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Roshambo Winery Blog

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The Handcar Regatta! Say What?September 28 2008

A curious event unfolds today in Santa Rosa. The first ever, “Great West End and Downtown Railroad Square Handcar Regatta and Exposition of Mechanical and Artistic Wonders.” Yup! It’s a mouthful, but oh FUN! Created by our dear friend, Spring Maxfield (partner-in-crime of famed local artist, Todd Barricklow), the Handcar Regatta is nothing short of a stroke of genius. For those of you having trouble wrapping your head around this human powered race, here’s a 60-Second Weekend podcast by Press Democrat Arts & Entertainment prankster, John Beck. Our Wine Hero will be on hand, serving as emcee and race-day coordinator, and we’ll be pouring our wines in the beer & wine tent. Come play with us!

About Me, AgainSeptember 15 2008

Dearest Readers,

My sincere apologies for the dearth of recent posts. I could list some excuses (Europe, Burning Man Festival, etc.) but I’ll keep the little violin in my pocket for now. The truth is, your once-dedicated Roshamblogger will be taking a sabbatical from my post here at the winery. In the coming months I will be living like a hermit and tapping away at a humorous memoir about my life in Wine Country. Tentatively titled, The Vineyard Idiot: One Guy’s Journey from Zima to Zinfandel, the quirky memoir chronicles my move from Gloss Angeles to Sonoma County five years ago, and my sudden shift from shallow Hollywood starf*cker to small town stepdad. Detailing why a “vineyard idiot” like myself should NEVER work at a winery - in any capacity - the book unfolds like an insider’s look at the wine industry as seen through the eyes of an outsider. And your Wine Hero, Naomi Brilliant, Justice, and the Roshambo team are the real stars of the story.

Next week I’m meeting with a publisher in New York who has always been very supportive of my writings. He has offered to give me direction in hopes of someday bringing the memoir to market. I’m not sure what the future holds, but I know that at least for now, I have to fully dedicate myself to writing this story. With any luck, someday I’ll be able to share this story with all of you.

In the meanwhile, I’ll be turning the blog password over to other colorful members of our team. L

Marry Me?July 21 2008

When Naomi named our Roussanne “marry me?” she always hoped to receive a letter like this…

Dear Naomi and Roshambo Winery team,

I want to thank you for your creative spirit and creating a wine named “marry me?”

My boyfriend Patrick and I recently went out to dinner for a lovely evening since he was going to be moving. After we finished the fine dining cuisine the waitress brought a second bottle of wine. I looked quizzically at Patrick because I didn’t recall ordering a second bottle of wine. The waitress presented the bottle of wine to me and required that I read the entire label, with a dramatic gesture of her hands. I got to the bottom of your Roshambo Roussanne 2005 label and it had written on the label “marry me?” At that same time I was reading and trying to figure out what I was reading Patrick was getting down on his knee and that’s when he asked me to marry him. I said an enthusiastic yes and we are planning to get married this coming April.

It was so special for Patrick to propose with your bottle of wine because he is a huge fan of your wines and is a part of your wine club. That is in fact how he received this wine marry me? last year.

Patrick, now my fiance’, and I are planning to turn the bottle he used to propose to me into a lamp to keep on our bed stand table when w

Yelp!July 9 2008

Calling all Roshambuddies! If you’ve checked out our new tasting room (or tried our wines), and consider yourself interweb savvy, we’d love it if you’d share your thoughts with the world on Yelp. Of course, we hope your thoughts tilt towards VERY favorable. Not because we get points in a some sophomoric popularity contest, but because it means we’re doing things right around here. It’s our goal to leave you with a great taste in your mouth and awesome memories in your head, and if we did, it would be awesome if you’d let others know about it.

Here’s what “Elite” Yelper, Monica F., had to say in her 4 star review… (It sounds like a 5 star review to me… maybe her hand was shaky when she rated us? Ha.)

“Eccentric, fun, and hip. These three words aren’t usually what pop into your head when describing the

Celebrate your 4th with “The Reverend”July 2 2008

In today’s Seattle Times, Wine Guy Paul Gregutt poses a mouthful of a question, “What is the foolproof, all-weather, any-food, surefire celebration Fourth of July wine?” His beyond-any-doubt answer? “There is only one possible answer: zinfandel.” The sharp and worthy read goes on to describe a brief history of the country’s native grape, noting the meteoric rise of the Skittles-sweet white zins that were as ubiquitous as white polyester in ’70s and beyond. Fortunately, “Zinfandel has since been reclaimed, rediscovered as the great red wine it truly can be.” He argues that while zinfandel is grown and made all over California, Sonoma County (particularly Dry Creek) – wink, wink - is the epicenter for many of the greatest examples. We tend to agree and are pretty damned happy he included “The Reverend” Zinfandel in his case of twelve recommended zins. So scoop up some zin up for your Fourth, or any and all other summer celebrations. And hurry, because supplies of our 92-point (Wine Enthusiast) offering are extremely limited.