Wines That Rock Blog
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Wines That Rock first taste
You never forget your first customer. Like the first dollar that a new store takes in and then proudly tapes to the wall, we will never forget the very first person who tasted Wines That Rock - non other than Suzie Greenfield
Here she is at the VIP dinner at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts, sampling the very first glass of Wines that Rock ever poured in public.
Suzie enjoyed the Woodstock Chardonnay.
Thanks Suzie, we will never forget you :)
Nov 11, 2009 at 10:25 AM
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Be the first to comment on this postRock and Roll Hall of Fame Recap
Life is about moments in time. Trying to find that “perfect moment” is what it is all about. So we started our little wine venture - Wines That Rock - in 2007 with the goal of blending great wine and classic rock music, truly blending them by making wine that reflects the music of an iconic album. And by 2009, we did it! We launched Wines That Rock The Rolling Stones Forty Licks Merlot, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon and Woodstock Chardonnay. With these amazing wines and powerful brands, the question continued to come up – “where should we have our launch party…our first wine tasting”. Well in September our perfect moment turned into a moment of a lifetime when we were invited to pour our wines backstage at the 25th Anniversary Shows for the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame.
We started in the pre-concert VIP room where concert goers gathered a few hours before the show to enjoy amazing food and wine…Wines That Rock wine. Our first pour, The Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet was served to Susie Greenfield, a total stranger who was the first person to walk up to our tasting table. We knew we were off to the races when she said “this is really good” and we knew she meant it since she came back for another glass later in the night. For the next 2 ½ hours we poured and poured and spoke about the wines, our great winery The Mendocino Wine Company, the experience we are trying to create between wine and music and our future goal of continuing to release new varietals with new music and iconic album covers in 2010. The wine was a huge hit with the 400+ guests..we were happy.
At 7:30 we made our way to the backstage artist lounge where we had a few tables set-up to talk and pour our wine throughout the show. People shuffled in and the lines were long but we had plenty of wine for everybody. Our biggest thrill of the evening was when Graham Nash of Crosby, Stills and Nash came over and actually signed 3 bottles of our Woodstock Chardonnay and things got even better when he sent over an assistant to ask for bottles for the whole band.
Hall of Fame musicians, actors, music executives and rock fans where everywhere. Our wine was pouring even faster. We asked everybody what they thought and received great feedback from all. The background was made perfect by music bouncing though the backstage hallways and the on-stage sights enhanced by multiple plasma screens. This was truly an amazing wine tasting party – hail, hail Rock ‘n Roll.
99 Classic Albums
London baded A/V remixers Eclectic Method did this mash up of 99 classic albums which was used by jam band Phish as an introduction for a live performance on Halloween night in Indio California. Interesting mix up of albums and video clips. Thanks Phish!
Eclectic Method Goes Phish from Eclectic Method on Vimeo.
here's the page that phish maintained prior to the weekend with the pictures of every album. It's a fun (but creepy) album cover feature from Phish -
Wines That Rock
Wines That Rock uncorked for the first time at a pre-concert VIP dinner as well as backstage in the artist lounge both Thursday and Friday nights at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concerts in NYC.
After over a year and a half of planning, wine making, and design work, we finally let it flow for the first time at this historic Rock & Roll event. Amazing to see peoples reactions, not only the labels, but the taste, the story and the entire Wines That Rock Experiene. Check back with us over the next few days as we re-cap the Wines That Rock official tasting, and what it was like to be pouring our wines backstage for the fist time.
Check Out the new Wines That Rock website as well.
Name Dropping part two
Here is a list of Celebs and VIP's spotted backstage Friday Night at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concerts.
Annie Lennox
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Aretha Franklin
Beck
Billy Gibbons
Black Eyed Peas
Bonnie Raitt
Bono
Bruce Springsteen
Buddy Guy
Daniel Craig
Deborra-Lee Furness
Fergie
George Pajon, Jr.
Harvey Weinstein
Hugh Jackman
Jackson Browne
James Hetfield
Jann Wenner
Jeff Beck
Jimmy Iovine
John Sykes
Kirk Hammett
Lars Ulrich
Lennox
Lenny Kravitz
Lou Reed
Metallica
Michael J Fox
Mick Jagger
Ozzy Osbourne
Patti Smith
Ray Davies
Richard Belzer
Robert Trujillo
Sting
Taboo
Thalia
Tom Hanks
Tommy Mottola
Tracy Pollan
U2
Wendi Murdoch
will.i.am
Zoe Kravitz
Backstage name dropping
Here's a crazy and probably incomplete list of who was seen backstage last night for part one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts in NYC.
"Little Anthony" Gourdine
Art Garfunkel
B.B. King
Beck
Billy Joel
Bonnie Raitt
Bruce Springsteen
Catherine Zeta-Jones
Clarence Clemons
Crosby, Stills & Nash
David Chase
David Crosby
Graham Nash
Jackson Browne
James Taylor
Jann Wenner
Jeff Beck
Jeffrey Ross
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jill Zarin
Jimmy Iovine
John Fogerty
John Legend
John McEnroe
John Sykes
John Varvatos
Ken Ehrlich
Kenneth Cole
Little Anthony & The Imperials
Martin Short
Maureen Van Zandt
Max Weinberg
Michael Douglas
Michael J. Fox
Patti Scialfa
Patty Smyth
Paul Shaffer
Paul Simon
Penn Badgley
Peter Wolf
Rita Wilson
Sam
Sam Moore
Shania Twain
Simon and Garfunkel
Smokey Robinson
Stephen Stills
Steven Van Zandt
Stevie Wonder
Sting
Tom Hanks
Tom Morello
Tracy Pollan
Yoko Ono
Whos Next?
We’ve got some cool stuff headed your way over the next few months. The entire Wines That Rock team is dedicated to bringing you more great wine experiences featuring new varietals and blends matched to the soundtrack of your life. And since we’re all friends here who enjoy a great bottle of wine and tasty tunes, we will be asking for your help as we plow through
Let us know what Album Covers YOU want to see on the next bottle.
Add you Comments below.
Live from the Vineyard Part 2
Q: So far, what is the ‘personality’ of this harvest?
There are two, really. For the white grapes, which come in earlier than the reds, the weath¬er was fairly mild, and we’re seeing some solid aromatics evolve as they ferment. Then, hot weather rolled in and with it came the reds. They’re showing some pretty decadent Brix values that will lead to big fruit-forward type wines. A lot is getting ripe at the same time, so Bob Swain is doing a heck of a job moving all the chess pieces to get the fruit in and have enough open tanks for what is yet to come. It’s a very concen¬trated vintage: both in terms of flavor and in-take.
Q: Has anything surprised you this year?
It’s been six harvests for Mendocino Wine Company already? We are just getting started and yet so much has changed in that short period of time. We have our very own weigh scale! This is more exciting than most people can probably fathom. Also we are doing more native fermentations (no ad¬dition of yeast), particularly off the Home Ranch, which was recently certified Biody¬namic. We seem to be developing more of a sense of trust with natural expressions of this beautiful ranch.
Q: What never changes year-to-year?
The weather will do something you never expected it to do. The never-ending posi¬tive energy and amazing work ethic at every level of winery operations: from the press to the cellar to the barrel room. It’s busy, seemingly chaotic and stressful, but we’re all bound together by the confidence we have the best people working the jobs necessary to make the best wine we can.
Q: Any wines to watch?
The 2007 red wines that are coming out soon are plain off the hook - fruity with round tannins. There will be some great surprises with this vintage.
Live from the Vineyard - Wines That Rock Winemaker Mark Beaman talks about the 2009 Harvest
Q: What kinds of things are you attentive to in the lead-up to harvest?
What has the weather been like?
A: The grapes will ripen early or late according to the heat or cool patterns. Do we have all the supplies we need and is every¬thing in working order? Yeast, nutrients, cleaning supplies. That pump that burnt out at the end of harvest...did we fix that because we are going to need it soon!
Q: Do you do anything special to get ready for the season?
A: I sit down with my wife, Kate, and tell her I won’t be seeing her for a few months. Actually, it’s not that bad, but the term ‘Harvest Widow’ sums up how much the winery is going to be dominat¬ing my life for the fall. I also stock up on salty snacks for the laborato¬ry food supply. Believe me, after tasting so many grapes and juice samples the last thing you want is something with more sugar in it. I also buy a new pair of running shoes with good support. Oh yeah—and cold beer in the fridge at home.
Q: How do you know when harvest is officially here?
A: When Roy Adreveneo, the winery’s long-time harvest consultant, comes by the laboratory more than once in a week...and when I can¬not tell what the original color of my shoes were because of all the grape juice and vine¬yard dust on them.
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