Bacchus Does Sonapanoma
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DAY FIVE
Party at Rosenblum

WINES TASTED:

1991 Lytton Springs Zinfandel Sonoma County
1995 Rombauer Zinfandel Napa
1996 Sparrow Lane Zinfandel Beatty Ranch
1996 Rosenblum Zinfandel 20th Anniversary
1994 Oakford Vineyard Cabernet
1995 Tobin James Zinfandel Paso Robles Deep Purple
1989 Storrs Zinfandel Beauregard
1994 Thunder Mountain Zinfandel Dusi Ranch
1995 Geyser Peak Shiraz Reserve
1994 Turley Zinfandel Hayne
1996 Turley Zinfandel Old Vines
1990 Williams-Selyem Zinfandel
1995 Kunde Zinfandel Robusto
1994 Swan Zinfandel Stellwagon
1994 Rosenblum Zinfandel Brandlin
1995 Rosenblum Zinfandel Brandlin
1995 Turley Zinfandel Black-Sears
1996 Hanna Zinfandel Pourroy
1993 Rosenblum Zinfandel Samsel
1994 Rosenblum Zinfandel Maggie's Reserve

We awoke to another sunny Sonoma day, and congregated at check-out to coordinate the day.

A few of us headed over to Bottle Barn, a local wineshop with a great selection of local producers and very good prices. Since I live here, I guess I’m spoiled – but these guys looked like a bunch of kids let loose at Toys R Us. It was great fun.

Today was Father’s Day, and we were not sure if Kent Rosenblum would be able to join us at the winery for our barbecue and tasting. We had made it known that the event was open to any board members who cared to join us, and we hoped this would give us a chance to put more faces to names.

I headed down to Alameda, and arrived a little early to help with setup. I was worried about our out
of town visitors who were driving – the Cypress Freeway , damaged in the Loma Prieta Quake, was being rebuilt and new sections were being opened. As a result, some of the signage had not been replaced, and the turnoff for Alameda was not well marked. I know the area, and I still had trouble.

Fortunately, it all worked out quite well. A food committee stopped enroute to pick up provisions, several of us pitched in to help, and by the time folks started arriving we were ready to go.

The Thunder Mountain crew: Sue, Milan (in Santa Cruz), Scott

One of the first wines opened was Milan’s 1994 Dusi Ranch Zinfandel, poured from a 6 liter gollybum. Then the corks started flying as more cyberfriends arrived.

George Chadwick (Whitefield) and Pete Marsh (Clayton Kids)

It was quite a stunning array of Zinfandels, including a few Turleys, and other hard to find wines. There were a couple of corked bottles, but that certainly didn’t dampen the spirits of this group.

David King (Amphissa) and Judson

We grilled up some burgers, chicken and veggies, and soaked up the sun and the Zinfandel. Kent arrived with his wife, and graciously added a few selections to the wine table.

We spent a few emotional minutes offering some testimonials and thanks to Russell and Victoria for organizing the tour, and giving so much of themselves. We also offered our appreciation to Kent for his generosity in allowing us to use his facility.

Lisa and Tim Ellis (tpe 1)

As the afternoon wore on, folks drifted off one by one to airline flights and other commitments, leaving a remnant of diehard Zinfans. Kent asked if we would like to taste from barrel (did he have to ask?), and led us through a splendid array of his 1997 offerings.

Kent Rosenblum and Victoria

The last few drifted upstairs to the tasting bar, and then, as all good things must….