Toast of the valley

By Register Staff

Cuvaison hosts a vertical tasting of cabernet sauvignon from the historic Brandlin Vineyard on Mt. Veeder on Saturday.

The tasting and open house will be 2-5 p.m. at two locations: Cuvaison, 4550 Silverado Trail, or adjacent to Cuvaison’s Carneros vineyards, 1221 Duhig Road.

Zinfandel was originally planted in the vineyard by the Brandlin family in 1926 but the vineyard was expanded to include Bordeaux varietals after Cuvaison Estate Wines purchased it in 1998.

The tasting includes the 2003 Brandlin cabernet sauvignon inaugural release, the 2004, which will be released May 1 and 2005 barrel samples. Informative displays and a video interview with Chester Brandlin will also be featured. The cost is $20 per person.

Production is expected to begin in the fall in Napa on the movie version of “The Judgment of Paris,” the story of the 1976 blind tasting in which Napa Valley wines beat French wines.

Robert Mark Kamen, whose credits include “Taps,” “The Karate Kid” and “A Walk in the Clouds” is writing the screenplay. He also owns Kamen Estate Wines in Sonoma County.

According to a press release, “Tom Hanks has been discussed to play Warren Winiarski and Hugh Grant is the producers’ first choice for Steven Spurrier,” the organizer of the tasting.  There’s no word, however, on who they have in mind to play Mike Grgich, who made the winning chardonnay. The book was written by George Taber, who covered the tasting as a reporter for Time magazine.

The U.S. and Korea have signed a trade agreement that will eventually eliminate tariffs and other trade barriers in most goods and services, one of which is wine.

Wine Institute President Bobby Koch said, “Korea is an economically significant wine market, with its consumption growing 174 percent in the last five years.” Through 2004, U.S. exports to Korea ranked No. 2, behind France, but Chile took over the second spot after that country signed a free trade agreement with Korea. In 2006, U.S. wine exports to Korea totaled more than 1.1 million gallons, valued at $11.3 million.

Snows Lake Vineyard in the Red Hills appellation in Lake County is now producing wine under its own label — 2004 Snows Lake One, a cabernet sauvignon, and Snows Lake Two, a cabernet sauvignon-cabernet franc blend.

Snows Lake Vineyard produces grapes for numerous wineries, including Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Cakebread Cellars.

Turnbull Wine Cellars unveils a new photography exhibit  “Sandscape Photography 1034-2006” in honor of Earth Day on April 21 in the Reserve Tasting Room and Gallery on April 21.

More than 60 photographs showing the changing light and shifting sand of the desert from 14 photographers will be featured, including Ansel Adams, Margaret Bourke-White, William Clift, Fred Dresser and Edward and Brett Weston.

The event is free, and takes place 1-4 p.m. Info, www.turnbullwines.com.

Patterson’s Beverage Journal, one of California’s oldest beverage publications, has been sold to Anthony Dias Blue, a noted wine writer, and Meridith May, publisher and executive editor of the publication, who have re-named it Patterson’s The Tasting Panel Magazine.

While Patterson’s has been a statewide publication, the new magazine will cover targeted markets in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

Said T. Jawad, ambassador to the U.S. from Afghanistan, takes part in a grapevine planting at Copia Monday  to honor the role Californians have played in supporting Roots of Peace, the organization that removes landmines from Afghan farms and restoring vineyards.

Roots of peace, together with UC Davis, US AID and several Napa Valley vintners, has removed more than 100,000 landmines and trained 10,000 farmers to grow grapes and raisins.

The Imagine Auction in Sonoma County has teamed with Sonoma County Vintners to create Sonoma Imagine, to be held Oct. 6 at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Alexander Valley.

Imagine was originally created by vintners Jess Jackson and Fred Furth and raised more than $5 million in three years, all of which has been donated to youth-oriented organizations throughout Sonoma County. It raised the third largest total of all auctions in the U.S. last year.

Wine industry veteran Roy Ceccetti has formed Ceccetti Wine Company and introduced two new brands, 39 Degrees and Redtree. Both will focus on sauvignon blanc and petite sirah.

Ceccetti co-founded Ceccetti Sebastiani Cellar with his brother-in-law, Don Sebastiani, and the company was an instant success with the Pepperwood Grove brand.

The wines will be made by renowned Napa Valley winemaker Bob Broman.

Celebrate the 20th April in Carneros the weekend of April 21 and 22. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Twenty-one wineries in Napa and Sonoma in the Carneros district, are expected to participate including Adastra, Bouchaine, Castle, Ceja, Cline, Cuvaison, Domaine Carneros, Folio, Homewood, Kamen, Larson Family, MacRostie, Mahoney Vineyards, McKenzie-Mueller, Richardson, Robledo, Schug, Tin Barn, Truchard, Ty Caton and Viansa.

Admission is $25 per person, payable at any participating winery on either day. It includes an April in Carneros logo glass for wine tastings as well as other offerings like food and wine pairings and entertainment.

Proceeds from April in Carneros admission provide scholarships for students attending Napa Valley College and Santa Rosa Junior College.  Funds are earmarked for students who are studying wine-related subjects or whose families are in the wine business.

For more information about April in Carneros, including a map to participating wineries, contact Hospitality de los Carneros at (800) 909-4352 (HDLC), or visit the Hospitality de los Carneros Web site at www.carneroswineries.org.

Pahlmeyer Winery sponsors of Napa Valley Comedy Night at Copia on May 5, The  benefit  for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the North Bay. The event will be hosted by Michael Pritchard, will feature Mickey Joseph and will include performances by Andrew Norelli, Leland Cotton Brown and Jeff Applebaum.

Tickets are $60 — only those over 21 are admitted — and can be purchased at Napa Community Bank, 700 Trancas St., Napa. Info, 258-5522, ext. 229.

Submit items for Toast of the Valley to Sasha Paulsen, spaulsen@napanews.com

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