January 11, 2001
What's Hot For 2001!If you consider yourself a long range planner, take note:
- Friday and Saturday February 9 and 10, plan to immerse yourself in the inaugural "World of Pinot Noir" up the coast in beautiful Shell Beach. Friday events include a buffet luncheon at the Cliffs Resort, tasting seminars at local wineries, and a pinot noir reception and dinner prepared by Joachim Splichal, chef-founder of the world-renowned Patina restaurant.
Saturday morning, tasting seminars at local wineries continue and at the same time some of the rarest and most expensive pinot noirs in the world produced by the legendary Lalou Bize-Leroy, will be tasted and discussed at the Cliffs resort. The afternoon will feature "Pinot Noir by the Sea," the biggest pinot noir winetasting ever conducted in California according to Brian Talley of Talley Vineyards.A partial listing of participating wineries includes Au Bon Climat, Babcock, Brewer-Clifton, Brophy Clark, David Bruce, Byron, Cambria, Chalone, Chimere, Domaine Alfred, Fiddlehead, Foxen, Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Wines, Meridian, Lane Tanner, Sanford, Talley and Tantara. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.For additional information and a registration form for the premiere pinot noir immersion, founded by Central Coast Farm Credit, call the WOPN office at (805) 489-0446, or fax your request to (805) 489-0996.
- If you love Rhone wines like I do, take note of "2001: A Rhone Odyssey," the fourth annual Rhone Rangers wine tasting. It will take place Saturday, March 31, 2001 2-5 p.m. at the Festival Pavilion, Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.
Over 100 member wineries from California, Idaho, Virginia and Washington will be pouring barrel samples and new releases of American Rhone wines, according to executive director, John Hardman. Notable Rhone varietals include syrah, grenache, mourvedre, cinsault, viognier, roussanne and marsanne.
The Rhone Rangers is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to advancing the knowledge and understanding of traditional Rhone varietals grown in the United States and the wines produced from those grapes.
For addional information or to purchase tickets call the Fort Mason box office at (415) 441-3687. Or you can purchase on line at www.rhonerangers.com
- Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22, 1-4 p.m. our own Santa Barbara County Vintners' Festival 2001 takes place in the Firestone Meadow near Los Olivos. Remember to make your ticket reservation by January 31 to assure your date of choice. Call (805) 688-0881 for reservations or more information.
- Thursday, May 31 through Saturday, June 2, Hospice du Rhone will take place in San Luis Obispo County. This event features great Rhone wines from France as well as Rhone varietals and Rhone-style wines from California and Australia. Proceeds for this consummate wine event benefit San Luis Obispo County Hospice. For details, call (805) 784-9543.
- Tuesday, July 10 through Sunday, July 15, the KCBX Wine Classic takes place in and around Avila Beach. This mega event is a fundraiser for public radio KCBX. For additional information, call (805) 781-3026 or visit the KCBX website at www.kcbx.org.
- Saturday, October 13, the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Association presents its annual Harvest Festival. Note the date; details to come. Phone the Vintners' Association at (805) 688-0881.
In Memorium: Joe HeitzEnding, on a sad note, legendary winemaker, Joe Heitz died December 16. He was 81. Kind of a curmudgeonly sort, he eschewed the limelight, and was not predisposed to accepting "superstar" status like so many winemakers and chefs seek out these days. I recall once when I interviewed him, he got on my case for referring to cabernet sauvignon as "cab." To this day I recall that encounter with Mr. Heitz, and any reference I make to "cab" is purely accidental. By the way, there are other "cabs" than cabernet sauvignon; there's cabernet franc and a very obscure grape which Charles Lefranc had planted in San Benito County called cabernet pfeffer.
From 1951 to 1959, Joe Heitz was a winemaker on Andre Tchelistcheff's staff at Beaulieu Vineyard in the Napa Valley aka "BV." In the '60s, Joe started his own winery, Heitz Cellars, and vineyard designated wines were virtually unknown in California before the release of his benchmark cabernet sauvignon, the 1968 Martha's Vineyard caberet sauvignon, released in 1971.
His epitaph should be "Mother Nature is a mean old lady," a quote he is most famous for, and a quote I have used at least once in this column over the past fourteen years.
Bob Senn writes The Independent's monthly wine column, "Grapevine," lives in the Los Alamos Valley and owns the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium.
