Event Notes: Rhone Rangers, 3/25/00 at Fort Mason, SF, 2-5 pm Sometimes I wonder why I look forward to these big wine events, but I always do. Once inside, I am usually reminded why I'm there... lots and lots and lots of good wine! Several Pompous Twits were in attendance on Saturday. Susan and I took our daughter Sascha, and we were joined by Dave Hulet. We met Julie just inside, and once Bryan and Lisa's time for volunteering was up, they joined us as well. Around 3:00, a friend, Craig Moore (a Twit in the making) arrived and did his best to catch up. Mike and Linda Kemp were also there, but I was unable to catch their opinions. After we arrived, the line seemed to move slowly, and a couple of us wondered why they didn't have someone (like they did at the ZAP event in January) outside, checking tickets and handing out wrist bands. Comparisons like these are inevitable, given the same venue and because they are less than two months apart, but they aren't necessarily fair... ZAP has been around longer and its immediate popularity forced the coordinators to spend more time on the logistics. Logistics seemed to be the primary criticism of the Rhone Rangers event, so I'll get those out of the way first: "NOT ENOUGH FOOD! If they have to charge $5 more, then do it. The food doesn't have to be gourmet, just be plentiful. Don't they know that 'Rhone Rangers' get hungry while in the saddle?" -- SusanOf course not all of the comments were negative! Julie, in fact, had nothing negative to say about any aspect of the event, and I think her last comment summed up how many of us felt: "Bottom line: I would go again." -- JulieAside from the shortages encountered at some wine booths, some general comments about the event and the wines were: "Lots of wineries I never heard of from towns I never heard of. Glad to see production of Rhone wines in California is growing." -- JulieBryan also included a note from John Hardman, one of the event coordinators, who said that they will be in the Festival Pavilion (next door, where ZAP was in January) next year to accommodate more people. He states that they are also trying to address the food shortage problem, and will use more than just one bakery (this year they used Artisan) to supply bread for the event. They are hoping for an additional 10 to 12 food participants, also. As far as the wine booths closing early, a few of the notables were Kathryn Kennedy (their syrah was very popular, though they want in the $70-$80/bottle range), Andrew Murray, and Swanson. Swanson left the building by 3:30, which is NOT good for the buying public! The first two, Kathryn Kennedy and Andrew Murray, had reds that were both favorites among the Twits in attendance (syrah, in particular). Favorite, "Twits Endorsed" whites included: Equus, Edmund St. John, Qupe and Andrew Murray (all viogniers, but the A.M. "Esperance" was also mentioned, as was their rousanne ice wine). One Twit gave a winery from Idaho an honorable mention, saying it was "lighter and more approachable than most, but drink it soon!" There was also some concensus that viognier and oak don't mix (or at least NEW oak). Among the least favorites were "anything Frick"
and in a bottom-three list, one Twit wrote, "Temecula, Temecula, Temecula"
referring to the Southern California desert wine region. Another
Twit wrote "Nothing knocked my socks off. Maybe too young?" My own
vote for
It would take the better part of a week for even the most resolute Twit to taste all of the wines offered at Rhone Rangers this year, so three hours only allowed us to hit the highlights. I do believe that everyone enjoyed the afternoon, and I'm almost certain that for all the glitches and gaffs, we'd all do it again! Afterwards, eight of us went to Antica Trattoria on Polk at Union streets. An excellent place for food and ambience, and the prices are quite reasonable. I think we'd all do THAT again, too! (See the menu here.) -- Tom Regner
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