SSU Wine Sense

Pix from the "Last Wine Club of the Semester!" event

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:24:00 -0700

Balloons, a snack plate, and a souvenir wine glass filled with candy were on hand to celebrate

Closeup of the place setting

Twomey brought a Sauvignon Blanc and a Merlot, Silver Oak brought a Cabernet Sauvignon

Jordan brought a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon

Getting to hear about the Sauvignon Blanc

Full house!!!

Crowd favorites

Winner of the Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon

Winner of the Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon

For more about the evening check out http://winestars.wordpress.com/

SEE YOU NEXT SEMESTER!!!

Last Wine Club of the Semester!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 09:15:00 -0700

Thursday April 25, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

Don’t miss out on our grand finale of the semester! We will be celebrating the end of the semester as well as congratulating our graduating seniors with the help of Silver Oak, Jordan & Twomey Wines!

8 amazing wines will be poured this Thursday along with some delicious food pairings!

Looking forward to seeing you all as this will be our last hoo-rah until fall semester

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "Food and wine pairing featuring J Vineyards" event

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:26:00 -0700

Pierre from J Vineyards speaks to a full house

We got to taste a yummy Pinot Gris, a nice Chardonnay, a delicious Pinot Noir, and a great Sparkling.

A show of hands for the favorite varietal

The crowd favorite was the Pinot Noir

There were some tough questions but two lucky winners walked away with a bottle of J Vineyard’s fabulous wines.

Salute!!!

Don’t forget, the next event on April 25th will be the last one for the semester and promises to be a “do not miss” tasting!!!

Food and wine pairing featuring J Vineyards

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:28:00 -0700

Thursday April 11, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

This week’s club meeting will be hosted by J Vineyards!

J is known for their fabulous Sparkling wines, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the finest of the Russian River Valley. This is another winery that one of our avid club members works for, so come show support and enjoy J’s Wines!

As always the wine will be paired with small cheese, cracker and fruit plates, but please plan dinner accordingly as this does not replace a meal.

Looking forward to seeing you this Thursday!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "Food and wine pairing featuring BRYTER Estates!" event

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:41:00 -0700

~ Alexis Nicolai

On Thursday March 25, Terin and her husband Bryan Ignozzi came to the SSU Wine club to pour a beautiful line up of their BRYTER Estates wines. The name BRYTER comes from their first two names put together. As Terin said, “Bryan makes up the ‘BRY’ and I’m the “TER.” Terin is the wine maker and was first licensed to start making wine in 2007, which resulted in her 2007 Inspired Cabernet Sauvignon. However, it wasn’t until just over a year ago, March 8^th 2012 that Terin opened the BRYTER Tasting Salon in the Sonoma Plaza. BRYTER is a small, family owned, boutique winery that strives to be the best tasting room in Sonoma County and provide an educational and elegant experience to their customers.

Bryan and Terin began the meeting by having a contest to see who could open their bottle of Le Stelle Spakling the most quietly. It was a close call, but Alex, the wine club treasurer, won the battle. After a toast of Le Stelle Sparkling they moved on to their 2011 Affine Chardonnay, a lightly oaked wine with hints of crisp pear and citrus from the Carneros AVA. Next everyone had the chance to taste the rare Rhone varietal of Terin’s Viaggio Marsanne/Roussanne 2012 blend that hasn’t even been released to the public yet!

Yummy food

We got to try Sparkling, Chardonnay, Marsanne/Roussane, Sangiovese, and a $95 Cabernet Sauvignon!

Moving on to the reds, everyone had the pleasure of tasting her slightly chilled 2011 Amoroso Sangiovese from the Santa Ynez Valley. This wine is near and dear to Terin’s heart as it is what she grew up making in her basement in Chicago with her Italian father and grandfather. This was a popular choice among the wine club members as it is low in tannins and very well rounded and fruit forward. Finally, came the 2007 Inspired Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley. This was the winning wine when we took a vote to see which wines the students loved the most.

After a great introduction to some of Terin’s award winning wines they tried the group with some trivia questions and raffled off a set of Riedel wine classes and other various wine paraphernalia. All in all it was a successful evening at the Sonoma State University Library and the 30 odd students left in a joyous mood! As Terin would say…Cheers to the BRYTER side of life!

Food and wine pairing featuring BRYTER Estates!

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:29:00 -0700

Thursday March 28, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

Hello fellow Winos! I hope everyone enjoyed the spring break! We are hopping right back into things with a wine club this week featuring BRYTER Estates Winery.

Terin Ignozzi, the wine maker and business owner of BRYTER Estates will be pouring six beautiful award winning wines for us! They include, a Sparkling, Chardonnay, Marsanne/Roussanne blend, Sangiovese and an ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon.

Due to limited production these wines are very exclusive with high price points, therefore, you do not want to miss out on this week’s meeting!

As always the wine will be paired with small cheese, cracker and fruit plates, but please plan dinner accordingly as this does not replace a meal.

Looking forward to seeing you this Thursday!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "Blind Tasting!!! (Featuring Scherrer Wines)" event

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:14:00 -0700

Fred and Elliott are ready to start the blind tasting

Four teams were in competition to get the most points for correctly choosing varietal, vintage, and price.

Fred brought a topographical map of Sonoma and Napa that was very helpful in understanding the nuances of the different AVAs and how climate and terroir affected the tastes of the varietals he grew.

The first three wines we tasted were Chardonnays from two AVAs and a Dry Rose made from Syrah and Grenache.

The Sonoma County Chardonnay was the crowd favorite

The reds we got to taste were Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and Cabernet Sauvignon

The crowd favorite was the Pinot Noir

Salute!

Congratulations to “Team Frank” (left side, near table) for winning the friendly competition! And thank you to Fred for introducing Wine Sense to your wines.

Blind Tasting!!! (Featuring Scherrer Wines)

Sun, 10 Mar 2013 18:36:00 -0700

Thursday March 14, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

This Thursday Wine Sense will be holding one of our notorious blind tastings! This session will feature Sherrer Wines from Sebastopol. These blind tastings are always a lot of fun and get everyone involved in learning about different varietals and their tasting notes.

Wine will be paired with small cheese, cracker and fruit plates, but please plan dinner accordingly as this does not replace a meal.

Looking forward to seeing you this Thursday!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "Hook & Ladder and Delicato Family Vineyards" event

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:23:00 -0800

~Jenny Garza

Joshua DeLoach of Hook & Ladder gave a inspired summary of his family’s long history in the wine making business and poured some of his not-for-mass-distribution specialties. Hook & Ladder is located in the Russian River Valley, spanning 375 acres, and run two tasting rooms out of Santa Rosa and Sebastopol.

Some of the wines that were tasted were: Gnarly Head California Viognier 2011, HandCraft California Chardonnay 2011, Noble Vines 667 Monterey Pinot Noir 2011, Brazin Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2010, Gnarly Head California Petite Sirah 2010, Black Stallion Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

One of the founding Wine Sense executives came back - to present her company’s wines! Elisabeth Rice, shared with the 40+ group an informational and lively “Global Wine” presentation for her company Delicato Family Vineyard Wines. She also illustrated for the students interest in international wine business what her experience has been like living in London and traveling across the globe for work

Several of the Wine Sense officers

Two of the favorite wines from the evening were Hook & Ladder’s 2011 667 Pinot Noir and Delicato’s 2010 Gnarly Head California Petite Sirah.

Wine Sense Featuring Hook & Ladder and Delicato Family Vineyards

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:15:00 -0800

Thursday February 21, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

This Thursday Hook and Ladder will be pouring for us and we will be welcoming one of the SSU’s Wine Sense Founders and Alumni, Elisabeth Rice. Elisabeth is the Regional Manager of Europe for Delicato Family Vineyards and will be sharing a Global Wine Presentation along with a variety of wines.

Wine will be paired with small cheese, cracker and fruit plates, but please plan dinner accordingly as this does not replace a meal.

Looking forward to seeing this Thursday!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "1st Wine Sense Meeting of the Semester!" Event

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:03:00 -0800

Cheese, crackers, salami, and tasty treats from Bianchi’s Bake Shop

Chalk Hill brought a Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay as well as a Cabernet Sauvignon from their new Lancaster Estate winery.

Williamson Wines brought a Sauvignon Blanc, a Pinot Noir Rose, and a Cabernet Sauvignon with incredibly tasty cheese pairings (sorry, no pix!)

We had a great crowd!

The favorite varietal from Chalk Hill was the Sauvignon Blanc

The favorite varietal from Williamson Wines was the Pinot Noir Rose

Both wineries generously raffled a few bottles of wine

And we raffled three of our new SSU Wine Sense t-shirts

1st Wine Sense Meeting of the Semester!

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 19:50:00 -0800

Thursday February 4, 2013

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

We apologize for our delayed start, but we WILL be pouring wine this Thursday at our first Wine Sense Meeting of the semester!!!

Come get in the mood for Valentine’s Day with us as we pour 6 different wines paired with decadent desserts from Bianchi’s Bake Shop! Williamson Wines and Chalk Hill will both be here sharing the love with three wines each.

Cheese and crackers will be served in addition to the deserts, but please plan dinner accordingly as this does not replace a meal.

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
Be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Spring 2013

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:15:00 -0800

Welcome to the new semester!

Our first meeting, for those over 21, will be Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 7pm in the Library Schulz 1121.

We will be having a raffle for three Wine Sense t-shirts!

Take a look at the Events link at the top left and save these dates!

Pix from the "Champagne Celebration" event

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 16:00:00 -0800

We got to taste five different champagnes from Korbel (notice the spiffy new t-shirts that are available now for just $10!)

Paired with some yummy treats from Bianchi’s Bake Shop

Full house tonight

Our delightful host

Crowd favorites

Last Wine Club: Champagne Celebration

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 16:00:00 -0800

Thursday December 6, 2012

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

You won’t want to miss out on our last meeting of the fall semester! We are having Korbel Champagne come and pour 5 different varietals; Natural, Sec, Riesling, Brut, Rose and Sweet Rose.

We will be pairing with lemon mini cupcakes, almond cookies and brownie bites! Looking forward to celebrating the end of the semester with everyone!!!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

Pix from the "Wine Sense Blind Tasting Event"

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:24:18 -0800

Four teams got to taste six varietals and collectively decide the varietal, price, and vintage receiving points for each correct answer.

Snacks and tasting notes

The final results! Go Team Bubbly

Wine Sense Blind Tasting Event!

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:00 -0800

Thursday November 15, 2012

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

Don’t miss out on our second to last meeting of the semester! This Thursday at 7:00pm we will be holding a blind tasting event consisting of a plethora of fabulous wines.

This time your $5 entrance fee will be donated to the California Homemakers Association to provide holiday food baskets for low-income families.

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

We look forward to sharing our Wine Sense with you and learning a little bit about wine along the way!

Blood Red Wine and Food Pairing!

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 13:29:00 -0700

Thursday October 25, 2012

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

Please join us for our biweekly Wine and Food pairing! This week’s theme is “Blood Red” to help you get into the Halloween Spirit! Michael David Winery will be pouring Zinfandel (7 Deadly Zins and Lust), a Syrah (6th Sense Syrah) and a Rhone blend (Incognito Rouge).In addition, there will be two donated varietals from Wellington and Armida

PLUS: A bottle of wine will be raffled off to the lucky wine club member who can best dress to our “Blood Red” Theme!

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

We look forward to sharing our Wine Sense with you and learning a little bit about wine along the way!

Beer & Brats

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:00:00 -0700

Thursday October 11, 2012

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

In honor of Oktoberfest, join us for bratwursts and beer tasting!

We will be learning about the microbrewing process, along with tasting five different styles of beer from Ruth McGowan’s. Bratwursts, along with cheese and pretzels, will be provided for the event. We’ll see you there.

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

We look forward to sharing our Wine Sense with you and learning a little bit about wine along the way!

Pinot Party!!! Ft. Balletto & DeLoach

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 16:00:00 -0700

Thursday 9/27/2012

7:00pm until 9:00pm

SSU Library; Schulz 1121

Please join us for our Wine Sense meeting this Thursday as we celebrate our Pinot Party with Balletto and DeLoach Vineyards! Just like last time; we will be providing cheese, crackers, fruit, and other desserts to pair with the wine as we learn about what each has to offer.

Don’t forget to bring:

$5.00 cash at the door
must be 21+ with a valid photo ID to attend
be sure to arrive a little before 7:00 to ensure a seat!

We look forward to sharing our Wine Sense with you and learning a little bit about wine along the way!