FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Earl Jones, President of TAPAS,
(541) 679-6642, earl@abacela.com
Stuart Spencer, TAPAS Board
Member, (209) 367-4727, stuart@lodiwine.com
Discover What
North American Winegrowers are
Creating from
Native Spanish and Portuguese Grapes
Paso Robles, CA
– May 12, 2008 - TAPAS* is pleased to announce the most extensive
tasting of domestically produced Iberian varietal wines ever offered
in America. Take the nearest “Spanish Trail” to COPIA: The American
Center for Wine, Food & the Arts,
500 First Street, Napa, CA to attend the TAPAS events on August 8 &
9, 2008.
This two day Fiesta includes
informative seminars and feature walk-around tastings of wines made
from grape varieties indigenous to Spain and Portugal that are now cultivated
in America. These new and delightful domestic wines originate in Arizona,
California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington, and range from crisp, refreshing
whites, through big full-bodied reds, to elegant port style wines. This
is a unique opportunity to sample wines from more than 40 participating
wineries and learn about varieties like Tempranillo, Albariño, Garnacha,
Graciano, Mourvedre, Touriga, Verdejo, Bastardo and more.
Friday August 8th
is designed for members of the wine trade. Starting at 1:30PM there
will be technical seminars explaining “Why Iberia and Why Now” plus
detailed updates on individual varietals including their viticultural
and enological requirements as well as guided tastings. From 3:00-5:00PM
there will be a large walk-around tasting of the wines produced by TAPAS
members in America from these indigenous Spanish and Portuguese winegrapes.
On Saturday the public is invited
to a similar treat. At 12:00 noon there will be informative consumer
oriented seminars and guided tastings. From 1:00 to 3:00 PM consumers
will have an opportunity to taste all these same wines in a delightful
walk-around tasting where they may chat with the TAPAS growers and producers.
Tickets are available from COPIA: Toll free (888) 512- 6742 or http://www.copia.org/
Randall Grahm, Bonny Doon Vineyard,
Santa Cruz CA, says “While known as a Rhône Ranger, I have felt a
passion for all things Iberian ever since writing Don
Quijones: Man of Garnacha for one of our earlier newsletters. Growing
wines such as Albariño, Loureiro and Trexiadura at Bonny Doon is a
great adventure, discovering a new world of superlative flavor, complexity
and finesse.”
*Tempranillo Advocates,
Producers and Amigos Society (TAPAS)
is a trade association comprised of over sixty members, whose mission
is: “To promote Tempranillo and other varietal wine grapes native
to the Iberian Peninsula and wines produced from them in North America.”
See www.tapasociety.org .
One of the bennies of 