Just like there are varietals of wine grapes, there are a variety of wine events and festivals in California. One coming up later this month focuses entirely on one varietal – zinfandel.
The 19th Annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) Festival, “Zin in Paradise,” is a three-day event of grand tastings, pairings, silent auction and dinner in San Francisco. This year’s festival features a well-known chef from my home state of Hawaii, Beverly Gannon. Chef Gannon is creating the Hawaii-inspired menu for the Dinner With The Winemakers event on Friday, Jan. 29.
Here’s a rundown of all the ZAP Festival events:
Jan. 28: Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Fort Mason Center. Cost: $95 for ZAP members and $125 for non-members. More than 50 wineries and restaurants will be creating bites and pours to help you savor the combination of zinfandel and good food.
Jan. 29: Flights: A Showcase of Zinfandels is a seated tasting and in-depth seminar focusing on limited-produced zinfandels. Event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel’s Peacock Court. Cost: $65 for ZAP members and $80 for non-members.
Jan. 29: Evening With the Winemakers: A Benefit Live Auction and Dinner is the grand event of the festival with a major dinner planned by Chef Gannon and zinfandel from a variety of wineries, including Cakebread Cellars, Charter Oak Winery, Dogwood Cellars, JR Wines, and St. Francis Winery. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a reception that will offer a taste for the very first time of the 2008 Heritage Vineyard Zinfandel. Cost: $210 for ZAP members and $260 for non-members.
Jan. 30: 19th Annual Grand Zinfandel Tasting at the Festival and Herbst Pavilions at Fort Mason, showing off more than 200 wineries. Go and try the wines from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: $49 for ZAP members and $59 for non-members.
To learn more about the ZAP festival and ticket information, go to www.zinfandel.org.
TICKET DRAWING: The planners behind the ZAP Festival has graciously provided two pairs of tickets to its Saturday (Jan. 30) Grand Zinfandel Tasting at Fort Mason to readers of the Cooking With The Single Guy blog. You get to spend a Saturday trying zinfandel from some of the state’s zin producers.
This is how the drawing is going to work:
- You must be able to attend the Grand Zinfandel Tasting event in San Francisco on Jan. 30, a Saturday. So even if you don’t live in San Francisco but plan on being in the city that day, feel free to enter. (Of course, all you Bay Area people should definitely enter for a day of wine drinking!)
- There will be two winners selected. Each winner will get two tickets. (So a total of four tickets will be given out, each valued at $59.)
- To enter, post a comment saying you want to attend the event, and correctly answer the following two questions: a) Chef Beverly Gannon is from Hawaii, but what is the name of the particular island where she’s from (it’s also where she has her famous restaurant loved by locals and tourists alike), and b) Every island in the Hawaiian chain has a nickname, what is the nickname of the island where Chef Gannon is from?
- Post your comment with your two answers by midnight, Tuesday (Jan. 19).
- If you answer correctly, I will add your name to a basket and then pull out two winners. Winners will be notified next Wednesday. Their names will be placed on the Will Call list, and they will need to pick up their tickets on the day of the event at Fort Mason.
UPDATE: This drawing has closed and the two winners selected from the commenters can be found in the comment section. Thanks everyone for playing!
Grape photo courtesy of Getty Images
12 comments:
I would love to attend this event! a) maui, and b)vally isle.
I want to go to the event.
a. maui b. valley isle
I love her restaurant! If you can't send me to Maui, I'd love to go the zin event. a) Maui b) the Valley Isle
I LOVE this event - hard part is not drinking too much :)
a) maui and b) valley isle
I've never been to Zap and would love to go! Chef Beverly Gannon's restaurant is on Maui, aka The Valley Isle. If I ever get there again I'll be sure to look for her place!
A) Chef Gannon lives and works on Maui, though is originally from Dallas. B) The nickname of Maui is "The Valley Isle". My wife and I would love to attend, as we're poor postdocs and dont get to go to these things often.
ZAP is wonderful, or so I've heard from long-time attendees. Hope I win!
a) Maui
b) Valley Isle
We love Zins! Too bad we can't make it. This would have been heaven.
I just started enjoying Zin and would LOVE to go to the event!
a. Chef Gannon is from Maui.
b. Its nickname is Valley Isle.
Thanks everyone for playing! (Well, except Nate/Annie since you couldn't attend.) Funny how everyone was so confident that each person was correct. I mean, if the first person gave the wrong answer and everyone followed we'd be no where. But you were all right! Chef Gannon is from Maui where she has her amazing Hali'maile General Store restaurant. And Maui is know as the Valley Isle (as opposed to Oahu where I'm from, which is the Gathering Place).
After writing everyone's name on a piece of paper and then crumpling them up and dropping them into a bag (yeah, scientific, I know), the two winners who I picked out of the bag are ...
ASTRA and RICK!!
Congrats. Please email me at singleguychef@comcast.net with your first and last name so I can forward your information to the publicist for the event and have your names placed on the will call list. Enjoy!
Doh! Missed this since I was in Mexico. Next time!
We'll be on Maui next month and never miss at least one stop at her Haliimaile General Store. It alone is almost worth the plane fare :-)
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