
‘Hypocrisy’ of BMA’s cheap web wine deals
By ANDREW WHITAKER
Published on Sunday 25 March 2012 00:00
THE British Medical Association, which has been an outspoken supporter of minimum alcohol pricing, runs an exclusive wine club offering doctors substantial online discounts, it has emerged.
The Charles Hastings Wine Club – named after the founder of the BMA – provides its members with special deals, including fine wines sold below retail price.
The discount deals, only available online, will not be affected by the Scottish Government’s minimum pricing legislation, which is aimed at outlawing cheap supermarket offers.
One such discount, promoted on wine merchant Berry, Bros and Rudd’s website, advertises a case of Chateau Picard, “exclusive to members of the Charles Hasting Wine Club”, being sold at “in bond” price (excluding UK duty and taxes) instead of retail price.
The BMA, which represents doctors and medical students, has given its backing to the SNP’s policy to introduce a minimum price for alcohol to help reduce the “scourge of alcohol abuse” in the country. It also lobbied against cheap bulk sales in supermarkets, calling for them to be banned.
The club, which is featured on the BMA’s website, also organises wine tours, visits to whisky distilleries and excursions to pubs and ale houses.
A recent week-long tour offered members the chance to visit the Glenmorangie, Glenlivet and Glenfiddich distilleries and enjoy “a small sampling of their golden nectar”.
The trip, organised by McLean Scotland, also offered visits to “many excellent traditional Scottish pubs” in Edinburgh.
The Scottish Government’s Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) Bill was formally endorsed by MSPs earlier this month. It was backed by the Conservatives and Lib Dems, with only Labour withholding support.
The BMA was one of several health bodies, including the Royal College of Nursing and the Chief Medical Officer, that backed the legislation.
Dr Brian Keighley, chairman of the BMA in Scotland, said: “The eyes of the world are on Scotland as we rise to the challenge of tackling its drinking culture and attempt to get a grip of the problem.
“In Scotland, the government has embraced the BMA’s policies on tackling alcohol misuse and has already legislated to improve licensing and end promotions to encourage bulk-buying of alcohol in supermarkets.”
Last night, Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said: “It shows more than a whiff of hypocrisy that the BMA seeks to support minimum pricing but that its members enjoy discounted wine, particularly that bought over the internet that will evade the effect of minimum pricing.”
Labour’s Scottish health spokesman Richard Simpson, a former GP, said: “If the club sells alcohol then I hope that it sets a good example and respects Scotland by making sure that all sales are above the minimum price.”
In a 2008 speech to the BMA conference in Edinburgh, Probal Banerjee, a GP from Rhondda in Wales, called on doctors who are members of the wine club to “adopt sensible drinking behaviours”.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for BMA Scotland said: “The BMA is not opposed to alcohol per se – and has always argued for its sensible consumption.
“There is a Charles Hastings Wine Club, which encourages doctors to consider the sensible use of alcohol, but the ability to buy alcohol at a discount is not a benefit of BMA membership.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “This is a matter for the BMA.”
The Scottish Government has not yet announced what price per unit it will support for minimum alcohol pricing, but 45p has been used to illustrate the proposals.
Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
1… You’re the one telling lies – “Doctors do not abuse alcohol’ , I think the drugs have got you 
The hipocricy is in the article. Offering discounts on wine hardly constitutes a disregard for minimum pricing policy.I am quite sure that Chateau Picard is more expensive than Cider.
We Are Told that Alcohol Minimum Pricing is aimed to those who abuse alcohol, Doctors do not abuse alcohol, so whats the problem with the cheap wine club, The only ones suffering from ‘Hypocrisy’, is our Government telling us all lies on their misfortune to conclude minimum pricing will achieve anything more, other than a tax on those who do not abuse alcohol.
Your view
Tap into wine profits
Jonas Crosland, 29 February 2012
Wine is an emotive issue. For some, knowledge of fine wines seems to be little more than wine snobbery, elucidated by so-called experts at posh parties all extolling the virtues of a fine wine that has more ‘hints and overtones’ than many people would imagine possible to squeeze into one bottle. The counter argument is damning. Simply go to your local supermarket and buy a bottle of plonk for five quid. Then compare it with a bottle of decent wine (bought from a good wine merchant) that costs £100. The difference – apart from £95 – will be all too apparent even to the most sceptical or battered palate.
OK, so it will take a lot of time and money to acquire a decent knowledge of all the wine growing regions, although it’s a process that many will argue has the attraction of involving having to drink a lot of wine. For others looking to invest, who have neither the inclination to drink wine, or who are more interested in profiting from other people’s drinking habits, there is a way.
Understanding the price of wine
But first of all, a little knowledge of the wine industry would be useful. The whole process begins with ‘en primeur’ which is in fact just a a nice way of saying wine futures. It works like this. After a year’s wine harvest, wine that has been maturing in large barrels is tasted after as little as six months since fermentation. Each wine is given a rating or score which reflects the expected quality of the wine once it has been bottled and given further time to mature. So, buyers can buy a quantity of wine En Primeur which is then held in bonded warehouses. The attraction is that once the wine is bottled, its qualities will pull in the buyers and the value will rise. The risk is that the wine won’t turn out quite as expected or there will be a shift in demand or tastes away from that particular wine. To compensate for this risk, En Primeur prices represent a significant discount to the final retail value. An extreme case is the 1982 vintage of Chateau Latour, sold for £250 a case (12 bottles) En Primeur in 1983 and valued in 2007 at £9,000. That’s a 3,500 per cent gain in 24 years. But there is value gain to be had after bottling too. A quick check on the Internet reveals that it is now selling at a whopping £2,000 for just one bottle.
In fact, the fine wine market operates in a structural market shortage. Most of the world’s recognised investment wines come from Bordeaux, where supply is limited by regulations and quality control. On the other side, demand from emerging nations with a growing band of fine wine buffs is virtually unlimited. Prices of bottled wine rose sharply in 2009 and 2010, boosted by a more relaxed tariff structure in Hong Kong where the 40 per cent duty on wine was abolished in 2008. This led to a boom in demand for fine wines, but after two years of strong growth many investors were starting to worry that the whole market was starting to look like a bubble. So, fears of a sharp drop back in prices together with a slip in demand saw values fall back in the second half of 2011 before edging ahead once more in January this year.
Furthermore, wine buffs in Hong Kong and China have a bit of catching up to do in identifying and buying different quality wines outside the established French names. In the UK for example, Italian wine sales in 2011 jumped by 63 per cent. Much of this was prompted by a rise in En Primeur release prices for 2009 and 2010 Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from France, which encouraged buyers to broaden their horizons and experiment with wines from elsewhere.
An increasingly liquid investment
To accommodate the growing interest in wine, Bordeaux Index was established in 1997 by Gary Boom, attracting interest from keen wine buff Michael Spencer, Icap’s chief executive and minority shareholder, who late last year became chairman of BI. The company is now one of Europe’s leading fine wine merchants. As well as offering customers a bespoke service – including their own account manager to look after all their requirements, the group also offers wine tasting, storage and wine tours. And in 2009, it launched LiveTrade, the world’s first on-line trading platform, and it also created the Bordeaux Index, a real time index that tracks live changes in the prices of around 100 of the most liquidly traded wines, and which is available on the LiveTrade market making screen. Its attraction is simplicity. Investors no longer have to base their investment decisions on monthly movements as charted by the Liv-ex 100 Benchmark Fine Wine Index, and registered users have access to individual price graphs for all the wines traded, with data going back to 2008.
The most important thing is to have an investment plan or at least some idea of what you are hoping to achieve. Choices could include buying 12 cases of wine and waiting for the price to go high enough to sell 11 cases to cover the cost and keeping one case for drinking. You might want to consider a time scale. Obviously with high quality wines, as time goes by stocks decline and prices hopefully rise. On the other hand, you might want to purchase a varied portfolio of wines and simply sell up when you have made a reasonable profit. It is equally important to ensure that you are dealing with a reputable merchant with adequate insurance and proper storage facilities. In fact, if you wish to trade in wine as a commodity, BI has the only on-line trading platform.
Contacting BI, you will be placed in the hands of an investment manager who will guide you through the varying options. He will tell you what wines people are buying at the moment and which wines are increasing in value. Having created your portfolio and paid for it, the wine is stored in a bonded warehouse with your name on it. The wine is yours to sell or sit on. There is no commission on transactions – BI takes its turn from the difference between buying and selling prices. These spreads can be quite wide, but BI suggests that you always ring up for best price advice before hitting the sell button because most trades are effected inside the official spread. There is one up front expense, apart from buying the wine, and that is the storage cost. This works out at £8.50 per case per year, and includes insurance at full resale value. There is no excise duty or VAT to worry about either, as your wine is in a bonded warehouse, and tax only applies when you take delivery. So if you simply sell the wine back to BI at a later date, there is no excise duty, VAT or capital gains tax to pay. What’s more, BI has a guaranteed buy-back scheme, whereby they promise to buy back any wine that you buy from them. There is no set minimum investment, but investors looking to make a decent return should consider having at least £10,000 to build a portfolio, although BI reckons it can provide a starter portfolio for as little as £2,000.
Want to invest in wine? Here’s our quick guide
■ Take your time. Investors should be looking for a five-year investment horizon to allow for the opportunities of a full market cycle. Anyone investing two years ago would be sitting on a loss, but returns over five years or more have been impressive.
■ Do the knowledge. Although BI’s account managers will be able to offer you plenty of wine buying advice, you’d do well to arm yourself with a basic understanding of the working industry and wines on offer. Hugh Johnson’s Pocket Wine Book is a good place to start, but there’s plenty of reading material available online and on the shelves of WH Smith. Occasional IC contributor Peter Temple has listed loads of sources of wine info in this book here. But the one figure within the wine industry impossible to ignore is America’s Robert Parker. For good or ill, there’s no more influential source for the pricing of fine wines – particularly en primeur releases – than Parker’s newsletter The Wine Advocate, although his ratings are frequently called into question by critics within the industry. It’s worth remembering, however, that even if a wine is rated very highly under his 100-point scoring system, this doesn’t always mean that it will be held up as ‘investment grade’.
■ Don’t put all your eggs in one cask. Always remember that wine is just another asset, prone to the ups and downs of market forces. So although it can produce great returns, it should only form part of a diversified portfolio of investments.
■ Keep on top of the hidden costs. Bottled wine is a physical product, which means that it needs to be stored and insured, and the fragile natire of the product means the kitchen wine rack won’t suffice. If wine is to keep its value – and to make sure one’s significant other doesn’t use your Lafite Tothschild 2006 in the spag bol – it needs to be stored in the right environment, and that can cost as much as 1 per cent of the wine’s value, not small change when especially good wines can cost upwards of £1000 a case.
Fine wines of Utah? You betcha … Beehive State’s honey, fruits deliver some …
When you consider great wine regions of the world, Davis County might not be the first place that comes to mind.
Jay and Lori Yahne, owners of the Hive Winery in Layton, aim to change that point of view with their handcrafted vintages.
But don’t expect to find acres of grape leaves fluttering prettily in the breeze surrounding their winery. The Hive is tucked into a corner of an industrial part of Layton.
And because the Beehive State’s busy bees make such delicious honey, and the land produces succulent fruits and berries, those are the ingredients the Yahnes turn to for their wines.
“There is no point in trying to do something that does not work, and grapes are about the soil and the climate being right,” said Jay Yahne, who started making homemade wine for his own use 15 years ago, and presented his first commercial batch last summer.
“We just can’t really grow good wine grapes here in Northern Utah. When I travel around and taste grapes grown where they really shouldn’t be, the wines tend to be weak, without much character.”
The Yahnes like that fruit and honey wines, and their various blends, are as different from each other as those proverbial apples and oranges.
“We enjoy grape wines, too — but the differences between them really are very subtle variations,” said Jay Yahne. “With fruit wine, you’re drinking a raspberry or a peach. Honey wines vary depending on the honey used — what the bees are feeding on flavors the honey. These are huge flavor differences, just as it is when you eat those fruits or try different honeys side by side.”
Meads and more
Satisfying man’s universal hunger for both sweet and alcoholic things, honey wines, called meads, may be the oldest alcoholic beverage.
According to a 2004 article in ScienceDaily, chemical tests confirmed that Neolithic jugs discovered in the Northern Chinese village of Jiahu had a residue of a rice/honey/fruit wine. The vessels were at least 9,000 years old. Many anthropologists believe we’ve been harvesting wild honey at least twice that long, and its fermenting, which also acts as a preservative, likely followed soon after.
Modern honey wines are commonplace in many cultures, each with distinct native touches. Meads and fruit wines are still extremely popular throughout Great Britain and parts of Canada. The honey wine tej is the national drink of Ethiopia.
Honey and fruit wines, and blends of honey and fruit, known by vintners and aficionados as melomels, are not nearly as commonplace in the United States.
But there are pockets of producers. In the west, Oregon is famous for its berries, and also its fruit wines. Southwestern Idaho has some fruit vintners, said Yahne. Palisades is a fruit and wine region outside of Grand Junction, Colo., and is also the place where the Yahnes, while honeymooning, discovered mead.
Not long after that, the Yahnes made their first batch of wine with the help of their fathers.
Jay Yahne’s dad had a vastly overburdened Bing cherry tree and Lori’s dad had the know-how to make home vintages and taught his son-in-law the ropes. Their first effort was a not-too-shabby batch of cherry wine.
“I joke that her dad drove me to drinking — and that I thank him for it every day,” said Jay Yahne. “He got me started, and then I really got into it and learned more and started tinkering. I think what I am doing ties into my mom’s farm-raised mentality, too — take it and make it better, is how she worked. So that’s what we did.”
While overhead was not low — Jay Yahne had to take out a loan on his truck for start-up costs — the Yahnes do at least own the building that houses both their winery and their other business, Y Squared Geotechnical.
The two are engineers whose primary business tests ground stability prior to construction, but the company took a nosedive once the recession ground new building projects to a halt.
“Last year things were very tough and … we were talking about laying off staff,” Lori Yahne said, “and I made a comment to him (Jay): ‘Maybe if we made wine for a living instead of being engineers, maybe we could get away from a recession-prone industry.’ “
She laughed. “Someday I’ll learn not to give him ideas.”
Added her husband: “We like to joke that engineering is our day job, and winemaking is our nights and weekend job. It’s close to the truth, too.”
The business side
Some people might think the Yahnes were crazy for even thinking of starting a winery here, what with Utah’s notoriously convoluted liquor laws.
The Yahnes admit there are challenges. The tariffs on their goods tend to be higher than in other states, for one thing. And, as with other businesses dealing in alcohol hereabouts, they are watched carefully by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to make sure they comply with checking the ages of tasters and strictly adhering to their advertised business hours.
But those are details the two seem to take in stride.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge, because this is Utah,” said Jay Yahne. “But I am an engineer, after all, and that has taught me that as long as you follow the rules — work right, and work within the rules — and can afford to sell your work for what it costs to make it, in the end, paperwork is just paperwork.”
Added Lori Yahne: “By the time you’ve filled out the 80-page federal application, what’s a few more sheets of paper?”
Jay Yahne said the federal process is daunting. “For instance, every one of my honey wine recipes must be federally approved,” he said. “I can’t even add spice to it without getting approval first.”
Still, despite the bountiful paperwork, the strict rules, and the juggling of hours for their two businesses, the Yahnes are finding satisfaction in the satisfaction of their customers.
They are planning to expand this year, offering eight constantly available wines, and about 24 special seasonal vintages as well, to lure people back regularly to try new things.
“The people we’ve been meeting since we opened six months or so ago, people who are so excited by this, make it worth it,” said Jay Yahne. “To have people go out of their way … because they really appreciate that there is this winery here, is a really good feeling.”
From vineyard to vineyard under sail
Vineyard touring with a difference – a journey from Rome to Nice, sailing from wine estate to wine estate on an exclusive Arblaster Clarke Wine Cruise, aboard the stunning ‘Sea Cloud’. This luxurious authentic square-rigger, with four masts that support twenty nine sails when fully unfurled, offers a voyage of discovery passing by Ischia and Amalfi, Corsica, Portofino and St Tropez, stopping at small ports and islands, tasting wine varieties from across the regions alongside local speciality dishes. There is simply no better way to taste wine!
Arblaster Clarke Wine Tours have chartered the Sea Cloud for a new week-long ‘Rome to Nice Wine Cruise’, in July 2012. The journey illustrates the excellence of the Ischian wineries; wines from Campania and an exceptional range of top quality Southern Italian wines. With a full day sailing to Corsica, the Sea Cloud moors at Bonifacio where the tour is joined by a Corsican wine producer, before setting sail to enjoy a choice of Sardinian wines over dinner. After a day relaxing on the beautiful island of Elba, the ship departs for St Tropez whilst an onboard tasting of fine wines from Northern Italy accompany dinner.
Bastille Day celebrations greet the cruise in St Tropez. The square rigger does not set sail again until the festivities end and a magnificent firework display is witnessed. En-route to the final destination of Nice, tastings concentrate on exceptional wines from the South of France and in true style, Champagne brings this luxurious voyage to its end!
This seven night Rome to Nice Wine Cruise includes transfer from Rome Fiumincino airport to Civitavecchia meeting one BA flight; wine tasting ashore in Ischia; transfers and wine tasting and lunch in the Amalfi vineyards; seven nights in chosen cabin; breakfasts; buffet lunches with ship’s wines; afternoon tea; dinners with AC wines from the regions; onboard crew tips. At ports where wine visits are not included you have free time. Tim Clarke as Wine Guide. Cabins are en-suite and air-conditioned. Based on two people sharing, travelling from 8-15 July 2012, from £4999 per person.
Cabin availability is limited, for booking information and reservations, visit winetours.co.uk.
Wine Tour Interest on the Rise in New Zealand, Say DialAFlight
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Nov 09, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) –
Following recent gold medal success at the critically acclaimed
International Wine and Spirits festival in London, interest in New
Zealand’s wine production continues to grow. As a result the number
of international tourists visiting and joining the country’s popular
wine tours has risen sharply. DialAFlight, one the UK’s leading tour
operators, is at the forefront for providing tourists with flights to
New Zealand and the company has reported an increase in numbers
heading down-under over recent months.
Overall, New Zealand’s wines managed to win 305 awards during the
festival, held over two days in October. One kiwi wine even managed
to claim the ‘best in class’ gold medal- fending off competition from
other leading red and white wines from around the world.
Fine viticulture, most famously found in California and southern
France, has for decades attracted wine connoisseurs to popular
vineyard tours. It seems New Zealand’s scenic lands and consummate
vineyards are proving the ideal destination for tourists to
test-taste award winning wines.
Most vineyards in the country are found either side of the Cook
Strait- the narrow stretch of sea dividing New Zealand’s north and
south islands. Climatic conditions here are ideal for wine
production; thus these regions are fronting the country’s apparent
boom wine tourism boom. However, Auckland, the country’s largest
city, is also famed for its fine wines and is typically the first
stop for wine tourists landing at Auckland’s International Airport.
Many wine tours in New Zealand follow a stringent schedule, allowing
visitors to spend the morning sightseeing; exploring the
grape-bearing plantations, before in the afternoon tasting a variety
of fine vintage wines on site.
Commenting on the rise in wine tourism in New Zealand, a spokesman
for DialAFlight said today:
“It seems New Zealand is fronting the sudden world-wide interest in
wine production in the Southern hemisphere. Latest figures show
Americans are purchasing more and more wines from New Zealand- up 22%
compared to datum published last year.”
“So success at this year’s London Wine and Spirits Festival is only
going to fuel more interest in New Zealand’s wine tourism. It’s great
for the country, especially during times of economic uncertainty.
DialAFlight are proud to be offering great money-saving deals on
flights to New Zealand. With the amount of inquires we’ve had
increasing over recent months, it’s been rewarding to maintain the
high levels of service our customers admire.”
Notes to Editor
DialAFlight is one of the UK’s leading travel companies and has been
in business for 30 years. Our sales people have 2000 collective years
experience between them and our buying power is second to none. Each
year hundreds of thousands of people come to us for cheap flights,
hotels, car hire, weekend breaks and business flights. DialAFlight
offer more than six million cheap flights to a wide range of
destinations around the world including flights to Bangkok and
flights to Dubai.
Contacts:
Media Contact: DialAFlight
Karen Hart
Head of Legal and Consumer Affairs
020 7459 3762
020 7464 0028 (FAX)
karen.hart@dialaflight.co.uk
www.dialaflight.com
SOURCE: DialAFlight
mailto:karen.hart@dialaflight.co.uk
http://www.dialaflight.com
Copyright 2011 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.
Sonoma Inn Madrona Manor Introduces Girls Getaway Package
Madrona Manor introduces the perfect way to get some girl time and get pampered in the process-the Girls Getaway Package.
Healsburg, CA (PRWEB) October 18, 2011
Madrona Manor, one of the most beloved hotels in Wine Country, is offering a tempting treat just for the ladies: the Girls Getaway Package. The package for two includes two nights in the luxury Sonoma hotel, a four-course dinner with wine pairings, two one-hour massages, expert concierge service to plan wine tours, and a full buffet breakfast each morning.
The package was recently featured in Travel and Leisure, which raved, “Madrona Manor, in hip Healdsburg, is the perfect place to spend some quality time with your bffs: the vineyards are close by, spa treatments can be taken in your room, and right on-site is a Michelin-starred restaurant, ready to take your order.”
Almost as soon as they arrive at Madrona Manor, ladies will feel their care and stress melting away. They may choose to settle right in to one of the Sonoma Inn’s deluxe rooms with two queen beds and fireplace, or they may decide to stroll through the eight-acre grounds, or go to nearby Healdsburg for some shopping.
Best friends will always savor the memory of the four-course dinner at the Michelin Star-rated Sonoma restaurant. The elegant, candle-lit meal is carefully prepared by celebrated chef Jesse Mallgren, using the finest seasonal and local ingredients, and paired with fine wines from the restaurant’s award-winning wine list.
In the morning, after an extensive complimentary breakfast buffet, guests can consult with the concierge to find the right wine tour to suit their style. Madrona Manor is located in the heart of Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley, famous for its Zinfandels, and is an easy drive to nearby Napa Valley.
Wine Country also has a number of other attractions; guests may want to visit the rugged California coast, state parks with towering redwoods, natural hot springs, artist studios, or historic monuments. The friendly staff will help plan the perfect girls’ day out, from a surfing adventure to some antiquing, and everything in between.
At the end of their adventure, guests will be ready for a massage when they get back to Madrona Manor. In-room massages are offered by experienced massage therapists who specialize in many styles, including sports, Swedish, therapeutic and more.
At the end of the day, guests will sink into their soft pillow-top mattresses, nestled under feather-soft linens, and enjoy another night of complete relaxation. After another hearty breakfast, the friends will head home, feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.
The all-inclusive package for two is offered from November 1st, 2011 through May 31st, 2012. The rate is $900 on Sunday through Thursday or $1,100 on Friday and Saturday.
For more information about Madrona Manor, call them at (866) 319-8212 or visit them on the web at www.madronamanor.com.
About Madrona Manor
Nestled in the hills above the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County, Madrona Manor is an exceptionally lovely Victorian estate surrounded by eight acres of wooded and landscaped grounds. The Mansion, built in 1881, has been a destination for discerning guests seeking a stay in the gracious wine country of northern California since 1981. Whether visitors come to get away from it all, or to reconnect with friends and loved ones, Madrona Manor is one of the finest locations for an out-of-town weekend, party, executive retreat, or wedding in Napa or Sonoma Counties.
Visitors are invited to enjoy a romantic meal in the acclaimed Sonoma restaurant, engage in quiet conversation with drinks on the veranda, or relax by a cozy fire in the winter or the pool in the summer. At the end of the day, a peaceful night’s stay awaits guests staying in any of the elegant rooms.
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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebnapa/luxury-sonoma-hotel/prweb8886152.htm
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