And the World of Wine Intern is…

Thank you to everyone who help spread the word about our World of Wine Festival Video Contest. Both entrants displayed the passion and enthusiasm we had hoped for and the decision was definitely a difficult one for the committee.

Congratulations to Liz Jones as this year’s World of Wine Video Contest winner. Liz has won the title “World of Wine Intern” and will soon participate in an intense two-day wine tasting alongside the professional judges as hundreds of wines from Southern Oregon compete for medals and “Best of Show” honors. We look forward to bringing you highlights of Liz’s adventure.

See Liz’s entry here:

Another Contender for the World of Wine Internship!

Watch Liz’s entry:

If you think you are the most deserving candidate to win an all-expense paid trip to Southern Oregon for two full days of tasting through our regions best wines with four professional judges, create your own YouTube video and email it to Christine@WorldofWineFestival.com. For more contest information read here. Contest entries due by 7/25/2010.

Will Amanda be the World of Wine Intern?

The World of Wine Festival Video Contest has its first entry! Watch Amanda explain why she deserves to be this year’s intern to taste alongside four professional judges:

Think you have what it takes to be our intern? Submit your video entry to Christine@worldofwinefestival.com. To learn more about the contest and read the official rules click here.

The Little Winery that Could

This year Christy and Steve Simmons, owner and operators of Misty Oaks Vineyard in the Umpqua Valley are looking for a repeat… a repeat to their 2009 World of Wine Festival title of “Best in Show Red” for their 2007 Jones Road Cab Franc. Their plan of attack: “We will probably switch it up a bit this time and send the 2008 Constitution Ridge Pinot Blanc for judging – and possibly the 2008 Pinot Noir,” says Christy.

Misty Oaks is a 1,000-case winery making wine from nine varietals. Misty Oaks is a member of the Oregon Family Artisan Wine Association, which consists of family-owned and operated boutique wineries.  The winery has a tasting room and outdoor relaxation area at the vineyard site.  “We participate in various offsite pouring and shows such as the World of Wine Festival to share the taste of our wines and to build a brand identity,” explains Christy.

The World of Wine Festival is scheduled on Sat., August 28, 5:00-9:00 p.m., at Del Rio Vineyards, 52 N. River Rd. in Gold Hill.  More than 40 wineries will be there pouring to over 500 attendees at the grand public tasting, which accompanies a professionally judged wine competition.  The event, which always sells out, is co-sponsored by the Rogue Valley Winegrowers Association and the Southern Oregon Winery Association. Tickets and more information are available at www.worldofwinefestival.com.

1st Annual World of Wine Golf Tournament

The World of Wine Festival is happy to announce the addition of a golf tournament! Come spend your day with our local wine community enjoying golf, food and wine.

What: 18-hole, 4 person scramble, with continental breakfast and BBQ lunch, post-tournament wine tasting and great tee-prizes

When: Thursday, August 26, 2010 – 8:30 a.m. shotgun start

Where: Centennial Golf Club, Medford, Oregon

Entry Fee: $95/player or $380/team

Prizes will be given away for longest drive, closest to the hole, low gross- 1st, 2nd, 3rd and low net- 1st, 2nd, 3rd places.

Reserve your team today by calling Centennial Golf Club at 541.773.4653

Become the World of Wine Intern!

World of Wine Festival Video Contest

Are you a passionate wine drinker? Craving to learn more? Then don’t miss your chance to win an all expenses paid trip to taste alongside four professional wine judges as they swirl, smell, sip through hundreds of World of Wine Festival wine competition entries.

Submit a short YouTube video telling us why you deserve to be the World of Wine Intern. The winner will be selected by the World of Wine Festival Committee based on originality, creativity and eagerness to participate in this unique experience. Send the link to your video to christine@worldofwinefestival.com. Contest ends July 25, 2010 with winner announced on July 27, 2010. Good luck!

Official Rules:

No purchase necessary to enter to win. Void where prohibited or restricted by law or regulation. This contest is open only to legal residents of the United States who are 21 years of age or older. Contest begins on Tuesday, July 6, 2010 and ends on Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Participants for this contest may enter one time per person. Contest is open to the public and wine trade. Videos can be used by the World of Wine Festival for promotional activities. All entries must be submitted to christine@worldofwinefestival.com.

A winner will be selected from valid entries on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. The winner will receive an all expense paid trip to Southern Oregon on August 12-13, 2010 to participate as an intern to work alongside four professional wine judges as they taste hundreds of commercial entries of wines made from Southern Oregon grapes.

Welcome to the Party- Plaisance Ranch

Southern Oregon has many new wineries and wines sprouting up and one of our missions at the World of Wine Festival is to feature these emerging producers.

Plaisance \Plai`sance”\, n. [French] pronounciation: “PLAY-zonce” Pleasure; merriment; gayety; delight; kindness.
“With great pleasure.”

Plaisance Ranch has been a working ranch since 1858. It is 210 acres located in the Williams Valley. The Ginet family has a rich history in the ranching and vineyard business that spans over hundreds of years and across two continents. For many generations, their family has been growing grapes and cattle and producing grapevines amongst the mountains of Savoie in eastern France. Today, they continue the tradition in America raising Certified Organic grass-fed beef, grafted grape vines, and fine wines.

We are delighted to have them joining us at this year’s festival pouring their Papa Joe’s Private Stash Syrah (love this name) and Rouge Prestige at this year’s event. The Rouge Prestige is made primarily from the grape Mondeuse. This is one of the parents of Syrah and it is the primary red grape of Savoie, France. The Ginet family imports the selection from their family’s vineyard sites in Savoie.

Don’t miss trying these two wines at the World of Wine Festival, August 28th from 5-9 p.m. For tickets click here.

Tags: Plaisance Ranch, Southern Oregon Wine, World of Wine Festival

Judges at the World of Wine Festival vs. us at Battle of the Bones

Janet Eastman of Passport 2 Ashland published this article yesterday about our festival’s professionally judged competition:

Passport 2 Ashland- Great source for local recreation news

Judges at the World of Wine Festival vs. us at Battle of the Bones

The stereotypic image of a wine judge comes to mind quickly: Snooty. Sour faced. Oh, and that dreadful pompous patter. It’s no wonder that cartoonists like Adey Bryant poke fun of wine judges, putting words in their mouths such as: “Hmm, this cheeky little red just stamped on my toes, poked me in the eye, kicked me in the butt and said ‘get a life, you sad git.’”

But who exactly are these so-called experts? Why should their perception of a wine be worth more than our own? After all, the sense of smell is primal. According to scientists who study us, it has evolved to help us locate food, run away from stinky danger and (sorry, dear prudes) stimulate sexual behavior.

The problem with us, however, says Jim LaMar of www.winepros.org, is scent messages pass through the emotional center of our brain before our conscious thoughts can identify them. Expectation makes accurate recall of smells somewhat sketchy. We can be so easily influenced by packaging (read label studies here) or memories that we really don’t know what we’re tasting. “Reaction to certain smells may be instinctive,” he says. “Identification of those smells requires a certain amount of experience and training.”

So, in our exploration of Us vs. Them, we’ll start with wine pros’ well-toned palates that help them precisely identify and remember taste, smell and flavor, time after time after time. And then – still sober – rank the wines using exacting terminology that others can understand.

They deserve our respect because many have endured endless hours of classwork offered by the esteemed Institute of Masters of Wine and have earned a braggable MW title.

Case in point: The judges for the upcoming World of Wines Festival. Four highly credentialed judges have already been confirmed to fly into Medford, stick their noses into glasses of wine made from Southern Oregon grapes, sniff enough of the stuff to reach deep-seated nasal receptors, slosh sips around in their mouths, slurp in air to mix with the wine, swallow, settle on their decrees, then leave to taste thousands of more types of wine before we mere mortals attempt the same taste test of 40 wineries at the festival in Gold Hill on August 28.

These seasoned wine tasters look for distinct varietal character, that is the unique aroma, flavor, color and body of a grape variety that goes into wine. It takes experience to identify these characteristics. People with practiced palates can do it blindfolded.

At last year’s festival, South Stage Cellars’ 2008 Early Muscat and Misty Oaks Vineyard’s 2007 Jones Road Cabernet Franc were named Best in Show.

Red wine judge Elaine Marshall, a former restaurant sommelier and one of the first to achieve the designation an Advanced Certified Wine Professional of the Culinary Institute of America, voted for the Cab Franc. “What I liked about it is it walked like a Cab Franc, it smelled like a Cab Franc but the alcohol wasn’t too high,” she says. “It was a spot-on representation of what I was looking for in that distinct style of a Cab Franc.”

What will this year’s judges say? You can read it here once they’ve made their decisions.

The 2010 World of Wine Festival Judges are:

• Joel Butler, MW, president of North America’s Institute of Masters of Wine and an instructor for the Wine and Spirits Education Trust courses at COPIA in Napa Valley and Seattle
• Patrick Farrell, MW, vice president of the Institute of Masters of Wine North America and a partner in the Bev Wizard “Wine Smoother”
• Bob Paulinksi, MW, wine buyer for the Winn-Dixie chain of stores
• Patrick Comiskey, senior editor for Wine and Spirits magazine

Taking them on requires practice on our part. Here’s an opportunity this weekend. The Battle of the Bones in Central Point, in which people judge the barbecue, brew and wine.

READ THE SECOND PART of the People at Battle of the Bones vs Wine judges here.

For more info: World of Wine Festival takes place Saturday, August 28 from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. at Del Rio Vineyards, 52 North River Road, Gold Hill, Oregon 97525-6784, (541) 855-2062. Tickets are $75 and available at www.worldofwinefestival.com, Del Rio Vineyards,RoxyAnn Winery, Elegance Fine Wines, Schmidt Family Vineyards and Pacific Wine Club.

The Humble Beginning…

Lee Mankin’s vineyard and wine experience began in college when he spent a year and half studying in Florence, Italy. He left Italy to pursue a career in dentistry, but returned to his passion in his “encore career” when he and his wife, Vicki, came to the Rogue Valley in 2002 in search of an ideal area to start a vineyard.

The Mankins bought two orchards they thought were best suited to grow grapes, established Carpenter Hill Vineyard, and planted Merlot and Syrah.  Lee attended every seminar on viticulture he could find and joined the Rogue Valley Winegrowers Association, later becoming president of the board.  The area was exploding with new producers and high-quality wines. But, there was no organized marketing effort to promote these new Southern Oregon wines.

Joe Ginet of Plaisance Ranch, Cal Schmidt of Schmidt Family Vineyards, and Mankin saw the need to promote their region and started thinking about a way to introduce the area’s wines to the consuming public – and that was the beginning of the World of Wine Festival.  The trio believed that if they could educate locals of the amazing wine being produced in their backyards, it would build pride and consumption for the region.

Mankin, Schmidt and Ginet financed the first World of Wine Festival with their own credit cards. They invited 25 wineries, made the food themselves, and paid a local band for entertainment. One criterion for participation was that all wine had to have been made from Southern Oregon fruit. Three hundred tickets were sold the first year. The following year, WOW petitioned the Oregon Wine Board for a grant to help underwrite the Festival. The grant proposal was accepted and the organizing committee began to grow WOW into what it is today.  Ginet, Schmidt and Mankin are still on the WOW committee, which has grown to include 12 separate sub-committees.

WOW founders (left to right) Cal Schmidt, Joe Ginet, and Lee Mankin.

Last year, 750 people attended WOW from 13 different states and two foreign countries. Forty-eight wineries participated, pouring more than 120 different wines.  The Festival has added a game of chance, silent auction, golf tournament and a professionally judged wine competition. Judges are invited to come to this region to taste and evaluate submitted wines using world-class standards.

This year’s World of Wine Festival is on Saturday, August 28^th from 5:00-9:00 p.m. at Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill.  A portion of the silent auction proceeds will go to the Southern Oregon Wine Institute at Umpqua Community College. Tickets are available online or for purchase at Del Rio Vineyards, RoxyAnn Winery, Elegance Fine Wines, Schmidt Family Vineyards and Pacific Wine Club.

What World of Wine is All About!

Pat Spangler of Spangler Vineyards in Roseburg advocates to “DRINK LOCAL.”