Uncorked! Wine Festival

8th Annual Uncorked Wine Festival @ Ghirardelli Square

May 18th 1-6pm

Dance off with a shark

Cont. dance off

I learned that one of the best things to do while wine tasting is to initiate a dance-off with a shark, especially when it's for a good cause. A portion of the proceeds to Uncorked went to Save the Bay, to help protect and restore the San Francisco Bay in making it cleaner and healthier for people and wildlife. This wine tasting wasn't all about the sharks though as they closed down Beach street for live music and unlimited tastings of 40 wineries from throughout Northern California. I crashed this gorgeous day by the bay wine tasting to learn about where these wines came from.

Lane Giguiere (Co-Owner) of Crew Wine Company

Matchbook

Why did you name this wine Matchbook? ... Because there once was a boy who played with matches.

Lane met her husband/co-owner in Highschool and as a farm kid growing up in the late 1950's John Giguiere was a confirmed pyromaniac starting various things on fire such as his father's wheat field. At one point, fearing total ruin his father took them to the city jail for an hour stay to impress upon his brother and him the futility of their fascination with fire. John and his brother answered at a later date by graduating from random fires to the launching of rockets which often blew up at some stage of its journey resulting in more random fires. He eventually grew out of this fascination with the "Matchbook" but still have fond memories of the power they possessed, and hence why they named this powerful wine Matchbook.

Tasting Moreno BHLV

Moreno BHLV Sparkling Wines

Moreno BHLV's (Beverly Hills, Las Vegas) Sparkling Wine is a beverage of celebration adorned with Swarovski Crystals. The Mendocino County-bottled wine is the latest in an ongoing collection of high-end products created by PLCW's award-winning owners. Owner Luins Williams wasn't always in the sparkling wine business though as his introduction to the beverage industry began with the award-winning Premier Label Water Company (PLCW), which now provides 65% of the private label water to Las Vegas' hospitality industry. This original idea began when he was attending a Giant's game and they were selling Crystal Geyser for $2 a bottle and he saw an opportunity where they could surely sell Giants water as a souvenir for more, which would make it least expensive souvenir in the stadium. Williams went on to secure that water contract with the Giants.

Beginning with the purest sparkling water made from the most premium Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Colombard grapes that Mendocino County has to offer, Moreno BHLV was born. Officially launching Moreno BHLV at the Ceasars Palace has attracted big businesses such Red Rock, Cosmopolitan, and other hotels in Las Vegas. Considered an affordable luxury, the business is growing fast because it has the look and fine taste of an expensive sparkiling wine without the high price. This wine adds another dimension by being able to customize the bottle for celebrating weddings, graduations, birthday and other special events allowing customers to choose a personalized custom look for that special event. Bottled in black, gold, silver, white and frosted glass, it's "M" logo is elegantly decorated with Frit ground glass or hand applied Swarovski Elements, making Moreno BHLV sparkle on the outside and bubble on the inside.