Women for WineSense Grand Event

Wine and food are natural partners, but how do you craft those unforgettable pairings that rock your wineglass and your world?  Join Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson and her husband John, for whom this topic is a passion as well an everyday practice in their home kitchen.  You’ll learn the simple secrets of a Master Sommelier and a collector who, together as a Napa couple, cook and pair together every day based on years of wine trade and collecting experience, as well as their own travels together to the world’s great wine regions and food cities to create their video wine course and food travel show, Local Flavor.  Sample some rockstar pairings with 7 great wines, and the pairing principles behind them that you can take back to your own dinner table.

Come learn the history and potential of this varietal. While still the most popular varietal wine in the US, Chardonnay is often polarizing, pitting lovers of oakey buttery Chardonnay against those who extol the virtues of wines never kissed by oak. This will revolutionize your perceptions of the wine you thought you already knew by tasting through several distinct styles.

Expand your horizons... to the northwest!  Join Judith Thoet, winemaker, sommelier, and sustainability expert, as she introduces you to Washington wines. Take a virtual tour of Washington's AVAs and understand the unique identities that Washington's micro-climates produce through a tasting of 5 Washington wines, including Merlot, Riesling, and Semmillon.

When Women for WineSense got its start, wine was very much a man’s world.  Over the course of the last 30 years, women have become the lead consumers of wine and now enjoy strong representation in a variety of roles throughout the industry. In this session, hear from the young women who literally grew up in the wine industry and are now occupy positions that have them influencing our wine palates and preferences. Panelists include Shauna Rosenblum, winemaker and proprietor of Rock Wall Wine Company, Dalia Ceja, Director of Sales & Marketing for Ceja Vineyards and Krisi Raymond, Owner & Winemaker of Five Vintners.

Ever dream of quitting your day job and making your love of wine a career?  Hear from people who have acted on that dream and for better or worse, richer or poorer, now get to say they work in the wine industry.  From those who have made truly dramatic transitions, to those who found a niche that built on existing professional skills, get a sense of the guts, gumption, and glory that is the new day-to-day reality for these wine pros.  

Join winemaker and Cabernet lover, Cathy Corison, as she escorts you through a vertical tasting of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons.  With a reputation for producing Cabernets of remarkable subtlety and elegance, Cathy will help you hone your tasting talents and discover the understated nuances that distinguish one vintage from the next.  

With over 200 wineries, the Lone Star state is the 5th largest wine producer in the US. Join Stephanie Wetherhill, the premier expert on Texas wines, as she takes you from the first vineyard in the 1600s to today’s thriving wine industry. Learn about the challenges of establishing wineries due to some of the “unique” Texas laws and taste several great examples of Lone Star state wines along the way.

Join wine and cheese educators, Lynne Devereux and Gail Bickett for a guided discovery of the wonderful world of cheese.  In this session, you will be introduced to the world of California artisan cheese—how, where, and by whom it is made (both animal and human)―and give you a vocabulary for describing the flavors and textures.  Finally, no wine country seminar would be complete without sharing some guidelines for how to pair your favorite cheeses with your favorite wines.

This seminar is at capacity.

Fruity, floral, earthy, herbaceous… many of the flavors and qualities that characterize grape varieties are the same as those of chocolate.  Swiss-trained Chris Kollar of Yountville’s Kollar Chocolates (many of you may remember Kris from the 2010 GE Welcome Reception at Mumm!) teaches you how to truly taste the confection you’ve probably been enjoying your entire life, offers you a vocabulary for describing what you are tasting, and recommends how best to pair two of life’s finer pleasures: wine and chocolate. 

The Finger Lakes AVA in upstate New York is home to over 100 wineries producing several styles of Riesling.  You’ll “fly” with Lorraine Hems to North America’s premier cool-climate region to discover what makes this region unique and then taste Rieslings of different sweetness levels.  Is there really a difference between Medium Dry or Medium Sweet?  This tasting will explain how the IRF scale found on over 15 million bottles of Riesling in the domestic market helps wine lovers predict what each wine tastes like before buying. The International Riesling Foundation created a consumer friendly Riesling Taste Profile that shows how a combination of sugar, acid and pH interact to create the final taste sensation. 

The Mediterranean climate of California’s wine growing regions has become home to another Mediterranean classic: the olive tree. In this session, uncover the luscious facts behind olive oil. Let Gabrielle Leonhard, vintner and graduate of UC Davis Sensory Evaluation certification program, help you become a savvy buyer & user of this golden elixir. Participate in a tasting to detect quality vs. defective oil. Learn about cooking do’s & don’t, storage, truthful labeling and the rich history of our very own US olive--the Mission olive.