January 2010 Blog: Winter, REFB, Wineland

Winter Along the Wine Road

I am writing this in late Fall- true frosty December weather- some of the coldest temperatures of recent record here in Northern California and along Wine Road – not used to so much ice, frost and snow dusting the hills and peaks in the Alexander Valley—even have ice along the edges of the Russian River itself which is beautiful to see- and makes the drinking deer sound so crunchy- very unusual for us- the cold, not the crunchy deer sounds. This cold will make the vines even more dormant- certainly makes me sleepy, too.  Our Wine Road offices and warehouse have been hovering around 54 degrees- after 7 hours of small space heater and forced air, temp just peeked at 72- Beth and I are just freezing lately in here!

Winter Wineland

Winter Wineland ticket sales launched right after A Wine & Food Affair- moving along briskly to the big event on Martin Luther King Jr.’s Holiday Birthday Weekend- 16 & 17 January 2010- you know, where you can escape from those winter blues as over 100 wineries treat visitors to library wines, vertical tastings, food pairings, educational tours…and so much more!  All the details and ticket purchasing info at http://www.wineroad.com/winter_wineland/annualevents/1 .  Purchase in advance online by 1.11.10 and you will save $10 per ticket!  Prices rise at the door-  and, if you are looking for the perfect related dinner for Saturday night, check this out:

Wineland in Paradise

An evening with Russian River Valley Wine Stars

Saturday, January 16th, 2010 – From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

For information contact:  Lee Hodo at RRVW  -  707 .521 .2534 – or email info@rrvw.og  -www.rrvw.org

Food Bank Donation Day

Speaking of Events, in this case A Wine & Food Affair, Wine Road recently donated $5000 ($1 per ticket sold) to the Redwood Empire Food Bank in Santa Rosa, CA!  Also, when tickets are purchased on our ARES ticketing pages, guests are able to donate to REFB at that point too, and that check from ARES for AW&FA guest donations totaled $720.  Please note this donation option when purchasing Ticket to the Wine Road or tickets for all our events- in tough times the need is even greater- REFB does a fantastic job.  Please donate as you purchase your tickets- remember, for every $1 REFB spends, they are able to purchase and distribute $4 worth of food.   That is an excellent bang for the buck(s).

Wine Road donates $5000 to Redwood Empire Food Bank from AW& FA sales.

Lee Bickley & David Goodman, REFB; Beth Costa & Tracy Logan-Immordino, Wine Road

Along Wine Road on any day except during our Annual Events we have our new program, Ticket to the Wine Road- it comes in One Day and Three Day Pass sizes to fit all- a potpourri of special discounts, offerings, specials and such at participating wineries and lodging members- complete scoop at http://arestravel.com/3400_attraction-tickets_a699.html?agent=973.  You can donate to the REFB here, too, as you purchase the Ticket to the Wine Road.

As Winter Wineland comes to a close, up will go the tickets for our 32^nd Annual  Barrel Tasting- March 5, 6, 7 & 12, 13 & 14, 2010; info  at http://www.wineroad.com/annualevents/3.   True March Madness of the finest kind!

Photo credit Laura O’Hanesian   laurao14@comcast.net

Holidays Along Wine Road

Writing this just before Thanksgiving, still on a high from the most incredibly well-received, successful A Wine & Food Affair we have ever had!  The cookbooks actually sold out with the advance pre-sale tickets- that has never happened before in all these 11 years of the event.  Wineries and guests alike were very happy with the success of the event- it was great fun!  Suspect that being on Facebook may have spread the word about the event better than ever before- and also, with the economy in such a state but starting to right itself, the event may have been recognized as a great deal- an economic way to have a great time up here.  Next stop, Winter Wineland- tickets went up on sale just as soon as AW&FA ended- so we are in the midst of our busiest Wine Road time as we careen towards Barrel Tasting in March—but first, must have the holidays!

Just spent a great day out in the Alexander Valley last week with a great group of concierges from the Bay Area escorted up here by Rick Spear of Blue Heron Tours- Wine Road has worked with him for years to spread the word about our lovely Wine Road.  I guess I just don’t get out enough- visited Field Stone, White Oak, lunch at Jimtown then up to deLorimier- wow- I had a blast, as did they- and it made me feel so grateful to actually live here- the vines were brilliant, the sky was hard, cold blue- and we were sprinkled with rain.  I realized today that the weather really has turned colder- at least for here.  We have had great color in the vineyards and surrounding foliage- even have had guests inquire about Leaf Peeping which I really thought was only East Coast, but I guess it occurs now wherever leaves become inspiring- always makes me think of Pookie Adams in THE STERILE CUCKOO who opined that the leaves were only lovely because they were dying—and that is true, though they will be back in the Spring.  For now the days are growing shorter and the weather calls for comfort foods, wines, warm fireplaces and celebrations with family and friends.

Many of our member wineries and lodgings really deck the halls with festive decorations, warm fireplaces, wine specials, lodging specials- you name it- all on our website, www.wineroad.com under Events and also Lodging Specials- members add to the stuff all the time so check back often to get the latest information.  We also have the Holiday Hours up on our website so that you can better plan your trip up—always best to call ahead when in doubt as holiday times can be changeable and everyone wants to take the time off to see family.  It is a fun time to visit us- so quiet, velvet dark nights, the smell of the earth resting as the solstice approaches.  Then comes the New Year- remember: wine is the soul of the Wine Road- be sure to toast the holidays with a remembrance of us in a bottle!