Wine Outlook

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

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!

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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

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!

If you want to taste some fantastic wines, old favorites and brand new releases, while you eat good food, listen to live music, and relax among some of the coolest people in the East Bay… head to Alameda, by bridge, tube, or ferry. (We recommend ferry or BART & bus/ cab, just to be safe).

When: this weekend! Saturday July 26 & Sunday July 27
What time: 12-5 (although first hour is only for club members and their guests)
Where: 2900 Main St, Alameda
How much fun: more than most people can handle
How much wine: more than most people should drink
How much to get in: cheaper online ($40, $25 wine club members)
though you can still get them at the door if not sold out ($50, $35 club)

What else you need to know: Come ready for a good time, but please enjoy our wines responsibly. Wear dark clothes and comfy shoes. Eat a big breakfast. There’s lots of good food, but with so many folks around, not enough to make a meal.

Call if you have any questions or trouble ordering tickets online. 510-995-4100

Tomorrow, July 23, we will be on ABC’s View From the Bay. It comes on channel 7 at 3 pm, and we are part of the Urban Wine Road segment. You don’t have to drive to Napa to have wine fun!

Nick, Carlos, and Elvin were all very nice, and they promised me that my flub will not make an appearance. Though you might recognize some of the interesting characters who come into our tasting room on a regular basis.

This summer finds us celebrating Rosenblum Cellars’ 30th anniversary with all sorts of fun happenings. Friday provides a wonderful opportunity to learn, eat, drink, and make merry. How about making the most of Sonoma County, where some of our most sought-after wines hail? The seminar begins at 4:30, here at the Alameda winery location, moderated by Steve Heimoff of Wine Enthusiast. Dinner begins at 6:30 and can be purchased separately. Food provided by The Girl & The Fig (yum, I can’t wait to try it!) Just look at this sneak peek of the menu:

St. Andre tartlet, with leeks & garlic vol-au-vent
Fromage blanc crostini, with mushroom & truffle oil
Salmon tartare, with cucumber & tobiko caviar
Lobster bisque, demitasse
Liberty duck confit roll

And that’s just the reception hors d’oeuvres… Plus, two of the wines lined up are currently sold out in the tasting room, so you’ll get to try bottles no longer available and feel super special while doing so.

Of course, the evening would not be complete without Mr. Rosenblum himself….

Here are the details:
Dinner–$150, $135 for club members
Dinner & seminar–$215, $200 for club members

Purchase your tickets online at our website.

Call 510-995-4100 for further information. I hope to see you there!

Rosenblum Cellars’ 30th anniversary, Steve Heimoff, The Girl & The Fig, dinner with Kent Rosenblum, winemaker dinner in the East Bay, fun events at Rosenblum

At Rosenblum Cellars we make about 25 different Zinfandels, from all over the state, each one different. One of my absolute favorites is the one from the Planchon Vineyard. This bottling is classified under the San Francisco Bay appellation, as the fruit is from Contra Costa County (near Oakley). This wine is also one of the reasons Wine & Spirits pronounced us America’s best producer of wine from SF Bay. Most Saturday afternoons, we get a visit from Frank, who grows grapes for the vineyard designate, and his lovely girl Helen.

The Saturday crew has been trying to plan a dinner with the two of them for a while now, but schedules made it hard. Finally, this past Saturday, we all came together at Angela’s Restaurant for a vertical tasting of the Planchon wines. We had been working hard that day at a wine club event, so it was nice to relax among friends with really good food and an amzing line-up of wines. Frank even brought some wines from Franus, that also use the Planchon grapes, which enabled us to do one horizontal comparison.
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Planchon Vineyard, San Francisco Bay appellation, wine from SF Bay

Rosenblum fans out there, dessert wine lovers, sweet tooth addicts, have I got a class for you. Our next wine seminar is coming up quickly, and there are still a few spots left.
EDIT: class cancelled!
So often, people fill up on dinner and neglect to save room for dessert. We think that’s a shame but realize that it does happen. However, don’t be scared to think outside the box. Have you ever thought about having dessert wine with dinner? One of the most classic pairings, and one that I adored when I finally got the chance to taste it, is foie gras with the decadently rich Sauternes. While we don’t have that kind of budget for this class (both are super expensive), we do have some pretty tasty dessert wines here at Rosenblum Cellars. And they’re quite affordable ($16-$18 per bottle). We’re going to show you how to pair them with both savory and sweet items. It’s a whole new world over here in Alameda, and we want you to help us explore!

When: Wednesday, April 16, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm
Where: the reserve room at Rosenblum Cellars (check in at the tasting room)
What: learn about dessert wines and what to pair with them, tasting your way through the lesson
How much: $40 per person, with a $5 discount for wine club members
Who: you… and a friend…or maybe even a date (I know I’d be impressed!)
How to reserve a spot: Call Samantha at 510-995-4100 before it’s too late

Hope to see you there.

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This coming Wednesday evening will find Sean and myself in front of another class, after being in the kitchen all day. The food and wine pairings seminar will be our fourth in a line of very successful attempts, so far. Being that I love to cook and that I adore picking the right wines for the meal (and vice versa), this class is right up my alley.

I’ve been researching and scouring through several books such as The Perfect Match: Pairing Delicious Recipes with Great Wine and The Wine Lover’s Cookbook to get ideas for tips and specific combinations. Right now, I’m thinking of maybe making pork satay, BBQ chicken pizza, and peppered flank steak to go with several of our wines. The one thing I’m really sad about, though, is that we don’t have a sparkling—as that’s such a perfect partner for so many cocktail party classics. Ah…oh, well.

The details are as follows… (more…)

Another success! Rosenblum Cellars Open House March Madness this weekend went amazingly well. We had around 1300 guests on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. But the funny thing is that you don’t feel like it’s that many people. There is a line of tables wrapping around two walls, with three wines being poured at each. In the center of the cellar are tables of delicious food, with a carving station off to one side. Meanwhile, the registers are located on the far side of the area, where I and my co-horts sat waiting to help people take home wine. It really made me feel special when I had quite a few customers wait to see me specifically. Some came to see me because we’ve had good chats in the tasting room, some because they enjoy my tasting notes, and one lady even said “I have to get help from Buffy!” (due to my Halloween costume I wore to work).

There is a whole other area of wine and food outside under a tent. Balloons everywhere, a stage for live music, and a very long line for Tucker’s Zinfandel ice cream, as always. Psst, I heard a rumor the shop has it for sale, over on Park Street. Typically, the reserve wines and many of the new releases are located outside to help keep traffic moving. Plus, there is also the whole front area of the winery, where people sit at tables and along the deck, taking breaks from tasting or just enjoying the sun.

Overall, it was a beautiful day with tasty wine, yummy food, and happy people. Kids and dogs, too!

Rosenblum Cellars Open House, March Madness, Tucker’s Zinfandel ice cream

March Madness is upon us….at Rosenblum Cellars, anyway. It’s Open House this weekend: the best party on the island.

When: March 8 & 9—this Saturday & Sunday–noon to 5 pm

What: dozens of wines will be poured including new releases
2006 Rhodes Grenache**
2006 Richard Sauret Zinfandel
2006 Kontrabecki Zinfandel**
2006 Rominger Syrah
2006 Monte Rosso Zinfandel
2006 Abba Syrah
2006 Pickett Road Petite Sirah
2006 Pato Petite Sirah**
2005 Holbrook Mitchell Trio
2006 Rosie Rabbit Late-harvest Zinfandel

**wines that are making their Rosenblum debut

What else: great food from Angela’s Restaurant, Zinfandel ice cream, live music

Added bonus: chance to taste barrel samples and buy futures of 2007 Maggie’s Reserve Zinfandel and 2007 Holbrook Mitchell Reserve Syrah

Where: the Alameda winery
2900 Main Street, right before the ferry building

How: tickets online will run you less–$30, $20 for club members, with a nominal processing fee from the ticket company
tickets also available at the door–$40, $25 for club members and ZAPpers or Rhone Rangers with membership cards

to buy tickets online or get more information, visit our website.

Cheers and hope to see you there! It’ll be a blast.

Our third wine seminar is coming up in approximately two weeks. To Age or Not To Age will take place Wednesday, February 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the winery in Alameda. Sean and I will address ways to decide whether you should hold on to certain bottles or if they’re ready to drink now. We’ll do tastings of Rosenblum wines that tend to take more time to become accessible, including some wines from the library. (Always a treat to pull those out!) I will also discuss one of my favorite wine-related events: Open That Bottle Night, created by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, and will give attendees a chance to participate in the celebration which takes place the following Saturday, February 23.

Speaking of… (more…)

wine seminar, To Age or Not To Age, Open That Bottle Night

Sean and I are hosting our second wine seminar, along with Kevin Wiens, our hard-working enologist.

The topic is Component Analysis, where we’ll wake up our senses and figure out just what the heck is in that wine. We’ll see, sniff, and sip our way through different flavors. I even ordered a special treat for everyone to take home and assist in further studies.

It’s next Wednesday, January 30, from 6:30 to 8:30 in the reserve room at the winery. I believe there are only 4 slots left, so don’t wait. Call Sam at 510-995-4100 to reserve a spot for only $40 or $35 if you’re in our wine club.

It looks to be another good one, so I hope to see you there.

wine seminar, Component Analysis