After a summer hiatus, we are having our first event in fall on Oct. 29 at Meteor Vineyard in Napa. Join us for what is sure to be an unforgettable wine country afternoon.

Harvard Alumni in Wine and Food presents an afternoon at Meteor Vineyard with host Barry Schuler: Internet pioneer, serial entrepreneur, education activist, film producer, Napa Valley vintner and foodie. Schuler’s career spans breakthroughs in early video games, computer graphics, interactive media, entertainment and e-commerce. As former CEO of America Online he played a pivotal role in the consumerization of the Internet and, more recently, his projects include the development of the first desktop Ultra-short Pulse Lasers and creation of the breakthrough motion picture and subsequent Showtime series LOOK. His winery, Meteor Vineyard, is located in the Coombsville region of Napa Valley. Once passed over by wine lovers traveling north on Highway 29, Coombsville is becoming increasingly known for its ability to produce some of the world’s most intriguing wines.

At this exclusive event, Schuler will draw on his extensive technology experience to discuss what role technology will play in the future wine industry. The afternoon will include a tour of Meteor Vineyard (http://meteorvineyard.com) and a tasting of several vintages of Meteor’s Perseid Cabernet. A local chef will prepare wood fired artisan pizza and seasonal salads from the Meteor Vineyard garden, which will be served on the property amidst the backdrop of rolling vineyards and the picturesque Mt. George. Following lunch, we’ll meet at nearby renowned Oxbow Public Market, home to the area’s best artisanal and local foods and wines. Founder Steve Carlin will lead us on a tour and discuss how this local market is helping to lead Napa Valley’s recent renaissance.

More on Meteor Vineyard and Oxbow Market: http://www.justluxe.com/travel/luxury-vacations/feature-1048166.php

Register now at: https://www.wepay.com/tickets/hawfnapa

Because of additional spots available, we are extending the ticket sale to Thursday, Oct 27. Tickets are at a special price of $40. If you bought your ticket earlier at $45, we will refund the difference in cash on the day of the event.

No refunds after Oct. 21. Please contact Amy Hanson (ah@post.harvard.edu) if you have any questions.

Note: We are trying WePay, a new online ticketing tool. Please let us know if you experience any issue.

Through a HAWF connection, we got invited to visit Hanzell Vineyards – one of the gems of Sonoma, and what The New York Times calls “one of the most influential producers in California’s wine-making history.” Spaces are limited so buy your tickets now!

Email ah@post.harvard.edu if you have any questions.

Harvard Alumni in Wine and Food (HAWF) Presents: A Private Tour and Tasting at Hanzell Vineyards

Co-Sponsored by the Harvard Club of San Francisco

Saturday, April 2, 2011

3:00pm

Location: Hanzell Vineyards, 18596 Lomita Ave, Sonoma, CA 95476

$38 by March 18; $45 after March 18

Buy tickets at: http://hawfhanzell.eventbrite.com/

Registration required by March 30

In our private event, we’ll be led through the original vineyards, dating back to the 1950s.  We’ll learn about Hanzell’s Grand Cru farming practices and the contribution terroir makes to their wine quality.  Then we’ll walk through the historic heritage winery building, new state-of-the-art winery, and barrel-aging cave.  Finally, we’ll sit down for a tasting of the current release of Hanzell Vineyard's wines – including a library Chardonnay!  We may even have an opportunity to meet winery president Jean Arnold Sessions.

The tour and tasting will last approximately 90 minutes. 

About Hanzell: With over 50 years of history, Hanzell Vineyards, while a small winery, is recognized as one of the finest producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  In his engaging history of the California wine industry, Judgment of Paris, journalist George Taber describes the early 1960s in California: “A revolution in wine-making was starting.  Its birthplace was in Sonoma County at Hanzell.”  Building upon the best of European tradition, Hanzell founder James D. Zellerbach worked hand-in-hand with researchers from U.C. Davis to create some of the wine-making breakthroughs that are still in use today.  Hanzell’s world-class wines have been consistently praised over the decades by wine critics, often with scores of 95+ points. 

Space is very limited, so sign up early!  Because we need to pre-pay the winery, no refunds after March 18, 2011.  Absolutely no walk-ins.

For more information on Hanzell Vineyards, visit www.hanzell.com.

For those who would like to arrive in Sonoma early and visit other wineries and/or restaurants on their own, the following are relatively close to Hanzell Vineyards and are recommended:

Wineries:

Gundlach Bunschu: www.gunbun.com

Ravenswood: www.ravenswoodwinery.com

Sebastiani: www.sebastiani.com

Chateau St. Jean: www.chateaustjean.com

Restaurants:

El Dorado Kitchen: www.eldoradosonoma.com

The Girl and the Fig: www.thegirlandthefig.com

Join HAWF for a special docent-led tour of the “How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now” exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) on Thursday, March 3. After the tour, we will meet at the SFMOMA Cafe for wine/ coffee (no host) and networking.

Please purchase your tickets in advance in order to take advantage of the special entry pricing and inclusion in the tour. Spaces are limited.

Because we have to book our docent now, we cannot accept last-minute cancellations or refund. Thanks for your understanding. Hope to see many of you!

Email Ed at kechan@post.harvard.edu if you have any questions. Thanks to Barbara Keck for organizing the event.

***   

How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now
Special HAWF Tour with Docent at SF Museum of Modern Art

Thursday, March 3, 6:30 p.m.

Ticket price: $17 per person, including museum admission and private tour

Purchase tickets now at: http://hawfsfmoma.eventbrite.com/

More about the exhibition:

Many people buy wine on the basis of the label design, color, and graphics.  Without question, wine industry studies and those casual observations that we all make of other wine buyers are convincing evidence of that.

It’s perhaps not the most perfect way to select a wine, but it works for many wine buyers.  There is a lot behind that label of course, both in terms of history, terroir (land/place), varietal, winemaking and packaging.  One great place to learn about it all is at the exhibit that is still in place at the  San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) until April 7:   “How Wine Became Modern: Design + Wine 1976 to Now.”   

You'll be captivated by the first gallery, on terroir.  Arrayed around the gallery are glass cases where you can actually see samples of the soil that produces wines we all know and love.  You’ll be able to quickly find your favorite and learn about that wine from the ground up. In this terroir gallery, you can learn first-hand from 17 vineyards around the world, about the following elements: a small soil sample; soil and climate data (including temperature and humidity in real time); and a quotation from the winemaker about his or her understanding of terroir.

Why 1976 as a starting place?  The museum notes:  “The story begins in 1976, the year of the now-famous Judgment of Paris. There, in a blind taste test, nine French wine experts pronounced a number of Northern California wines superior to esteemed French vintages…. the event released shock waves across the globe as it gave the nascent California wine industry, as well as winemakers in many other parts of the world, new confidence, credibility, and visibility. This, in turn, had multiple effects including the expansion of wine markets, growing popular awareness of wine, the birth of wine criticism, vineyard tourism, and a host of other manifestations. From this moment forward, the culture of wine began to accommodate and valorize new priorities such as innovation, diversification, globalization, marketing, and accessibility.”  There are some key artifacts on display: the two winning bottles as well as the original Time magazine article.  There’s a life-size photomural and a great fun event called the "smell wall."

Probably the most visually captivating exhibit is the label wall.  More than 200 labeled bottles are organized into narrative categories, including: Good + Evil, Science, Spirit, Cheeky, Family, Femme, Truth or Consequences, Good guys and Bad guys, Sex, etc.

An array of wine glasses and decanters, one more beautiful in form than the other, hold a fantasy-like fascination.   “Decanters and carafes have been reinvented to increase their oxygenating effects and to intensify their expressive character. Likewise, the wineglass … in addition to varietal-specific glasses, we now have glasses that tilt to facilitate smelling and glasses that claim to be porous to oxygen,” say museum notes.

There are many winery architectural wonders out there in the wine world.  Helping you plan your wine tourism, the museum presents a map of the globe indicating where approximately 200 notable projects are found.  Four buildings are presented in depth: Clos Pegase Winery, Dominus Estate, Bodegas Baigorri, and the Hotel Marqués de Riscal, and each has an architectural model that you can view from all sides and wish you were there.

Our first event in 2011, "Turning a Love for Travel into a Wine Business," took place in the evening of January 19 in San Francisco's SOMA district. We invited Jon Staenberg of Hand of God Wines in Argentina and John Ogden of Olson Ogden Wines in Sonoma to tell us how their passions for travel led them to start their wineries. While producing your own wine can be very fulfilling, selling it is not easy. As both speakers attested, wine distribution in the U.S. is challenging enough.

One of our speakers: Jon Staenberg

Olson Ogden Wines graciously offered wine for us to taste. We also had cheese from Cowgirl Creamery and some delicious Brix chocolates brought by our devoted volunteer, Barbara Keck. The attendees were a diverse mix of professionals and enthusiasts. It was a mellow and delightful evening filled with interesting conversations.

Cheese and crackers

Big thanks to Jon, Olson Odgen Wines, Barbara for making the event happen. Of course, thanks to those of you who came!

P.S. Barbara has written a highly educational post on the cheese we tasted during the evening on her blog WineBizNews. Check it out!

Welcome to the Harvard Alumni in Wine and Food Bay Area blog! We will post updates, event recaps, and information you might find interesting here. Our first post is from Amy Hanson, one of the lucky few who went on a private HAWF tour of Continuum Estate in Napa, led by Tim Mondavi.

On Thursday, December 2, six HAWFers had the privilege of a private tour and tasting at Continuum Estate in Napa.  We were greeted at the door of the Continuum estate house by Tim Mondavi and his daughter Carissa (and beloved winery dog Bayla), who spent the better part of the next three hours(!) with our small group. 

In the living room of the beautifully appointed estate house, Tim and Carissa started our visit with a history of the winery, which was founded by members of the Mondavi family in 2005 with the goal of producing a single, elegant estate wine.  They related stories of their father’s/grandfather’s (Robert Mondavi’s) pivotal role in California winemaking, shared blueprints of the future winery building, and showed us Chiara Mondavi’s “Light of the Vine” original painting, which inspired the Continuum wine labels.  We also learned that Tim himself was instrumental in formulating today’s system of winemaking appellations in California (e.g., Napa, Rutherford, Carnernos, etc.)! 

Then Tim and Carissa drove us around the property, pointing out the location for the future winery, the blocks for the different varietals that go into their Bordeaux blend, and an excavated cross-section of land that shows the shy soil that forces the vines to “struggle” and put more energy into fruit bearing.  Tim explained that each vintage of Continuum (the first was 2005) has had increasing amounts of fruit from the estate as more vines have matured, and that the unusually extreme high and low temperatures of 2010 have played well to the fruit on his hilltop estate, which are much more protected from the fog and heat than the grapes on the valley floor.       

Returning to the estate house, we tasted the yet unreleased 2008 vintage.  The advantages of the estate fruit and the artistry of the winemaker (Tim) clearly show through in this vintage.  We paired the wine with local artisanal cheeses and olives harvested from the Continuum property.

It was a remarkable afternoon.  Who would have thought we would be able to spend so much time in an intimate setting with two members of one of California’s premier winemaking families?  Tim and Carissa’s amazing hospitality and graciousness left us speechless.   

Thanks again to HAWF founder Cathy Huyghe for brainstorming the event idea with Tim Mondavi!  It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!