SAN FRANCISCO, AUGUST 30, 2011- Every September the California wine harvest is an opportunity to sample the latest and greatest that the California wine regions offer. The weather is usually perfect, the wine and food flows freely and nearly everyone is throwing a party.
If you’re looking for the inside scoop on your California Wine Month getaway – I’ll have you covered with event information and updates from the field all month long. Follow me as I get things kicked off this Labor Day weekend in Sonoma and Livermore, and keep the fun going throughout September.
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - event with vineyard in foreground
So why September?
September is harvest time in California and California Wine Month celebrates the wine, the landscape, wine making, cuisine, sustainability and the overall California wine lifestyle.
California wine dates back to the 18th century when Spanish missionaries planted the first vineyards to produce wine for church services. The regions have come a long way since then. Now California is the fourth largest wine producer in the world and makes 90% of American wine. In fact, if California were a separate country, it would be the world’s fourth largest wine producer.
Most of the state’s wine regions are located between the Pacific coast and the Central Valley. Within those areas the regions are divided into four main regions - North Coast, Central Coast, South Coast and Central Valley.
During the harvest celebrations, there are many activities and events to choose from in all the various wine growing regions in California. So where to begin?
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - Chefs with Wine
Here is a list of the winery events happening in September. This list covers events happening throughout the California wine growing regions, including the popular Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Paso Robles, Livermore Valley, and Temecula wine growing regions. No matter what area you want to discover, there are events happening worth exploring.
One of the biggest events is the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend: Taste of Sonoma, happening Labor Day weekend. This event features more than 170 award winning wineries and 60 chefs showcasing their talents at Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch, as well as a wine auctions, seminars, cooking demonstrations, vineyard tours and parties at other wineries. Ticket prices range from $85 to $1,850 for the full Sommelier Stars weekend package.
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - MacMurray Ranch
The 32nd Annual Taste of Sonoma event happens Saturday, September 3 from 11am – 4pm at MacMurray Ranch in Healdsburg located in the Russian River Valley. Immerse yourself in the food and wine lifestyle of Sonoma County by walking through the historic MacMurray Ranch property, sipping some of the best wines in Sonoma and nibbling on tasty cuisine. A few highlights include Sommelier Stars Wine Tours, Pair with the Pros, Blind Taste Test Challenge, The Bubble Lounge, Iconic Red Wines of Sonoma, and The Crushpad. Taste of Sonoma at MacMurray Ranch tickets are $150.
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - attendees toasting camera
Another big event worth checking out is the Livermore Valley 30th Annual Harvest Wine Celebration, which takes place on Sunday and Monday of Labor Day Weekend. On Sunday, there are complimentary shuttle busses that take guests to over 40 wineries where you can enjoy wine tastings, music, food, art vendors, and wine discounts. Tickets range from $40 to $55 for one day and two day events.
On Monday there’s a more intimate day at the wineries with wine tastings and unique activities, like winemaker discussions, a chance to bottle your own wines, and do some barrel tastings. There are no free shuttles on Monday though, so if you want to leave the driving to the professionals, suggest taking them up on their offer to shuttle you around Sunday.
Livermore’s 30th Annual Harvest Wine Celebration
If you are in southern California in the month of September, check out Temecula Valley’s harvest celebration. Temecula Valley is about an hour drive from San Diego, Orange County and Palm Springs. This celebration features hundreds of award winning wines from over 30 wineries. Very rural in nature and many wineries practice sustainable farming. If you are staying for a weekend, be sure to pick up a SIP Passport (savings of $30). With the SIP PASS, you choose five wineries you’d like to visit. You can also choose a SIP and RIDE and/or SIP and STAY. SIP Passport starts at $40. Check their website for details on cost and accommodations. If you are in Temecula on September 10th, check out the Temecula Valley CRUSH, a wine and culinary showcase happening from 6:30-9:30pm at Monte de Oro Winery. Tickets are $65.
CRUSH: Temecula Valley's Annual Wine & Culinary Showcase
Further into September, the events keep coming! On Sept. 17 is the CALIFORNIA WINE RUSH, a walk-around tasting event featuring top wines from more than a dozen California wine regions throughout the state. This event takes place in San Francisco in the Grand Hall of the Ferry Building during Saturday’s farmer’s market from noon to 3pm. Tickets are $45.
The 114th Annual Valley of the Moon Vintage Festival takes place September 23-25 in Sonoma, CA. This is California’s oldest festival, taking place the last weekend in September every year in Sonoma’s downtown historic plaza. The event features an amateur wine competition, art show, grape stomp, opening night gala party, a parade and much, much more. The festival is free and open to the public with certain events like the opening night gala and grape stomp requiring a registration fee.
Valley of the Moon, Vintage Festival 2011 Poster
Savor the Central Coast 2011 will feature a tasting with 200-plus wineries, wine seminars, winemaker dinners and other culinary adventures during this four-day experience Sept. 29-Oct. 2. Tickets for individual events are as low as $20. Main event tickets are between $85-150. The main event takes place at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch.
Savor the Central Coast Event - Battle of the bay
Insider-tips:
Start early for events in the wine regions / at wineries
Get moving early to avoid afternoon traffic jams. Most of the wineries open up at 10 a.m. Also, look into making dinner reservations to let traffic thin out in the evenings.
Travel offers for California Wine Month
Dozens of hotels and wine tour companies are offering travel deals, discounted wine safaris, berry-to-crush winemaking packages and more.
Take advantage of wine associations and bureaus
Check out the Visitor’s Centers/Tourism Bureaus to get maps and suggestions. Many wineries and wine associations now offer mobile apps to help you navigate while you’re in California. Search on your Smartphone for downloadable apps. Also, most wineries offer maps of the region for free.
Choose wineries by your favorite varietals
California’s Wine Institute offers a tool to quickly search by varietal. If you’re eco-conscious you can also search wineries by green and sustainability practices.
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - Wine Education
Call ahead
Some wineries are open for touring and tasting only by appointment so be sure to call ahead, especially on busy event weekends. During harvest, visitors can call ahead to find out when the grapes will arrive so they can check out the crush live.
Pace yourself!
Suggest limiting each day’s wine tasting to a maximum of five wineries so you can get the full experience at each facility. Take a winery tour at each, talk to the tasting room staff to learn more about the wines, and take time to drive between tasting rooms.
Taste responsibly
Have a hired car/bus or designated driver, share tastes as appropriate, and don’t be shy about using the spit buckets—spitting is good manners in wine country! And ask about DD discounts (designated driver).
Follow me on my month long journey through California Wine Month. Next stops include: interview with Allison Jordan, Director of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program at CA Wine Institute, tastings and tours at Livermore CA wineries Wente and Concannon, Sonoma Wine Country Weekend and more! If you’ve got an event you’d like us to check out, send me a note and we’ll put it on the list!
Sonoma Wine Country Weekend - Tasting Tent
For more wine tasting tips and Sonoma tasting advice, read my article: Swirl into Sonoma.
Here is a map of the California wine growing regions.
California wine growing regions
For more on the history of wine making in California.
For more on sustainable wine growing and agriculture, visit the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance or read up more at the California Wine Institute website.
You can also download the Discover California Wine Brochure and check out their 3 minute video.
Here is a downloadable PDF document with additional winery events during California Wine Month.
Special thanks to Jeanne Sullivan from SullivanSays PR for all her great insider advice, awesome photos and info!
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