Staves and Steel

Last Saturday, April 8th, Cima Collina Winery threw their second annual Staves & Steel party. This  gathering - held at their warehouse winery in Marina, CA - offers a unique experience featuring new release artisan wines, barrel tastings, and of course delicious food! 

This year was this first year we had the opportunity to attend the event, and we had such a great time! It was also our Mom's birthday and we couldn't think of a better way to begin her birthday celebration than to start at this awesome party! This event had live music by the band the Hovering Breadcat Folk Ensemble, who were so fun and lively, and the local ate3one food truck which provided delicious bites available for purchase. We ordered the shrimp taco and two pork sliders...YUM! 

An awesome part about attending the event was the discounted prices off the wines for sale: 10% off any bottle, 15% off cases, and 25% off everything if you were a club member. We loved their "mystery case" deal which was filled with an assortment of wines: some reserve wines, some new wines, and some older wines too. Not to mention you were getting the case for basically half off the retail value!

Our personal favorite part of the event was tasting wines from the barrel. Barrel tastings give you the opportunity to try wines that are still aging and gives you a completely unique sneak peek of the wine to come! They had two wines to taste, the first was their 2016 Argyle Petit Syrah and the second was a 2016 Chalome Petit Syrah. It's crazy how different they tasted! The 2016 Argyle was totally drinkable now, where the 2016 Chalome tasted very young. We spoke to the winemaker, and she said that while the Argyle tasted great now, the Chalome is a much more complex wine and will turn into the more superb wine in the long run. 

In the end, we purchased a few bottles of their newly released Rosé Pét-Nat. A Pét-Nat is a naturally bubbly wine, similar to a sparkling rosé. We highly recommend this one on a warm summer's day, or for a Sunday brunch party. The color and taste will win over anyone! 

If you want to hear more about Cima Collina, check out our previous post here!

xxx Ivy & Eve

Joyce Vineyards Winery Party

For the past few months we have been anticipating the opening of our nearest and dearest local winery's new tasting location; Joyce Vineyards Winery Tasting Room in Salinas! (Ivy's boyfriend happens to be the assistant winemaker here!) Although it's location is not as convenient for us as their Carmel Valley tasting room which we told you about here, the new location is at their winery! This location is awesome because it gives the enophile's and devoted club members a chance to peer into the making of delicious wine. Although it would not be our first time visiting the winery, we were still very excited to see the changes they had made to the facility since the last time we visited. As soon as the date was announced for the 'Open House', we marked our calendars and crossed off each day in anticipation. The open house was free for club members and $40 for nonmembers. This ticket included 3 glasses of wine, and unlimited food. What a great deal! 

The location of the winery is in a warehouse in Salinas, California. From the outside you would never know there was wine nearby. When we stepped inside the winery's large processing room, there was a long table for people to stand and eat with additional tables around the edge of the room. Along the sides were barrels full of wine and stainless steel tanks ready for this years harvest. Within the big room there were two wine tasting bars set up. Each bar was pouring something different. One area poured the reds, the other poured special estate wines under a canopy of moody bistro lights. Off to the left was a room which is going to be the new tasting room. This bar was pouring white wines. In this room they also featured Buzz Light Beer from a wine barrel keg in the wall by Alvarado Street Brewing, which happens to have their brewing facility and new tasting bar open just down the street.

 The food at the event was amazing! Hawaiian food truck Pono served seaweed salad, manapaul (steamed pork bun), Kalua pork sliders, and pork or shrimp tacos! Catering company Tasty Solutions, with Chef Marc Jones served up the best tri-tip sandwiches, grilled corn on the cob, quinoa salad, and a large assortment of other delicious grilled veggies. Plus he served the most heavenly blueberry bread pudding cobbler with stone fruit and blueberries topped with a lavender chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Seriously delicious!

Outside, they had our friend and local artist Casey Frazier playing tunes for everyone sitting outside enjoying the wine. They also had a cornhole game set up for people to play in the sunshine! 

The event brought in over 250 people from around the area. This new winery tasting location plans to be officially up and running for weekends and special events sometime after this years harvest. There is a lot to be done at Joyce Vineyards between now and then. They not only have harvest just around the corner but they also are moving their Carmel Valley tasting room to another location down the street. Definitely keep an eye on this winery. They have big and exciting changes coming soon! Be sure to follow them on Facebook for the most up-to-date info on the upcoming changes and events! 

xxx Ivy & Eve

Brothers Todd (left) and Nick (Right [Ivy's wonderful boyfriend]) pouring a selection of red wines offered at Joyce.

Looking towards the estate wines tasting corner among the barrels

Music in the sunshine

The entrance to the winery

The DELICIOUS cobbler!

Seaweed salad and pork bun...and lots of wine!

Tri-tip, grilled veggies and grilled corn

Inside the winery

Awesome chalk map and beer on tap (left)