May Wine Festivals - Paso Robles, San Benito, Lodi and Anderson Valley - San Jose wine

Spring is here and May is the season for Wine Festivals. This weekend, May 16-17, wine lovers can go North, East or South, to drink in the spring weather and a super selection of great wines at major wine festivals.

North – Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival
Pinot Noir is great; Anderson Valley Pinot Noir is excellent! Anderson Valley Winegrowers in Mendocino County are hosting the 12th Annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. Saturday is devoted to the Pinot Festival Grand Tasting at Goldeneye Winery where nearly 100 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir wines will be experienced. In addition the Pinot Festival Technical Conference in Boonville is the opportunity to learn all about Pinot Noir. Various winemaker dinners will be held in Anderson Valley and the Mendocino Coast. Unfortunately if you haven’t purchased your tickets for these events, you are out of luck because the Saturday events are sold out.

However, Sunday May 17 your favorite Anderson Valley wineries open their cellar doors to all visitors. Many of these exclusive wineries are not normally open for tastings. Besides the chance to explore their wines, you will find special events including barrel tasting, winery tours, library tasting, vertical flights, food and wine pairing and more. The cool Anderson Valley is well known for its Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Sparkling wines. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to visit wineries in this picturesque agricultural valley 100 miles north of San Francisco.

East – Lodi ZinFest

Are you a Zinophile, drawn to the East? Then the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission’s ZinFest at Lodi Lake is for you! Three distinct events make up this signature tasting event in the Lodi Wine Country. Starting on Friday evening is the ZinFest Vintner’s Grille, a casual evening under the stars with the top 12 Zins from Lodi paired with barbequed wine country cuisine prepared by Papapavlos, one of the area’s finest restaurants. Now what goes better with Zin than BBQ?

Saturday, the Wine Festival commences with over 250 wines from 50 Lodi wineries at picturesque Lodi Lake. Accompanied by delicious food and great live music, the visitors will taste the bounty available from this exciting region. Adding to your tasting enjoyment, you can also join the informative cooking seminars at the ZinFest Cooking School. ZinFest Wine School hosts guest speakers and winemakers who share their knowledge with you at a variety of seminars.

Thirty local wineries open their doors on Sunday, welcoming visitors to enjoy the magic of Lodi wine with special events, tastings, seminars, winery tours and lots of fun. Many of these wineries normally are not open to visitors, so this is your opportunity to peak behind the curtain and visit with winemakers.

Tickets are available online at www.zinfest.com. Saturday’s Wine Festival tickets are $35 in advance, or $45 at the gate. The Vintners’ Grille on Friday is $75 per person.

Far South – Paso Robles Wine Festival
The 27th Annual Paso Robles Wine Festival is the marquee tasting event for the Paso Robles Wine Country. On Saturday more than 90 Paso Robles wineries will showcase their wines from 1 – 5 p.m. in the Downtown City Park in the heart of Paso Robles. Over 500 wines are being featured from the premium wine producers in the area. Of course a wide selection of food and crafts are available. A demonstration kitchen provides visitors the chance to learn form local top chefs.

During the weekend more than 110 wineries will open their doors with an array of special events, winemaker dinners, food pairings, seminars, winery tours, special tastings and more. Visit the Wine Festival web site for more information. Festival tickets are $55.

South – San Benito Passport Weekend
To the South is the San Benito Winegrower’s Association is hosting their 7th annual Passport Weekend both Saturday and Sunday. It is a great opportunity to visit this growing, exciting nearby wine country. This drive in the country is pleasant enough, but the chance to explore the fine wines produced in the Cienega Valley makes it well worth the trip. Be sure to visit DeRose Vineyards, not only for their big bold wines from San Benito but also the wines they import from their operations in Latin America.

Directly behind DeRose is the beautiful Pietra Santa Winery, offering a selection of Italian style wines including Sangiovese, Dolcetto and Tuscan style reds. Don’t forget to pick up olive oil produced right there in the winery. Continue on down the road to Calera Wine Company for the best Burgundian style wines outside of France. Josh Jensen and his magic found not only the perfect place to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but the best winery to work this magic for the enjoyment of your palate!

Tickets for the San Benito Passport Weekend are $30 and can be purchased at the individual wineries or online at the Passport Weekend website.

Have a safe trip and explore these exciting Wine Country highlights!

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