What's Your Rhône Name?

Like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano or the annual mating of the wildebeests in Africa, certain events indicate a particular time of year. In the wine world, especially in the Rhône world, it’s a sure sign that Spring is near when you hear the thundering herd of Rhône Rangers ride into town for the Annual Rhône Rangers event held at Fort Mason in San Francisco.

The 15th Annual Rhône Rangers will be held March 24-25, 2012. I went to the event last year and can tell you first hand it’s something you don’t want to miss. The wines are fantastic and the winemakers are real mavericks. Rhône’s and the people who make Rhône wines tend to follow the beat of a slightly different drummer. My kind of peeps!

Three seminars and a winemaker dinner will be held on Saturday and The Grand Tasting on Sunday. This year one of the seminars involves bacon! And the Grand tasting will have over 500 wines! I know you want to go to that—and you could for free— This is what you have to do:

Tell me what your Rhône Name is. Don’t know what it is? Here’s how to find out-- It's kind of like that game where you invent your porn star name, um, I mean stage name, by combining the name of a childhood pet and the name of the street you lived on as a kid. So for example my stage name would be Fluffy Lakeview.

But to find your Rhône Name do the following:
(Name of Favorite Childhood Pet)  + (Favorite Rhône Variety) = Rhône Name

So for example my Rhône Name could be-- Fluffy Viognier or Jake Carignane

And here are the never before revealed Rhône Ranger Names for the winemakers who will be pouring Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Carignane, Cinsault, Counoise and Mondeuse Noir in the Rare Wines seminar Saturday, March 24, 2012.

Tablas Creek – 2010 Picpoul Blanc – Jason Haas  (Binky Picpoul)
Two Shepherds – 2010 Grenache Blanc – William Allen  (Flash Grenache)
Holly’s Hill – 2010 Counoise – Josh Bendick  (Spanky Counoise)
Lagier Meredith – 2009 Mondeuse Noire – Carole Meredith  (Muffin Mondeuse Noire)
Ridge – 2009 Carignane – David Gates   (Astro Carignane)
Clos Saron – 2010 Cinsault — Gideon Beinstock  (Buster Cinsault)

So what’s your Rhône Name?

Leave it in the comments section below and then tweet your Rhone name to me at @marcygordon and @RhoneRangers and tag it with #RRSF. You could win a pair of tickets to the Grand Tasting in San Francisco on March 25th. Enter Now! Contest closes March 7th.

Here is a list of Rhône grapes to get you started.

Details and ticket information available here:

Website: http://www.rhonerangers.org/
Ticket sales: http://rhonerangers2012.eventbrite.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/RhoneRangers
Twitter: @RhoneRangers Hashtag #RRSF

Rhone Rangers Wrap Up

Rhone Rangers Mourvedre Seminar

So I got the chance to give away two tickets to the San Francisco Rhone Rangers event that took place last weekend in my post There's a Name for My Condition: Rhone Ranger. The winner was Rick from @cheers2winecom. That post was also part of a blogging competition that awarded tickets to the event to a wine blogger-- with the Grand prize being a full weekend pass including the Winemakers dinner on Saturday night.

Well guess who won???

Hint hint...your soaking in it. Yup it was me! I was surprised and excited to learn I was the winner of the whole shebang. Thank you very much Rhone Rangers judges!

I was only able to attend the Saturday events but they were incredible. At the Mourvedre seminar moderated by Jon Bonne I really enjoyed the Tablas Creek Vineyard 08 from Paso Robles and we also tasted my old stand by and BFF the 08 Wine Creek Ranch Mourvedre by Quivira.

Next... on the the Gala Winemakers Dinner catered by Girl and the Fig followed by the Rhone Rangers Scholarship Fund auction.

Prior to the dinner a walk around tasting reception was held with the wine makers. Wow! There were some real standouts that were new to me. I was especially blown away by selections at Quady North from Southern Oregon.

A selection from Quady North

One of the many wines poured at the dinner

Auction in full swing

The auction action was fast and furious and raised funds for the scholarship, and all the incredible wines served at the event raised serious fun for all the attendees. If you love rhones, become a Rhone Ranger Member and be sure to catch the event next year.

There’s a Name for My Condition: Rhone Ranger

I love Mourvedre, Grenache, Syrah, Carignane and Viognier. I like saying the word Viognier almost as much as drinking the wine itself. I get weak in the knees when I see the menu for Girl and the Fig, and sometimes I just stare at the offerings on my Girl & the Fig iPhone app when I can’t sleep at night. I’m a wine club member of Quivira and Bonny Doon and I’m on the Shane Wines allotment list. For years I thought I was alone with this Rhone obsession.

But now I find out there is a name for my condition-- it's called a Rhone Ranger and there is an organization by the same name. The Rhone Rangers are dedicated to the promotion, education, and general sharing of the love about American Rhone varietal wines. Kind of like a support group for hopeless Rhonemantics like me.

And through their support, I'm giving away two tickets to the next Rhone Ranger event! Read on Kemosabe.

Rhone Ranger members include Wineries, Growers, Retailer Restaurant, & Distributor Associates, and “Sidekicks” a membership level for consumers.

The Rhone Rangers sponsor tasting events and seminars through out the year. The 14th Annual Grand tasting is happening March 26-27 at Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco. The grand tasting features over 500 wines from more than 100 Rhone Rangers wineries, and includes gourmet food samples of cheese, bread, olive oil, charcuterie, fruits and chocolates. Plus there will be three educational seminars and a winemakers tasting dinner catered by none other than Girl and the Fig!

Educational Seminars:

#1 - GREEN RANGERS: SUSTAINABLE, ORGANIC AND BIODYNAMIC AMERICAN RHONES

#2 - MOURVEDRE ON THE MOVE.

#3 - WILD WINES AND THE STORIES OF HOW THEY CAME TO BE.

For more detailed information on all the events and to purchase tickets click here.

But wait, you can win two tickets to the Grand Tasting right now, right here!

Just tell me what Rhone variety you like to pronounce and why? For Example: I like to say Viognier because it sounds like some kind of sexy lingerie. And I feel rather posh when I say it. But what about you? Do you like the sound of Counoise because it sounds like something Jed Clampet went hunting for? Or maybe you have a penchant for saying Grenache? Tell me.

If you are new to Rhone’s, here’s a quick list and pronunciation guide to help:

Red Varietals:

SYRAH (Sur-RAH)

PETITE SIRAH (Puh-TEAT Sur-RAH)

GRENACHE (Gruh-NOSH)

CARIGNANE (Care-een-YAHN)

MOURVÈDRE (More-VEHD-ruh)

CINSAUT (San-soh)

COUNOISE (COON-wahz)

White Varietals:

VIOGNIER (VEE-ohn-yay)

ROUSSANNE (ROO-sahn)

GRENACHE BLANC (Gruh-NOSH Blonk)

MARSANNE (MAR-sahn)

PICPOUL BLANC ((PEEK-pool Blonk)

Post your answer in the comments below and a random drawing will determine the winner of two tickets ($90 value) to the Grand tasting in San Francisco on March 26-27, 2011. Enter Now! Contest closes March 11th.

P.S. You can follow the Rhone Rangers on twitter @RhoneRangers and tweets from the event at #RRSF