Sparkling Wines Make for a Spectacular NewYear’s Toast
December 10, 2024 – Philo, CA — For a wine lover, nothing makes a better holiday gift than one that keeps giving long after 2024 has passed, like the 26th Annual Pinot Noir Festival, May 15-17, 2025!
Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association has launched early bird tickets for the ever-popular, hometown Pinot Noir Festival, showcasing the best of the varietal found in this heralded growing area. Sample hundreds of wines from local wineries, plus some of the most esteemed wineries in Napa and Sonoma coveting AV Pinot, paired with food from noted local chefs. Another nearby wine event has chosen our weekend, but we see those who are serious about wine and Pinot Noir choosing to join us in the spacious vineyards vs. in a crowded town square.
This three-day event kicks off with a Friday night BBQ, showcasing wines handpicked from the cellars of dozens of local residents. On Saturday, a VIP sparkling wine and Champagne brunch sets the stage for the day’s festivities, with the Grand Tasting featuring exclusive drawings, raffles, and spirited auction bidding for one-of-a-kind Pinot Noir lots you won’t find anywhere else. Friday, May 15th, kicks off with an educational Vineyard Seminar and vineyard tour, explorations into climate change farming responses and fish-friendly farming.
But, even before Pinot Fest is on the horizon, Anderson Valley brings back our annual International White Wine Festival on February 15-16, 2025….this time with a twist and the addition of a wide array of international wines and a series of varietal tables where wine aficionados can experience a deep dive into Riesling, Gewürzatraminer or Chenin Blanc led by beloved industry experts like Gilian Handelman and Dan Berger. There will be surprises galore and the discovery that Anderson Valley is now a new go-to region for high-quality Burgundian-style Chardonnay. Recent reviews in James Suckling.com show rock star quality throughout the Valley. Details attached or at this link: https://avwines.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/International-White-Wine-Festival-Overview-.pdf
Don’t forget that plenty of sparkling wines for your New Year’s Eve celebrations and holiday toasts, comes out of Anderson Valley, starting with the inimitable stalwarts, Roederer Estate and Scharffenberger Cellars, and including quality producers like Lichen Estate, Pennyroyal Farms, Texture Wines, Bravium, Long Meadow Ranch, Maggy Hawk, Toulouse, Bee Hunter, Breggo, Drew, Fathers and Daughters Cellars, Goldeneye, Handley Cellars, Reeve, Berryessa Gap, and Navarro Vineyards.
As we wrap up 2024, Anderson Valley Winegrowers is grateful for a beautiful 2024 harvest, the attention the Valley has received from wine reviewers raving about both the quality of the wines and people of the Valley, and the hopes we have for the future in our heavenly corner of the earth.
About the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association
The Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association (AVWA) is a 501c(6) and was founded in 1983 – the same year as the appellation. Made up of 25 vineyards, 66 wineries and 63 associate members, the nonprofit organization operates with the goal of supporting the region’s premier grape growers and wineries, and promoting the region’s distinguished wines. In addition to acting as a resource for its members, the association aims to better its community by donating funds yearly to local nonprofit organizations.
