Fall Wine Events–Here, There, and Everywhere

Fall ushers in lots of things that we love; pumpkin and apple recipes abound, colorful leaves, and crisp blue sky days relieve us from the heat of summer, and it just seems everyone comes back together for dinners, bonfires, apple picking, and other events.

Fall also ushers in a season of wine events, wine shipments kick into full swing after sometimes being halted for the summer months, and there are suddenly a ton of options for wine and food lovers. I receive many emails about wine events. There are ones I can participate in online or attend in person, and there are those I dream about being at. If you’re looking for wine events here, there, or everywhere (virtual), the below might be of interest to you. Happy Thursday!

• #winechat – every Wednesday at 9 Eastern, you can log into Twitter to tweet and taste along with wine bloggers, producers, marketers, and aficionados from around the world. Last night I participated in a fantastic discussion of Austrian reds, Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, varieties that most people know little about. Have you tried an Austrian red? The #winechat schedule can be found on Marie’s Life of Vines blog. Check it out, find a chat you are interested, and prepare to have a nice little wine tasting at home with faraway new friends.

• TasteLive – Like #winechat, TasteLive falls under the umbrella of “everywhere”. Their extensive tasting schedule features wines from all over, often with recipe accompaniments. Tonight I am a panelist in an event that features Rodney Strong wines, Sift cupcakes, and recipes from the book Down Home Downtown: Recipes from Two Sonoma Wine Country Restaurants. You need not be a panelist to follow the tweets and taste along.

• Wine Connextion Big 3 Tastings – If you are in Boston or in the northern suburbs, you can stop by Wine Connextion in North Andover three Saturdays in a row to enjoy special tastings. Their Third Annual Grand Tasting (10/27), Magnificent Meritages: exceptional American wines blended in the Bordeaux tradition (11/3), and 90 Points and Above (11/10) are all sure to please and will make for a fun Saturday afternoon.

• The Urban Grape South End – Both Urban Grape locations offer a full schedule of wine, beer, and spirit events, but I am eyeing up the Urban Grape South End for their Muscadet and Oysters event on 10/17. Yum.

• Sonoma Wine Road Wine and Food Affair (11/3 –11/4)– This is one of my favorite events of all time. We planned on going last year and missed it when my nana died, and this year I am running a marathon, but I will be sure to be in Northern Sonoma for this event next year. Drive from winery to winery, tasting wines paired with fall recipes, and receive a  cookbook as part of the ticket price. Since I am missing the event, the kind people at the Wine Road sent me an advance copy of the book, and I am already cooking from it.

• Artisano  at The Vintner’s Inn (11/17) a post-harvest celebration of local wine, food, and art with all proceeds from the auction and raffle benefiting Ceres Community Project. A Grand Tasting features locally handcrafted small production wines with limited distribution, bountiful food, artists showcasing one-of-a-kind art, and hands-on workshops of cheese making, fermentation and butchering. A “Golden Ticket” auction culminating with a Harvest Dinner at John Ash & Co., with a family-style menu prepared by Chef Tom Schmidt, concludes this 4th annual event that is a must for locals and guests from near and far.