Rabbi Oren Postrel of Congregation Beth Sholom in Napa will conduct Jewish blessing of the grapes ceremonies Sunday, Sept. 30 at 11 a.m. at Judd’s Hill Winery, 2332 Silverado Trail, and at noon at Hagafen Cellars, 4160 Silverado Trail. Check www.cbsnapa.org for other locations throughout the day.

The public is welcome to stop by at any of these blessings. The events are free and there will be light refreshments after each ceremony.

“We are combining the secular and spiritual worlds here,” said Judd Finkelstein,  winemaker and co-owner of Judd’s Hill Winery, along with his parents Art and Bunny and wife Holly.

Ernie Weir, the founder and winemaker at Hagafen, added, “The Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot falls at this time and since we are also harvesting grapes, we thought it would make sense to align the two calendars, of Mother Nature and Jewish history.”

Rabbi Postrel became the rabbi at Congregation Beth Sholom this summer. He was ordained in 1993 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York and came to Napa from North Tahoe Hebrew Congregation in Tahoe Vista. Rabbi Postrel grew up in San Francisco, graduated from UC Berkeley and has served as rabbi at the Jewish Home & Hospital in the Bronx in New York as well as at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville.

 JC Cellars has released the inaugural 2005 vintage of a new zinfandel-based blend called the Impostor. This limited production wine comes from top California vineyards of unrevealed origin.

The Impostor was conceived by winemaker Jeff Cohn. “I wanted a new challenge; something fresh and exciting. Creating a new wine that is neither a vineyard nor varietal designate is indeed a change for me.”

Starting with a base of 72 percent zinfandel, Cohn blended in 11 percent syrah for its smoky characters and seductive qualities. He then blended in petite syrah for more richness, and mourvèdre, influencing the blend with its blackberry, gamy, roasted herbs de Provence perfume. The final touch was a drop of viognier to add elegance and finesse. Although the wines and percentages are revealed, the vineyard source is kept a mystery.

The name for the Impostor was inspired by the TV mystery classics of Jeff’s young adult years such as “Colombo” and “McMillan and Wife.” Cohn recalls that in these TV episodes, there was always an impostor — a person who stirred up interest and wasn’t who they appeared to be. Cohn said he hopes that his wine shares the same intriguing qualities of these mystery characters: “Usually this character had the most complex dimensions and interesting attributes on the show. This character always had a dark side. Often the Impostor would be the culprit twisting the plot to keep you on guard until the astonishing finish.”

The Impostor was released in summer 2007. 1,150 cases were made. Suggested retail price is $32.

Stave Wine Lounge will begin Australian wine month with a tasting of 1997 and 1998 Penfolds shiraz on Sept. 21. The tasting begins at 5 p.m. Also offered will be a variety of red wines and sparkling wines from Down Under.

Stave is located at 1149 First St., at Coombs. For information call 259-5411.

Domaine Chandon has introduced its rosé sparkling wine in 185ml bottles, which it says is perfect for picnics or by-the-glass offerings in restaurants.

Chandon sells its brut classic in 187ml bottles and has become the fastest-growing split on the market, the winery said. Its sparkling rosé was introduced about a year ago and it was a natural progression to provide the wine in the 187ml size, the announcement said.

Robert Skalli, owner of St. Supery Vineyards & Winery in Napa Valley, has created Skalli Family Wines Americas to import a variety of wines from the south of France and other areas.

Wines will come from Languedoc, from Chateauneuf du Pape and from Corsica.

Michaela Rodeno, CEO of St. Supery, will be the import company’s chief executive officer, and Steve Richards, St. Supery’s national sales manager, will head the import company’s sales team.

The domain name winecast.com is now up for sale.

Mick Winter, who owns the name, said he originally purchased it in 1999 when it was bundled with wine.com, and the entity was sold. “We originally intended to use it for audio/videocasting of wine reviews, winemaker interviews, and other wine and wine industry news,” he said. “However, we've decided to focus on other areas and instead put the domain name on the open market.”

Winter is owner of Westsong Publishing, which produces the Westsong.com Web site, along with The Napa Valley Book. He can be reached at 257-2737, or at mick@westsong.com.

A 40-year vertical collection of Beaulieu Vineyards Georges de La Tour cabernet sauvignon will be a featured item at the St. Helena Catholic School’s 20th anniversary wine auction Oct. 6 at Rutherford Grove Winery.

Bundled with the collection will be a dinner for six hosted by BV’s vice president of winemaking, Joel Aiken. The vintages of the auction lot range from 1964 to 2003.

Other lots include a 20-bottle five-year vertical collection of Switchback, plus a priority placement on the winery’s waiting list; a six-vintage vertical of Araujo Estate Eisele Vineyard cabernet sauvignon, a 20-liter collection from Caymus Vineyard; a 20-year vertical collection of Duckhorn Vineyards Three Palms Merlot; meeting Mario Andretti at his winery, along with tickets to Infineon Raceway; and a dinner with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Tickets are $150 per person and can be purchased by calling 963-4677.