01/29 LARRY VAN AALST, SONOMA HAPPENINGS, WES HAGEN, J. WILKES WINES, CYRIL CHAPPELLET, CHAPPELLET

LARRY VAN AALST – WINE TRENDS AND SONOMA HAPPENINGS

LARRY IS AN EXPERT ON WINE WHO IS SOUGHT AFTER FOR, TASTING AND MAJOR SOMMELIER EVENTS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO AREA. HE COMMENTS ON THE INDUSTRY, WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE SONOMA AREA AND HIS THOUGHTS ABOUT WINE.


WES HAGEN - WINEMAKER, BRAND AMBASSADOR, J. WILKES WINES


J. Wilkes is a brand dedicated to producing wines from the greatest American Viticultural Areas (AVA’s) on the Central Coast of California. Instead of the ‘selfie’ of vineyard designation, we believe the greatest value and expression of a winegrowing area is careful blending of vineyards and harvest dates. Our goal in crafting these wines is to source the highest quality fruit and to age and bottle our wines with a focus on allowing vintage and region to show clearly and deliciously. We invite you to navigate this website as Jeff Wilkes sailed the Pacific—note the cool breeze and the manifest beauty in every moment, in every sip. Our winemaker Wes Hagen is always available to answer your questions.



CYRIL CHAPPELLET - CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, CHAPPELLET 

The Chappellet family’s romance with Pritchard Hill started more than four decades ago when Donn and Molly Chappellet first glimpsed its magnificent vista of forests and wildflower-filled meadows. Inspired by the notion that Bacchus loves the hills, the Chappellets followed the advice of renowned winemaker André Tchelistcheff and settled on Pritchard Hill’s rocky slopes, becoming the first winery to plant vineyards exclusively on high-elevation hillsides. From these Pritchard Hill vineyards, the Chappellets have been crafting extraordinary, age-worthy wines since 1967. Pritchard Hill’s rugged terroir has become legendary for producing wines with great intensity and depth—qualities that define the world's finest Cabernet Sauvignons. As a result, Chappellet wines have consistently received the highest praise from critics, and are sought after by the world's premier collectors. Today, a second generation of the family has joined their parents in embracing the romance of Pritchard Hill. They are passionate about preserving the land and continuing what Donn and Molly began—making extraordinary wines.

01/22 WINE TRENDS WITH JULIE KALICKI, THE SALTNER WINE AND CICCHETTI, IAN BLACKBURN, WINE LA, BEEKEEPER CELLARS

WINE TRENDS WITH JULIE KALICKI - OWNER, THE SALTNER WINE AND CICCHETTI

THE SALTNER WINE AND CICCHETTI
108 E Colorado Blvd, Monrovia, CA
(626) 385-6111

The Saltner is a wine bar and restaurant located in Monrovia, CA. Our Mission is to provide our customers with a relaxed environment where they can explore the world of wine. We offer our collection of wines by flights, by the glass as well as by the bottle. Bottles are also available for sale to enjoy at home. In addition, The Saltner offers Cicchetti, small plates of food to complement the wines for pairings and to enhance the food and wine experience.

Have a birthday or business event coming up? We are available for wine tasting parties and other private events! Give us a call today for booking and details!

Vino Collapso (Happy Hour) ... Tuesday and Wednesday 4pm to 6pm, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 3pm to 6pm and all day Sunday - 20% off all open bottles on 3 and 6 ounce pours!


IAN BLACKBURN – OWNER/FOUNDER, WINE LA & FOUNDER/CO-WINEMAKER, BEEKEEPER CELLARS - UPCOMING EVENTS

ABOUT WINELA
wineLA is about enhancing the wine culture of Los Angeles. To do so, wine must be in rhythm with fashion, music, food and other beverages.  It must take advantage of the geography, the architecture and the centers of interest. Los Angeles is a giant playground with an amazing array of venues, spaces, wine bars, restaurants, beaches, roof tops, gardens, and magical views. We want to be a part of the LA lifestyle, the wine lifestyle, and celebrate the people, the place and the passion.

wineLA will promote significant events, occasional classes, and tastings of merit. This is phase two of what we started 20 years ago at LearnAboutWine.com - America’s first wine education website and first in wine event creation. LearnAboutWine will now evolve onto a digital platform; the transformation will take some time; so we will slowly rebrand our event efforts onto wineLA, reduce the number of activities we focus on, and elevate our efforts to focus on the next big thing… Doing what is best for the wine industry and the communities we serve.  Edicts:  innovate, evolve and excite.

We thank you for joining our newsletter, we will be sending fewer emails and packing them with amazing content. We want to be your wine content provider and would love to hear about your favorite places, your music, your locations - we want to be under the influence of what ignites your passion for Los Angeles.

ABOUT BEEKEEPER CELLARS
Beekeeper Cellars is the vision of best friends and co-winemakers Ian Blackburn and Clay Mauritson. The two collaborated after adventurous individual careers in the wine business, and at last, decided to work together on a project of their own.

Clay, a 7th generation grape grower, and his family found themselves the owners of a significant slice of the Rockpile Appellation, through an amazing set of historical land transactions. The Mauritson family realized the potential and parented the creation of the ROCKPILE AVA. In 1998, Ian and Clay climbed the hill and watched the Madrone Spring Vineyard get planted, while discussing the future of Rockpile and the dream it represented.

In 2008, Clay saw the fruits of his family's labor taking shape and came to Ian with a unique opportunity to source some of the Rockpile fruit. He told Ian in the difficult days of 2008, “now is the time to get in and build the business and have it take shape as the market improves, and to not wait until business is strong as you will have a hard time getting access to the right quality assets.” Ian took heed of Clay’s wise comment and said "When your best friend is Clay Mauritson and he offers Rockpile fruit and to assist with winemaking…... you make Zinfandel.”

In Los Angeles, Ian operates a specialty wine marketing organization known as wineLA and has pioneered wine education for the past 20 years (since 1995) through www.learnaboutwine.com and www.wineLA.com.  Beekeeper Cellars is also involved in Ian’s Masters of Wine Thesis project and provides him the winemaking training he requires to help pass the difficult Masters of Wine exam...an ongoing pursuit.

01/15 EDGAR "PETE" DOWNS, FAMILY WINEMAKERS OF CALIFORNIA

EDGAR "PETE" DOWNS - PRESIDENT, FAMILY WINEMAKERS OF CALIFORNIA

Family Winemakers of California is an “organization that reflects the ‘little guy’s’ point of view.” With nearly 5,400 licensed wineries in California someone needs to be the actual voice for small, family wineries in the fight for more access to markets, protecting individual freedom from government over-regulation, and fostering aspirations to make the best wine. Our beginnings are humble. Family Winemakers was founded in 1990 after the wine market order extension was voted down in a true grassroots campaign. Industry growth and public policy on a myriad of issues begged for input from small producers. One man, one vote is the bedrock principle behind Family Winemakers that guides our views on legislation, regulation, litigation and business practices. We’ve spent 25 years and counting working to loosen up the post-Prohibition restrictions in California law and broaden access to domestic markets. We are affiliated with WineAmerica to establish a channel for input on national issues and generate unity among small producers and growers across the United States. Great wine needs a market. “Free Trade for Small Wineries in U.S. Markets” was a discussion paper generated by the founders that said, “The most important and in fact the only important reason for small wineries under 100 tons to join [FWC] would be to work for the right to market directly to end users thereby by-passing the 3-tier system.”

Direct-to-consumer wine sales by wineries has been one of the main public policy issues embraced by the association. It led to Family Winemakers intense involvement in direct shipping litigation that resulted in the landmark Granholm decision in 2005. From a limited market of 13 reciprocal states, consumer choice has now been expanded to 41 states and the District of Columbia, and counting. Family Winemakers has pursued legislation over the years to create numerous sales channels for small producers that has resulted in wine being sold at certified farmers’ markets, at fairs and festivals, and through order taking at thousands of non-profit wine tastings. And FWC has said no repeatedly to state excise take increases, new fees and laws that would overly hamper business operations.

UPCOMING TASTING: 2018 Pasadena
Family Winemakers will host its annual tasting of family-produced and hard-to-find California wines on Saturday, March 17 2018 at the Pasadena Convention Center. The Saturday tasting is a one day event of award-winning small, family-owned wineries that create wines from many of the state's fabled wine growing regions.  Great Wine -- A Family Tradition!

Imagine the opportunity to taste over 500 wines offered by over 125 wineries.  You'll find upwards of 40 different varietals or blends from 60 of California's famed appellations.  If you can’t get to the wine country let them come to you! Whether you’re adding to your wine list, retail shelves or your private cellar, this is an opportunity to Taste California!

01/08 JAMES ONTIVEROS, NATIVE 9, ALTA MARIA, DAVID W. HEJL, DOMAINE DELLA

FARMER/WINEMAKER/VITICULTURALIST JAMES ONTIVEROS - NATIVE 9 / ALTA MARIA

ALTA MARIA:
Alta Maria is a small, artisan winery focusing on producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the cold and oceanic Santa Maria Valley appellation in Santa Barbara County. Founded by 9th Generation California James Ontiveros, and Winemaker and long-time college friend Paul Wilkins, Alta Maria’s wines are inspired by the old world regions of France and are classic examples of purity, balance and complexity. We strive to make the best wines possible in a very conscientious manner and employ organic and sustainable practices leaving no indelible mark on the people and places around us.

The name “Alta Maria” refers to the upper Santa Maria River, which James’ ancestor, Don Juan Pacifico Ontiveros crossed on Saint Mary’s Day, 1855, as he drove cattle from Southern California to his new home at Rancho Tepusquet – now home to some of the globe’s most renowned vines. The picturesque river flowing through the valley was the force responsible for sustaining ranch life in those early days.

The artwork for Alta Maria Vineyards features hand-hewn iron nails used by homesteaders in Santa Maria before the Industrial Revolution introduced mass-produced, machine-cut nails. Despite its lowly function, each nail is unique from the next according to the conditions in which it was made and the expertise of the craftsman.

NATIVE 9 WINES:
“Native9 is the fulfillment of my own American story two centuries in the making. Tracing my roots back to the first men and women who settled in the Santa Maria Valley, I worked for hourly wages along with my parents to buy a small plot of land our ancestors’ 8,900-acre Mexican land grant: a modest cattle ranch where I planted my 8-acre vineyard and a panoramic view of the land that had once been our own. Planted in 1997 by my own two hands with the help of friends and family while I attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Rancho Ontiveros Vineyard is now considered one of the finest sites for Pinot Noir in California. As a natural extension of my deeply personal vision for this vineyard,Native9 is made in small lots with a nod to bothOld World sensibilities and New World stylistic freedom with the help of my longtime friend and vetted winemaker, Paul Wilkins. Though I wasn’t born into the wine industry by traditional means, I have vine-growing and farming in my blood. The name Native9 reflects my gratitude to the generations of California farmers and ranchers who came before me.”


DAVID W. HEJL - FOUNDER & WINEMAKER, DOMAINE DELLA

David Hejl, Former General Manager and CEO of Kosta Browne and Founder and Winemaker of DOMAINE DELLA is introducing a luxury Pinot Noir to the market. This wine label honors his family’s mother who died long before her time. DOMAINE DELLA’s mission is to craft intense and adventurous wines partnering with the very best growers to make a wine that inspires and creates special moments with those that matter and timeless memories. Extremely limited production from the finest sourced grapes in the Russian River and Sonoma Coast offered and first released commercially in 2014.

DOMAINE DELLA wines are released in the Spring and Fall over a three week period twice a year to active “list” members. Join the list www.domainedella.com