Taste of Vail wine seminars are true studies of the grape
VAIL, Colo. — For those with the nose, two seminars on the intricacies of turning grapes into fine wine top the calendar of events during America’s premier spring wine and culinary festival April 5 through 8.
On Wednesday, April 5, from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Doug Margerum of Margerum Wine Company in California hosts the 16th annualTaste of Vail’s pinot noir seminar, “Delicate & Difficult, Sleek & Seductive.” In the wake of the “’Sideways’ Effect,” participants will learn what the buzz on pinot noir is all about and why the pinot noir grape is so difficult — yet so satisfying — to grow.
“This promises to be a lively discussion of vineyard techniques and what makes pinot noir so special,” says Cary Hogan, Taste of Vail’s seminar chairman, member of the festival’s board of directors and co-owner of Avon Liquors.
Taste of Vail wineries participating in “Delicate & Difficult, Sleek & Seductive” include: Villa Maria of New Zealand; Chehalem Wines of Oregon; and California’s Calera Wine Company, Chalone Wine Estates, Melville Vineyards and Moshin Vineyards.
Then, on Saturday, April 8, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Sashi Moorman of California’s Stolpman Vineyards hosts “Throw Me a Rhône Here,” Taste of Vail’s study on the world’s Rhône varietals — from the Northern Rhône region of France to the wilds of Australia. Renowned winemakers, including several domestics, discuss the many nuances.
“We’ll pose the question: Why do winemakers put Rhône varietals into wine, and what does it add?” says Hogan. “These guys are like the mad scientists of wine, using varietals to make the best wine they can. In California they’re known as the ‘Rhone Rangers.’”
Taste of Vail wineries participating in this seminar include: Louis Bernard of France’s Rhône Valley; and America’s Andrew Rich Wines, Garretson Wine Company, Margerum Wine Company, Qupé Wine Cellars and Terre Rouge & Easton Wines.
Both seminars, at the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort and Spa, are included in Taste of Vail’s Full Event package. Tickets for each seminar can be purchased individually, however, for $35. More information on wineries participating in the 16th annual Taste of Vail is available at www.tasteofvail.com.
Taste of Vail is a charitable, nonprofit organization. Over the past 15 years, the festival has contributed more than $300,000 to Vail Valley Charities; and in 2005, in conjunction with Ritz-Carlton, the Taste of Vail donated $13,000 to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund.
The festival was created in 1990 by a group of Vail Valley
restaurateurs as a marketing event to showcase the resort’s world-class restaurants. Now the internationally famous community boasts more than 20 Wine Spectator award-winning restaurants — the most of any resort community in the United States. This year, as many as 5,000 attendees and volunteers are expected to participate in the 16th annual Taste of
Vail, with chefs from more than three dozen local restaurants and winemakers and/or owners of five dozen wineries from around the world participating.
For more information about the 16th annual Taste of Vail, or to buy tickets, visit www.tasteofvail.com or call 970-926-5665.
Chef2Chef News Desk