Wine Outlook

We love our wine club members. Whenever someone signs up, we (especially Kenny G and with great enthusiasm) welcome them to the family. And some truly become a part of ours. Maybe it’s Mark (who used to be a Friday regular but now keeps us guessing) and his wife Angela (Happy Birthday!) and their precious daughter Sophia. It might be Gail and her interesting work stories about an unrelenting boss. And Jim & Anne (who’s from Mississippi) and their treat-lovin’ dog Marbie. Or fun-loving Hilda… or Carl or Mike or Katherine or Andre. However, not all members come in regularly. We don’t know their names or get to enjoy their company that often. They’re not taking advantage of their complimentary reserve tastings. But what’s really affecting our ability to get stuff done is that we’re running out of room, as wine club packs start to stack up in the already crowded shipping area. See that picture? That’s only the tip of the iceberg.

So, we’re changing our pick-up policy, something we’re only doing out of dire need. (more…)

Due to low interest and my co-instructor getting sick, we are cancelling the dessert wine pairing class that would have been held tomorrow.

Pick up again next month with Be Your Own Critic, details to follow.

This Saturday the tasting room at the winery in Alameda will be closed due to a private event for wine club members. Regular (11-6) hours today and Friday and back to normal on Sunday.

Rosenblum Cellars tasting room hours

Rosenblum Cellars tasting room hours

Don’t forget: Rosenblum Cellars will be closed Easter Sunday, March 23. Back to normal operations Monday—daily from 11 to 6.

Weekend revisions: We will be featuring a different menu than that during the week. Instead of 5 complimentary pours, there will be 3 and instead of a reserve flight of 3 wines for $5, it will be 4 wines for $8. We want to encourage people to enjoy themselves but not too much. And since the weekends have been getting busier, we truly want to focus on the idea of tasting wine rather than drinking it. Responsible tasting is important to us, and we hope that our loyal customers see this as such. We want everyone happy and safe.

Shipping updates: upgrades are coming along nicely and we have several more states we can ship to, bringing the total to 16.
Here are the ones with a green light— California, Washington, Illinois, Florida, Minnesota, New Mexico, Iowa, Alaska, Michigan, Texas, Oregon, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Nebraska, North Dakota.
(more…)

Here’s an update on the hours in our tasting room.

Tomorrow: Thursday March 13— 11 to 3 PM (closing a few hours early)

Easter Sunday: March 23—closed

normal tasting room hours: 11-6 daily

If you don’t live in California, you may not be able to get wine shipped to you from Rosenblum Cellars for a short period of time. Though we’re operating as normal, we do have to wait while we upgrade our system in order to continue spreading wine love across the country. Sadly, some states require all sorts of hoops to be jumped through while their residents sit sadly with empty wine glasses.

We apologize for any inconvenience, as we really do want to be able to send whatever bottles float your boat. But as soon as we can, we will. And I’ll let you know when I know more details. Heck, things may have changed by the time I return tomorrow!

Which leads me to a mini-rant. (more…)

First, I want to aplogize for my recent lack of posting. In addition to being especially busy this week, the network has been having technical difficulties.

But I did want to get on quickly before going to work to say that we’re closing early today.

Superbowl Sunday hours: 11-3 (instead of 11-6)

While I don’t give a dang about football games and didn’t even know who was playing until just the other day, there are those of you out there who do. I guess in years past, the tasting room has been dead after 3, so there’s no real point in staying open. Plus, I think some of the staff cares as well. Me, I’ll be driving into the city to catch up on some L Word and share Rosenblum wine with my friends.

Great news, Rosenblum fans. The funny thing about retail and wholesale allocations is that sometimes cases of wine get set aside for national accounts but don’t get taken. What that means for you is that your favorite wine we sold out of a couple months ago may actually return once I get the green light to bring them over.

Such is the case with two Rosenblum Zinfandels.

The first is the 2005 San Francisco Bay Zinfandel, which we sold out of months ago. Someone told me on Wednesday that there was a shipment over at Building 25. We got them yesterday and now they are at the winery, waiting for you to take them home.

The other? Hold on to your seats for this one…. the 2005 Rosenblum Rockpile Road Zinfandel! This one got 92 points from Wine Spectator a while back, and we put it on a 3 bottle limit. That didn’t slow down its hasty exit, though. So don’t wait around this time; call or come see us to make sure you get yours.

San Francisco Bay Zinfandel, 2005 Rosenblum Rockpile Road Zinfandel

Great news! We got the Wine Spectator Insider yesterday, and it included a wonderful surprise on the first page. The 2005 Kick Ranch Reserve Syrah received 94 points from James Laube. Here’s what he said: This open-throttle Syrah is extremely dark, rich and extracted, with loads of flavor, honing in on crushed black pepper, wild berry, blackberry and baking spices, all folding together on the finish. Ends with a tight focus. Drink now through 2012.

We made less than 500 cases of this one, so don’t wait to buy it. Once the e-mail goes out today the phones will be off the hook, as they were with the Rominger.

2005 Kick Ranch Reserve Syrah

If you’re having a hard time fitting in everything you need to do, here’s something that may help:

This Thursday Rosenblum’s tasting room will stay open until 7 instead of 6. That’s an extra hour to taste our wine, nibble on some snacks, and mark a few more gifts off your list. We’ll do the same thing next Thursday, December 20.

Rosenblum’s tasting room

In their fall issue (released at the end of the summer), Wine & Spirits named Rosenblum Cellars as one of the top 25 producers of the past 25 years and America’s best producer of San Francisco Bay wines. The Planchon Vineyard Zinfandel grown outside of Oakley is one of the reasons for that accolade and one of my personal favorites. Same is true for the Mourvedre and the Heritage Clones Petite Sirah, also from SF Bay and highly regarded by Robert Parker recently. Another wine to help reach that pinnacle was the 2005 San Francisco Bay Zinfandel, which sold out soon after.

Well, readers and drinkers, it’s back but in a slightly different get-up. We bottled the 2006 Contra Costa County Zinfandel just a week or two ago, and it’s already released and ready to go. You might wonder about the name change. The reason? To achieve a more finite appellation. SF Bay covers some 1.5 million acres and several counties. Contra Costa County gets that much more specific, giving more definition to our Appellation Series. Though County appellations might not usually indicate similarities among the vineyards located there, that can’t be said for this one. As stated on Appellation America’s website, “The earthy, dusty and leathery quality of the region’s big reds is evidence of a definitive Contra Costa style.”

No matter the name, however….all you need to know is this wine is good. And it’s on the tasting menu this week, which I will most likely post tomorrow or Monday. Come get it before this one flies out the door as well.

San Francisco Bay wines, Planchon Vineyard Zinfandel, 2005 San Francisco Bay Zinfandel, 2006 Contra Costa County Zinfandel

Readers and drinkers:

It’s finally ready! Check out my new blog, which will involve all wine things non-Rosenblum–other reviews, winery visits, restaurants, advice, pairings, maybe some poetry every now and then.

Drumroll, please. Ta-da! Behind the Vines

Behind the Vines

Goodbye Peninsula, hello East Bay…Tomorrow is the big day! I’m moving into my new (much bigger, cheers) apartment in Alameda. Readers and drinkers, do you know what this means? Instead of an hour or so to get to work, I can now be there in 10 minutes. What does this mean to you? More time to write! Once I get settled in, I promise to catch up on my many unwritten posts. Also, I’ll have a dining area now, so when I get a chance to purchase a table, that means more wine dinners and pairings.

…..Hmmm, where do you suppose I got all my boxes for packing?

Readers and drinkers,

I know, I know. Color us all confused. Or call me a glutton for punishment. I’m going to write two blogs, both about wine. 451 Press talked me into staying, as the year anniversary is almost upon them, and it seems I should at least try to stay that long. Plus, I was feeling like I’d given a child up for adoption….

So, here’s the plan to try to stay sane and keep everything in its place: I’ll be posting a little less over here, more when I can. Also, Wine Outlook will, from now on, be dealing mainly with items related to working at Rosenblum Cellars. That will include reviews of Rosenblum wines, events at/through the winery, if I get to help with harvest, things we drink in the tasting room, and any other items I learn on the job.

I apologize for changing midstream. It’s been stressful the past few weeks trying to decide, and I’ve been so back-and-forth about everything. Let’s just hope I have enough steam. If not, there’s always more wine to drink, right?

Dear readers and drinkers,

If you’ve been here only once or many times, you likely know how much I’ve enjoyed being here and writing about wine. Wine is what drives me and writing about it is my dream. But this venue has given me great opportunities that other writing gigs haven’t. I’ve made friends through this blog, some whom I’ve met, some only in conversations online. With my infamous bad memory, I now keep much better track of my tasting notes, usually accompanied by pictures, and can therefore remember what I thought.

Perhaps some of you have worried about the amount of wine I drink (my dad wondered if I should be in AA)… and maybe you should. However, I think most of you know this a very concentrated view because, after all, it was a wine blog. Besides, I work with wine all day, take trips where I can explore new areas that make it, center meals around it, spend way too much money on it.

With my new job, long commute, JFP column, and other non-wine-related items, I just don’t have the time to continue. I’m also leaving due to the other project I’ve been mentioning, which should be ready soon. It’s called Behind the Vines and should be ready in the next couple weeks.

Thank all of you for reading, for the comments, the support, the encouragement, and other well wishes. I’ve learned a lot and hope I passed on some of that to you. It’s been a great ride.

Goodbye, but only for now. Hope to see you all again at my next big adventure!

Cheers,
Farley