Blog Posts matching TRAVEL:Evolution & Pickerel in Winnipeg Monday, May 17th 2010 by
Our gal on the street, Staci Pettus, shows us how Evolution pairs with Winnipeg cuisine - pickerel and Evolution, anyone?
Click Here to ReTweet This! Our Biggest Midwestern Fan Tuesday, May 18th 2010 by
You might not be aware of this - Sokol Blosser is constantly on the road! Right now, we're visiting Milwaukee, Wisconsin and happened to meet Danny Martin at La Merenda (125 E National Ave). He says he is "seriously our biggest Midwestern fan", and we believe him!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Sokol Blosser at Mona Lisa's in Eau Claire, WI Wednesday, May 19th 2010 by
Lee Medina, Regional Brand Ambassador
Lee Medina here - I had a great dinner at Mona Lisa's in Eau Claire, Wisconsin last night: seared Ahi tuna rare with fresh morels in a light ginger & lime cream sauce, paired with Evolution! So so tasty! I was the leader of the clean plate club... Great restaurant, owner Lisa is wonderful and fun staff. Lisa is a big fan of Sokol Blosser Winery and making fans for us in Eau Claire! Thank you Lisa!
Click Here to ReTweet This! London International Wine Fair 2010 Thursday, May 20th 2010 by
Alison Sokol Blosser, 2nd Generation Winegrower and Co-President of Sokol Blosser Winery, is taking things international this week at the London International Wine Fair! Check out her journey in pictures below.
Alison takes a break from pouring wine at the Oregon pavillion for a moment during the fair.
The Oregon pavillion highlights wineries from different growing regions in the state.
The Washington pavillion is right next door, helping to educate European wine consumers about the Pacific Northwest.
Alison teaches a Masterclass on the unique qualities of Oregon wines and the Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine program.
Oregon wines at Whole Foods in Kensington - Oregon (and Sokol Blosser) is well represented! Check back soon for more pictures!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Pizza Antica Wednesday, June 9th 2010 by
Our man on the streets, Lee Medina, is visiting the Bay Area this week. Here he is, enjoying a chilled glass of Evolution before his meal arrives at Pizza Antica in Mill Valley, Callifornia. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and say hi to Erica at Pizza Antica (and have a glass of Evolution!). 
Cheers!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alison Sokol Blosser at Aspen Food & Wine Classic Monday, June 21st 2010 by
Alison Sokol Blosser just returned from one of our favorite events - the Aspen Food & Wine Classic! See Alison's journey at this fabulous multi-day yearly event in the pictures below. Cheers!
Alison shows off Sokol Blosser wines during one of the tastings.
Beautiful Aspen blue skies!
Enjoying wine on the rooftop.
Alison and friend Nichelle - enjoying the beautiful weather!
Getting ready for the Oregon media picnic. Yum!
David Lane, Alison Sokol Blosser, Jay Schuppert (president of Cuvaison), Jo Terlato, John Terlato, Bryan Del Bondio (president of Markham) and Steve Fennel (winemaker at Sanford). Cheers!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alex Sokol Blosser Visits Japan Thursday, September 9th 2010 by
Alex Sokol Blosser, Co-President & Second Generation Winegrower
We love visiting Japan! I fly across the Pacific to visit our friends and partners in Osaka and Tokyo once or twice every year. Here are some pictures of my current visit:
 Mr. Miyagawa and me at the Orca annual tasting in Tokyo.
 I hosted a wine dinner at restaurant Dazzle in the Ginza part of Tokyo. The dinner included an amazing five course meal with a highlight of duck with a sweet red mizo glaze. 75 people attended and we all had a great time! The awesome staff a Dazzle made it all happen.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Riesling Vacations in Hawaii Wednesday, September 22nd 2010 by
 Thanks to the Tanakas for sending this great photo to us! The Tanaka family visited us all the way from their home in Maui, Hawaii and brought back a bottle of our White Riesling Dessert Wine. Clearly, seeing the empty bottle, the wine was a hit! Next time, take US with you to Hawaii!
Cheers - and thanks again, Tanakas!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Chicago Gourmet 2010 Monday, September 27th 2010 by
Thanks to everyone who came to see us in Chicago this weekend at the Chicago Gourmet event at Millennium Park, sponsored by Bon Appétit magazine! Check out the event in pictures below:
 The Chicago Gourmet event entrance!
 Alison Sokol Blosser pouring her wines at Chicago Gourmet.
 The tent where Sokol Blosser wines were being poured. Beautiful!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alison Sokol Blosser in NY/NJ Tuesday, October 26th 2010 by
Alison Sokol Blosser just returned from a very fun (and very busy) trip to New York/New Jersey to bring more Sokol Blosser wine into the city. A wine dinner at the Wall Street Capital Grille, a tasting at Joe Canal's (see pic below) and an evening with 2nd row (!!!) seats to a pre-season Knicks game, well - sounds like a successful trip to me! Welcome home, Alison!
Click Here to ReTweet This! It's Going Down at Stumptown Tuesday, January 18th 2011 by
To say that the Sokol Blosser staff “likes” coffee is a pretty big understatement. It might be a disappointment to hear that we don’t all sip on Pinot Noir at our desks during the work day (I too, lament this fact), but in reality we need as much coffee as (or more than) the average human can consume to continue to keep the winery running smoothly and ensure that our wine can be found in stores and restaurants the world over and that bright, smiling faces greet you in the tasting room year-round.
It’s not uncommon for our small group to drain three restaurant-sized carafes of coffee on any given day and when the coffee supply runs low I can sometimes receive up to several emails addressing this—ranging from a gentle reminder to reorder, or to thinly-veiled panic depending on how many bags remain in our kitchen. Little did I realize how important my job as Tasting Room Supervisor is—I’m in charge of keeping this place highly caffeinated—a serious responsibility to bear. So when it came time to think of a destination for our annual company field trip it made perfect sense to spend the day hanging out at Stumptown, the now-legendary roaster with a collection of coffee shops in Portland and beyond. Yes, I did just say “annual company field trip” and “Stumptown” in the same sentence. Yes, I do love where I work and yes you can be jealous.  We arrived at Stumptown’s original café on SE Division & 45th and were quickly whisked away to a back room after undoubtedly giving the barista a silent heart attack as seventeen winery employees funneled into the small space. The back room of the café is home to two very important pieces of the Stumptown operation: their bean storage facility and their cupping room. Our hosts, Skip and Jim started with a brief overview of Stumptown’s history and how they go about sourcing their beans. For such a small company, it was awe-inspiring to hear how their pursuit for perfect beans has had such an impact on improving the quality of coffee throughout the industry and on the health of the worldwide market, benefiting everyone from growers in tucked-away jungles to the average stateside coffee sipper. Suddenly, paying 10-12 bucks a pound for the stuff seemed like a paltry sum for how much effort it took to deliver those beans to our hands.  The cupping room was another experience altogether. Cupping is the procedure they use to evaluate the quality and profile of the beans they receive, and it’s a crazy-technical process of tasting and smelling with lots of steps. It made wine evaluation seem pretty straightforward and easy by comparison, but the similarities between coffee and wine were definitely striking—from discussing different varietal characteristics of coffees and their growing seasons and regional terrior, to their unique flavor and aroma profiles and how the coffee temperature affects the impression of what’s in your cup. Though I think we were all a little secretly intimidated (at least I was), the Stumptown guys were excited that we could all speak the same geeky language about what we smelled and tasted.  Then we all got a bit out of our geeky depth when they started explaining what kind of equipment was needed to brew a proper cup. I felt the sense of collective shame as we pictured our industrial coffee pot and $15 pulse grinder in the winery kitchen as they impressed upon the importance of a quality grinder, appropriately heated water, and minimal techno-garbage involved in your brewing process to achieve a sublime coffee experience. Our dreams of running an underground Stumptown café in our winery were dashed. But just as drinking quality Pinot Noir makes it difficult to swig convenience store wine, we all realized our coffee appreciation had changed and with our palates now attuned to the good stuff there’s no going back. Our silent thoughts on the bus ride back had to be the same: can we work an Italian espresso machine and fancy burr grinder into next year’s budget?! With our brains powered by Stumptown, I think we can make it happen.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Upcoming Events Thursday, April 21st 2011 by
Sokol Blosser is bouncing all over the United States over the next couple of months! Upcoming events across the nation include: Dallas, TX – Dallas Observer Iron Fork – April 27
Seattle, WA – Art of Dining Event – April 28 Portland, OR – IPNC Pinot Walkabout – May 1 Las Vegas, NV – Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit Magazine – May 5 Chicago, IL – Wine Spectator Grand Tour – May 12 Las Vegas, NV – Wine Spectator Grand Tour – May 14 Boston, MA – Wine Spectator Grand Tour – May 19 Paterson, NJ – Wine, Women & Shoes – May 23 New Orleans, LA – New Orleans Wine & Food Experience – May 24 Aspen, CO – Aspen Food & Wine Classic – June 17 And don’t forget the biggest event of the summer – our Annual Memorial Weekend Celebration here at the Winery, May 28-30 from 10am to 4pm each day! For more information on any of these events, please visit our Events page by clicking here. Cheers!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Sokol Blosser Winery Mediterranean Cruise Press Release Tuesday, May 10th 2011 by
Bruce Carey Restaurants Announces Partnership with Sokol Blosser Winery for Mediterranean Wine Cruise
Oregon Winery Creates an Overseas Adventure for Wine Enthusiasts - Scheduled for June 2012
Portland, OR - May 4th, 2011 - Bruce Carey of Bluehour, Saucebox, 23Hoyt and Clarklewis restaurants in Portland, and Chef Dolan Lane of Clarklewis have announced their partnership with Sokol Blosser Winery in Dundee, Oregon to host a fabulous seven day food and wine tour of the Mediterranean and Adriatic on board Windstar Cruises’ Wind Surf luxury private charter cruise liner. The food and wine focused festivities will begin in Rome, Italy on Friday, June 1st, 2012 with a festive evening welcome party at the Excedra Hotel. The cruise will leave Rome on Saturday, June 2nd, 2012 and will stop at ports of call in Capri, Italy; Taormina, Sicily; Kotor, Montenegro; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Hvar, Croatia; and finally Venice, Italy on Saturday, June 9th, 2012. Features of the Mediterranean cruise include delicious multi-course dinners featuring the cuisine of Chef Dolan Lane of Clarklewis paired with wines by Winemaker Russ Rosner of Sokol Blosser Winery, unlimited Sokol Blosser wines throughout the cruise, excursion opportunities, nightly entertainment on board the Wind Surf, and other specialty wine and food events including cooking classes by Chef Dolan, tastings of rare wines led by the Sokol Blosser family, and wine seminars themed around the glamorous ports of call. “This cruise is an amazing opportunity to enjoy a luxury food and wine experience with some great people, in an entirely original setting,” said Bruce Carey. “We will spend seven days relaxing, touring, eating and drinking with some of world’s best food and wine, visit amazing ports of call, and with one staff person for every two guests, you’ll be treated like William and Kate.” “I’m excited to spend the week with old friends and new ones, and with the Sokol Blosser family as we host our guests in a very special Oregon–meets-Mediterranean style.” The Wind Surf ship offers a unique experience in a beautiful setting. Features include teak decking, full sails, wood interiors, original artwork, staterooms and suites which all offer ocean views, an expansive spa facility and several dining and bar areas for a unique experience each day of the cruise. With only 150 cabins, the food and wine experience on board Wind Surf by Windstar will be intimate, luxurious, and one-of-a-kind. For more information about Bruce Carey Restaurants, go to: www.brucecareyrestaurants.com For more information about the Sokol Blosser Food & Wine Cruise, please visit www.finefoodandwinecruise.com
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution's Trip to Montreal Monday, February 27th 2012 by
Michael Kelly Brown, Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing
 My
new partner (Evolution Red) and I just returned from a romantic week in
Montreal, Quebec. With all of the recent excitement we have hardly had a
chance for just the two of us. We spent Valentines Day roaming the
streets, practicing our French and enjoying wonderful restaurants. I hope
you enjoy our photo.
Click Here to ReTweet This! 1983 Red Hills Pinot Noir Monday, March 5th 2012 by
Lee Medina, Regional Brand Ambassador
We did not get to open this wine as the owner would like to do a dinner with it and some of his other older gems in his cellar. If you are in the Madison area of Seattle it is worth a stop in to Madison Cellars!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alex Travels Across The Pond! Wednesday, April 11th 2012 by
Twix , Wine Poodle
Here are a few snap shots he took as he tours around the great city of London. The first picture is of the beautiful façade of Westminster Abby. After a few hours of walking it was time for lunch. Today, Alex had Octopus Carpaccio at 10 Greek Street in Soho, which he said was “Amazing!” The next shot is of the world famous Tower Bridge. Looks like an amazing trip so far, Alex! 
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alex Travels to France Wednesday, April 18th 2012 by
Twix , Wine Poodle
Team, Just got off the train in Paris, got a car with GPS (in French!!!) and surprisingly have not gotten lost yet on the way to a stave mill south of Champagne. Vive la France!!!
Team, Here is a shot of the town of Chablis from the middle of a Grand Cru vineyard called Le Clos. One of our coopers buys wood from around Chablis so hence our visit here. Off to Sweden tomorrow! Cheers, Alex
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alex in Sweden Monday, April 23rd 2012 by
Twix , Wine Poodle
Team, Wine is a growing trend in Sweden and the drink of old is something called Aquavit. Flavored vodka is what it is. Here are three bottles that also describe cultural differences here in Scandanavia: one of the left is Swedish - it is cumin and lemon flavored and very smooth, middle is Danish- higher alcohol and spicy, and the right is from Norway- aged in oak and tastes like Whiskey. Not sure what that says about the cultural differences but there you have it! Skol!!! (what you say here instead of Cheers or Salud!) Alex
Click Here to ReTweet This! Alex in Sweden - Pt. 2 Wednesday, April 25th 2012 by
Twix , Wine Poodle
Team, Wild caught Sweden Salmon served with Foie Gras on top on a bed of Lentils!!! I was amazed at how good this combination tasted and the rest of the meal was amazing! This all went down last night at 19 glas, which is one of the top restaurants in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located in the old town so was very charming to walk to!!! Alex
Click Here to ReTweet This! A Very Brief but Excellent Santa Barbara Wine Experience Friday, May 25th 2012 by
 left: downtown Santa Barbara on a cloudier day.
Au Bon Climat (below) and Margerum Wine Company (right) were two tasting rooms we visited. It is not quite the same ambiance tasting in a ‘concrete jungle’ as it is amongst rows upon endless rows of vines, but if the wine is good, that’s all that matters. And the wine was good. This wine region has a few pockets of heat, however, like the Willamette Valley; there is a mostly cooler climate due to ocean breezes off the Pacific. I loved the cooler climate Syrah I encountered and was very pleasantly impressed with quite a few of the Pinot Noirs I tasted.  True some of the Pinots tended to be a bit heavier and a bit bolder but they still showcased underlying earthiness and peppery spice, a trait I seek out. It’s always good to get out of your own backyard and discover new wines and wineries when you have the chance. I, however, feel lucky that my backyard is the Willamette Valley and it feels good to be home.
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Sometimes on my travels for the Sokol Blosser company
representing our wines I come across hidden treasures or pieces of history past
long gone for us. I was working in Seattle last week visiting accounts and we
stopped at 
This week Alex Sokol Blosser travels across the pond to
visit a few friends. He will be hosting two wine dinners. One with Chef
Harry at his place, the 
