Hospice Du Rhone raises over $50,000
Justin Smith of Saxum with Anne-Charlotte Mélia-Bachas winemaker of Domaine de la Font du Loup at the Grand Tasting. Photos by Kirk Honeycutt.
Two day event brings together Rhone lovers from around the world
–The Paso Robles Event Center turned into one large “Rhone Zone” as Franco-American winemakers gathered to celebrate the 24th annual Hospice du Rhône over the weekend. Over $50,000 was raised at Saturday’s live auction. Money raised goes to promoting wines and wineries of member producers along with educational efforts to promote Rhone varieties.
It’s not often that you get to savor older vintages at large gatherings of wine tastings, but the two-day event held on April 15 and 16 offered just that.
The highly successful event brings together Rhone lovers from around the world, represented by 145 Rhone producers from California and France’s Rhone region to Spain, Oregon and Washington.
What started in 1993 as The Viognier Guild’s “View from the Vineyards” event in the State of Georgia morphed into “Raisin’ Rhones,” in collaboration with John Alban of Alban Vineyards.
Empty bottles at the end of the two-day Grand Tasting.
“Viognier Guild was a good idea, at the time Viognier had a sex appeal,” Alban commented. He found that there were wine producers who were interested to participate but were making Rhone varietal wines other than Viognier.
Alban recalled his visit to the Viognier event. ”I said to the organizers if you want you can do the event in my winery and we can extend to Rhone varieties.” In 1994, Alban hosted “Raisin’ Rhones” event at his Edna Valley winery. The one-day event gradually grew to multi-day celebration and in 1999 branded itself as Hospice du Rhône. Over the years the festival has moved around from Paso Robles to various locations including Sonoma, Mendocino and Tennessee’s Blackberry Farms resort.
“We’ve done events in the Rhone Valley,” Alban explained. “That’s important, it allows us to explore broader audience. Different venues have different experiences.”
Longtime supporters of HdR -François Villard and Yves Cuilleron at the Grand Tasting.
Alban’s passion and guiding force has brought support from such noted winemakers as Yves Cuilleron and Francois Villard, both having been regular participants for the past 14 years.
There was plenty of Rhone immersion with seminars, grand tastings and themed lunches and dinner. Friday morning started off with a tasting on the intricacies of Chateauneuf-du-Pape presented by Jeb Dunnuck of The Wine Advocate. He explained the different wine profiles, from the fresh and elegant wines of the sandy soil terroir to the classic wines from rolled stone soil. The full-to-capacity room of some 300 Rhone aficionados tasted a line-up from ten wineries, among them Domaine de la Font du Loup (one of the most popular wineries this year), Domaine de Cristia, Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe and Domaine du Pegau.
The next panel from Washington’s Columbia and Walla-Walla Valleys was represented by rich and lush Syrahs and GSM blends (Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre) from Rotie Cellars, Tenet Wines, Gramercy Cellars and Force Majeure Vineyards.
A Rosé-themed lunch set a Provencal ambiance with a large selection of California and French Rosés, among them Miraval, a wine produced by Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in collaboration with The Perrin Family of Chateau de Beaucastel. Prepared by chef Spencer Johnson, the picnic-style repast included foie gras royal and brioche, grilled Skuna Bay salmon, whole roasted pig, grilled vegetables and assortment of cheeses and sweet bites.
John and Lorraine Alban.
With over 145 producers and importers pouring the wines, the two-day afternoon Grand Tasting offered a large selection from such storied names as E. Guigal, Caves Yves Cuilleron and Domaine François Villard to Paso Robles cult labels as Saxum, Linne Calodo and Law Estate.
The Saturday morning panel began with exploration of white Rhone wines from Costières de Nîmes, known as the gateway to Southern Rhone. The little known region’s winemaking history dates back some 2,500 years and yet it received its appellation designation in 1986. The region’s proximity to the Camargue river delta gives the wines its signature salinity and minerality. The tasting of eight wines was represented by Château d’Or et de Gueles, Vignobles Michel Glassier, Clos des Centenaires and Chateau Mourgues due Grès.
A lively panel of Central Coast mavericks from Santa Barbara County and Paso Robles followed the earnest French vignerons. A Tale of Two Treasures brought plenty of wit and whimsy from winemakers Chris Hammel (Hammel Wine Alliance), Russell From (Herman Story Wines), Jordan Fiorentini (Epoch Estate) and Trey Fletcher (Bien Nacido Estate).
Ranchero-themed Farewell BBQ by chef Frank Ostini of Hitching Post II.
The Saturday lunch spread prepared by chef Brian Collins of Ember restaurant in Arroyo Grande was followed by the live auction conducted by Todd Ventura who kept the pace going with seventeen auction lots of top-notch labels such as magnums of L’Aventure, Saxum and Domaine de la Charobonniere. The twelve-magnum package donated by Domaine Pierre Gaillard was snapped up by Matt Trevisan of Linne Calodo for $5,400 and Domaine François Villard’s package of six magnums each of blanc and rouge wines went for a total of $9,600, bringing the grand total to over $50,000.
“Money raised goes to promoting wines and wineries of our member producers along with educational efforts to promote Rhône varieties,” Alban said.
The two-day festivities culminated with a Gallic-Wild West vibe. There was French and California wine, Hitching Post’s Ranchero-style dinner and country rock music by Monte Mills and the Lucky Horseshoe Band.
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