Wine Tasting

Updated: Jul 06, 2021 06:04 PM

Wine Fest is slated for Hamilton Princess Terrace (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)

The Bermuda Chamber of Commerce and the Hamilton Princess will host a summer wine tasting event at the hotel’s Regency Terrace next week.

Six of Bermuda’s leading wine distributors will participate in the two-hour evening event, called Wine Fest, on July 15.

The distributors include Bermuda Import Export Company, BGA/Pitt & Company, Burrows Lightbourn, Discovery Wines, Gosling’s, and Marks & Spencer. Each company has carefully curated three wines for the tasting.

There will be an option to sample 18 different wines and participate in winning fantastic prizes.

Those attending can mix, mingle and sip wine in the open air as you enjoy the harbour views and sultry summer tunes played by DJ Twinstarr.

Kendaree Burgess, Chamber chief executive officer, said: “We are excited to be able to host Wine Fest along with the Hamilton Princess. As the Chamber’s first in-person event in almost a year we are happy to announce we are bringing this to you in the safest way possible. Patrons will be treated to a fun filled wine tasting event.

“Wine Fest is a summer fundraiser for the Chamber, and we welcome all wine enthusiasts. We believe Wine Fest has the potential to grow into an annual event that will appeal to both local and international audiences. It is our goal that, in years to come, Wine Fest will become a fixture on the island’s social calendar.

“Numbers are limited due to Covid-19 and we encourage you to secure tickets early to avoid disappointment.”

Wine Fest 2021, a Safekey event, will begin at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the Chamber’s website at $100.

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News

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Hotels, restaurants, shops and wine tasting rooms prepared for near pre-pandemic crowds Fourth of July Weekend. Nearly 60% of Californians have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. And nearly 60% in Santa Barbara County, who are eligible, are fully vaccinated.

High vaccination rates and low cases allowed California to reopen businesses to 100%. And that allowed this Fourth of July weekend to look a lot different and more open than last Fourth of July Weekend.

Before and after Santa Barbara’s fireworks on West Beach, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream had a line at their Lower State Street location to E Mason Street. 

Other businesses were hoping to cash in on the crowds downtown.

Business Matters / Lifestyle / Money and Business / Santa Barbara – South County

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CP Coworking recently opened on the Old Courthouse Square in historic downtown Crown Point.

People can rent workspace in the shared office in the Chase Building at 115 S. Court St.

“We are a shared office concept with private offices and an open workspace environment,” owner Kate Lunn said. “There’s 11 private offices and a total of about 3,400 square feet.”

Most of the private offices have been rented but there’s still plenty of coworking office space with high-speed internet, printing, a business mail address and shared secretarial services, with a full-time assistant working 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

The office, however, can be accessed at any time whether one is burning the midnight oil, needs to print important documents or conduct a business meeting in the conference room.

“It’s membership-based,” Lunn said. “It could be a day trader renting it out for $25 a day or monthly membership for $99 a month. Everything is flexible.”

Private offices can be leased out for a minimum of three weeks at a time. 

“We’ve got the self-employed and a couple of start-ups,” she said. “It should appeal to the kind of commuter who before COVID was traveling to the city to work but would still like corporate, professional conditions. Our target market is people who used to travel to Chicago five days a week but now do so only twice a week, or people who work at home and want a place to go. Also, we have tutors after school.”

Lunn was inspired by We Work, the national firm with coworking space in Chicago and other major cities. She may open more locations in the future.

“The space kind of spoke to me,” she said. “I thought this is perfect. I’ve been to We Work workplaces in Chicago and felt Crown Point needed something like that, especially as people work more remotely.”

CP Coworking also is in the process of building out a podcasting studio with professional recording equipment that could be rented out to anyone looking to put out a podcast.

“I just want to make it a part of the community,” she said. “We’d like to have talks where people listen to a lecture and learn something or a member gives a presentation. We just want to offer something back to the community.”

People can sign up to rent space there online or by calling 219-769-0733.

For more information, visit www.cpcoworking.com or facebook.com/CPCoWorking.

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Celebrate Bastille Day in the garden at Bernard’s with 109 Cheese on Sunday, July 18 beginning at 6pm.

Featuring the Wines of France & Plated sit-down dinner & Gypsy Jazz Music by Swing 42

Le Menu, with wine pairings for each course

Assorted Homemade Charcuterie & Pates

Rosemary Pancetta / Saucisson & Prosciutto /Duck Rillettes / Duck, Pistachio & Truffle Terrine

Pheasant & Chanterelle Terrine /Chicken Liver & Truffle Pate / Venison, Cranberry & Walnut

~~~~

Les Crudités

Beet Salad / Lentil Salad / Heirloom Tomato & Goat Cheese Salad

~~~~~

Le Plat Principal

Bernard’s FAMOUS Cassoulet / Assorted Grilled Sausage / Potatoes Quercinoise / Haricots Verts & Cèpes & Shrimp & Scallop Skewer

~~~~

Assorted Cheese & Fruit from 109 Cheese & Wine

1924 Bleu Herve Mons Sheep / Brie Donge Cow / Secret Compostelle Sheep

~~

Le Dessert

Profiterole / Crème Brule/ Cherry Clafoutis

$125 (7.35% tax & 20 % service charge additional)

For reservations please call 203-438-8282

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Townsquare Media NOCO is highlighting businesses throughout Northern Colorado that are still operating through the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis with our NOCO BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT.

You don’t have to feel guilty about having an extra glass of wine when it’s for a good cause.

Every bottle of wine purchased through Pour It Forward with Lisa is sure to give back. Located in Windsor, the business allows customers to create their own fundraisers for their favorite charities — all over a wine tasting with ONEHOPE Wine.

We interviewed Lisa Gensel, owner of Pour it Forward with Lisa, about the company’s grand opening and how it is giving back to Northern Colorado.

NoCo Business Spotlight: Q&A With Pour It Forward with Lisa

Top 5 Ranked Northern Colorado High Schools of 2020

 

 

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Just as with restaurants, the launch of a new wine tasting room can take weeks, even months, longer than the owners had projected. Construction delays, furnishings trapped on cargo ships waiting for docking space, a shallow employee pool, backups in permit approvals and alcohol sales licenses awarded only after intense scrutiny — any of these can stall a grand opening.

Add the repercussions of COVID-19, and it’s happily shocking when a new tasting room comes close to meeting its initially announced opening date.

One that should “come close” this year is Bacchus Landing on the western outskirts of Healdsburg. Arguably the most anticipated Sonoma tasting venue set to open in the past year, the owners had expected to unlock the gate in time for Independence Day weekend, but a licensing delay moved the opening to mid-July. Bacchus Landing, home to small, family-run wineries pouring their bottlings in five separate tasting rooms, also includes the Market coffee, deli and artisanal food shop; event spaces; picnic areas; and bocce courts on a 3-acre property.

Another almost-on-time venue, Marine Layer Wines in downtown Healdsburg, originally set June 1 for its debut and now appears ready to open in late July. Once it opens, Marine Layer, owned by former Banshee Wines partner Baron Ziegler, promises flights of high-end, single-vineyard Sonoma Coast chardonnays and pinot noirs accompanied by enticing small bites beyond cheese and charcuterie.

For the impatient, three other local tasting rooms have recently opened, post-pandemic pressure, and are poised to add depth and complexity to the Sonoma wine tasting scene: Abbot’s Passage Winery & Mercantile in Glen Ellen, Orsi Family Vineyards in Healdsburg and Sosie Wines in downtown Sonoma.

Visit these bright, shiny-new tasting venues now and in the near future:

Abbot’s Passage Winery & Mercantile

On a property originally home to Valley of the Moon Winery (vines planted in 1863, cellar built in 1887), Katie Bundschu has put a modern twist on this historic Glen Ellen winery estate.

Set to open with full services July 1, Abbot’s Passage is Katie Bundschu’s baby, an extension of her family’s Gundlach Bundschu wine business. The venue offers tastings and bottle service at picnic tables in the Olive Grove; food-and-wine experiences among old zinfandel vines; and plates of crackers, cheeses, charcuterie, dried fruits and pickled vegetables, many of them housemade.

The wine stars are Rhone-style, field-blend reds and the bracing, perfect-for-summer Sunblink, a mix of roussanne, marsanne and grenache blanc. The Mercantile sells glassware, jewelry, hats, totes and other goods chosen by Bundschu, who embraces women-owned businesses and locally sourced crafts.

777 Madrone Road, Glen Ellen, 707-939-3017, abbotspassage.com

Bacchus Landing

Siblings Monica and Francisco Lopez, along with their parents, Al and Dina Lopez, began work on Bacchus Landing in 2015. It includes a tasting space for their Aldina Vineyards wines and those of other small producers, with a family-friendly vibe, food components and hospitality spaces. It’s preparing for a mid-July opening.

Bacchus Landing sports a large central piazza; multiple seating options; the Market for coffee, wine-friendly bites and gourmet food items; and Frank’s Place, an area devoted to bocce courts, picnic tables, lawn games, music, herb gardens and fruit trees. Aldina, Montagne Russe Wines and 13th & Third Wines are the opening tasting room tenants; AldenAlli and Dot Wine will join them later this summer and other wineries are in the process of leasing space.

14210 Bacchus Landing Way, Healdsburg, bacchuslanding.com

Marine Layer Wines. (Courtesy of Marine Layer Wines)

Marine Layer Wines

Baron Ziegler and Rob Fischer, teammates when they created Banshee Wines and opened a hip tasting room in downtown Healdsburg in 2012, are at it again, yet with a much different business model.

Banshee’s partners sold a majority share of the business to Foley Family Wines in 2018. For Marine Layer, owner Ziegler and winemaker Fischer focus on single-vineyard chardonnays and pinot noirs from cool-climate Sonoma Coast vineyards ($30-$65) rather than Banshee’s regional blends that enticed younger drinkers with good-value pricing and vinyl records playing in the laid-back tasting room.

Coincidentally, the Marine Layer tasting room is just a few steps from Banshee, and Ziegler is leasing the former Flight Deck Tasting Lounge, Vintage Wine Estates’ multibrand tasting room. Initially scheduled to open July 1, the extensively remodeled Marine Layer now targets late July for its debut. The 3,200-square-foot space will offer wine flights and bites from local purveyors.

308 B Center St., Healdsburg, 707-473-8214, marinelayerwines.com

Orsi Family Vineyards

Schioppettino, anyone? How about a taste of fiano, barbera, Montepulciano or sangiovese? Winery and vineyard proprietor Bernie Orsi offers these Italian varietals and more at the tasting room he opened recently in the former Geyser Peak Winery (and before that, Alderbrook Winery) west of Healdsburg off Westside Road (it’s also a neighbor of Bacchus Landing).

Orsi, whose roots trace to Italy’s Lucca region, is a multilevel businessman successful in beer sales and marketing (he’s known by some as the “Father of Pabst Blue Ribbon”), real estate and grapegrowing. He purchased a cattle ranch in Healdsburg in 1990, planted wine grapes to sell to wineries and eventually added Italian varietals.

Sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon are still grown on this Dry Creek Valley property and sold in the Orsi tasting room. Yet it’s the unusual Italian-style bottlings that are nearest and dearest to Bernie’s heart and make this a worthwhile stop.

2306 Magnolia Drive, Healdsburg, 707-732-4660, orsifamilyvineyards.com

Sosie Wines

Their new tasting room in downtown Sonoma is an energizing lift for Sosie owners Scott MacFiggen and Regina Bustamante. They lost the grapes for their 2020 vintage wines to smoke taint from wildfires, and the pandemic stalled their efforts to build their business.

“Prior to the pandemic, (we) had an aggressive growth strategy which included expanding our distribution network and doing events around California such as West Coast Craft and Outside Lands,” the couple said via email. “Unfortunately, COVID put all of these plans on hold, causing us to quickly shift gears to a direct-to-consumer strategy. The shift was difficult, but the success gave us the confidence to invest in a tasting room in downtown Sonoma months before COVID restrictions were set to be lifted.”

MacFiggen makes the wines at Sugarloaf Crush in Sonoma Valley, where he and Bustamante also host tastings, sometimes out of a barrel. Yet the tasting room is now the most convenient way for fans of organically and sustainably farmed wines, produced with as little intervention as possible, to taste them. The sparkling wines, roussanne, pinot noir and red blends are generous in flavor and texture, yet elegant and crisp.

25 E. Napa St., Suite C, Sonoma, 707-721-1405, sosiewines.com

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Grab your tickets, pack your bags, and let’s get out of town! After over a year of staying close to home, we’re ready for some new sights and sounds, and we bet you are, too. Whether you’re staying within state lines, looking to explore other parts of the country, or going international, we’ve got the details on 15 destinations to inspire your next travel plans. The only thing you have to decide: drive or fly?

Fly

Wide Open Spaces

Montana is the gateway to two national parks, with charming towns in between, and plenty of space to stretch your legs. After a year of staying close to home, look to Big Sky Country to help expand your horizons. No matter which national park is at the top of your agenda, a direct flight out of SAN through Allegiant Air and Alaska Airlines can get you close: Flying to Bozeman lands you 90 minutes out from Yellowstone National Park; flying to Kalispell is 45 minutes from Glacier National Park. (Yellowstone may be mostly in Wyoming, but it’s easier to get to from Montana.)

In Bozeman, the RSVP Hotel is a great place to settle in before venturing out. The boutique hotel offers queen and king guest rooms with a feminine touch (think pink accents, velvet furnishings, and fresh flower deliveries). The owners are sisters and the daughters of a third-generation farmer, so plan to dine on site at Farmer’s Daughters Cafe & Eatery to taste the best of Montana agriculture. Other notable stays are The Lark, which showcases works made by local artists, and the Kimpton Armory Hotel.

Lamar River

This 40-mile river runs entirely in Yellowstone National Park, starting in the mountains and coursing down through Lamar Valley.

This month is peak season for visiting Yellowstone. Summertime offers full access to the park’s 1,000 miles of trails, so pack your hiking boots. If you’re itching to get out on the water, look to guided kayak tours or fishing along the Gardner and Lamar rivers (be sure to snag a permit at the visitor center beforehand). To experience more of the park’s backcountry, book a llama trek. Options range from single-day to multiday excursions with a group.

Over in Kalispell, the historic Grand Hotel is located in the heart of downtown on Main Street and offers easy access to Kalispell’s surrounding restaurants, shops, and breweries. Check out The DeSoto Grill for some Montana craft beers, Hops Downtown Grill for burgers, and First Avenue Taphouse for both in a relaxed, cozy setting.

When it’s time to venture into Glacier National Park, plan to take the 50-mile scenic route on Going-to-the- Sun Road, the full length of which is open only during summer. The road extends across the whole park and blends into its surroundings, weaving through the mountains, forests, and lakes that make up its scenery. Other activities to make time for include hiking or biking the trails in the valley, river rafting, and fishing along the rivers (permits required). Regardless of your agenda once you get there, take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the park’s namesake before they’re gone.

Grape Escapes

No matter if you head north or south, stay within the state or visit our coastal neighbors, consider California the gateway to some of the best viticultural regions in the world. Sip some vino and see what else these destinations have in store.

Tagaris Winery

This family-owned winery has 300 acres of vineyards and a restaurant on site

Columbia River Valley, Washington

This portion of eastern Washington state offers space from crowds and wines to expand your palate. The towns of Pasco, Kennewick, and Richland are right on the Columbia River near the Oregon border, and are home to more than 200 wineries within a 50-mile radius. Called the Tri-Cities, these communities are part of the state’s largest wine region, famous for its chardonnays, rieslings, and bold reds.

Fly to Pasco, then check in at the Lodge at Columbia Point for a relaxing room with riverfront views, then get your bearings at the Columbia Gardens Urban Wine and Artisan Village for samples from wine tasting rooms and a bite at one of the local food trucks. Some key wineries to visit are Barnard Griffin Winery, which has been here for over 40 years, Tagaris Winery and its on-site Mediterranean restaurant, and Bartholomew Winery to try lesser-known varietals like carménère.

Award-winning vintners Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue Cellars, and Columbia Crest are a short drive west. For good eats, check out Fiction at J. Bookwalter for lamb burgers and wagyu steak from nearby Snake River Farms, Anthony’s for seasonal seafood, and El Fat Cat Grill for the Fiji tacos (grilled chicken marinated in curry and topped with mango).

If fermentation and terroir excite you, spend an afternoon at Washington State University’s Wine Science Center for a behind-the-scenes look into the research that goes into winemaking, or opt for Water 2 Wine’s river cruise for a three-course dinner at sunset aboard a yacht. While you’re here, explore Sacajawea State Park for hiking, kayaking, and the on-site museum dedicated to the Shoshone woman who guided the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Another bonus when visiting this pocket of the Pacific Northwest: You can leave the umbrella at home. The sun shines nearly every day in this dry climate, so you won’t get any of that dreary Seattle weather.

Bricoleur Vineyards

In addition to the vineyards, Bricoleur is also home to olive groves, a honey farm, fruit orchards, and even bocce courts

Healdsburg, California

This quaint town in the heart of Sonoma County offers the perfect mix of food, drinks, and outdoorsy adventures. Healdsburg’s colorful town square hosts galleries, eateries, farmers’ markets, and over 40 tasting rooms. For the coffee obsessed, head to Black Oak Coffee Roasters for a Lover’s Lane Latte garnished with bee pollen. At newcomer Marine Layer Wines, you’ll find tasting flights of high-end pinots noirs, small-batch chardonnays, and small bites like fava bean and goat cheese crostini. Chef Dustin Valette recently converted his great-grandfather’s 1920s Snowflake Bakery into The Matheson, a trilevel gastro-hub with a restaurant, sushi kitchen, dining loft, and rooftop cocktail garden. There’s Michelin-star dining at SingleThread Farm, kid- and pet-friendly wine tasting at Bricoleur Vineyards, and estate tours of sustainable Amista Vineyards.

Ready to burn off a few calories? You can paddleboard or kayak the Russian River, hike the Fitch Mountain Fire Trails, or bike through the bucolic countryside. Guests of Hotel Healdsburg, H2hotel and Harmon Guest House can bike routes designed by famed cyclist Peter Stetina, or opt for a yellow-jersey experience with a two-night stay, craft beer, and wine tastings during a day of pedaling with the pro himself. Finally, all eyes are on Montage Healdsburg. The sprawling property has its own vineyard, 130 sleek-chic guest rooms, and dreamy glass-box views of the grapevines and mountains.

Drive

Orange County

The Disney theme parks are calling—and rightfully so!—but there’s more to see and do in Anaheim and neighboring Santa Ana. New restaurants, shops, bars, and hotels have opened in the past year, packing the best the area has to offer all within a 15-minute drive.

PLAY

After being closed for more than a year, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park reopened in April, and as of press time California residents are welcome back at 35-percent capacity. While some attractions are temporarily paused, like the parades and character greetings, Disneyland reimagined the Snow White ride, made enhancements to The Haunted Mansion, and updated King Arthur’s Carousel. The Avengers Campus debuted at California Adventure Park in June, and Disney will be announcing its Halloween attractions this summer. One big change is that FastPasses and MaxPasses are no longer sold. In May, wait times for several rides were 15 minutes or less—half an hour for Space Mountain.

New this year: In addition to a ticket, every guest must have a “theme park reservation” for that specific day to gain entrance (both are available online). The Disneyland app is helpful for ordering food and snacks from the quick-service restaurants throughout the park ahead of time—such as the Dole Whip, churros, and drinks at the Galactic Grill. It’s also the only way to get in the queue for the Rise of the Resistance ride at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

Downtown Disney recently marked its 20th anniversary, and much has changed in recent years. Feast at Black Tap Craft Burgers & Shakes, savor the ice cream flavors at Salt & Straw, shop decor at Disney Home, and pick up gear at the Star Wars Trading Post. Prepare to make dining reservations in advance, and use the Disneyland app for store waitlists.

In nearby Santa Ana, the Bowers Museum features collections and exhibits that celebrate Southern California’s diversity, including First Californians, Ancient Arts of China, Ceramics of Western Mexico, California Bounty, and Spirits and Headhunters: Art of the Pacific Islands. Two new exhibits open this summer: The Gift of Los Angeles: Memories in Watercolor by Gayle Roski from July 24 to November 14, consisting of 44 watercolors of Los Angeles; and Artistic Legacy: The Ann and Bill Cullen Collection from August 28 to December 19, showcasing 53 paintings and drawings.

Mix Mix Kitchen Bar

Mix Mix chef Ross Pangilinan has prepared multicourse gourmet meals for big events like the Emmys and the Grammys

EAT + DRINK

Food connoisseurs have come to appreciate 4th Street Market’s culinary hub of creative chefs, located in downtown Santa Ana. The past year has brought it many new places to try, including Smörburgers, The Golden Hot Fried Chicken, Burritos La= Palma, Loose Leaf Boba Co., Daily Kombucha, La Vegana Mexicana, and Tuk Tuk Thai Street Food. Hours vary, so plan your visit in the late afternoon or on the weekend when most of them are open.

Headed by award-winning chef Ross Pangilinan, Mix Mix Kitchen Bar has been turning heads ever since it opened in 2016, and it recently expanded to South Coast Plaza and the Long Beach Exchange. The most popular dishes are pork cheek adobo (a twist on his grandmother’s recipe for the classic Filipino dish), and seared albacore tostadas, which Pangilinan describes as “SoCal on a plate.”

The top spot for Cantonese cuisine in Santa Ana is Tan Cang Newport Seafood Restaurant, where you can order the usuals—shrimp fried rice, beef chow fun, whole fish with black bean sauce—but the lobster special is the standout. It’s a four-pound Maine lobster at around $24 per pound, served on a bed of noodles with garlic sauce—that’s enough to feed four people and is perfect for a celebration.

In Anaheim, another food hall, Anaheim Packing District, is inside one  of the last remaining citrus packing warehouses in Orange County. It has a variety of cuisines to choose from, such as Cajun, Indian, Southern, Syrian, Japanese, Mexican, and Thai. You’ll also find gelato, boba teas, and shaved ice. Across the street is the Make Building, which houses Unsung Brewing Company, Pali Wine Company, and Jav’s BBQ. Another dining experience that will impress your taste buds is Anaheim White House, a two-story Italian steakhouse inside a beautiful historic landmark. Try chef-owner Bruno Serato’s signature dishes, braised beef in a cabernet sauvignon reduction and steamed salmon with “white chocolate mashed potato.”

Parkestry at JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort

STAY

With theme parks all around, there’s no shortage of hotels in and around Anaheim. You might even already have a go-to spot picked out, but you should know there’ve been many new additions in the past year worth checking out on your next visit. The JW Marriott, Anaheim Resort is the brand’s first hotel in Orange County, at the Anaheim GardenWalk entertainment center  just a block away from Disneyland. The luxury hotel has 466 guest rooms and 19 suites, an augmented reality sculpture garden, and an outdoor swimming pool. At the resort’s rooftop bar and lounge, Parkestry, guests can order light bites and handcrafted cocktails while taking in the view.

A mile away, the upscale brand Radisson Blu opened its first California location with 326 rooms, two outdoor heated pools, three restaurants, and two bars. Of course, there can never be too many rooftop bars, so head to the 12th floor of this hotel to find another—Blu SkyBar, featuring Spanish and Southeast Asian cuisine from executive chef Edgar Beas. The brand-new, 310-room Hotel Lulu opened in May, two blocks away from Disneyland. It has a signature restaurant, a pool with “dive-in” movies, a café serving Intelligentsia Coffee, and Disneyland Insider staff on site who have expert knowledge about the park.

Other hotels to check out include the new Westin Anaheim Resort within walking distance of Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center, the kid-friendly Home2Suites by Hilton Anaheim Resort, and Element Anaheim Resort Convention Center.

Sierra Vita

This 12-acre vineyard specializes in petit syrah, merlot, grenache, and malbec varietals

Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California

Baja’s wine country has a treasure trove of fine dining at every turn, in addition to its impressive wines. As the Valle reawakens, its current of creativity is as strong as ever. The new experiential concept Natal Basque feels like a hidden speakeasy in nature, offering rustic experiences like forest bathing, medicinal plant workshops, and pop-up chef dinners under the stars. At Villa Torel, chef Alfredo Villanueva commands the open-air kitchen with relaxed ease. Sip mezcal and Santo Tomás reds and nibble on local ruby tuna with rhubarb or roasted carrots in a duck demi-glace on the terrace. The openhearted spirit of Valle culture abounds at Lechuza Vineyard, where friendly dogs greet guests and owner-winemakers Adam and Kristen share their unfiltered sauvignon blanc, velvety 2016 cabernet, and refreshing estate nebbiolo.

A trip up the hill to Sierra Vita reveals epic views of the valley’s patchwork and the mountain Sierra Blanc. Equally delicious is chef Sandra Vazquez’s pozole, which harkens to her family’s Michoacán heritage and pairs nicely with the winery’s crisp chenin blanc. At Primitivo, choose your protein—duck, fish, octopus, or beef—then savor a five-course sustainable feast under the lantern-lit, 300-year old white oak. Newcomer Bruma Wine Garden nestles under the canopies, a buzzworthy spot with picnic-style panache for mushroom truffle pizza, fresh oysters, and vinos from the estate.

Time to rest: The brand-new Parra del Valle Hotel Boutique charms with spacious, architecturally impressive rooms, ambient fireplaces, shower terraria, and thoughtful textile touches. Take a dip, lounge at the pool bar, and enjoy morning cappuccinos and chilaquiles at their La Botella Bistro.

Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis

Palm Springs

Our favorite desert destination was busy while we were gone. In the sprawling valley among the towering palm trees, check out the new art, hotels, spas, and activities making the Palm Springs area that much brighter. Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis recently opened in Desert Hot Springs. Choose from standard rooms or suites with private soaking mineral spring tubs that overlook the Santa Rosa mountain range. Outside, keep that relaxation going with a dip in the mineral spring pool, or step inside the only Himalayan salt room in Southern California. Lie down on the salt bed at the center of the room; the walls are lined with the restorative salt, and hot water heats the room to over 100 degrees to create a sauna-like experience. Additionally, there are 30 spa treatments with packages to combine facials, massages, and other body work.

Everyone loves a comeback, and Casa Cody is no exception. The bed and breakfast was founded in the 1920s and received a full makeover under management company Casetta Group (Pearl Hotel). Electric Bowery led the design to bring the property’s adobe hacienda foundation a modern-day aesthetic. Each casita is unique, with decor that nods to its Spanish Revivalist history. Pair that with luxe amenities like  Parachute bedding, two swimming pools, and an edible garden, and consider your vacation beneath the bougainvillea booked.

An installation at Desert X

When you’re ready to expand your horizons past your hotel grounds, look to Palm Springs’ new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza. The museum, which covers the history and culture of the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla Indians, also houses a garden, a spa in honor of the tribe’s mineral hot spring (Séc-he in the Cahuilla language), and a walking trail that evokes their nearby ancestral canyon homes. 

Desert X showcases contemporary art installations throughout Palm Springs and surrounding areas. The exhibits feature work by local and international artists, and the themes rotate every season; this year the focus is on the pandemic and social justice issues. 

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Massive Fires and COVID Have Battered California’s Wineries

Robin Cooper remembers the arrival of the blaze last autumn in her patch of wine country. “We could see the fires converging and coming up over the mountain,” she said. “There was a  lot of smoke. Horrible, horrible air quality. We could see flames.”

Cooper, the 64-year-old director of hospitality and customer relations at the small Behrens Family Winery in St. Helena, fled with her colleagues as part of a large-scale evacuation.

When they returned to the winery after the Glass Fire passed, the scene was apocalyptic.

The main building, the guest apartment and the case goods room storing thousands of bottles of wine were all gone. Along with the rest of the wine stock there, Cooper’s personal collection of more than 1,500 bottles had literally gone up in smoke.

What did the epic blaze leave behind? Piles of glass, charred barrels, fermenting bins and “rivers of wine mixed with plastic,” she recalls.

Behrens was one of dozens of prestige wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties that were badly damaged or destroyed in 2020. “I guess that’s part of living in California these days,” Cooper says.

Insurance companies are being “incredibly problematic” by not taking a nuanced look at the risks, or sometimes simply pulling out altogether.

The fires were hardly the only challenge. “Last year, you couldn’t be indoors because of COVID and outdoors because of the smoke,” recalls Napa Valley winery owner Stephanie Honig.

“And it was in the middle of harvest —f people were working in N95 masks. It was,” she adds, “the most devastating year.”

These are complicated times to make wine in California. As 2021’s fire season gets underway, winery managers and employees destabilized by the pandemic know they could face more wind-fanned flames, fire-red skies and crop destruction. Meanwhile, COVID-19-battered vineyards took a huge financial hit, leaving them vulnerable.

Early in the COVID shutdown, Napa’s unemployment rate leapt to 16%. Tourism also tanked, with hotel occupancy in the county plummeting. Just 41% of rooms were occupied in 2020 compared to more than 70% in a typical year.

Then, throughout last summer and fall, vineyards and wineries were scorched and smoked. Many of the vintners whose wineries escaped the flames discovered that smoke and ash made their final product undrinkable — and unsellable.

As California gradually emerges from the pandemic, an economic hangover lingers over the industry, raising a question: What sort of wine world might we wake up to?

A Service Industry Reborn?

Of all our culinary hobbies, wine tasting may well be the most intimate. A customer traditionally stands close to tasting room staff and fellow tasters. People lean into their wine glass, sniff the wine, swirl it about in their mouth and then spit it into an open container.

It is, in short, a COVID-era nightmare. Not surprisingly, the pandemic has forced a fundamental rethink of how wineries operate.

In Amador County, the Andis winery’s tasting-room manager Shannon Landis explains that ongoing discussions continue about how best to organize such experiences so that staff and customers feel safe. “We don’t want to go back to shoulder to shoulder in the tasting room,” Landis said.

Where staff used to cram 70 people into the small tasting room for their wine, they have recently been catering to just 20 or so at a time, arranged at well-spaced outdoor tables. Much of their business has also been channeled toward curbside pickup in recent months.

The tasting room at Cooper Vineyards was also transformed. The artisanal, family-run winery, also in Amador County, relied on wine club members to engage in drive-by pickups. “We became a shipping business,” says tasting-room manager Jeri Cooper Swift, the daughter of the owner.

Initially, the Coopers tried to modernize for the COVID-19 era, installing plexiglass dividers segmented into panes by a local artist with wood from the vines. The goal was to keep staff and customers as safe as possible. But when pandemic restrictions tightened, all indoor wine tastings and dining in the region was prohibited for months at a time.

The Coopers then invested in outdoor tables and chairs, but when the virus was spreading uncontrolled, even outdoor wine tastings were prohibited. During the complete service shutdown, management invested to train tasting-room staff for a future outdoor reopening that they hoped would come soon. The idea was to make sure they knew how to serve wine to socially distanced clients, as well as how to discourage them from congregating in close quarters inside the tasting room.

Jeri Cooper Swift smiles from behind a mask and a plexiglass barrier in the Cooper Vineyards tasting room. Photo by Sasha Abramsky

More recently, when the wineries finally began to more fully open up again and welcome tasters back indoors in small numbers, some inebriated anti-mask customers argued with staff at places like the Andis winery.

Concerned about such a work environment, Landis says that management sought to discourage groups that might become problematic from coming. “We don’t want busloads of bachelorettes,” she says. “We’re trying to discourage the celebratory tastings.”

But given the pent-up thirst among Californians itching to get out again, restricting the number of visitors at California’s 4,200 wineries — most of them small, family-owned affairs — may be easier said than done.

Winery staff, categorized as agricultural workers, qualified for vaccinations early this year, and wineries report very high vaccination rates among staff. Still, the formal reopening of much of the state has come with public health unknowns and corresponding concerns from workers.

The pandemic has also sparked high turnover among winery staff, and many of the new employees have never worked an indoor wine tasting before. “It’s very overwhelming. There’s a lot of crowds. It’s exciting, but it’s an adjustment to be sure,” says 25-year-old Koko Carmen, a tasting room associate at Villa Toscano. Until recently, Carmen worked solely at a local Starbucks, but now does both jobs.

She notes that some customers, mainly older people, are either refusing to wear masks or are ineffectively wearing them only over their mouths. “I generally don’t fight that battle,” Carmen admits. “As long as they have it on, I leave it to my manager.”

The Dream and the Pandemic

COVID-19 came for Marco Buffa’s previous job before the fires reached wine country. “I was working in a restaurant and lost my sommelier and server job with the shutdown,” says the 28-year-old Italian, who migrated from Florence to pursue his California wine dream two years ago.

In search of work, Buffa went from winery to winery, dropping off copies of a résumé highlighting his years of study in the field, before finally getting a job as a wine educator at the Andis winery. There he speaks to customers about the 8,000 cases of Zinfandel, Barbera and other wines produced there in a typical year.

Starting a job during the pandemic was, to say the least, strange. “Everything was closed, and we were just doing shipments because tasting wasn’t allowed.” To while away his extra time, he spent the months reading, drinking and studying.

In early May, days after the county began to allow some indoor tastings again, Buffa sat in the spacious outdoor tasting area behind the winery’s large, modernist metal edifice in the Sierra Nevada foothills, ecstatic. “I like to be outside in these beautiful vineyards and tell stories about the wine,” he said.

“I went through the phase where I was a little bit scared about COVID. Now, I’m less scared.”

If people like Buffa are truly safer, that would be a good thing given the importance of wine production for the state. The California Wine Institute calculates that the industry employs 325,000 people, with 37,000 working in wineries. The industry has an overall economic footprint of $57.6 billion in California. Of that, $17 billion goes to pay workers, including those who plant, care for and harvest the grapes, and others who make the wine.

The health and safety of some of those workers aren’t always respected. In September, as mega-fires devastated the region, low-paid grape pickers in Sonoma County — many of them undocumented — were particularly hard hit by COVID-19 that in some cases compromised their lungs. Farm workers and food packers were among the most affected workers in the country.

On top of that, the Intercept reported that some were given evacuation-area passes by the county agriculture commissioner that made it possible for their employers to keep them working in the smoke-and-ash-filled environment, even as their more affluent neighbors were ordered to flee the region for health and safety reasons.

Similar exemptions had also been granted during the vast conflagrations that tore through the county in 2017 and again in 2019.

Looking ahead, there are lessons from the almost biblical-scale challenges that the wine country has endured in recent years. During the most recent wave of pandemic shutdowns around the start of 2021, local wineries used the pause in business to prepare for fire season. They cleared land of dead brush, pruned back trees and, in some cases, bought sheep to eat down overgrown grass and weeds.

A few wineries, including Cooper Vineyards, bought old, decommissioned fire trucks and retrofitted them for use on their properties.

Such measures cost money, making it that much harder for family-run wineries already hammered by the pandemic and previous fires to stay viable.

These investments aimed at helping their businesses to survive come at a cost to such wineries’ bottom lines — the same bottom lines that pay their employees.

And the seeds of an even bigger financial problem seem to be emerging. Insurance companies are, in some cases, unwilling to renew policies for property insurance due to the risk of wildfires. In other cases, such companies will offer insurance but at renewal rates that have soared up to 500% higher than in the recent past — and they provide less insurance.

Michelle Novi, director of industry relations for the trade association Napa Valley Vintners, says that insurance companies are doing something that is “incredibly problematic” by not taking a nuanced look at the risks, and sometimes simply pulling out altogether.

Even the state-backed insurer of last resort, FAIR Plan, has over the past six months begun to send notices to wineries declaring them potential “farm risks,” which makes them ineligible for such coverage.

Now, as weekend visits and hotel stays in wine country have returned to pre-pandemic weekend levels, even if midweek visits still have a ways to go, it seems likely to take a while for the industry to return to solid footing.

Mary Wilder, who works as a tasting room supervisor at Dillian, says that the past year has “changed every aspect of each of our lives. We’ve all been impacted beyond what we’ve ever experienced before.”

That’s also true at Behrens, where, despite the damage to the rest of the wine production, the tasting room somehow survived the inferno. Management reopened at limited capacity in 2021 after letting go of administrative staff it could no longer afford given its scaled-down production.

The enduring impact of the flames and the pandemic is clear to Robin Cooper. “We were tiny to begin with,” she says, “and will be tinier in our new incarnation.”

Sasha Abramsky
Capital & Main

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ADAMS, N.Y. (WWTI) — Did you hear the “grate” news? The Adams Cheddar Cheese Festival will return this summer.

The Adams Revitalization Committee has announced that the 2021 Cheddar Cheese Festival will take place on Saturday, July 10.

Lowville Cream Cheese Festival scheduled for September

According to the Committee, the village-wide event will celebrate the agriculture and cheese making industry in Jefferson County.

The festival will include artisans on the Village Green, Main Street, East Church Street and Sixtown, wine tasting in the Pavilion, a Kids Zone and live music at the Gazebo and Pavilion.

Local restaurants will also be open all day with festival “specials.”

The 2021 Adams Cheddar Cheese Festival will kick off at 10 a.m. at the Village Green.

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Freshly picked blueberries, wine tasting, live music by the High Tone Troubadours, pony and hay rides, and a bouncy house with a water slide for the children were a recipe for a fun day Saturday at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival at Bright Meadows Farm Vineyard & Winery. Farm owner Shirley Archer calls the festival a “neighborhood family affair,” where her family members, friends and neighbors can come together and enjoy a nice, relaxing day on the farm and find out about all the “wonderful things” the Nathalie community has to offer. After a year off from hosting the festival because of COVID-19, Archer said she was glad to see everyone having a good time at this year’s festival. 

Fred and Donna Mistal of South Boston purchase blueberries from Shirley Archer, owner of Bright Meadows Farm Vineyard & Winery, at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Jimmy Archer pours wine for guests in the tasting room at Bright Meadows Farm Vineyard & Winery Saturday at a wine tasting as part of the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival. Kim Archer (left) assists with the wine tasting.

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Brenda Stanley of Clover samples sauces from chef AJ Richards of BS Grillin’ Company in Lynchburg on Saturday at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Wendy Mills and her daughter, Ava Mills, 6, of Scottsburg, enjoy vanilla ice cream with fresh blueberries from Bright Meadows Farm at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Attendees at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival line up at the D&D Skins food tent.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Darnell Barksdale of D&D Skins fries up fish nuggets Saturday at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

The band High Tone Troubadours of Halifax County entertains the crowd at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Billie Meickle, 4, pets Bumble the pony alongside Deacon Burke, 5, after going on a pony ride Saturday at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival. Emanuel and Hannah Hershberger offered the pony rides for children at the festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Vivian Driskill fills a glass of sangria for a guest Saturday at the third annual Nathalie Blueberry Festival.

Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

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