Who's Dan? And Why Do You Need to Know Him?

During my day job of consulting wineries on how to best market their brands I encountered a unique web based "human powered network." It's called iKnowDan.com.

They are still in beta at this moment and are preparing a section dedicated to wine tasting rooms and wine related events. Which is kinda how I got involved.

The interesting part, to those of you interested in fine wine and good food, is that you can sign up for "savings based" alerts on lunches, dinners, tickets to events, etc.

From my perspective (helping wineries market themselves) I could see the situation where it's the day before an event and you've got 15 unsold tickets. The business can fire an email to iKnowDan.com and send subscribers (who have signed up to be alerted to such deals) and offer them $10 off the ticket price.

One example, the Winery Music Awards offers 10% off a pair of tickets to their big finals event when you buy online at www.BrownPaperTickets.com and use the promo code "iKnowDan."

I do quite a bit of web based research and helping clients improve their web based marketing tools and I've never seen anything like iKnowDan.com. I signed up two days ago!

The Blog Catalog

Where's Chuck On This Chart?

In Memorial x 2

At right is Michael Jackson (circa early 90's) tasting the line of SLO Brew Ales. Pouring the brews is owner, Mike Hoffman.

Acclaimed beer writer Michael Jackson left us 8/31/07 at age 65

I met Michael at ye olde SLO Brew in the very early '90's when I was handling the marketing duties for the brewery. His encyclopedic knowledge of beers from around the world was perfectly paired with his droll sense of humor.

Michael Jackson, England's renowned beer historian, writer and television personality on both sides of the pond has died at his home in London.

His longtime partner, Paddy Gunningham, said Jackson died from a heart attack. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for years. She said he had planned to write a book about his ailment.

"He was simply the best beer writer we've ever known," Tim Hampson, chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers, told the Associated Press. "He told wonderful stories about beer, breweries and far away places. He told the story of beer through people, and he was humorous and erudite at the same time."

Among Jackson's books are two dealing with his favorites, Belgian brews: "The Great Beers of Belgium" and "World Guide to Beer." In his work, he wrote for magazines, did television appearances in the UK and the United States, and wrote a series of books about beer and whiskeys that were published in 18 languages.

Happy Beer Hunting, Michael. We trust that the lyrics from the popular Polka, "In Heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here," is only a fiction.


Alfred Peet passes on 8/31/07 at age 87

Just as SLObispoians get ready to celebrate the opening of our first Peet's Coffee & Tea, word comes that Alfred Peet, who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea and opened its first store 41 years ago in Berkeley, died Wednesday at his home in Ashland, Oregon, the company said today.

Mr. Peet opened the coffee roaster's first store in 1966, followed by outlets in Menlo Park (1971), Piedmont Avenue in Oakland (1978) and another Berkeley store across from the Claremont Hotel in 1980. He retired in 1983.

Mr. Peet was born in Alkmaar, Holland. He cleaned machinery and did other odd jobs at his father's coffee roastery in Alkmaar before World War II.

After the war, Mr. Peet became an apprentice at Lipton's Tea in London, then moved to Indonesia to work in the tea business there.

He immigrated to San Francisco in 1955 and went to work at a coffee importer, E.A. Johnson & Co. He opened his first Peet's at Walnut and Vine streets in Berkeley, installing a small roaster in the shop's back room.

Legend has it that the founders of Starbuck's sought Mr. Peet's advice on how to buy and properly roast coffee before opening their first shop.

Sign of the (LA)Times & How's It Hangin'

Big congrats to our friends, the Kobayashi family, for the glowing review they received from a tough restaurant critic in last Wednesday's (8.8.07) L.A. Times. Shandi Kobayashi was on last Saturday's show with one of our favorite area winemakers, Don Kleck, of Silver Stone Winery.
Check out the article at this link: Artisan Offers Sharp Urban Style ....

Need wine glass storage? And a new chandelier?
This item will light up your life (unless you have completely switched over to "O" glasses).

These fixtures multi-task as a chandelier and wine glass holder. The smaller $495 version holds 16 stemmed glasses, while the $749 version holds 40. The lamp comes in three finishes: black, clear and chrome lacquered.
The Glasklasen Lamp available through UrbanPeel.com.

Meridian's Box 'O Gold & Vine Dinning With a Movie

We had Lee Miyamura, winemaker for Meridian Vineyards, on last Saturday's show and she was proudly showing off a boxed set of their Mid-State Fair Gold Medal winners; a Sauvignon Blanc, Late Harvest Riesling, and an '04 Paso Robles Cabernet.
Big congrats to Lee and her Meridian crew for producing these award winning wines. And, btw, if you have not yet tasted Lee's Zinfandel you've got a real treat in store.


I've rarely seen people get so excited about a new food-wine related service like they do about Cinema e Vino. They've been putting on Italian picnic dinners in the vineyards featuring classic movies shown on a high quality outdoor setup. Where's the popcorn you ask? It's also like no other you've had; an Equadorian recipe that begins with rare, imported Inca corn. Check out their really nice website for details, photos and schedule.

Check out the hot buy that our Wine Whisperer has discovered by clicking his link or photo. The link takes you to an orange "Download" button. Click it and the audio file will land on your desktop.

Another GrapevineRadio Scoop!

Ace Grapevine Radio reporter, Cliff "Scoop" Stepp, pictured here, turned in this report.
"First I stumbled upon an ice cream company from upstate New York who won a gold medal at a national dessert expo for their wine ice cream. Yes, an adults only, 5-6% alcohol wine confection."

"I mentioned this one afternoon last week to Heidi at the Old Vienna Restaurant, Bar & Biergarden in Shell Beach and she told me that our very own Doc Bernstein's Ice Cream Parlor in Arroyo Grande is in the process of making a wine ice cream utilizing some fine wines made by our winemaker friend Don Peters at Cerro Caliente Cellars in San Luis Obispo."

If you can't wait for Doc and Don's version here's a recipe from WineCountry.com:

Red Wine Ice Cream

Unusual as it may sound this Red Wine Ice Cream is a delicious ending to any holiday meal. I was served this at a private party in New York City...and have kept the recipe ever since. Give it a try...and let us know what you think.

serves 8

2 bottles full-bodied red wine, like a cabernet sauvignon
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups sugar
9 yolks
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Pour wine into a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add cinnamon sticks and peppercorns. Simmer until the wine is reduced to 1 cup (this should take about 1 hour)

2. In a large pan, bring the milk, cream and half of the sugar to a boil and run off heat. In a bowl whisk together yolks and remaining sugar. Temper the yolks into the boiling milk by gradually whisking about 1 cup of milk into the yolks and adding this back into the pot with the remaining milk. Stir in the salt and the vanilla. Whisk in the reduced wine.

Set pan over a bowl full of ice to cool. Pour the chilled ice cream base through a fine mesh strainer. Process the base in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers instructions.

Freeze at least 2 hours before serving.

On a Three Hour Tour.....

A great time was had by all aboard and, hopefully, vicariously by our listeners. The first show we've ever broadcast from out at sea. The Grapevine Radio crew climbed aboard the luxury motor yacht Papagallo II along with Meridian's winemaker, Lee Miyamura.

Chef/owner Leonard Gentieu cranked out great appetizers and sandwiches, Elmer (from Meridian Vineyards) manned the bar in the ship's salon and made certain everyone was well served with fine Meridian Wines. Don't miss their current Zinfandel, btw.

While we were out at sea Kathy called in from Mendocino where she was on wine judging duty.
Luckily Chris Taranto, Communications Director for the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, filled in as my co-host and did a great job. The photo above is Chris & Cliff broadcasting live from the bow of the Papagallo.

Also on board with us were Ron and Teréz Tyni owners of wildly popular Upper Crust Trattoria and Catering and Cynthia Vaughn & Jim Roberts of High Ridge Manor B&B. Jim also took the above photo of Chris Taranto and I.

We thank everyone involved for a great cruise and a fun show out on sunny Morro Bay.

You Can Use This Chair as a Floatation Device!

I saw this on the blog, vinography.com. It was an entry in the "Design a Champagne Chair" sponsored by Veuve Cliquot.

Father's Day is coming soon....

As I always say, "Chair and chair alike."

Show of Shows on 5.12.07!

Wow. Chef Rick, Archie McLaren and Gary Burk... all in a single bound... uh, er show.
Chef Rick's cuisine is legendary in these parts and beyond. Archie is an internationally recognized expert de vino and the creator of the Central Coast Wine Classic, one of California's foremost wine events.

Gary Burk of Costa de Oro Winery makes one of the finest Pinot Noir's in the state (and is one of Kathy's favorites... and she's really picky!).

But don't the "legendary" status of these guests fool you, it was a really fun, lively show and one of our listeners won dinner for two at Chef Rick's with wine provided by Gary. What a great couple of guys!

Picture from left to right: Kathy, Gary Burk, Chef Rick, Cliff, Archie McLaren.

Cal Poly Wine Festival, April 28th, 2007

The locale is spectacular; the historic Santa Margarita Ranch and it was probably the biggest turnout ever for this event. Lots of great wines from San Luis Obispo County, Napa-Sonoma and yes, even Lodi.
You can check the site for info on this great wine event that is put on by a Poly student organization called Vines to Wines and proceeds benefit Cal Poly's Wine and Viticulture Program.

We'll have some interviews with wine makers and attendees uploaded to the podcast section of our website sometime in the upcoming week.

http://www.calpolywinefestival.com

Wine Whisperer Re-run

On March 31st Charter Cable 2 is rerunning the TEACh Foundation Telethon. If you missed the Wine Whiperer's TV debut here's another chance to see this enigmatic character in action.
You can also see a trio version of my band, The Cliffnotes. The performance was a little rough around the edges due to lack of time for rehearsals these days ... Grapevine Radio has expanded so rapidly it is consuming most of the time I used to have for music!

World of Pinot Noir, Shell Beach, CA

Cliff and Kathy's Enological Adventure, would be an alternate title. Our first time going out in the "field" to bring back interviews with Pinot Noir ophiles from all over the world. It was the seventh annual World of Pinot Noir event at the Cliff's in Shell Beach, CA. A blue, sunny day overlooking the Pacific, tasting great Pinot, sampling amazing cheeses from The Carmel Cheese Shop, and gourmet appys from guest Chef _________ (Kathy has to fill in this one) and, of course, Chef Michael Woods of Marisol, at the Cliff's.
This event has achieved such an international reputation that there's a waiting list of wineries who want to participate. I didn't taste them all, but of those I did I really liked Paul Wilkins' wines under both the Alta Maria and Ninth to 9's labels, Mike Sinor's (a founding member of the event) latest endeavors under the Sinor & Lavelle marque, and Kynsi, who showcased three completely different styles of Pinot and all of them good.... just different. That Don, Kynsi's winemaker, is the low key guy making world class Pinots!

You can hear all about it in the podcast version on our website: http://www.grapevineradio.net

Chaper Six: Two Forks Up or How Radio Killed the Video Star

Interwoven among all this was a series of food, wine, beer radio shows. The first one was called, Two Forks Up on AM 1340. A weekly show featuring reviews of restaurants and wine and beer. Listeners told me that they often had to pull off the road because they were laughing too hard. It was kind of a “Wayne’s World,” approach.

The second show was on KVEC AM 920 and was called Dinning and Doing, because it was sponsored by a magazine of the same name (it was beautiful glossy mag much like the current Central Coast Magazine) and that’s when I began the format of interviewing winemakers, chefs, local food makers and wine/food event organizers or spokespeople.

The third version was also on KVEC and was called, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, which two years after it’s last broadcast, has been resurrected as Grapevine Radio, and is, imho, the best, most professional version of the show.

Chapter Five: Beer, Boomerangs, and Bourbon Street

I went on to found a video post production facility, got involved in documentary film
making projects, a music radio show, built an audio production studio and hired a graphic designer for my burgeoning marketing company, Boomerang Business Communications.

Then it was off to devise a promotional program for the Festival of Beers which expanded attendance so dramatically it had to move to it’s current Avila Beach location (it was originally in the parking lot of the Graduate).

Next I conceived of and negotiated the permit maze to create the first daytime Mardi Gras event (turning Garden Street into Bourbon Street) which grew quickly and after two years had to be moved to Mission Plaza.

By this time I was also deep into promoting the SLO Brewing Co. and helped launch their national bottled beer program.

Chapter Four: This Could Be the Start of Something Big

At one of our wine marketing group’s monthly meetings I commented that with an industry with this many members they should consider forming a trade association.

Vic Dunlop (Victor Hugo Winery) who was then the winemaker for Creston Winery, spoke up, “You know there’s a draft document for a vintners and growers association that’s been sitting in a filing cabinet for three years.” I shot back, “Well, Vic let’s dust that sucker off and bring it to the next meeting!”

Right about that time July Ackerman had just moved to Paso from Hawaii and had been hired as the Paso Chamber’s wine industry liaison. The first meeting of our group that she attended happened to be the one that Vic brought in the dusty document that outlined what soon became, The Paso Robles Vintners & Growers Association (now known as the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance).

Chapter Three: What to do When Someone Whines, “I Don’t Wanna Go Wine Tasting.”

By the late 80’s there were about 35 wineries throughout the county and this is when I decided we needed a touring and tasting map of the area. Oh, there was a wine tasting may put out by the Paso Chamber but it only showed wineries. My reasoning was that if you had a group of four people planning a trip to somewhere and just one of them didn’t care for wine, they would veto the adventure if you were trying to entice them with a map that made it seem as if the only attractions in the area were wineries.

Hence, the Touring & Tasting Map of SLO County. Show the wineries, the good restaurants, golf courses, scenic wonders, the beach, art galleries .... something for everybody in your tour group.

The Map was a modest success and the contacts I had made in the wine industry led to me being invited to put together a marketing program for six wineries that were on the west side of US 101 in Paso Robles. They were tired of dribbling money away on advertising for which they could never gauge an impact. So they pooled their resources, we established a quarterly budget and I devised an annual plan of attack that involved rack cards and a TV campaign aimed at locals.

Evidently we got noticed, because all the other Paso wineries began knocking at our door wanting to join in on the fun.

Chapter Two: Pucker Up and Fly the Concord to the African Basil Beer Fest

Right around this time I started making my own wine from 40-50 year old Concord grapes that were on our property in rural Arroyo Grande.
As I began making wine I also began making the popular series of radio ads for Boo Boo Records (“Wherever you go, there’s a Boo Boo near you you.”). Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a connection?

Anyway I decided to attempt a dry, sparkling version of Concord. The first vintage, 1977, was a lot like that practical joke “pucker gum.” One sip and you looked like you were ready for a kiss.
I tamed it down for the following year and then began making a whole series of dry sparkling fruit wines: Plumpagne, Rhububble (rhubarb), Razzamafizz (raspberry), and some interesting beer.

Several of my beer recipes used to be brewed by SLO Brew as seasonal ales. Holidaze Ale (Yule ale style made with Hawaiian ginger root), Cherry Bomb Ale (4th of July made with cherries) and the famous Basil Ale for the Sycamore Farms Basil Festival (dry hopped with African Blue basil). By year three people were telling me they wouldn’t miss the Basil Festival every year because, “That’s the only time I can get Basil Ale!”

A side note: They laughed when I, along with Sycamore’s owner and mastermind, Bruce Schomler, first proposed an annual Basil Festival.

My Long and Sideways Road

Chapter One: Cliff's historical retrospective

Mama Rotta, Dressed in Black. Hope You Brought Your Wine Jug Back.

Paso Robles Wine Country? People used to laugh at the mere mention.
Of course, back then you had a choice of Psenti or Rotta. And if you went to Rotta you didn’t need to have ID but you do you need to bring your own jug for Mama Rotta to fill with her fine Zinfandel.

Yes, friends, that was a wine tour afternoon in San Luis Obispo County back in the day (somewhere in the mid-70’s). Then the Hoffman family came to town and built Hoffman Mountain Ranch Winery back in the Paso hills and a young Mike Hoffman (the youngest winemaker in the state at the time) began making what turned out to be award winning (internationally) wines.

People within the industry were still talking about their legendary “1976 Doctor’s
Reserve Cabernet,” when I first attended wine events back in ‘87 with Mike Hoffman, who had, with his wife Becky, just opened the SLO Brewing Co.