Enobytes Wine Blog

When I was invited to attend the “Make a Wish Foundation” dinner at Morton’s on April 28, I had no idea the extent of the education I would receive in just the amount of time it takes to eat dinner.  Well, I probably should include the time spent at the bar.

I arrived at Morton’s in Portland a little early. I was quickly greeted and introduced to the facilitator for the evening’s event. After introducing myself and handing out the prerequisite business card, I was told Mr. Mondavi would be ready in a few minutes so I thought it was an appropriate time to head to the bar for a quick beer.

The professionalism and skill of all the staff at Morton’s was impressive. Although I would be surprised if I had experienced anything less at America’s best steakhouse chain other than the sincere, most attentive, service. My hats off to Steve Meek, the Maitre d’ and General Manager of Morton’s of Portland.  He runs a tight ship that sails straight.

As I sat at the bar I went over my questions for Peter Mondavi Jr. and sipped my IPA.  Something told me to turn around …  read the rest of this entry on oregonlive.com >>

If you are looking for ways to help Haiti victims, so many great wineries, restaurants and bloggers are pulling together to help the Haiti victims devastated by the 2010 earthquake tragedy which sparked widespread panic as it caused destruction throughout Port-au-Prince.

Here are just some of the great fundraisers happening around the world. Please consider participating or donating to one of these great charitable organizations.

Brother, can you spare a bottle? is teaming up with Palate Press: The online wine magazine to encourage the wine-loving world to contribute to a cause outside our own. Donate something special from your cellar for auction. Proceeds will help the Haiti victims devastated by the 2010 earthquake tragedy.

WLDG Haitian Relief Fundraiser: – Raffle of Bordeaux, an online forum raffle & fundraiser.

Wine 4 Haiti SF Charity Fundraiser – San Francisco, CA. January 18th. A public charity wine tasting to raise money for four foundations to directly help the Haiti earthquake relief effort: Sirona Cares Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, Partners In Health and the American Red Cross.

Eat for Haiti – San Francisco foodies and chefs unite to help earthquake victims. Various events run from January 14 through the 23rd.

Portland relief funds for Haiti – A list of Portland, OR restaurants contributing a portion of their sales to Haiti disaster relief.

Help for Haiti: A growing list of Los Angeles restaurants and food trucks contributing to the Haiti disaster relief.

Food Lovers Fundraiser for Haiti – London, UK, February 8, 2010. A fundraising dinner with all proceeds being donated to the ‘Disasters Emergency Committee’. Confirmed chefs for this charitable event include Vickram Purewal from Le Bouchon Breton and Herbert Berger.

How To Help Haiti In Chicago – A list of Chicago restaurants and bars contributing to the Haiti disaster relief.

Foodie Fund-Raising Efforts for Haiti – A list of fundraising efforts happening in the Bay area.

Do you know of other food and wine fundraisers going on in your community and around the world? Help us build a list of events supporting Haiti so that others know about them. Post a comment and get the word out. Read the rest of this entry »

If you love Pinot noir as much as I do, you won’t want to miss the 23rd Annual International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) happening July 24 – 26 in McMinnville, Oregon. It’s the crème de la crème of all Pinot festivals showcasing premium Pinot noir producers from Oregon, California, Burgundy, New Zealand, Austria, Champagne and Alsace.

This will be my first year attending the event and I am very much looking forward to it. Not only is this a unique opportunity for Pinot producers to show off their wines and for chefs to showcase their exceptional cuisine, it’s an opportunity to mingle with those in the industry including a number of highly regarded media guests.

This year, Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine, will be the 2009 Master of Ceremonies, joined by speaker David Schildknecht from The Wine Advocate. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: Modern Language Center

I’m a wine geek at heart so when I heard about an opportunity to receive a scholarship to attend a 3-day Spanish Wine education course sponsored by the Wine Academy of Spain and Catavino,  I jumped at the opportunity to find out more about the program.

I’m well aware of some of the initiatives this well-respected academy has headed up in the past, including the World Conference on Climate Change lead by Pancho Campo. If you have an interest in the impacts of climate change and how to adapt to a new climate, check out some of the audio files I uploaded a couple of years ago.

As for their latest venture, Catavino is responsible for the organization and development of awarding one scholarship to a blogger in each of the twelve cities the Academy plans to visit. Integrating the social media aspect into the business model of the Wine Academy is a smart move …and lucky for me, they’ll be hosting one of their 3-day certification programs right here in Portland! Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re in Seattle on Sunday, June 14, 2009, don’t miss an exclusive opportunity to meet the wineries that participated in the Seattle Wine Awards. Tickets start at just $85 and include dinner, a Riedel Magnum Tasting Glass, and an opportunity to meet winemakers and winery reps at Seattle’s historic Rainier Club, the city’s most elegant private club!

You won’t want to miss the first inaugural North Willamette Wine Trail weekend! Local wine lovers and the lucky few enophiles that happen to be visiting the Willamette Valley in early April have the opportunity of a lifetime. If you’ve ever dreamed of immersing yourself in the heart of Oregon wine country, your dreams have come true. On April 4th and 5th, the North Willamette Valley Vintners are sponsoring a perfect event to help you find what you like and learn why those wines are so special. Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I talk about this not to miss event – purchase your tickets soon!

The 18th Annual Boston Wine Expo is taking place January 23-25, 2009. The event is the largest trade and consumer wine event in the country and it offers wine enthusiasts an unparalleled experience in wine and food. This year, the Grand Tasting will offer over 440 international and domestic wineries from 13 countries pouring over 1,800 different wines.

New to the program, the Italian Trade Commission will feature Vino 2009, where they will pour hundreds of Italian wines that have never been poured at the Expo. This will be their first annual Industry Convention of Italian Wines in America featuring nearly 100 wines from regions including Toscana, Lombardia, Abruzzo, and Calabria as well as other U.S. importers of Italian wines. Read the rest of this entry »

If you were fortunate enough to have an industry invite for the Monterey Wine Festival, you were invited to attend a very private event that took place at the Monterey Plaza Hotel on Friday night titled "Jazz and Juice".

This event was different in style and was held for the wine industry. The lovely room at the Monterey Bay Plaza Hotel with the ocean view and doors that opened out to the balcony overlooking waves breaking on the beach was a perfect venue choice. Besides the wines, there was significant presence Read the rest of this entry »

Almost forty years ago after being involved in a motocross racing accident that landed me in a full cast on my left leg, I made the bold decision to hitch hike to San Francisco. Three days later, I was enjoying the California sun and the Golden Gate Park lifestyle. That plaster cast grew tiresome and while on the beach in Monterey I cut that thing off, built up my strength trudging through the sand and eventually hobbled back to Memphis. Read the rest of this entry »

As the holidays rapidly approach, our thoughts turn to the inescapable social duty of entertaining and gifting back to those who provide food and drink in social settings. Well those of us who provide gatherings where we entertain and provide food and drink are hoping the rest of you are paying attention.

Today on Wine Bytes, my wine blog on OregonLive, I discuss the value of wine festivals and tasting rooms and how to navigate the sea of opportunities that present themselves at this time of the year. How to have fun, learn about new products, while utilizing step savers and time management to optimize the successful completion of this mission. Check out my latest post here.