Grenache-a-Rama 2023
Friday, July 21!
It was great to once again have our Grenache-loving friends join us for an afternoon of wine tasting centered around the wines made by Matt Brady, winemaker at Samsara Winery in beautiful downtown Goleta, CA
Before the festivities began we tried to get the back yard ready to go! Here we see the "tasting" table from our kitchen
The outdoor dining table is where the wine barrel Adirondack chairs usually are.
The cushions are in place on the patio furniture and we added some folding chairs for the expected crowd.
Giant Jenga stacked up
Almost ready
Ok, now we're talking! This is a vertical of all Matt's Larner Vineyard Grenache called "Granddaddy" from 2009 to 2015 except 2011. Matt made these as a side project while working at Jaffurs Wine Cellar in Santa Barbara.
Many thanks to Matt for guiding us through a fun afternoon of Grenaches. In addition to the Granddaddies, Matt shared his Samsara Grenaches from 2016 to 2020, made from grapes sourced from the same block of Larner Vineyard as the Granddaddies.
Lynn, Steve, Dave and Jan
Lorri, Wendy, Mitzi, Lynn and Steve
Tom, Pauline and Kelly
The wines
Matt talks about the finer points. It's amazing that wine from the same location, made virtually the same way every year, can taste so differently.
Pouring the tastes
Everybody brought goodies to share
Good stuff!
The venue
The venue from a different angle
The group 1
The group 2
The group 3
The group 4
The Jenga ladies, Pauline, Wendy, Lorri and Jan
Mitzi and Kelly. Rodger and Matt in the background
Greg and John
Tom, Lynn and Steve, getting into "relaxing" mode
The Jenga ladies and Matt
Wendy removes the wrong Jenga Block!!!
That stack is gonna fall over, Pauline!
It was a great afternoon (and evening!). Special thanks to Matt for taking the time to be with us and thanks to Greg and Kelly, our co-organizers, and thanks to everyone for all their generous contributions of food and wine, and making the day so enjoyable!
Can't wait for Grenache-a-Rama IV!
Cheers!!!