All posts by Mike Berger

Ralphs’ Wine Tasting Schedule

Hello Wine Lovers, here is a copy of the August 2009 Wine Tasting Schedule. Hopefully, having a copy of the schedule here on downtownster .com will make it easier to see what nights will work for many of you.

Cheers!

Mike The Wine Guy

August 7th.  Domestic and Import Craft Beer $8.00 Has been canceled.

August 8th New Arrivals From Wine Reset  $8.00

August 11th Wine of the Month Ravenswood  Clos Du Bois $7.00

Aug 14th Francis Ford Coppola Tasting and Bottle Etching

Aug 15th Australian Wine Tasting  Penfolds, Greg Norman , Lindemans $8.00 Continue reading Ralphs’ Wine Tasting Schedule

Hello Wine Lovers,

Yes, it has been sometime since I have written a bit about wine here at the Ralphs Wine Bar.  My absence in script has been noted. I must thank Alec Silverman for helping keep the interest in the wine evenings in my absence.  Monday night (tonight) will be a nice selection of sparkling wines from all around the California wine growing regions. Join me on a relaxed journey through specialty to pedestrian sparkling wines around the great Grape State. For a mere $12 dollars, your taste buds will be tested and tantalized into several forms of sparkling wines.

You will notice my deliberate reference of sparkling wines. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers,

Hello Wine Lovers,

Tonight is Friday, July 10th and from 5 pm until 8 pm Ralphs downtown is featuring the wines of Sebastiani, one of California’s noble winemaking families. The Sebastiani Winery is an historic landmark dating back to 1825, when it was planted by Franciscan monks to make sacramental wine.  It was purchased by Italian immigrant Samuele Sebastiani in 1904.  Upon Samuele’s passing in 1944 his son August, and his wife Sylvia, bought the winery from the estate and began using the family name.  It is located in what is today the heart of the town of Sonoma. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers,

Hello Wine Lovers

 It’s Wednesday, July 1st and tonight, from 5pm until 8pm, the “rolling wine bar” at Ralphs  will  host Kendall Jackson Winery and feature their Merlot varietals.  Kendall Jackson is a household name in the wine industry.  What most people do not know is that Kendall Jackson (KJ) is a major player in the high-end California wine scene.  Brands such as Legacy, Atalon, Robert Young, Matanzas Creek and Cardinale are frequently found on fine-dining restaurant’s wine lists.  When self-made billionaire Jess Jackson decided to expand, he acquired only top vineyards and brands from throughout California and did not add the KJ brand to the label of his acquisitions.  These wineries benefited from his eponymous company’s superior marketing.  The KJ portfolio has many more notable brands, much too numerous to list here.  Despite what Miles Raymond, (Paul Giamatti’s immortal character) from the film Sideways might have thought, Merlot has rebounded to its former status as a premier varietal of choice in the U.S.  (Remember his deathless line: “No!  If anyone orders Merlot, I’m leaving.  I am NOT drinking any f*cking Merlot!”) Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers

Hello Wine Lovers

Hello Wine Lovers,
 
Today, Tuesday, June 30th from 5pm to 8pm Ralphs will be offering another wine tasting.  Tonight, wines ranked 90 points or higher by noted publications in the wine industry likeThe Wine Spectator,  The Wine Advocate and The Wine Journal will be featured on this evening’s flights.  Many varietals have scored 90 points and above, all a person has to do is look through a premium grocery store’s wine section to find the perfect deal on an award-winning wine. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers

Hello Wine Lovers

Hello Wine Lovers,
 
Today is Friday, June 26th and we have a special guest visiting our wine tasting-table from 5pm to 8pm tonight,  
Joe Montoya.  Joe, who represents Chateau St. Jean  Winery in Sonoma County, will be pouring wine for our tasting tonight.  The winery produces several wines under different labels around Sonoma and Napa.  Chateau St Jean is a part of a large beverage corporation called Foster’s Group, which in addition to its California wine interests is the largest Australian beer conglomerate. A gentleman named Wolf Blass is the CEO of the corporation.  (Foster’s also owns Meridian in Paso Robles and Berringer in Napa County, plus a host of wineries in Australia.)

A few years back, the Wine Stewards of Ralphs were hosted by Foster’s Group on a Northern California “wine country” trip. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers

Hello Wine Lovers!

Hello Wine Lovers, join us tonight Friday, June 19, 2009 from 5pm to 8pm for a taste of one of California’s Noble wine making families.  Sebastiani and Sons Winery. And tonight is a recession buster—only six dollars for four glasses of wine.

August and his wife Silvia started the family winery in the heart of what is downtown Sonoma today.  The family winery thrived and became one of the most popular wineries in Sonoma County.  August and Silvia were true pioneers in the wine business in Sonoma Valley. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers!

Hello Wine Lovers!

Hello Wine Lovers, from 5pm to 8pm today June 16th  at Ralphs, we’re once again venturing up the coast of California to Paso Robles to check out  the wine growing region. Many of the Paso wineries are producing wines that are rich and deep full-bodied wines.  The special climate in that region allows the wind and cold air of the local foothills to sweep along the vineyards  during the ripening season. Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers!

Hello Wine Lovers

Hello wine lovers, tonight June 8, 2009 from 5pm to 8pm at Ralphs Downtown, we will taste two of the same wines from different parts of the world, Syrah from California and France and Shiraz from Australia. 

The ancient city of Shiraz is said to be the birthplace of the Shiraz grape, not too far from what now is modern day Baghdad.  It seems strange to think of a Muslim country as the birthplace of any alcohol, Continue reading Hello Wine Lovers