Lula Cellars to Pour at the Mendocino Crab, Wine & Beer Festival’s “Everything but Crab Cake Cook-off & Wine Tasting Competition” in January and at Grand Tasting during Anderson Valley Wine Association’s 11th Annual Alsace Wine Festival in February
MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA – (January 6, 2016) – California’s Mendocino County, home to the much-lauded Anderson Valley wine region, kicks off the New Year with two of the most anticipated food & wine-centric festivals of the year. Locals and visitors alike look forward to Mendocino’s Annual Crab, Wine & Beer Festival (January 22 – 31, 2016) and the Anderson Valley Wine Association’s Alsace Wine Festival (February 20 – 21, 2016). This year, as in years past, Jeff Hansen, winemaker at Lula Cellars (www.LulaCellars.com), is pleased to announce the winery’s participation in both events, as well as an Open House the winery will host in support of the Alsace Wine Festival in the Lula Cellars tasting room on Sunday, February 21.
Lula Cellars will be participating in the signature event of Mendocino’s Annual Crab, Wine & Beer Festival – the Everything but Crab Cake Cook-off & Wine Tasting Competition on Saturday, January 30, from 12 to 3 p.m., in Fort Bragg (located on the Northern Mendocino Coast). Due to the hold on the 2015 crabbing season and the health concerns associated with the harvesting of this season’s crab, the 17th Annual Cake Cook-off will showcase everything but crab cakes – think salmon cakes, shrimp cakes, seafood cakes, and more!
Attendees will have the opportunity to taste Lula Cellars wines while noshing on hundreds of seafood-inspired cakes prepared by local chefs representing the best restaurants throughout Mendocino County. Festival-goers can vote for their favorite chef and winery for the coveted People’s Choice Award, and see how their vote matches up with the Professional Judges’ Awards. This year, Lula Cellars will be pouring their 2014 Mendocino Dry Gewurztraminer, 2014 Rosato, and 2014 Sauvignon Blanc varietals at the cook-off.
Tickets to the Everything but Crab Cake Cook-off & Wine Tasting Competition are $85/per person if purchased before December 30, 2015, and $100 thereafter. Tickets for Circle of Claws Reserved Seating that include early entry, seating, and preview tastes of cakes and wines are $125 if purchased before December 30, 2015, and $150 thereafter. Tickets can be purchased by visiting http://www.mccinc.org/crab_wine.php.
Additionally, Lula Cellars will be participating in the Anderson Valley Wine Association’s 11th Annual Alsace Wine Festival. Taking place on Saturday, February 20, 2016 at the Boonville Fairgrounds, the Alsace Wine Festival offers wine lovers and aficionados the opportunity to taste Alsace-styled wines from around the world with carefully selected foods that pair beautifully with these aromatic, delicate, white wines.
The Alsace-style wines will be paired with Tomales Bay oysters and Tart Flambé, and Lula Cellars will be pouring its 2014 Mendocino Dry Gewurztraminer. Tickets for the Alsace Wine Festival Grand Tasting are $75 per person and can be purchased by visiting www.avwines.com/alsace-festival/.
In support of the Alsace Wine Festival, Lula Cellars will be hosting an open house at its tasting room (2800 Guntley Road in Philo, just off of Hwy 128) on Sunday, February 21, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lula Cellars will be pouring its 2011 and 2012 Pinot Noir vintages; 2013 Mendocino Ridge Zinfandel, 2014 Mendocino Gewurztraminer, 2014 Sauvignon Blanc and 2014 Rosato. Guests will also be able to sample homemade Paella from Karina’s Catering – touted to be the best Paella in Mendocino County!
Tasting Notes:
- The 2014 Mendocino Dry Gewurztraminer from Lula Cellars is a dry wine offering notes of exotic spices and floral (rose) overtones on the nose, with hints of ripe melon, a crisp acidity and a long finish.
- 2014 marks the fifth vintage of Lula Cellars Rosato. This wine explodes with flavors of ripe strawberry, tangelo and watermelon on the palate with hints of allspice and thyme on the nose.
- The 2014 vintage marks the first release of Sauvignon Blanc for Lula Cellars. This is a smooth sipping wine with steely minerality and cleansing acidity that offers flavors of fig and melon on the palate.
In October 2014, Lula Cellars opened its new 22-acre Philo property to the public, which is nestled amongst the rolling hills of bucolic Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, Northern California. For festival-goers or travelers to Mendocino County in general, Lula Cellars’ new tasting room on the property offers a unique experience for wine tasting in the Anderson Valley.
In addition to a pet-friendly tasting room, the new property (with a quarter mile of frontage along Hwy 128 in Philo) features a pond, a 14-acre Pinot Noir vineyard, a small-production winemaking facility, and beginning in 2015, a 10,000 square foot ‘Events Area’ that will be available for weddings and other private events.
The tasting room is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. To contact the tasting room, please call 707.895.3737.
About Lula Cellars
Lula Cellars is a small production, ultra-premium winery located in the “Deep End” of Mendocino County’s famed Anderson Valley. Winemaker Jeff Hansen, a thirty-year wine industry veteran, produces world class Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Dry Gewurztraminer, Rosato and Sauvignon Blanc wines, made entirely with grapes grown in vineyards from Mendocino County, California. Since launching in 2010, Lula Cellars has built a reputation for crafting award-winning wines and fostering an enjoyable customer experience. The goal of Lula Cellars is simple: to produce high quality, eminently drinkable wines and to offer them at prices that are reasonable, by selling directly to consumers. Lula Cellars was named for Jeff’s maternal grandmother Lula, who was born in 1879 and lived to the age of 89. www.lulacellars.com.
Current releases from Lula Cellars
2011 Mendocino Coast Pinot Noir, 700 case production
GOLD MEDAL 2012 Costa Vineyard Pinot Noir, 600 case production
SILVER MEDAL 2012 Peterson Vineyard Pinot Noir, 600 case production
DOUBLE GOLD MEDAL 2012 Mendocino Coast Pinot Noir, 600 case production
2013 Mendocino Zinfandel, Mariah Vineyards, 325 case production
2014 Mendocino Rosato (Rose of Pinot Noir), 300 case production
2014 Mendocino Dry Gewurztraminer, 300 case production
2014 Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino Ridge, 200 case production
