Wine Outlook

Here at Rosenblum, we’re doing our best to help others during the holiday season. It’s all about giving, after all.

Therefore, we’ve got a couple of bins in the winery where you can bring in canned goods for those in need. Our friends over at the Food bank say what they could use the most are canned protein items, such as chili and tuna. In return, we’re giving our club members who donate a three-bottle reusable bag, with the Rosenblum logo. That way, we’re also saving some trees in the process.

Give to the needy while going green.
—–
Plus, we still have a few cases of wines that are $5 off regular price, but they won’t be around long….

Yes, indeed.

Out with the Old, In with the New Sale

Change is in the air for November, whether it be politics or the weather. And at Rosenblum Cellars, our Nov. 15 & 16 Open House means new wines will be released. While we are excited about the 2006 wines, in some cases, we still have a little of the 2005 vintage. Our lack of space and need to make room means sale prices for you. The following will be on sale at $5 off their regular price: 2005 Aparicio Zinfandel, 2005 Harris Kratka Zinfandel, 2005 St.Peter’s Church Reserve Zinfandel,and 2005 Maggie’s Reserve Zinfandel.

These wines won’t be around long at these prices, so don’t get lost in the shuffle!

2005 Aparicio Zinfandel, 2005 Harris Kratka Zinfandel, 2005 St.Peter’s Church Reserve Zinfandel, 2005 Maggie’s Reserve Zinfandel, wine sale, Rosenblum wines on sale

That’s right, Zin lovers, it’s almost here. Rosenblum’s Open House is next weekend: November 15 & 16 (Saturday & Sunday). Where else in Alameda can you get tasty snacks, Zinfandel ice cream, hear live music, and try some delicious wines? Actually, where else can you find that anywhere???

Details

When: Nov. 15 & 16; 1 to 5pm (12 to 1 is reserved for wine club members and their guests)
Where: Rosenblum Cellars…2900 Main St. Alameda, CA
What: wine, food, and good times
How much:
Online: $25 for club members, $40 other customers
At the door: $35 club members, $50 general admission

Other info: We are right by the ferry building, so if you’re coming from Oakland or San Francisco, that would be a great way to travel.

Angela’s Restaurant, currently closed while the new location gets prepped, will be catering with snacks such as meatballs, sausages, cheese, grapes, hangar steak, foccacia pizza, etc

So don’t wait, get your tickets today by visiting our website to make the most of the discounted rates. They have sold out in the past…

Rosenblum’s Open House, Angela’s Restaurant, wine events in East Bay, wine party, wine tasting in East Bay, things to do in Alameda

This week’s theme: FLEET WEEK history and tidbits

Complimentary Tasting

2006 Roussanne, Fess Parker Vineyard, Santa Barbara $25
Picture yourself in San Diego in 1935, for the very first Fleet Week,
maybe sipping on a glass of peaches, papaya, mango, and orange blossom

2005 Merlot, Appellation Series, Russian River Valley $18
Franklin Roosevelt stood watch as the U.S. Marine Corps color guard led a parade
of cherry,cedar, cocoa, and crisp acidity

2006 Zinfandel, Eagle Point Vineyard, Mendocino $25
It didn’t happen again until 1981, revived in San Francisco:
an explosion of fig, anise, blackberry, huckleberry
Read the rest of this entry »

FLEET WEEK

Next Wednesday–one week from tonight–will be the last wine seminar of the year at Rosenblum Cellars, hosted by yours truly.

The Art of Blending will take place from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the winery in Alameda. We’ll try our hand at blending,
most likely some Rhone varieties and Zinfandel, but it all depends on what the winemakers give me. If you’re
thinking of becoming a home winemaker, or you just want to have some fun with wine, come join us next week.

Test your tasting and mixing skills.

Cost: $40 per person, $5 off for wine club members
Call 510-995-4100 to make your reservation today!

wine classes in Bay Area, wine seminar at Rosenblum, fun wine classes in the East Bay, wine blending class

And we need help…

Check out this job description and see if you might be a good fit. And if you have trouble following the directed path, let me know.

East Bay wine job, wine club job, open position at Rosenblum, Rosenblum Cellars wine club

THIS WEEK’S THEME: DANCING
Also, check out the 3 wines on sale at 30% off…

Complimentary Tasting

2007 Viognier, Kathy’s Cuvee, Appellation Series $18
The vivid fruit flavors of peach, apricot, and pineapple
will have you doing the HULA on the beaches of Hawaii

2006 Grenache, Rhodes Vineyard, Redwood Valley $25
The languid ease of the lavender, violets, and cherries
will remind you of a slow and supple WALTZ

2006 Zinfandel, Kontrabecki Vineyard, Livermore $25 ON SALE $17.50
FOXTROT your way through vanilla beans
blackberries, black currants, and baking spices

creative tasting menu, Rosenblum wines on sale, 30% off wine, Rosenblum tasting menu

The fourth round-up post of the Wine Book Club will not be a long one, and for that, I can’t help feeling a little guilty. Since, I had to switch blogs midstream and was rather depressed over the circumstances at the time, I didn’t promote WBC 4 as much as I could/should have. It is what it is, though, and I will do my best to pass along the reviews of Tasting Pleasure: Confessions of a Wine Lover by Jancis Robinson.

The blogger who created this project— Dr. Debs from Good Wine Under $20— seemed to enjoy the read as much as I did, having wanted to take it off the shelf for some time now. My choice gave her the impetus she needed. She found herself drawn to the writing style and “was quickly caught up in the story of how she developed from a wine novice to a wine expert.” Dr. Debs was struck, as I was, at how Jancis is very clear about the subjectivity of taste (whether it be our own palates, the time the bottle is consumed, or the food and company which tag along) and “her humility concerning what she still doesn’t know about wine.” That is why Jancis doesn’t beleive in assigning scores, which I think is refreshing to wine bloggers jaded by an onslaught of numbers.

Dr. Debs also appreciate the interesting and amusing glimpses we get into the wine world and says that by the finish, “it is almost impossible not to like her enormously and respect her deeply” for what she has accomplished as a woman in the business, and I’d say–in general. Though I think Deb hits the proverbial nail when she notes, “it is where Robinson talks about writing about wine that she is at her absolute best in what is a marvelous all-around book” and the very reason I chose it.

Kori from Wine Peeps could relate to Jancis’s belief in tasting blind as much as possible and also in the fact that wine should be enjoyed without costing an arm and possibly a leg. Kori points out that “Her philosophy dovetails nicely with our philosophy here at Wine Peeps: We believe that it is not good enough just to find good wine but to find good wine at a fair price.” She also points out one of my favorite lines, as well: I don’t want to manage my cellar. I want to drink it. A lovely sentiment indeed.
Read the rest of this entry »

Wine Book Club, Tasting Pleasure: Confessions of a Wine Lover

We just got off the train from Eugene, Oregon. When we arrived at the Amtrak station last night to check our luggage, I almost had a heart attack when the ticket agent told us we couldn’t check our case of painstakingly-chosen Pinot Noir. On the trip up, there was no problem with the shipper of Rosenblum that I intended to trade (though the trading part was not so easy, and I ended up giving bottles away). She did allow us to carry on the bulky box, making the on and off through the crowds a lot harder. At least we got to take it, as I’m not sure what we would have done otherwise. I think the two options that crossed my mind were crying hysterically and hitting her over the head with one of the heavy bags. Luckily, neither was necessary and all bottles arrived safely.

What with all the unpacking and unwinding and the intense urge to cook after eating out all week, I hope to have the very short (seems that not many participated this go) WBC 4 round up done sometime tomorrow.

WBC 4, Oregon wine, evil ticket agents, carrying wine on a train

Wine Book Club 4

The first time I read Tasting Pleasure: Confessions of a Wine Lover, and the reason I chose it for WBC 4: I could not put it down. I lapped up the words of my favorite wine writer like drinking an icy beer on a hot day. It didn’t hurt that I read the book in the middle of last summer, by a lake, with a cooler of beers nearby. (Yes, there was wine, too.)

The fact that my biggest concerns during the camping trip were what to cook for dinner and how to get a real shower made Jancis Robinson’s adventures that much easier to get caught up in. I found her a kindred spirit in how she began her career into wine without much background. When she wrote of her first job that “The pay was no great shakes but, hey, who’s counting when a lifetime in wine trade beckons (as thousands of wine trade employees have reasoned before and since),” I had to write I feel that in the margin. The plonk she drank, I could also relate to. On the other hand, I loved reading about wines that she was lucky enough to taste, so that I could live vicariously through her, sniffing Thomas Jefferson’s famous bottle, or the parades of Bordeaux from the same vintage with the Penning-Roswells and Broadbents. Or the grand tastings, some blind, put on by the likes of Hardy Rodenstock or Madame Lalou. And of course, I felt especially chummy when she couldn’t read her own tasting notes or left them on a bus due to too much consumption, a problem I’ve had once or twice.

However, this re-read found me with many more concerns than the last time: Read the rest of this entry »

One last reminder to report back on your feelings about Tasting Pleasure by Jancis Robinson tomorrow. Though, to be honest, due to my much-needed vacation that begins tomorrow evening, I probably won’t get around to the round-up until next week. You can leave the link to the post here, or use the contact me button over there to your right.

Happy reading…

Wine Book Club 4, Jancis Robinson, Tasting Pleasure

This weekend, come join us at Rosenblum Cellars for some wines you probably can’t find anywhere else. We’ve unearthed some treasures that are just waiting to relocate to your cellar or dinner table or backpack for a winehiking excursion.

They are available this Saturday and Sunday at the Alameda location, and if there are any left, you can order them by phone starting Monday. Though I wouldn’t risk it. Only 14 bottles of the 2004 Lyons Reserve Zinfandel. Need I say more?? Okay, a few cases of 2005 Rockpile Road Petite Sirah. That should do it….

2004 Lyons Reserve Zinfandel, 2005 Rockpile Road Petite Sirah

This menu changes tomorrow, but I’m quite proud of it, so I thought I’d share anyway…

Theme: 2008 Summer Olympics

Complimentary Tasting

2007 Viognier, Kathy’s Cuvee, Appellation Series $18
While there may be controversy over the uniforms for women playing beach volleyball,
you won’t question the peaches, apricots, and honeysuckle in this wine

2005 Zinfandel, Aparicio Vineyard, Amador County $25 ON SALE $17.50
Like an arrow being shot during the archery competition,
this Zin will pierce with its black pepper, figs, and vanilla

2006 Syrah, Abba Vineyard, Lodi $25
In honor of the dancing queen, drink a glass of smoky vanilla and black currants
while watching the floor exercise portion of gymnastics

*Reserve Flight - $8.00 *
Read the rest of this entry »

2008 Summer Olympics

If you love Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and the like, then am I teaching the class for you!

What: Rhone Valley History and Tasting seminar
When: Wednesday, August 20, from 6:30 to 8:30pm
Where: Rosenblum Cellars, Alameda
How: call Samantha at 510-995-4100 to reserve your spot… they’re filling up fast!
How much: $40, $35 for wine club members

What to expect: learn while you taste. I just ordered a few French wines (Chateauneuf du Pape and Cotes du Rhone) to compare to some of the Rosenblum Rhone-style reds. We’ll talk and take notes while drinking in the beauty of the Rhone Valley.

Take a vacation without worrying about the price of plane tickets!

….Jack London Square this Saturday….

3rd Annual Urban Wine Experience
Details:Saturday, August 9 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm
Fifteen wineries pouring their newest releases, matched with amazing food from local restaurants

tickets are $45 in advance (if you click here before midnight on Friday)and $60 at the door

Live music will be performed by the Cajun All Stars, and admission includes a souvenir Riedel
wine glass.

Here are the pairings you’ll get to sample (winery listed first, then food):
Aubin Cellars - Adagia
Periscope Cellars - Bellanico
Andrew Lane - Canvas Underground/Downtown Restaurant
Irish Monkey - C’era Una Volta
Urbano Cellars - E-22 Cafe
Dashe Cellars - Fabrique Delice
A Donkey and Goat - Franklin Square Wine Bar
Lost Canyon - Montclair Bistro
Rosenblum Cellars - Mona’s Table
Prospect 772 - Patrick David’s Catering
Tayerle Wines - Pappo
Eno Wines - Savory Cook Private Dining
JC Cellars - Scott’s Seafood
Two Mile - Sea Salt
Adams Point - Whole Foods

If you have any more questions, visit the East Bay Vintners website, or call Errin Leach at 510-452-1800.