Rhone Rangers Tasting: March 16th, San Francisco

Strict astrologers will quibble with my pronouncements, but I'm ready to officially declare that it is Spring! My feckless abandon is no doubt due in part to the fabulous weather we seem to be having here in San Francisco. My real sense of the season, however, derives from the wine tasting events that are popping up with increasing frequency on the calendar.

The Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting in San Francisco is certainly one of the harbingers of warmer weather and good wine in San Francisco. Held at Fort Mason, like all the other big tastings, Rhone Rangers offers the change for wine lovers to taste through a vast field of Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, and many other varietals and blends that fall under the general banner of Rhone-style wines.

Like many such public tastings, Rhone Rangers presents a particular problem even to the most ambitious of tasters, namely: too many wines. I'm mulling over my own tasting strategy for this year -- wondering whether I should try something different, like "only wineries I've never heard of before" or "only Grenache" or "whites only."

No matter what I finally settle on, you can bet I'll be there, as I adore these wines, and this is always a great tasting event. I highly recommend it to anyone, especially those that might be stuck in the Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc zone of California wine. There's a lot more out there, and this tasting will provide a heck of an education to anyone looking to explore alternatives to such varietals.

And of course, for those who are crazy for Rhone-style wines, then there's a whole weekend of activities, from a winemaker and library wine dinner on Saturday, March 15th to a Viognier seminar on Sunday morning. Complete details can be found on the event web site.

Rhone Rangers Grand Tasting
Sunday, March 16th
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Fort Mason Festival Pavilion
Buchanan Street and Marina Blvd
San Francisco, CA

Tickets to the grand tasting are $60 in advance, and should be purchased online.

And remember my tips for optimum performance at public tastings: wear dark, comfortable clothes; get a good night's sleep; come with food in your belly; and SPIT !

Posted by: Alder on March 5, 2008 11:13 PM: Filed under: Wine Activities; Like this post? Share it! Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit

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Comments (3)

Kirstin wrote:

03.06.08 at 12:51 PM

Not sure if I'm going to this this year or not, but I hope there are as many, if not more, Rhone inspired rosés this year to celebrate the season!

winenegress wrote:

03.06.08 at 5:40 PM

You shouldn't dangle spring in front of people on the East Coast who have bronchitis and crocuses sprouting in the chill. But the event sounds pretty grand, especially since I am in love with viognier, a grape reminiscent of many pugnacious adolescents I've met. careful parenting pays off in short.

Jason Haas wrote:

03.07.08 at 11:29 AM

Hi Alder,

Thanks for the shout out! Anyone who is interested can see the list of participating wineries (now online) at http://www.rhonerangers.org/calendar/SF_wineries_2008.php.

Anyone who's reading this blog... please stop by the Tablas Creek table and say hi!

-Jason