Wine Outlook

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
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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!

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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.

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

There are a few slots left for our wine class on the influence of oak on wine.

Where: Rosenblum Cellars…2900 Main Street…Alameda
When: Wednesday, July 9…from 6:30 to 8:30
How much: $40…$35 for club members

What else: Associate winemaker, John Kane, will take us on a tour of the cellar and sample wines from the barrel, doing comparative tastings to illustrate the differences in certain styles.

Wear close-toed shoes for safety and bring your questions. We’ll handle the rest!

wine class, Rosenblum Cellars, John Kane, fun things to do in Alameda, wine classes in the East Bay, oak influence

Tuesday after work, we had a baby shower for Sean and his wife, Jolie. They are expecting their first baby May 23, though Jolie and the doctor think little Harper may come into the world a bit early. I attended, despite my unjust depiction as one who does not like children. We had wine (of course) and cheese while the two opened gifts, including preciously cute socks, onesie’s (not for their cat), and four months of diaper service from the tasting room staff. Way to go, being environmentally conscious you guys!

If you’re a club member or other Rosenblum customer reading this, be sure to wish Sean good luck when you see him next.

Other tasting room news. One of our most talkative hospitality representatives, Paul, is now a certified sommelier! He went back home to Texas (a fellow southerner— that warms my heart and thickens my drawl) to take the introductory level class test a little over a month ago. Then Sunday before last, he took the certification, which included a test, service, and blind tasting, and passed.

Congrats to both these guys. Cheers!

EDIT: Sean and Jolie ushered Harper in two weeks early! She arrived early Saturday morning, May 10 instead of the 23rd. She’s pretty cute, though we’re all hoping she won’t really have Sean’s hairline, which is how it looks right now. Only a week old, I’ve seen her twice at the winery already, so I definitely think she’ll be a wine drinker one day…

Congratulations to the happy new family!

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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Fun wine events in the near future
Don’t forget about the Passport to the East Bay Wine Trail event coming up Saturday, April 5 from noon to 5. This is your chance to sample some great wines from wineries across Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Food pairings to boot. Go here for cheaper, advance tickets.

More shipping news

We’ve gotten the go-ahead on a few more states. As of now, we can ship to the following— (more…)

Wineries in the East Bay, you ask? But of course! And more than you probably think. Of course, there’s Rosenblum Cellars, JC Cellars and Dashe Cellars. And maybe you’ve heard of Lost Canyon Winery as well. However, it doesn’t stop there. Throughout Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville, there are over a dozen wineries scattered about. Some are quite small with no tasting room and some have limited hours that they are open.

That’s why you need to jump on the Urban Wine Trail—with a passport to the East Bay. The East Bay Vintner’s Alliance has put together an event for a little over two weeks from now that should be a load of fun.

The details— (more…)

Wineries in the East Bay, Urban Wine Trail, passport to the East Bay, East Bay Vintner’s Alliance

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