Rosenblum Cellars Open House This Weekend!
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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.
If this weekend finds you in or near Healdsburg, you should stop by Rosenblum Cellars…
Last Saturday and Sunday we had our quarterly Rosenblum Cellars Open House. Even though I was working, I could see how much fun everyone was having. How could they not?? With about 50 wines to taste, good music, and tasty treats from Angela’s Restaurant, including a carving station with peppered tri-tip (a great companion to Zinfandel)….My favorite new release, though I didn’t taste them all, was the 2005 Holbrook Mitchell Syrah.
Another great thing is that in addition to new wines, we usually have 2 or 3 barrel samples available for tasting, which can be purchased as futures, at a discount. Then when the wine is bottled and released, those customers can pick them up. You only have to be a little imaginative, thinking ahead to what the wine will taste like. This time we sampled the 2006 Lyons Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel from Napa Valley and the 2006 Pato Vineyard Petite Sirah from Contra Costa County. Both growers–Cap Lyons and Richard Pato–have been into the tasting room in the past couple weeks to taste and buy wines, which is always fun. 
Today is the second day of our Open House. While I’ll give a full report soon, I just wanted to remind you, readers and drinkers, in case you’re looking for something to do today. And to tell you that while we were thinking of going with another company for the Zinfandel ice cream, nobody does it better than Tucker’s…. So don’t worry. It’s the same good stuff you’re used to! Much fun was had yesterday, but there’s plenty left for today.
Greetings, readers and drinkers! This is just a quick reminder to say that Rosenblum Cellars Open House is this weekend, November 17 & 18 from 12 to 5. Tickets are 
The morning started off correctly when Aura brought in baskets of homemade scones (courtesy of the ever-thoughtful Anne Marie): currant, hibiscus flower & ginger, or the savory ham & cheese. All was right with the world to get the day going with some coffee and nourishment and, of course, a few bottles of bubbly during our staff meeting before the madness began.
Though this is the smallest turnout of the four open houses we have, the crowds were sizable all weekend (somewhere over 2000 people flowed through the doors). Things seemed to go more smoothly on Sunday, and from what I hear, that’s always the case. Maybe practice does make perfect. Don’t get me wrong—people were having a grand time both days. Plus, BK and my Irish friend accepted my invitation to come visit, and they definitely enjoyed themselves. I even got to walk around at the start of each day, tasting just a handful (mainly new releases) of the 51 wines on hand. I know for a fact the food was good stuff because co-workers kindly made sure those of us chained to the registers got a sampling of meat balls, sausage, gnocchi, cheeses, and more. 
This particular table of reserve Zinfandels was definitely one of the most popular and a must-stop on my list. It had the ever-favorite Monte Rosso, the brand new Lyons, and the last-ever vintage of Hendry (and my top pick) to be made by Rosenblum. Many wines were poured by eager volunteers,such as Dee there on the right, although some of the growers travel to pour the wine made from their own grapes. Overall, I think there were seventeen tables, with about sixty volunteers a day.
