Alpine Wine Fest

June 21, 2008, 1:00 to 5:00. Nevada County, Northern Sierra Wine Country, A Grape Affair Loma Rica Ranch, Grass Valley,  866-355-wine. Held at a ranch in beautiful Grass Valley, the event offers wine tasting from local wineries, food, art, and music.

*September, 2008, Final Information TBD, Alpine Wine Fest, Squaw Valley Ski Resort, Lake Tahoe, CA, Charity Event.
In 2007 this event offered wines from over 40 premier California wineries, silent auctions and raffles in the incredibly beautiful European style square at the  Squaw Valley Village.

Wine Competition Tastings:

Wine competitions often offer a tasting of the wines that won awards after the competition is over. There are a number of these in California that generally offer food as part of the entry price. The Sacramento State Fair Commercial Wine Competition has an exceptionally well done affair. They generally attract a wide range of restaurants to serve food, over 90 in 2007, offer live music, wines from well over 100 wineries, and samples from the winners of the craft brew and cheese competitions. The event lasts three hours, which will not even get you close to tasting anything but a small sampling of what is presented. We generally pre-pick a few wineries that particularly interest us or one wine region that we would like to explore. Take a look at our previous article, California Wine Competition Tastings, for more information on three very different versions of these great events.

June 8, 2008, 3:00 to 6:30, $65/ $75 at the door. San Diego International Wine Competition, Wine & Roses Charity Wine Tasting, Westgate Hotel, San Diego, CA; (619) 583-9463; http://www.wineandroses.net. Features award winning international wines, food, live music, and prizes awarded.  Offers wines for sale at discounted prices.

Amador County Fair Tasting*July 25, 2008, Generally costs around $25 plus cost of admission to the fair. Amador County Fair Commercial Wine Competition Tasting. Amador County Fair Grounds, Plymouth, CA. Offers award winning wines from roughly 40 wineries, commemorative glass, and appetizers that work well with the wines. The tasting is part of the Amador County Fair. 

*July, 2008, Final Information TBD, California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition Tasting, Cal Expo Fair Grounds, Sacramento, CA (916) 263-3049. Offers hundreds of award winning California Wines, food from a large number of local restaurants, award winning craft brews and cheeses and live music.

August, 2008, Final Information TBD. Monterey County Fair Wine Challenge and Wine Pairing Event. Monterey Fair Grounds, Monterey, CA. As part of the County Fair the competition offers tastings of the top 15 wines paired with food. Attendees are encouraged to vote for their favorite, the winner of which is presented with the People’s Choice Award.