Local wine poured in D.C. tonight

Susan Meyer, winemaker and co-owner of RustRidge Winery in Chiles Valley, will be pouring her Women Winemakers Challenge Gold Medal 2005 Chardonnay at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C., Thursday, Oct. 2 for Wine is Art — Celebrating the Winemaker and the Collector, sponsored by the Business and Professional Women’s Council of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Margrit Mondavi will be honored at this event in which only the Gold Medal wines from The National Women’s Wine Competition/Women Winemakers Challenge 2008 will be poured. This wine competition is the first and only U.S. based wine competition judged solely by superstar women of the wine industry.

Cabernet, chocolate experience

A chance to taste the pairing of cabernet wines and organic and Vegas chocolate will be possible from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3 at the Sol Bar at Solage Resort in Calistoga.

Suzanne Phifer Pavitt, the owner of Date Night (a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon) will be pouring tastes of the 2005 vintage, along with tastes of three chocolates — salty caramels, vanilla bean chocolate, and chocolate-almond clusters from New York-based artisanal producer Veré.

Kathy Moskal founded Veré in New York City to be a producer of organic, gluten-free, low-glycemic artisanal chocolates, which are made from 75 percent sustainably grown Ecuadorian beans. 

Suzanne Phifer Pavitt and her husband Shane will launch Phifer Pavitt Wines with 300 cases of the 2005 Date Night Cabernet Sauvignon this month. The wine sells for $75 to their mailing list, through the winery’s Web site by mail order, at www.datenightwines.com or www.phiferpavittwine.com. The 2006 vintage will be released in the spring.

The event is complimentary and open to the public. Solage Resort is located at 755 Silverado Trail in Calistoga.

New releases:

• Damian Rae Winery now is selling its latest hand-crafted premium wine, the Damian Rae 2006 Syrah from White Hawk vineyard (Santa Barbara County). Winery founders are John and Sharol Tarabini, winemaker is Kian Tavakoli. It is priced at $50 and can be ordered at www.damianrae.com.

• Meteor Vineyard’s first offerings are the 2005 Meteor Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Special Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines are being sold through the mailing list with a small allocation reserved for restaurants frequented by owners Barry and Tracy Strong Schuler. Meteor Vineyard wines are a collaborative venture between the Schulers and Dawnine and Bill Dyer, who own Dyer Vineyards on Diamond Mountain. To buy the wines call 258-2900 or e-mail info@meteorvineyard.com.

• Sterling Vineyards is releasing its new line of organic wines from Mendocino County. The Sterling Vineyards Made With Organic Grapes 2007 Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay are now on retail shelves nationwide. A cabernet sauvignon made from organic fruit is scheduled for release in April. Winemaker is Malcolm Seibly, who has made these wines with fruit grown in the organic Beckstoffer, Guinness McFadden and Patianna vineyards in the Mendocino area.

Beringer releases cabernet with party

The release of the 2005 Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon will be at Beringer Vineyards with tastings, live music and cave tours. The event will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both Saturday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 12 at the historic site in St. Helena.

Cost is $20, which includes: tastings of 2006 Private Reserve Chardonnay and 2005 Private Reserve Cabernet, a souvenir logo glass and live music by The Wild Catahoulas from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and The Blues Box Bayou Band on Sunday.

Reservations are not required. For more information, call 963-8989, ext. 2222 or contact Beringer’s Tour & Information Center, 967-4412, or visit the Web site at www.beringer.com.

Paraduxx Open House is Oct. 11

Celebrate harvest at the Paraduxx Winery’s Open House on Saturday, Oct. 11.

In the morning, the Harvest Experience includes picking grapes, sorting fruit and sharing an elbow-to-elbow gourmet lunch with the Paraduxx winemakers.

In the afternoon, from 3 to 6 p.m., attendees are asked to roll up their sleeves with hands-on wine blending and sample bites from some of the area’s favorite restaurants, including Go Fish, Tra Vigne, BarBersQ and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. Library wines and advance releases of Paraduxx wines will be served as Paraduxx celebrates its 15th harvest in the Napa Valley.

Admission for the afternoon Open House is $55 in advance and the morning Harvest Experience is $250 per person and includes admission to the Open House. The Harvest Experience is limited to 20 people. RSVP to Stacie at (888) 354-8885, or online at www.paraduxx.com.

Vineyard films

to debut tonight

Bret Lyman, a Napa Valley-based filmmaker and proprietor of B.Napa Studio, has turned his camera on the vineyards, wineries and principals of Wilson Daniels Ltd.’s French and Hungarian properties to create a series of compelling, short films.

A trailer for the entire film series is available online now at www.wilsondanielsfilms.com. Individual films will premiere online over the next six weeks, beginning with the Oct. 2, debut of “The Renaissance of Tokaji,” showcasing Royal Tokaji. All films will be available for download to iPods, as well as web-based viewing at Wilson Daniels Films, YouTube (Wilson Daniels channel), Facebook (Wilson Daniels page) and Vimeo.

 Each mini-documentary explores the history, setting, and distinct personality of the properties through thought-provoking images and interviews with winery principals.

For more information about the Wilson Daniels portfolio, visit www.wilsondaniels.com.

Godoff joins V. Sattui Winery

V. Sattui Winery has announced the appointment of Peter Godoff as Senior Vice President, Operations.

Godoff will lead V. Sattui’s customer service and operations initiatives, focusing on infusing the guest experience with sophistication and innovation. Owned by local winemaker Dario Sattui, V. Sattui markets its wines exclusively through consumer direct channels. For more information on the winery, visit www.vsattui.com.

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