If you haven’t heard the buzz about one the newest (and hottest) tasting rooms in Wine Country, then you should head up to West Sonoma County on Saturday, August 25th from 2:00 – 6:00 pm for Red Car Wine Company’sMagnum P.I. Party.
This ain’t your mama’s wine tasting experience! Located among the cooler-climate vineyards of the true West Sonoma Coast, Red Car was founded in 2000 when screenwriter Mark Estrin and independent film producer Carroll Kemp teamed up to make 50 cases of wine in their driveway. Soon, the critics and wine collectors catapulted the micro-winery to cult status. Flash-forward twelve years, and the winery is still small and artisan, making more than a dozen small-lot cuvees of exceptionally well-reviewed Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Red Car’s vineyards are nestled in the West Sonoma Coast areas of Freestone, Occidental, and Fort Ross, where the climate is far cooler than most of California and where Burgundian varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay can produce wines of finesse, elegance, and balance. The cool-climate wines from this area are red-hot on top wine lists, and West Sonoma Coast is widely viewed by collectors as one of the most exciting regions for grape growing in California.
With help from winemaker Kemp’s wife Pade Vavra, a fine jewelry and interior designer with former clients such as Charlize Theron and Gwyneth Paltrow, Red Car’s funky tasting space next to the working winery is couple of minutes north of the free-spirited town of Sebastopol. The interior of the tasting room has an urban-rustic feel, and you’ll have to double-check yourself to make sure you didn’t accidentally wander into any number of boutiques lining Valencia Street rather than rural Sonoma County. And for the design geeks in the group, the wine labels are a marvel in themselves. The label for the 2009 Dreamland Pinot Noir (sold out) is from pop artist Mark Ryden (who created Michael Jackson's "Dangerous" album, among many works), and the Fight Syrah series was painted by Canadian muralist Doug Fraser.
The First Annual Magnum P.I. Celebration on August 25th at Red Car is the perfect occasion to head to West Sonoma; it's a party where Hawaiian shirts and 1980s attire will rule, where mustaches (both real and “temporary”) will be judged, and where magnums (you know, the big wine bottles that can put a sense of occasion into your celebration) will be pulled out of the library for a one-of-a-kind tasting experience. San Francisco DJ Conrad Moore will be spinning new wave 80’s beats, and the party will rock from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. Think your mustache can give Tom Selleck a run for his money? Enter the mustache contest, and you might win a big-ol’ Red Car magnum from their library vault.
Tickets are $20 and include a full flight of library and current releases of Red Car Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah out of Magnum bottles. Homemade flatbreads and pizzas straight out of the wood-fired oven will be served as appetizers all afternoon, as well as other grub from artisanal producers from Sonoma County. Red Car will be giving away a slew of tickets for free so email jenny@redcarwine.com to enter the drawing.
Magnum P.I. Celebration @ Red Car Wine Company, Saturday, August 25th, 2:00-6:00 pm, 8400 Graton Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472. 707-829-8500
