|
Conference Center, Building A, Herbst & Festival Pavilions
Lovers of wine and fine food have two reasons to celebrate at Fort Mason Center in June. The acclaimed Golden Glass fundraising event for Slow Food USA brings artisan food and Italian wine to the Herbst Pavilion on Saturday June 10. Later in June, the Bay Area Wine Project presents Pinot Days in the Conference Center and Festival Pavilion.
 Golden Glass & Slow Food
Wines from 60 Italian producers are available during the Golden Glass event, which benefits Slow Food USA. Slow Food encourages crop biodiversity, local traditions, and locally grown and produced food and libations.
In addition to vintages from famed Italian regions such as Liguria, Tuscany, and Umbria, Golden Glass tasters sample culinary delights from Bay Area gourmands. Among the participating purveyors are restaurants such as Chez Panisse, A16, and Emporio Rulli, as well as Bodega Goat Cheese and Harley Farms Goat Dairy.
Pinot Days Festival
Two weeks later, the Pinot Days Festival rolls into the Conference Center and Festival Pavilion with a variety of events ranging from VIP tours to sit-down wine explorations and the grand tasting of more than 130 Pinot Noir wines from the West Coast and beyond.
Along with wines from California, Oregon, Chile, and France’s Burgundy region, Pinot Days patrons taste artisan cheese and other specialty foods that pair well with Pinots. The festival includes a Pinot product demonstration explaining how grapes are harvested from the vines, transformed into wine, and bottled for consumption.
A special tasting event on Saturday June 24 focuses on Pinot Noir producers from California's Russian River and Sonoma Coast appellations. On Saturday night, discover maverick Pinot producers at a sit-down tasting event of wines from intertwined Monterey County vineyards — Pisoni and Franscioni.
At present, these small vineyards with big reputations do not have tasting rooms and are not able to schedule visits. The Pinot Days event is a rare opportunity to sample great local wine and meet colorful vineyard owners and winemakers.
Grab a glass and head to Fort Mason Center for two festive celebrations of grapes and gastronomy. For more information, refer to June 10, June 24, www.thegoldenglass.com, and www.pinotdays.com.
– Claudia Willen
Images: Pinot Days Festival (top); The Golden Glass (middle)
|
