Wine Riot @ Concourse Exhibition Center
June 7th 7:00-11pm
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Tyler Balliet, Founder & President Second Glass
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I crashed Wine Riot with my two new friends co-founders Tyler Balliet and Morgan First. One of my favorite wine events thus far, Tyler orchestrates this chaos to create a fun, entertaining atmosphere to learn about wine while his partner-in-crime Morgan is the organizer of the show. Together, they created Second Glass -an online resource for wine information geared toward the Millennials. They began with hosting small wine tastings and now the popular gatherings evolved into "Wine Riot" a weekend-long expo-style event with 40 exhibitors and a side of entertainment that includes a photo booth, a DJ and a ton of schwag. They also created an app that lets you track your favorite wines to show you where to buy them later, arming you for total wine domination.
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Co-Founder & CEO, Morgan first
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Winery Sixteen 600, Sam (son of Phil) Coturri |
The first winery that stood out was Winery Sixteen 600, and this is the story of how it came to be. Thirty-five years ago Phil Coturri was challenged to take the organic farming practices he used in the garden and small vineyards and apply them to 10 acres of pinot noir, launching a career pioneering organic viticulture. Beyond the health and environmental benefits, organic farming allows the terroir of the vineyard to shine and now the grapes used for Winery Sixteen 600 are all certified organic or biodynamic. Nobody else in Sonoma Valley farms only unconventionally on the scale that Phil does, earning him the title of Sonoma's foremost organic grape grower. When I asked Phil what he would be doing if he wasn't in the wine business, Phil replied "The same thing -writing poetry, drinking wine, working in the garden, drinking wine, playing with words, drinking wine, watching tomatoes ripen, drinking wine, chasing thoughts blurred by wine, drinking wine, watching hawks go through pre nuptials, drinking wine, understanding a sense of place, drinking wine, chasing terrior, drinking wine." With that kind of drive and dedication, Phil Coturri (owner of Winery Sixteen 600) has proven that organic grapes simply make better wines.
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Naked Grape Demo |
While there, I crashed the Naked Grape Demo because they "bare it all". Although everyone seemed clothed there, Naked Grape says they're a wine with nothing to hide. You see, they believe that to make wine that tastes amazing you've got to focus on what's underneath the skin to reveal the true and unique flavors of each grape. In this case, Naked Grape is blended in such a way to remove complexity and make the wine more straightforward fruity. With this simplicity, it's a basic table wine with an utterly uncomplicated sipping experience and they claim with enough bottles you may end up naked (just like their grapes).
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Mangaria |
Mangaria is an alcoholic drink based off sangria or wine, originally coined by comedian/podcast/radio personality Adam Carolla. When Adam returned to the kitchen one day to top off his glass of red wine, he realized he was all out and ingeniously decided to fortify what was left in his glass with vodka. Realizing no significant change in the taste of the red wine, albeit with a stronger kick, MANgria was born. The males alternative to sangria with a 20.9% alcohol, Mangaria is combination of premium Napa red wine and all natural flavors. It has the smooth sweet aromas of plum cherry, blackberry, and orange. He also recently released a white version with peach and pear (clearly very manly flavors).
CRASHED IT... For the Millennials that appreciate a little riot with their wine.
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WINE RIOT, my lift home |