East Bay Vintner’s Festival: This Saturday
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
I bet you didn’t know there even was an East Bay Vintner’s Alliance. Well, if not, I’ll cut you some slack because I didn’t either until just a couple months ago. It was founded last year to bring attention to the wineries doing their thing in the urban setting of the East Bay. No sprawling vineyards and countryside landscapes here. But that’s what makes us different: shipyards, a naval base, apartment complexes, Chinatown, etc. right down the road. I also bet you didn’t know there are 15 (and counting) wineries sprinkled throughout Alameda, Oakland, Berkeley, and Emeryville. Some are quite small and therefore not normally open to the public.
That’s why this Saturday’s event is such a great idea. For the second year in a row, the Alliance will bring together all these wineries in one place for tasting, food, and music. The place just so happens to be where I work, so I’m hoping I can slip away for some sampling. But if you’re off, mark your calendar and get yourself a ticket.
EBVA Festival Details
Where: Rosenblum Cellars—2900 Main St. Alameda
When: Saturday, August 18 from 3-6pm
What: 50 wines being poured…. local restaurants will prepare tasty pairings, including those in the SLOW FOOD movement……live music
Who:
Aubin Cellars
Andrew Lane Wines
Blacksmith Cellars
Dashe Cellars
A Donkey and Goat
Edmunds St.john
Eno Wines
Harrington Wines
JC Cellars
Lost Canyon Winery
Periscope Cellars
Prospect 772
Rosenblum Cellars
Tayerle Wines
Urbano Cellars
How much: $45 at the door or $35 in advance by purchasing tickets right here.
Don’t wait too long cause it might sell out!
East Bay Vintner’s Alliance, winetasting in the Bay Area, wine festival near San Francisco
Early but not so bright. With rain lingering from the previous night and more threatening to fall, a tarp had to be attached to the back of the bottling truck. I waited, kicking myself for showing up on time, when I knew there would be some kind of delay, in this first day of a four-day run.
Once everything was ready, the guys out back started loading empty bottles onto the conveyer belt– to flip through a circusy-looking rotating circle. Then the bottles made the trek to be filled with wine (2005 Thomas Fogarty Skyline) and further still to have a cork popped into the neck. 
Here’s where I came in. I put the metal foils over the bottles, which would then be sealed to fit the neck more tightly. A very important job, readers and drinkers. Almost eight hours of this task, over and over. I sang along to Lucinda Williams and Rilo Kiley, Johnny Cash and Bright Eyes. Hopped from one foot to the other, twisted at the waist, closed my eyes when I could to keep them from crossing. When I’d think an hour had passed, I’d find it was only minutes. It’s all for the experience, it’s all for the blog, I told myself. 
After me and the foils, it was then time for the wine labels. Pressure sensitive vs. glue, which come off more easily. Sometimes the machine would slap on two, and one of the technicians would scrape them off and put the bottle back in line. Apparently, one of the technicians also put Enya in the cd player, which I heard over my Tom Waits, bringing a moment of laughter into my otherwise dull day.
I think this tank was being cleaned out to be later filled with unoaked Chardonnay. It will be pumped into the truck and bottled when the Skyline is done, after 3500 or so cases. I’m not sure how many we did that day, with stops for breaks, a broken bottle, and little traffic jams, but at one point I counted 100 bottles go past me in about 4 minutes. 
