Valerie Evans, a certified sommelier, owns the Grapevine, a wine and cheese shop in Willow Glen. She first worked at the store as an intern one night a week. The internship eventually led to an account executive position with a local wine distributor. To feed her growing interest in wine, she completed the Professional Culinary Institute’s sommelier course, but she did not stop there. With the knowledge and skills she received from master sommelier David Glancy, she sat for the Court of Masters Sommelier Certification exam. She offers that knowledge to her customers at the Grapevine.
Restaurants News - page 69
Pessagno , the Monterey County winery, sent me 2006 and 2007 vintages of syrah, pinot noir and zinfandel sourced from two eastern San Benito County vineyards. The wines are poster children for the lavish, concupiscent California style—ripe, fruit-driven and boozy.
Pessagno Winery, the Monterey County winery, sent me 2006 and 2007 vintages of syrah, pinot noir and zinfandel sourced from two eastern San Benito County vineyards. The wines are poster children for the lavish, concupiscent California style—ripe, fruit-driven and boozy.
Milpitas’ one and only winery, Big Dog Vineyards, opens its doors to the public for wine tasting and a live concert on Saturday, July 24, and a day of more wine tasting on Sunday, July 25.
What’s $650 worth these days? Four vacation days eating and drinking wine in the Santa Cruz Mountains? Promoters of the region’s local wineries hope so. The Aptos Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association and Santa Cruz Travel in hopes of attracting 50 wine lovers willing to plunk down for people the “Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Trail to the Sea” tour package Sept. 7–10.
