Toast of the Valley: Musical bonanza at Judd’s Hill

Judd’s Hill Winery begins a festive and philanthropic tradition with the Judd’s Hill Musical Bonanza April 14, noon until 4 p.m. at the winery’s new location, 2332 Silverado Trail (between Hardman & Trancas). Tickets are $85 per person for the public and $70 for Judd’s Hill Wine Club members (and you can join at www.juddshill.com).

The Finkelstein family, the owners of Judd’s Hill, is known for its commitment to the arts, and accordingly, the event will benefit Arts Council Napa Valley. Wine Club members will receive a 20 percent discount on wine they purchase at the Bonanza.

“It will be a sensational day of wine, food, music and fun,” Judd Finkestein said, “and we’ll also be celebrating the release of our 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel.

Judd’s band, the Makai Gents Featuring the Mysterious Miss Mauna Loa, will perform, along with the San Francisco tropical rock band APE  and King Kukulele from Los Angeles, a comedic ukulele player. A barbecue feast will be served throughout the day; the winery’s current releases will be available for sale and to taste.

Info: www.juddshill.com

Hess Collection’s next Cellar Door Red weekend is April 14 -15, when visitors can buy a half-gallon jug and have it filled with a blend of 90 percent Mt. Veeder cabernet sauvignon and 10 percent petite verdot for only $18.

For those who have bought it before and still have their jugs, they can have them refilled for $15.

The event commemorates the days 100 years ago when locals came to the winery site to have their bottles filled right from the barrel.

Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ “Ahead of the Curve” seminar is April 19 at Copia, 7:30 a.m. to noon. It’s the second of a series of seminars sponsored by the NVG and will include such topics as vineyard designation and trademarking your vineyard, marketing grapes, the 2007 Bottle Price Survey and “Today’s Most Important Concerns in the Vineyard.” Info, 944-311 or www.napgrowers.org

The MKF Research Executive Wine Summit, bringing together wine industry leaders to talk about topics vital to the industry, is May 3-4 at the Villagio Inn and Spa in Yountville.

Panels will explore what the wine industry will be 10 years from now, building a community among wine consumers, green winery architecture, consumer reaction to wide SKU proliferation, emerging wine marketing companies, turning points ahead and what’s happening in the French market.

Info, go to www.mfkresearch.com, or call 967-5323.

The event is $950, plus $150 for a gala dinner featuring a panel on moderated by Tom Selfridge and featuring Zelma Long and Phil Woodward.

James Johnson Vineyards of St. Helena is releasing its 2003 and 2004 Bisou cabernet sauvignon wines. Only 200 cases of the 2003 vintage are available, and 225 cases of the 2004. All the fruit comes from the three-acre family vineyard in St. Helena, which features three blocks of cabernet sauvignon, all with different clones. The wines are a blend of grapes from all three blocks.

Delicato Family Vineyards has changed the name of its branded wine portfolio to DFV Wines, but the vineyard holdings and the family’s custom resources group will continue under the Delicato Family Vineyards name.

The family has been in the wine industry for 80 years, and its branded wine segment has grown rapidly, with such brand names as Gnarly Head, Irony Napa Valley, 337, Clay Station, Bonterra and Twisted.

Napa Valley Register Copyright © 2009