Festival Festivities

Many many many years ago I went to a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation in San Francisco. There were 60-something Napa and Sonoma wineries in attendance plus a killer silent auction – a dream afternoon, right? The food options, however, were limited – lots of fruit (and yuck-o, fruit with wine? no thanks) and stinky cheese. There is only so much stinky cheese you can consume at one time, so I admit I probably did not have enough food in my system when I hit the wine gauntlet. Was I tasting and spitting? Oh no, drinking it all down, baby! At one point I jumped behind a table to give a bathroom break to a small winery owner whose chardonnay I loved – no malolactic fermentation, not over oaked – it was yummy. So he offered me a free bottle if I would cover his table for him and like any good drunk girl, I sold the heck out of his wine. I started chatting up this cute guy, Lance, and found out very quickly that he had gone to high school with my new boyfriend, Scott (and funnily enough the conversation ended pretty quickly after that bit of information was disclosed… I wonder why?). Shortly thereafter my buds Bradly and Jim decided I had had enough and they led me to Jim’s car, smartly putting me in the front seat, as halfway to my apartment, in the middle of the Castro, Jim had to pull over so I could yack. Really lovely. I was in my late 20s, throwing up in the daylight on 17th Street from drinking too much. Bradly and Jim dumped me off at my apartment and I called Scott and made him come over to take care of me (no, not that way, I mean in the holding my head over the toilet way – ah, new love!). I was hung over for a week. And that, my friends, is how NOT to enjoy a wine tasting event.


The Newport Seafood & Wine Festival was two weekends ago and it has a somewhat deserved reputation for being a crazy booze fest. And on that Saturday it was true: folks in costumes dry humping, cougars asking for Volcano tattoos on their chests, one woman slung back a taste of our wine like a shot of whiskey – it was a spectacle indeed. But Sunday and Friday, the folks more concerned with actually tasting the wine were in attendance and many of them had specific tactics for getting the most out of this great collection of wineries.


1. Eat something before and during the event. Take it from me, this is VERY IMPORTANT.

2. Spit out the tastes. (Yeah, right) No, seriously, it is very difficult to keep track of how much you have consumed when you are having a little taste here and a little taste there. Those little tastes add up very quickly.

3. Take the time to do a little research before the event: Find out what wineries will be in attendance and select 5 or so as your priority. Don’t just visit places you are familiar with. This is a perfect chance to try something new.

4. Start by tasting whites first, then go around and try the reds.

5. If there is a competition associated with the festival, focus on the gold and silver medal winning wines. While it may not be a big time, world renown competition, it will pre-screen the

6. Take notes! Even if it is something as simple as “Wow, that Vineyard Manager from Quail Run is cute!” You’ll be trying lots of wine and meeting many people whilst consuming alcohol – if you want to remember any of it, write it down – or better yet, use that camera on your cell phone to take photos of the bottles you particularly enjoyed.

7. If the festival doesn’t have a Wine Will Call, complain to the organizers. We wineries have been chirping at some of these event folks for years to provide this – it allows you, the customer, to buy your wine at a booth, then pick all the wines your buy throughout the day up at one spot close to the exit. You don’t have to lug around bottles of wine. Basic customer service, wouldn’t you say?

Festival season is underway, Sip in McMinnville is this weekend, and we, Volcano Vineyards, are one of only five Oregon wineries invited to pour at Pebble Beach Food & Wine the weekend of April 16. The next weekend is the Astoria fest. Here in Bend we have the Promenade du Vin/Wine by the River event every fall. The mountains are bringing themselves to you, Mohammed. Take advantage!