Make Plans Now for the 2014 Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival

With a national advertising campaign resulting in over 100 million media impressions, the Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival provides an unprecedented opportunity for local businesses to increase the amount of publicity and recognition that their brand receives. Local eateries and tourist attractions have had greatly increased traffic during past festival events, and this year is on track to break previous attendance records.

The festival offers businesses a great partnership and even greater visibility due to this massive national campaign. With premiere media partnerships such as the LA TIMES, Travelzoo, and other notable national publications, the Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival brings added attention, revenue and good will to the community, all while benefiting a worthy cause.

This two week long event features a slate of tasting affairs that highlight numerous local eateries and restaurants, bringing media attention and new customers to local businesses that might not otherwise gain this level of exposure.

Local hotels and motels in Calabasas and Malibu have historically experienced a surge in occupancy rates, and are typically sold out during the two weeks of the Calabasas Malibu Wine & Food Festival.

Area restaurants and bars are packed during the two week festivities, and enjoy a proven increase in residual business that multiplies each year with the coming of the next festival. The impact of participating in previous festivals is now being felt by a variety of local businesses such as providers of scenic tours and excursions, specialty boutiques, auto mobile dealerships and a variety of shopping destinations.

Businesses in Malibu and Calabasas alike are seeing an increase in their profitability because of the traffic and visibility that a partnership with the festival brings. Local wineries report that they are filled with out of town guests looking to get their hands on the Malibu gold, some of the best wines that California has to offer.

More and more, this event is making a prominent impact not only on area businesses, but is giving back to the community as well. Last year, proceeds from the event were used to purchase all new equipment for the local high school.

Both businesses and the community benefit from the increased tourism and national recognition that this unprecedented media exposure will provide.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Santa Rosa Says Wine Country Community is Popular Biking Destination

In 2013 Santa Rosa made history as the first Northern California city to host the finish of the Amgen Tour of California drawing the biggest names in cycling and watched around the globe on NBC Sports. The town has worked with the organization since 2006 to host and highlight cycling in the area. Now Santa Rosa and Sonoma County are known as a world-class cycling destination hosting popular events & thousands of enthusiasts. Resident & Tour de France cyclist Levi Leipheimer hosts his well-known annual GranFondo race in town with 7,500 riders; he calls it, “an opportunity to ride your heart out in some of the greatest cycling country this continent has to offer.” Located just outside of San Francisco and exactly in the middle of wine country, Santa Rosa is an ideal launching point for unlimited routes of varying distances and difficulty. The established infrastructure for cyclists; abundant well-located lodging, transportation, restaurants, point- to-point rides and routes all set in nine months straight of great weather make it a desirable touring hub. For information & schedule of cycling events and tours see VisitSantaRosa.com or call (800) 404-7673.

The local biking culture and recent press has inspired many enthusiasts to witness the spectacular landscape of wine country in person. Bret Gave, COO of Wine Country Bikes – Bicycling Touring Center, says it just works to launch rides from a central location like Santa Rosa and that it has an extremely hospitable environment and support for cyclists. The options are literally limitless and riders can design a breathtaking tour, Gave says, “whether you opt to go through the Redwoods to the ocean or the vineyards into the rolling hills, you can start here and go anywhere."

Planning a route is easy with an abundance of facilities like; award-winning B&B’s, median to larger luxury hotels and spas and interesting stops, located all along bike paths. Visitors can pick from 3, 4 to 7-day+ expeditions crossing over a dozen small townships that fit the cycling touring grid along with ample rest stops, busses, and other amenities needed along the way. Within a few miles of Santa Rosa proper riders can find a 3000 ft. climb, the Pacific Ocean along Highway 1 and rides thru Wine Country or the great Redwoods. Visitors also partake in award-winning wine tasting and farm-fresh dining as they tour. San Francisco Bay Area access will soon be further enhanced with the birth of the new Smart Train coming to town in 2014.

About Santa Rosa

Visit Santa Rosa provides assistance to visitors and groups seeking information about lodging, dining and cycling entertainment opportunities in Santa Rosa. The bureau also operates an Official State of California Welcome Center, and helps to bring visitors & events to Santa Rosa, such as the Amgen Tour of California. For more information, please call (707) 577-8674 or VisitSantaRosa.com.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Central Coast Wine & Food to Host Live Twitter Simultasting with California Winemaker Wes Hagen of Clos Pepe

Central Coast Wine & Food will host wine bloggers and enthusiasts from every corner of the United States on November 13th to a simultaneous tasting of wine from Clos Pepe and a live Twitter Q&A session with Wes Hagen (@WesHagen), renowned vineyard manager and winemaker at Clos Pepe Vineyards. For the tasting, bottles of 2009 Clos Pepe Estate Pinot Noir will be shipped to a short list of participating bloggers from across the country.

“In the vineyard, my job is to get out of the way and let the dirt do the talking,” said Hagen. “Now we get to use technology to enhance the last great analog experience in American culture - sitting around a table sharing food and wine.”

Join in on November 13th at 5:30 PM Pacific/7:30 CST/8:30 EST to ask your questions and learn the finer points of the vine. By using the hashtag #DirtDontLie on Twitter, any messages will automatically become part of the discussion.

Central Coast Wine & Food recently hosted a video simultasting with Morgan Clendenen, “the Queen of Viognier,” at the Texas Wine School in Houston.

“I was surprised, it was my first time doing a video tasting like this, but it really felt like we were in the same room together,” said Clendenen, winemaker at Cold Heaven Cellars. “It was fun and I’d do it again.”

Central Coast Wine & Food, a marketing and new media campaign, connects the up-and-coming agricultural regions between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz with wine and food enthusiasts through social media and pop-up tasting events.

“Using social media channels like this creates a deep connection with the wine that you can’t get unless you visit the vineyard for a private tour,” said William Fernandez, founder of Central Coast Wine & Food. “Anyone with an internet connection can join and ask a small production winemaker questions while they taste their wine - that kind of access is priceless.”

The country’s best wine bloggers will participate in the simultaste, including:

• Amy Power and Joe Power - AnotherWineBlog.com
• Joe Roberts - 1WineDude.com wine reviewer
• Pamela Heiligenthal - Enobytes.com
• Melanie Ofenloch - DallasWineChic.com
• Frank Morgan - DrinkWhatYouLike.com
• Dezel Quillen - MyVineSpot.com
• Megan Kenney - WannabeWino.com
• Dave Nershi - Toledo Wines & Vines
• Nannette Eaton - Wine Harlots
• Mary Cressler - Vindulge
• Matt Horbund - A Good Time with Wine and TV Personality

The campaign is currently halfway through a national pop-up tasting tour that spans from Santa Barbara to Phoenix, Houston, New Orleans, Miami, and Key West, Florida.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Sonoma County 15th Annual Food & Wine Affair November 2nd and 3rd

Saturday & Sunday, November 2 & 3, 2013 ~ 11 am to 4 pm each day

A Wine & Food Affair is the premier event for Wine Road - Northern Sonoma County!
Join us for a weekend of wine and food pairing in the Alexander, Dry Creek and Russian River Valleys. 
All of the wineries participating will have a favorite winery recipe in the cookbook, which they will prepare both days for you to sample, along with the perfect wine.

Ticket holders will receive their cookbook, tasting glass and wristband upon check-in.
Designated Drivers are given a different color wristband and they are not served wine.
Designated Drivers do receive the cookbook!

Click on the tabs directly above for information about the event:
TICKETS - Registrations on sale now! GOOGLE MAP of 2013 participants available here
PARTICIPANTS See the 107 WINERY locations that are participating in this year's event.
PROGRAM including winery name, location, the recipe they will prepare & serve which is included in this year's cookbook.
COOKBOOK....each registration type receives the 15th annual Tasting Along the Wine Road cookbook.
Under RULES you'll find requests and recommendations from Wine Road to help our events be the most enjoyable for all attendees!

Website: Food & Wine Affair

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.

Wine of the Day: 2010 Aiken Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

2010 Aiken Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

WINERY:
AIKEN WINES, St. Helena, California

DESCRIPTION:
Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon is renowned worldwide and I believe Oakville Ranch is one of the best vineyards in the appellation. The fruit in 2010 ripened perfectly and was harvested on October 19 before any rain had fallen. The wine has deep, dark color, fully ripe tannins and refreshing acidity. It displays aromas and flavors of ripe black cherries, cassis and mocha. The texture is lush with integrated tannins and a long lingering finish. Although it is drinking beautifully now, this wine will age for many years to come.

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Jeffrey Dale Starr is a wine enthusiast, oil painter, and owner of mobile software company Purple Falcon.