To get your discounted ticket, visit Bottlenotes and enter the coupon code SHOPEAT at checkout.  I look forward to seeing you there!

If you do attend, please add any tasting notes, etc to the comments section of the blog.  Would love to know what you think about the wines!

Bottlenotes also organizes wine tasting events, where you can meet up with other members and taste and talk about wine (yes in person!). Called Around the World in 80 Sips, it’s a great opportunity to taste wines you may not ever come across — like a passionfruit wine from Thailand.

This event was held at Crushpad, the custom crush facility in San Francisco.  Crushpad is relocating to Napa Valley, so this was probably my last time for visiting the city location.  The tasting takes place amid all the barrels of wine aging.

These wines stood out for me and should be on your radar:

2008 Tierra Secreta Malbec – really smooth!

2009 Eradus Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand – this was one of the best SB there.  Classic New Zealand, gooseberry with good acidity.

Radee Passionfruit NV and Pineapple Ambrosia NV – both from Thailand.  I preferred the Passionfruit which had true fruit varietal character. The Pineapple was not as sweet as some Hawaiian wines that I’ve had.

2008 Donelan Venus Rousanne/Viognier and 2008 Donelan Cuvee Christine Syrah – if you were a fan of the Pax Syrahs, the new owners are carrying on the Pax style.  This is the first vintage from Donelan Family Wines and it’s darn good.  Prices are a little easier on the wallet too, at $45.  The Rousanne/Viognier is lush and well-balanced; the Syrah is smoky and meaty.

Scholium Project.  I’ve read lots about Scholium and winemaker Abe Schoener and his unconventional approach to winemaking.  But I’ve never tasted them until now, and I totally get what all the fuss is about.  The 2008 Naucratis Lost SloughVineyard is made of 100% Verdelho, and has lots of good acidity and round fruit.  The 2007 Choephoroi , another white, is completely different and very unusual for a Chardonnay.  The 2006 Tenbrink Vineyard Gardens of Babylon is primarily Petite Sirah.  All soulful wines.

Skipstone wines were also there – and I’ve written about their wines before.  Two bottlings; the 2007 Viognier, is one of the best made in California.  Has all the wonderful peach and nectarine flavors.  The 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon is powerful without being agressive.  The layers of flavor linger a long time.

From burgers to fried chicken and apple pie, we’ll be feasting on a typical American menu.  The wine should also be as American as the food.  Alyssa Rapp is the founder of Bottlenotes, an online community where you for can learn about and share your love of wine with others. I asked her to make some Fourth of July wine picks.  “Who doesn’t look forward to celebrating this ultra-American holiday with a good, old-fashioned hamburger, hot dogs, grilled chicken or steak,” she says.  Alyssa recommends American wines from California and Washington State for our July 4th picnics.

Shrimp on the Barbie

“Shrimp on a skewer, whether wrapped in bacon or straight-up, are a perfect appetizer prepared on the grill,” says Alyssa.  “The natural sweetness of the shrimp makes it a perfect pairing for a subtly-sweet white wine such as Riesling.”

Her pick:  Pacific Rim Dry Riesling (Columbia Valley, $10).  “Pacific Rim’s Riesling offers bright crispness, subtle sweetness and aromas of pear and apple.  Its natural sweetness makes it a perfect contrast, thus pairing, to a spicy dish such as Cajun-style grilled shrimp.”

Burgers

For burger lovers, “Since the best burgers are juicy and tasty, whether adorned in lettuce, tomato, onion and cheese or something more unique, they make the perfect pairing for an all-American Claret, which is a Bordeaux blend.”

Alyssa’s pick: Chappellet Mountain Cuvee (Napa Valley, $29).  She says, “Blackberry and black cherry dominate this delicious Napa Valley Bordeaux blend. Almost equal parts Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, a hint of smokiness in it makes it a perfect pairing for grilled items.” For a value Bordeaux blend (also called a Meritage when made in the USA) I suggest Hahn Estates Meritage (Central Coast, $16).

Hot Dogs
“There is almost nothing tastier than a mouthwatering, all-beef hot dog prepared on the grill,” says Alyssa.  “Whether sliced as an appetizer or eaten the traditional way in a fluffy bun loaded with ketchup, mustard, pickles, onions, relish, sauerkraut, and more, best to keep this pairing super simple – and complementary – with a big, bold, juicy California Cabernet.”

Her pick: Cannonball Cabernet Sauvignon (California, $15). “85% Cabernet, this wine has notes of ripe blackberry, black cherry, and a hint of cocoa powder. The addition of Syrah (10%) provides a hint of pepper, a perfect added ‘seasoning’ to all grilled items.”

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken
Alyssa says, “Sometimes you just want to keep it really simple food-wise on July 4th with grilled chicken, Teriyaki or otherwise, so you can save room for the other July 4th fare (potato chips, coleslaw, fruit salad, etc.) We recommend keeping it equally “simple” and clean with an unoaked California Chardonnay while so doing.”

Alyssa’s pick here: St. Francis “Intatto” (untouched) Chardonnay (Sonoma County, $15). “We love this wine as its clean, unoaked character lets the natural vibrancy of the Chardonnay grape shine through. The result is a  crisp wine, with intense minerality and fresh aromas of grapefruit and lychee. A perfect pairing for grilled chicken.”

What about fried chicken?  That’s a staple of July 4th picnics that I grew up with in Atlanta.  My personal favorite, especially for anything fried, is sparkling wine.  The bubbles cut through the crispy fried skin nicely.  My pick is the Gruet Brut NV ($13.75) from New Mexico.  Yes, New Mexico produces a fantastic bubbly.  Alyssa goes traditional with a classic California Chardonnay.  Her choice:  Cameron Hughes Chardonnay ($15) or  Clos du Val Chardonnay (Carneros, $25).

These same two wines  are also great choices for side dishes at most July 4th picnics, coleslaw and corn on the cob.  Alyssa says, “If you like creamy coleslaw or butter-drenched grilled corn on the cob, then you can’t go wrong with a California Chardonnay. Its full, lush, creamy character should perfectly complement these all-American sides.”

Grilled Steak
Why not splurge on your July 4th cookout with grilled steak?   “You might as well go all-out in with some delicious wine. And there’s nothing more American than our great nation’s sole indigenous varietal, Zinfandel,” says Alyssa.

Her pick: Chateau Montelena Estate-Grown Zinfandel (Napa Valley, $30). “The opposite of the super raisin-y, high alcoholic, typical Zinfandels, Montelena’s is balanced, thus totally food-friendly,” she says.  “Ripe blackberry flavors are balanced by a wide array of spices like nutmeg and pepper that come together in a powerful yet restrained finish.” For a budget-friendly wine, my pick is Cardinal Zin (California, $9.99), a fruity wine made from old vines.

Mom and Apple Pie

It doesn’t get more American than apple pie for dessert, so I asked Alyssa what she would pick.  “I’m a big fan of late harvest Riesling with it, or at best, Sauternes. These sweet dessert wines bring out the nutty, nutmeg and caramel notes in the pie.”  Even though we tend to think of Germany for Riesling and France for Sauternes,  there are excellent American alternatives.  I think Hogue Cellars makes a terrific late harvest Riesling (Columbia Valley, $9.99).  For a real splurge, I love Berigner “Nightingale” (Napa Valley, $40), made in the Sauternes style with Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc.

Bottlenotes

“We believe that consumers should be empowered to feel confident and trust their own taste and buy wine.”  Alyssa Rapp founded Bottlenotes, a community-based site, where Bottlenoters, as they’re called, write and share notes on wine they’ve tasted.  This is a community across multiple platforms – web, Facebook and mobile, and face-to-face.  Yes, there’s a human element to the Bottlenotes community at events called “Around the World in 80 Sips.”  That’s one of the things that makes Bottlenotes different from Cellar Tracker or Snooth.

“We’re trying to become the next Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast or Food & Wine for the next generation,” says Alyssa.  The Bottlenotes community is 60% female and 40% male, and while 85% of members are under age 45, ” we have members who are 21 and 81.”  There are no wine ratings or reviews except for the users notes.  “From the research we’ve done 75% of the time what influences a millennial generation consumer to buy is what friends recommend.  So we’re trying to become the friend of our community members and readers and event attendees and fans and then put them in touch with each other.”

Looking towards the next five years, mobile is on the radar.  “I think that mobile’s sort of the wild west and I think no one’s nailed it including us yet,” Alyssa says, although there is a Bottlenotes app.  While there are some cool features, like adding the location of where you’ve enjoyed a particular wine, I have to agree with her.  There’s not one wine app that rocks my world like Shazam or Instagram.  She’s dreaming of rolling out a better Bottlenotes app, one that is simple and indispensable, based possibly on a large data base.  Is label recognition too much to ask for?

Second Glass

As a wine writer, I go to a lot of industry and consumer tastings.  At events such as ZAP (the big Zinfandel tasting) I’d like to keep track of what I tasted and loved.  It’s too hard juggling a wine glass, pen, event program and the all important spit cup.  Thank goodness for Second Glass, which is a combo wine tasting app and social hangout (free app).  They actually pre-load what’s being poured at the wine event, and you can give it one or two thumbs up or a “meh” vote (why no thumbs down?)  You can also see how others rate the same wines.  You  don’t have to enter any information – wine vintage and price are already there. I gave it a test run at Pinot Days in San Francisco earlier this year and now I have a list of my 30 ratings that I can call up any time.  Never would have done that many notes at a tasting without this app.  But, Second Glass really needs to expand its roster of events to make it an app that I can’t live without.

Uncorked

“It’s a wine magazine for the rest of us.”  Stephen Yafa launched the iPad only magazine Uncorked about six months ago.  Stephen, the winemaker at Segue Cellars where he makes a Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, wants to make wine more approachable, fun and interesting, especially for the generation of the digital age.  Uncorked is published weekly and a  subscription is 99 cents per month [here's a free sneak peek].

You won’t find points or ratings within the digital pages of Uncorked. What you will find is a witty approach to telling stories about wine.  “Kind of a cool article was about a baseball team of wines an all-star wine up we called it .  Also, what’s the best bottle of wine for first dates?”

Like Alyssa at Bottlenotes, Stephen has also found that the best wine recommendations are those that people get from their friends.  One thing that sets Uncorked apart from other wine publications is that there is a mandate to recommend wines that are both $40 or less, and relatively available in retail markets — where real people get their wine.  It’s so frustrating to read about a great wine, and then not be able to find it anywhere, so I like this approach.

On the horizon – incorporating more video stories.  “I really want to make this a living magazine.  I want to have a lot more interactivity with the reader.”  He’d also love to be able to point readers to local wine shops where they can buy the wines that appear in each issue.  That would be something.

By the Grape

Jancis Robinson, who is the most prolific wine writer out there and a Master of Wine, launched an iPad only magazine called By the Grape.  There’s a strong video component to this publication, and has interactive features as well.  It’s worth checking out ($3.99) as Jancis is always a good read and a great teacher.  Jancis has fully embraced the digital age, leading the charge with her website, where you can get wine reviews and articles about the wine world that are opinionated but thoughtful.  She’s also very active on Facebook and Twitter.

Winobot

“Drink only the wines that you like” is how the new app Winobot bills itself.  The goal of this free app is to help you select a wine from a restaurant’s list.  Let the app locate you, or enter the restaurant name (and hope it is in the database!).  As of mid September there were about 105 restaurants in the Bay Area listed.  Most are national chains, (P.F. Changs, California Pizza Kitchen), but there are a few local chains (Pizza Antica, Yankee Pier) and even a few upscale restaurants (RN74, Cotonga, Mayfield Bakery & Café).  Tap a few buttons for varietal and type of food you are eating and Winobot gives you several suggestions.  If you like what was recommended you can “train” Winebot to your own palate. You can also leave tasting notes. It’s  kind of fun to see what wines Winobot recommends.

The Future

Recommendations are the next big thing in the digital wine world. akin to Amazon or Netflix suggestions. I’ve talked to people in the wine industry who are working on exactly that.  What would be even cooler is wine recommendations along with where you can buy that wine nearby.

When Facebook first announced Timeline my reaction was there’s no way I’d put my entire life story online for everyone to see. Who wants to do that?  Then I thought that this could be really cool for wineries.  It’s another way to tell their story, and I think stories are much more relevant than scores and reviews.

One feature of Timeline is the sharing of what music you’re listening, movies you’re watching or books you are reading.  Imagine what will happen once wine is part of what you share.  Sure there are sites right now (Bottlenotes) where you to do this.  But the information is shared between users of the particular community (Cellar Tracker, Snooth). Facebook spreads the word to a wider audience and in real time.  The idea here is that your what your friends and family are doing is the same as a recommendation, but better because it comes from someone you know.  We’ll just need an app for that.

Google+

Google’s recent entry into social media has lots of potential for wine lovers.  You can create wine Circles among friends and family and be as wine obsessed as you want.  I think Hangout has great potential for online tastings, especially if you get the winemaker involved, even if they live in another country.

What all of these online communities and apps are doing is bringing together a wider wine community, and giving all of us direct access to the people making wine wherever they are, which was not possible five to ten years ago.  The traditional gatekeepers, such as wine critics, wine writers and the retail and restaurant trade used to be the only channels where we could get information about wine, unless we visited the winery, or were part of a wine tasting group.  This is a dramatic shift in the wine world that I think has really just begun.  Where will we be in five years from now?  The future looks bright.