Special Bottle Rock Culver City tasting event this Monday January 19 at 7pm. Taste some great Zins made by Bruce Patch of Wine Guerrilla. Wine Guerrilla has grown in popularity as one of Sonoma County’s finest zinfandels. Wine Guerrilla makes all of its vineyard designated zinfandels with David Coffaro at the Coffaro Winery in Dry Creek Valley. Reserve your spot by calling 310-836-9463

For $20 you’ll taste the following wines: (great discounts on these wines will be available this night only.)

2007 Dry Creek Valley (1000 cases produced)
2007 Goat Trek Vineyard Block 6 Dry Creek Valley (341 cases)
2007 Forchini Vineyard old vine Russian River Valley (145 cases)
2007 Coffaro Vineyards old vine Dry Creek Valley (70 cases)

What’s that you say? Can’t tell the difference between a Cab and a Zin? Wish you knew a little bit more about wine, beyond “Hey if I like it, I drink it”. Which isn’t all that wrong, BTW. Professional wine educator Ian Blackburn is here to help your fermented grape lacking knowledge. Founder of Learn About Wine, his classes and seminars are a great place to educate yourself on the nuances of a peppery Zin or a fruit forward Sangiovese. He also has special classes if you are looking to get into the wine business, something I don’t think I would mind one bit, if it weren’t for my tendencies to finish whole bottles all by myself.

My first class was the Top Ten Wines for under $20. For the price of $59 ($36 from Goldstar!), Ian took us through 20 different bottles of wine, all from a loft in Downtown LA. From German Rieslings to Spanish Reds, he presented each with tasting notes along with tidbits of the wine regions and grapes and where to buy the wine. He provided us with tasty cheese and crackers to clear the palate, then at the end of the seminar, the class rated their top ten wines. The clear winner was the 06 Palacios “Petalos” Bierzo at around $18 a bottle. There were several other favorites like the Paitin “Serra” Barbera, the La Fentre Pinot, and the Altocedro Malbec.

The list of wines for the day.

We're ready to start! Bring on the vino...

Taste, compare, and rate, good till the last drop.

Ian discusses the wines we are tasting today.

A plate of cheeses, dried fruit, and cookies to cleanse the palate.

The aftermath, we're invited to finish off the bottles!

They’ve got lots of cool stuff on their website, like a blog with wine tips and YouTube videos. I’ve provided a list of a few upcoming classes here. Check out their website for more.

January 15, A night with Dennis Cakebread – $69
January 21, STARS of Santa Barbara at the Peninsula Hotel – $79
January 31, Best of 2008 Tasting at Josie Restaurant – $80
February 1, Wine Camp – Introduction to Wine – $50
February 8, Best of Beer – $55
February 14, Wine and Chocolate for Valentines Day – $75

I envy them. I always thought liqueur “ambassadors” had cush jobs. Show up at events and bars and teach people about something you love, all while drinking. The Glenlivet Ambassador, Rick Edwards, is no exception. Ya see, since 2003 Edwards has been a “Master of Scotch” after traveling all over Scotland in his quest to learn more about Scotch Whisky.

Scotch lover rejoice! Join him at Bar Chloe on Wednesday, December 3rd from 7-8pm and enjoy neat pours of 12-year old, 16-year old Nadurra, 18-year old, and Archive 21-year old Glenlivet. All for only $40. A pretty good deal when you consider the Archive alone is a $150 bottle of Scotch. For reservations email info@barchloe.com

Last night the Wine House hosted their 9th Annual Italian Fest at their Upstairs 2 restaurant. I lost count at 10. There were about 60 different wines from all over Italy. But somewhere at around 10 tastings I lost count. The restaurant itself was much smaller than I had imagined. We showed up a little late and the cheese and olives were pretty much gone by that point. Not to mention the passed hors d’oeuvres were a little scarce. We did manage to befriend one of the servers and he gave us a heads up before he entered with a plate of the delicious lamb chops. Which were quickly devoured by the hungry wine tasters as he entered the room.

We managed to make our way up to the tasting tables through the small crowds that slowly died off as the night progressed. The staff was knowledgeable as they dished out info about the grapes and regions along with the wine. There were wines at different price points from $8.99 up to $165. There was a great Colosi Rosso from the island of Sicila for just $8.99 a bottle. Their Rosso is a mix of 90% Nero D`Avola and 10% other local grapes.

The Southern Italian wine Tenuta Le Querce II Viola Aglianico, from 100% Aglianico grapes, was a great wine at $15.99. We also picked up a solid bottle of Chianti from Castello dei Rampolla for $33.99. Plus all attendees got an additional 10% off (no case discounts though).

This was my first Wine House tasting event. I might check out another one, but unless it’s a sit down dinner, make sure to make separate dinner plans. They don’t exactly stuff you with the appetizers.

Got a chance to check out a Johnnie Walker tasting event at Jim Henson Studios over the weekend. I’ve never been much of a scotch drinker, I prefer bourbon. Mmmmmm Basil Hayden.

Appetizers were a little scarce before the presentation started but I was able to enjoy a nice glass of Black label on the rocks. The presentation was chock full o’ info about the label, the differences in their scotches, and a very small taste of the Black, Gold, Red, Green and Blue labels. The Brand Ambassador (i.e., marketing guy) was entertaining and overall was a great night. You can sign up to be alerted of future tasting events at their web site.

You can schedule your very own Journey event at home too. Order a tasting kit and host your own event or order an exclusive home tasting hosted by a Master of Scotch. Not sure how much it will set you back, but sounds like a good guys night out to me.