Kristin was a big help in getting everything together for the tasting. We've got a desk ready for her here in my office. Today she'll start at about 11. I still have to get the barn cleaned up from the bottling on Saturday past!
I arrived early last night - traffic into the city wasn't bad at all. It took me a bit of time to figure out exactly where the restaurant was located, but after a few wrong turns, I got directions that put me in the right place.
I had a table next to Ana Keller of Keller Estate, located out on Lakeville Highway. She brought a 2008 Rose of Pinot Noir. We joked about needing the Petaluma Gap sign behind us. Also there was my friend, Tim Olson, of Olson Ogden Wines. Tim was working with Cahill Winery back when I was getting label approval for my 2006 wines. We were all part of the "pre-dinner" tasting. Other winemakers participated in the main Table Hop portion of the dinner. One of our previous grape buyers, Scott Rich with Talisman Cellars, was there for the dinner.
Responses to the Clary Ranch 2006 Pinot were uniformly great! Tasters were enthusiastic about discovering our little gem. I had about 8 signups for the mailing list. While we were pouring, servers passed around appetizers - a peppery ahi poke, and a delicate whitefish-cake. The poke was delicious, if a bit too spicy to go with the Pinot, I thought. Wish I could have stayed for the main courses, but the price for winery participants was a bit steep: $100 plus a full case of wine! As it was, I was glad to be showcased for people who could afford the $150/person cost of the dinner.
There were about 20 wineries overall who participated in the evening's festivities. Contrast that with the 200+ who will be pouring at the Grand Tasting at Fort Mason on Sunday!
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