The public gets a chance to learn from grape growers at the Carneros Heritage Fest May 31. New this year, the fest’s Growers-Vintners pavilion will pair Carneros grape growers with the wineries that use their grapes.

A partial list of participating growers is now online at www.carnerosheritagefest.com.

Other features of the outdoor festival include a lamb barbecue led by the Carneros Inn’s Jeff Jake; the “Young Iron-Chef Cook Off,” music by the Back Burner Blues Band and environmental tours.  Proceeds will benefit the Carneros Land Stewardship Foundation, dedicated to the conservation and preservation of habitat in the San Pablo Bay wetlands adjacent to the Carneros region.

Tickets are $75 per person. For purchase, call 253-2678 or visit www.carnerosheritagefest.com.

 

A taste of Iberia

TAPAS, a 60-member trade association, will host a tasting of domestically-produced Iberian varietal wines at Copia Aug. 8 and 9.

Both days include informative seminars and walk-around tastings of wines made from grape varieties indigenous to Spain and Portugal including tempranillo, albariño, garnacha, graciano, mourvedre, touriga, verdejo and bastardo. More than 40 participating wineries are now producing wines from these grapes in Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

The Aug. 8 program is designed for members of the wine trade while Aug. 9 is geared for consumers. Tickets are $25, available from Copia 1-888-512- 6742 or log onto www.copia.org.

First Annual Solarbration

This summer solstice, wineries at the heart of the solar power trend in Wine Country will celebrate the day of the year when the sun shines the longest with the first annual Solarbration.

While Napa County as a whole tops the Northern California Solar Energy Association’s list of Bay Area counties with more than 51 watts of photovoltaic power installed per capita — more than twice the amount of No. 2 Sonoma with 26 watts per capita — Rutherford now has more than 1,000 solar watts per capita. ZD, Honig and Peju are launching Solarbration to commemorate Rutherford’s status as the “most solar town” in the Bay Area.

On June 21, from 5:30 p.m. until sunset, ZD Wines, Honig Vineyard & Winery, and Peju Province Winery will host a solstice celebration, with special wine tastings, sustainably grown gourmet cuisine, and live entertainment at each of their facilities. Guests are invited on a behind-the-scenes tour of the solar energy systems that power the wineries. All proceeds will be donated to the Land Trust of Napa County.  

ZD is the latest Rutherford winery to adopt solar power, with the installation of a 125 kilowatt system earlier this year. The 712-module design supplies 100 percent of the energy used in ZD’s production.

Honig’s solar power system — or their “electricity farm” as they like to call it — is one of the largest in Napa County. The 146 kilowatt system consists of 819 modules, generating 100 percent of their power.

At Peju, 720 panels were installed above the winery’s crush pad, barrel room, tank area and offices. The 126 kilowatt system provides 36 percent of Peju’s energy needs.

Collectively, the adoption of solar power by the wineries will spare the emission of nearly 11,000 tons of CO2 over the next 30 years — equivalent to the carbon captured by 100 acres of forest — while saving more than $132,000 in electricity costs in the coming year alone.

Tickets $40 for wine club members; $50 for non-members. All proceeds donated to the Land Trust of Napa County. Includes wine, appetizers, live entertainment, and solar power tours. Purchase tickets in-person on the day of the event or online through participating wineries.