Toast of the Valley: Introducing the Ella Fitzgerald Brut Rose

Domaine Carneros will release the 2004 Ella Fitzgerald Brut Rosé at a special event at the winery May 16  “Ella” will be served along with other Domaine Carneros wines while the “Black Olive Jazz” quartet performs a repertoire of Ella Fitzgerald songs.

This is the fourth in a series of Carneros sparkling wines honoring great women. In 2002, “Frivolités” Brut Rosé was released to celebrate the 90th birthday of America’s culinary grande dame, Julia Child. In 2005, Domaine Carneros honored the centennial of Greta Garbo’s birth with the release of the 2001 Greta Garbo Brut Rosé. In 2007 the famed courtesan, Madame de Pompadour, was honored with her own “Cuvée de la Pompadour.” 

 Domaine Carneros produced the Ella Fitzgerald Rosé sparkling wine to celebrate the accomplishments of “The First Lady of Song” and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of her first Grammy win in 1958 for Best Female Vocal Performance and Best Individual Jazz Performance. Only 200 cases were produced and there will be a three-bottle per person limit.

The Great Women series also reveals another passion of Domaine Carneros, the support of good causes. A portion of all proceeds of the 2004 Ella Fitzgerald Brut Rosé will benefit the Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation, created in 1993 by Fitzgerald, to “fulfill her desires to use the fruits of her success to help people of all races, cultures and beliefs.”

 Domaine Carneros will donate 100 percent of the profit from the sales of the 2004 Ella Fitzgerald Brut Rosé from the May 16 event to local youth jazz education programs at the Napa Valley Unified School District, the Sonoma School District and San Francisco’s SFJazz Youth Program. 

Tickets for the Ella Fitzgerald Release event may be purchased by calling the winery at 1-800-716-2788 EXT 135. Please direct event questions to lmitchell@domainecarneros.com. Chateau Society Wine Club Member price is $55 per person and general public price is $65 per person.

May 15 also marks the release date for the release of the second vintage of the Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley, created to honor an icon of California’s wine industry. Crafted by  Dave Guffy, winemaker for the Hess Collection Winery, for the first time, this wine was made entirely from Mont La Salle Vineyard estate grapes grown in a two-acre vineyard at the site of the original Christian Brothers winery where Brother Timothy worked as cellar master for more than 50 years.

The 2005 Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of 90 percent cabernet sauvignon, 5 percent malbec and 5 percent petit verdot. The wine was aged for 18 months in French oak. The wine retails for $94 per 750-mL ($194 per 1.5 liter), and approximately 100 cases were made, including a number of large-format bottles. Pre-sale orders, which will receive a 10 pre-release discount, will be taken by phone and by mail May 1-June 15. (A maximum of one case per family will apply.) All proceeds benefit the Lasallian Education Fund, the fundraising arm of Lasallian schools in the District of San Francisco, which  serves low-income families.

To be placed on the waiting list for the 2005 Brother Timothy Mont La Salle Vineyard Cabernet, call (415) 835-5969 or visit www.nexternal.com/schottwine/Category3.

Judd’s Hill Winery hosts a party for mothers on Mothers’ Day, May 11, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. All mothers will receive a complimentary chair massage between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Mom and their families can enjoy music from Fran Guidry, a Hawaiian slack key guitar master from noon until 3. The $10 tasting fee will be waived for all mothers and one guest per mother all day.

Newly released wines to be tasted are the 2007 Judd’s Hill Sauvignon Blanc, 2007 Rosé and 2007 Muscat Cannelli,  2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 Pinot Noir, 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel and 2004 Petite Sirah.

The winery is at 2332 Silverado Trail, between Hardman and Trancas, in Napa. For more information, visit www.juddshill.com or call 255-2332.

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