Hopland Passport Fall 2015 is this weekend

John on Wine: Hopland Passport Fall 2015 is this weekend

Originally published in the Ukiah Daily Journal newspaper on Thuirsday, October 15, 2015

Hopland Passport is just two days away, on Saturday, Oct. 17 and Sunday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, and will offer up wine and food tasting at 15 local spots. Many wineries offer up their biggest discounts of the year for attendees.

Hopland Passport visitors enjoying the wines at top attraction, McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room (Photo by Pam Strayer)

You’ll find music, tours, and this year there will be seminars too. For more information, including how to get tickets for the two-day event, visit HoplandPassport.com. Here is some of what you can expect this weekend:

Join Brutocao Cellars at the Historic “Brutocao Schoolhouse Plaza” for another fun-filled, educational wine weekend. They’ll be pouring their award-winning Estate wines from both bottle and barrel, rolling bocce balls, dancing to live music and of course eating great food.  In the spirit of the Schoolhouse, Brutocao will be hosting “blending seminars” both days.  Sign up early, to learn the secrets of great wine making.

Seminar: Blending Seminar

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Join Campovida this Hopland Passport for an exploration of white Rhône varietals with winemaker Sebastian Donoso.  Campovida will be pouring Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier as well as Campo Di Blanca, a blend of all three, accompanied by food pairings crafted by their restaurant, the Piazza de Campovida. Finally, don’t forget to try Campovida’s biodynamically farmed Grenache.

Seminar: White Rhone Varietal Exploration

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Cesar Toxqui Cellars will be serving delectable cheeses with a new sparkling wine and Viognier as a starter. CTC will have fall-themed food: seasonal corn and black bean salad, plus a mixed-grill medley of barbecue grilled tri-tip, wild boar sausage, and chicken — which will pair well with new release 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, organic and sustainable, along with Zinfandel. Complete your experience with delicious cake paired with port.
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Frey Vineyards invites you to taste 100 percent organic award-winning wines at the Solar Living Center, inside the store. Organic Menu:  Apricot glazed chicken breast strips marinated in ginger, garlic, tamari, and local apricot jam; Marinated Frey Ranch Goat Cheese; Roasted root vegetables with olive oil and Herbs; Homemade Hummus; fresh raw vegetables; crackers, baguettes; and Acorn Meyer lemon bars sweetened with local honey on a buttery crust.
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Graziano Family of Wines with four distinct wine labels will be offering wines from Aglianico to Zinfandel. Specializing in Italian varietals, they also make several different Pinot Noirs and old Mendocino varietals like Chenin Blanc and Petite Sirah. Greg Graziano will be doing a seminar on Italian influence in Mendocino County on Saturday. Come taste Greg’s wines and enjoy Italian Sausages, aged cheeses, olive tapenade, and more.

Seminar: Greg Graziano Family Tradition (held at Brutocao Cellars)

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Scottish Highlanders invade Mendocino Wine Country. The girls of Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery will put on their finest kilts and sporrans to explore their Scottish roots on Burnee Hill. Join Jaxon Keys and taste amazing Estate wines paired with traditional Scottish fare. The Highland Games are taking place in the meadow, bagpipes are sounding in the farmhouse and America’s Best Brandy will be showcased in an expertly guided distillery tour. Slainte! Cheers!

Seminar: Distillery Tour and Seminar

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Upper Russian River Grilling will be happening at Jeriko Estate for the October Passport. Experience a wild display of mixed meats, cheeses and condiments to complement Jeriko’s Upper Russian River Pinot Noir, Anima Mundi Pinot Noir and Pommard Pinot Noir, along with classics like Sangiovese.  Don’t miss out on the barrel sampling, music and special wine prices that are discounted for Passport weekend only.
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At the McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room, enjoy Hopland’s top awarded, rated and reviewed wines. Guinness McFadden will be cooking up a Beef Bourguignon styled stew, which McFadden is calling Irish stew because Guinness is cooking it, using his organic grass-fed beef from McFadden Farm, perfect for the fall weather, and sliced baguettes. McFadden Wine Club Members get 30 percent discounts plus 1 penny shipping on cases of wine during Passport. Pick up farm fresh premium garlic braids, wild rice, beef and herbs, as well. Guinness McFadden will be on hand to hand sign purchased bottles.

Seminar: Chat on Organic Farming (with the possibility of additional topics: Notre Dame, the U.S. Navy, and a joke about an Irish priest and a bicycle) with Guinness McFadden

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McNab Ridge Tasting Room will be featuring Pollo Ricky Tacos — Perfectly prepared by S’Wine Country BBQ. Marinated chicken grilled to perfection, sauced with a sweet and savory chile sauce, topped with a fresh pico de gallo cabbage salsa, finished with a roasted chipotle peanut salsa, chipotle crema and chopped roasted peanuts. Bottle painting by Leslie Bartolomei. And of course, McNab Ridge will pour the whole line-up of Rich Parducci’s award-winning wines.
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Milano Family Winery will feature a scrumptious red-wine-infused oak smoked, marinated Tri-Tip, fresh veggies, a variety of cheeses and decadent chocolate raspberry brownies.  Enjoy live music on the lawn both Saturday and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.  Learn about Red Winemaking at Milano’s seminars — Saturday at noon and 2 p.m., Sunday at noon.  Eat, sip medal-winning wines, groove to tunes, and peruse the wares of several vendors selling fashion and crafts.

Seminar: Red Winemaking with Deanna Starr

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Relax in the Redwoods at Nelson Family Vineyards with gorgeous views of their terraced Cabernet vineyard. Nelson will be pouring Estate wines paired with Mendough’s Pizza. Roots of Wine Tour, Viticulture 101, Saturday 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. Walk the vineyards with Greg and Tyler Nelson. See first-hand how to prune, sucker, tie, and leaf pull to yield top quality wine grapes.

Seminar: Viticulture 101

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Relax and enjoy the grandest view in the valley at RIVINO Estate Winery, where with every wine you get to savor in your glass, you can also view the vines they came from, from where you’re perched. Along with award winning estate wines, you will get to enjoy wood fired food creations by Pagan Fire Pizza. Rivino may have some delicious fermenting winery juices to try too.
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Join Seebass Vineyards and Family Wines on the vineyard for a traditional German Oktoberfest. Seebass’ best wines will be accompanied by authentic German tastings prepared by their family and served in historic barns overlooking a 100+ acre vineyard. Seebass will be featuring their favorite Chardonnays as well as a selection of award winning reds. Prost!
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Located in downtown Hopland, SIP Wine Shop is a wine shop and discovery center for anyone interested in learning about and buying Mendocino wines. With over 100 different wines from local producers, SIP is sure to have something to please every palate. Stop by and enjoy a glass of wine, cider or craft beer on a beautiful garden patio. SIP will be pairing fine wines with tasty treats all weekend long.

Seminar: Cooking Demo & Seminar on Grass-fed, Heritage Meat by Mendocino Organics

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Find the grill of your dreams at Terra Sávia, with a Passport menu featuring a trio of glazed grilled kebobs of beef, fresh shrimp, or chicken along with marinara, cashew ricotta, or pesto gnocchi paired with local seasonal vegetables., pleasantly topped off with a refreshing Meyer Lemon Cake. Back by popular demand, Coffee Zombie Collective will fill the house with their raucous acoustic cover tunes. Bring your appetite and dancing shoes.

Seminar: Olive Oil Seminar

 

Hopland Passport is this weekend!

John On Wine – Hopland Passport is this weekend!

Originally published in the Ukiah Daily Journal newspaperon Thursday, April 30, 2015

Spring Hopland Passport 2015 is this weekend, Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3, from 11:00am-5:00pm each day. Tickets are available at the door at each participating winery for $55. For $55, you get a wine glass, wristband, and Passport to collect stamps in for prize drawings and to take notes of your favorite wines. Each winery will offer up wine and food pairings, and many will have their best sale prices of the year for attendees. Here’s what each winery promises, in their own words:

Brutocao Cellars – Spring is in the air and so is “fun” here at Brutocao Cellars. Join us for another Passport full of friends, family, bocce and of course award winning Estate wines. We’ll be dancing on the deck, enjoying scrumptious eats, rolling bocce balls, barrel tasting and sipping some new release deliciousness. Come by and kick off “Merlot Madness in May” at Brutocao!

Campovida – Campovida is a family owned and operated certified organic farm and working vineyard. We offer, wine tasting, olive oil tasting, live music and food pairings from our restaurant the Piazza de Campovida. Not to be missed during passport is our garden tour an experience of your own organic immersion with our master gardener, Ken Boek, awaken the five senses and enjoy an educational experience in plant and insect diversity.

Cesar Toxqui Cellars – Cesar Toxqui Cellars will be doing traditional Asian delicacies. We will greet you with our traditional Filipino appetizer called “lumpia” and an array of fruit infused cheeses paired with our Pinot Gris and Immigrant Chardonnay. Also we will be serving our traditional Roasted pig paired with our 2012 Organic Zinfandel , 2012 Immigrant Pinot Noir and Heirloom Cinco. Finish it off with our Port and a special ordered chocolate cake.

Frey Vineyards – Come Join us at the beautiful Solar Living Institute, inside the Real Goods Store and taste our delicious USDA Organic and Biodynamic wines. No Sulfites added. We are offering: Hawaiian-style Lamb Meatballs; with mango, pineapple, garlic and ginger. Herbal Polenta Diamonds; with tarragon, thyme, onions and asiago. Frey Ranch Assorted Cheeses; with sourdough baguettes (gluten free options). Artichoke Olive Dip; with raw veggie platter and Seasonal Berries.

Graziano Family of Wines – Welcome to Graziano Family of Wines where we offer four distinct wine brands, with a focus on Italian varietals, Pinot Noir, and old world wines with a long tradition in Mendocino County, like Chenin Blanc and Zinfandel. Come try a dry white wine with imported aged cheeses, or a red with Tri Tip. We will have a variety of dips, and tapenade to pair with wines from dry to sweet.

Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery – LumberJax salute Mendocino history! Come sit a while on our veranda! We will be in our best plaid and dungarees serving you up hearty beef stew made with local ingredients and paired with our delicious estate wines. The LumberJax will show you old-fashioned hospitality at our historic Farmhouse Tasting Room. Red wine, white wine, dessert wine, brandy – we have something for every taste!

Jeriko Estate – Upper Russian River Grilling will be happening at Jeriko for the May Passport. Experience a wild display of mixed meats, cheeses and condiments to complement Jeriko’s Upper Russian River Pinot Noir, Anima Mundi Pinot Noir and Pommard Pinot Noir, along with classics like Sangiovese. Don’t miss out on the barrel sampling, music and special wine prices that are discounted for Passport weekend only.

McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room – Enjoy Hopland’s top awarded wines, McFadden’s California State Fair Best of Show Sparkling Wine, two Wine Enthusiast Magazine ‘Editors’ Choice’ wines, and many new releases, paired with McFadden organic grass fed beef, grilled to perfection and served with a red wine reduction mushroom demi glaze, with assorted salads and sliced baguettes. McFadden Wine Members get 40% off cases of wine during Passport. Guinness McFadden will be on hand to hand sign purchased bottles.

McNab Ridge Tasting Room – McNab Ridge will be featuring Tri-tip on crostini with a chimichuri sauce and a Farro Summer Salad – with fresh squashes, red bell pepper, onion, pistachios and dried cranberries with citrus vinaigrette, perfectly prepared by S’Wine Country BBQ. Sample over a dozen gourmet dips & spreads and get a bottle hand painted by artist Leslie Bartolomei. And of course, we’re pouring our whole line up of Rich Parducci’s award-winning wines!

Milano Family Winery – We’ll feature our scrumptious red-wine-infused oak smoked, marinated Tri-Tip, fresh veggies, a variety of Cabot Creamery cheeses and decadent chocolate raspberry brownies. Enjoy live music on the lawn with the Linda Ferro Trio playing jazzy rock and dance music on Saturday and the incomparable 12-string guitarist Michael Hantman on Sunday. Join us and eat, sip our medal winning wines, groove to the tunes and peruse the wares of several vendors selling fashion and crafts!

Nelson Family Vineyards – Come relax in the Redwoods at Nelson Family Vineyards – this serene grove is a majestic and magical place with gorgeous views of our terraced Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. We’ll be pouring our delicious Estate wines paired with Mendough’s Wood-Fired Pizza, deliciously made with organic, local ingredients including chevre, sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto, arugula, Gorgonzola and artichoke atop the most incredible crust. We look forward to seeing you again!

Rivino Winery – Steppin’ back into the 50’s! A fun Grease inspired theme … back when lap belts were the norm and airbags had nothing to do with cars. Stop in and enjoy some fun 50’s style food from Pagan Fire Pizza. Some award winning wines from RIVINO … and a terrific concert of 50’s era music along with some classic cars too! Welcome to the Summer of Love and Beauty School Dropouts!

Terra Savia – Our menu will include grilled Tri-tip steak in a Pinot Noir barbecue sauce accompanied with roasted beets & toasted walnuts with a walnut vinaigrette, bowtie pasta and kale with pine nuts and goat cheese. As dessert we will feature an assortment of specialty cookies from the Pacific Cookie Company in Santa Cruz including dark chocolate cranberry, lemon drop and Dr. Midnight.

I love Passport events, and attended Passport to Dry Creek Valley for the third consecutive year last week (a recap is coming soon, after I get through my own Passport event this weekend). I will, of course, be working Hopland Passport, so if you attend, stop by McFadden and say hello.