Institute All Stars

On Tuesday, July 16, 2013, The Hilltop Winery hosted the Institute All Stars for a wine reception and pizza party while enjoying the view and the Baseball All Star Game being played in New York.

It was a quick trip and a prelude to our upcoming Annual Institute Wine Reception and Dinner this coming Thursday.

The following wines were tasted along with some great wood fired pizza’s:

White

• 2010 Aubert Chardonnay
• 2010 Julien ColloVray Chardonnay
• 2012 Realm Sauvignon Blanc

Red

• 1988 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1998 Araujo Eisele Syrah
• 2003 d'Arenberg Shiraz
• 2005 Alto Moncayo
• 2005 Pahlmeyer

For a slideshow of the afternoon and evening event click HERE.

5th West Institute Wine Reception and Dinner

On July 14, 2011, we held our 5th Annual West Wine Reception and Dinner at The Hilltop Winery.

What a special evening. We did a vertical tasting of Silver Oak and a horizontal featuring Pinot Noir from 2005.

Check these out, we tasted:

• 1984 Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 1989 Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
• 1995 Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
• 1999 Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
• 2002 Silver Oak, Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley

Then we started our 2005 trip around the Pinot Noir varietal:

• 2005 Demetria, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
• 2005 Pahlmeyer, Pinot Noir, St. Helena
• 2005 Sea Smoke, Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara
• 2005 Macphail, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
• 2005 Alcina, Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
• 2005 Tandem, Pinot Noir, Sonoma County

Thanks to our family and friends at The Hilltop Winery for being such gracious hosts.

For the slideshow of the entire evening with friends click HERE.

The Hilltop Before Ojai

On September 24, 2010, Bill and I had the privilege of making a trip to The Hilltop Winery before our major conference in Ojai.

We were treated very well by our hosts and the following bottles were tasted before dinner at Casa Nostra.

• 1981 Pahlmeyer, Estate Bottled, Napa Valley
• 1995 Havens Bourriquot, Napa Valley Red Table Wine
• 1997 Araujo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Eisele Vineyard, Napa Valley
• 2003 Pahlmeyer, Red Wine, Napa Valley

For a slideshow of the evening click HERE.

Wine Tasting on the Hilltop

On April 2, 2010, I had the chance to spend some special time with my friends Bill and Larry at The Hilltop Winery.

While we enjoyed tasting many wines from around the world, my three favorite wines were:

• 1990 Pahlmeyer, Napa Valley
• 1995 Araujo Syrah, Eisele Vineyard
• 1997 Niebaum Coppola Rubicon, Rutherford, Napa Valley

In addition, we were treated to a special tasting of a 1993 Chateau Pajzos Esszencia. What a treat!

For more information on Araujo Syrah click HERE.
For more information on Niebaum Coppola click HERE.
For more information on Pahlmeyer click HERE.

Check out the slideshow for the actual bottles and the rest of the evening HERE.