Anyone heading to Hospice du Rhone or have thoughts on the experience? I’ll be a first-time attendee.
The list of wineries this year looks pretty good. If we weren’t traveling elsewhere this spring we would have probably gone. But since I haven’t gone in a long time I can’t offer much insight into how it has evolved.
Highly recommended. That said, I probably can’t make it; bad timing with work. Another attractive option is the one day Rhone Rangers in Paso coming up.
It’s a fantastic event for consumers - so many wineries to taste. Don’t sleep on the Friday tasting - the library one. You’d be surprised at what folks pour, including the ‘big names’.
I am not currently on the list but have just signed up and will be pouring. It’s a really event - the only challenge for wineries like me is to ‘stand out’ a bit . . .
Cheers
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I’ll be there, only missed 2 in 21 years. I volunteer for HdR as a photographer. Say hi if you see the guy with a bunch of camera gear.
Not sure if any of the old crew is going this year and if we will have a BYOM BBQ on Friday night as we have done in the past.
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That’s great to hear! I’ll definitely stop by. Really interested in your wines but my cellar was too full to take advantage of your BD offers.
So, that’s one of my questions. Is there an official or unofficial expectation that we bring bottles to certain events like the farewell dinner?
BYOM? Bring your own Mourvèdre?
Good to hear that you’ll be there, Mel. As much as I used to enjoy HdR, I’ve gotten burned out with bigger wine events so I’m not planning to go. Don’t think that Eric and Al are planning to go this year either.
I’m sure that if you get a BYOM BBQ going, plenty of people will be interested though it may be a different crowd than in years past.
I would most likely be up for joining. Not sure if Steve and Carole are pouring this year . . .
No expectations but plenty of folks bring wines to the lunches to share.
The BYOMeat BBQ was or is? An unofficial Friday night get together where people bring something to grill and share along with some wine to share as well. Pretty much a stand up drinking party with easy to eat grilled meats and stuff. Casual but with wonderful wines. The only rule is don’t open a wine you did not bring.
No, not going either.
-Al
No, we’re not going. We rarely go to tastings anymore, except for the Mount Veeder Appellation tasting that’s right here in the hood.
But Carole, who’s going to bring the brownies?
![[wow.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/7/7d450e9830889c8943b674446a21b7254cad657e.gif "wow"){kind=small}
We will be going again (5th time I think), using our rollover tickets from the cancelled event last year.
Not required, but people definitely do bring wine to the Farewell Dinner on Saturday night. Here is a pic of one of several tables at the end of the night for the 2018 event (consolidated for clean up I suppose).
There likely will be 2-3 Wine Dinner options at local restaurants on Friday night, which are associated with the event, but ticketed separately through the restaurants. People bring extra wine to those as well.
We purchase ala carte event tickets, so haven’t attended any of the lunches and not sure about bringing wine to those events.
Cheers! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Steve
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I used to buy the weekend ticket and attended 10 years, although the first year may have been a la carte. There is wine available at the lunches from winery participants, a few bottles at each table with the selection varying by the table. People also bring wine to the lunches as well as the Farewell dinner. Between the morning seminars, lunch, afternoon tasting, appetizers at the motel, and wine at dinner, you definitely have to pace yourself. Some folks used to go to Villa Creek until the wee morning hours (Villa Creek now closed). But, I skipped the night cap because I was getting up early and running.
-Al
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OMG. That looks… excessive. How do you pace yourself?
At the Farewell barbecue, you mostly drink wines with people at the same table unless you wander around (usually with a bottle you are sharing). The pacing is important the whole weekend, though.
-Al
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For perspective on the photo, there were probably several hundred attendees at the Farewell Dinner.
As for pacing, that is why I go ala carte. Not sure I would survive the full Weekend Pass daily agenda: Two Seminars, each with 6-8 pours, Lunch (Rose or Auction) with many bottles, a Grand Tasting with several hundred options, then dinner with free-flowing wine.
I typically do one Seminar*, skip the wine Lunch, and limit my Grand Tasting stops to new producers I want to try, old friends, or some of the classic wines that you are not going to find at any other tasting event, and then spit, spit, spit. I learned my lesson the first year!
- It looks like the Seminars were offered only as part of the full Weekend Pass package this year. I bought two ala carte Seminar tickets for the canceled event last year, so those rolled over. I’ll miss the Seminars if they are no longer offered ala carte, but not enough that I would consider buying a weekend pass.
I’ve stopped going to most other large tasting events that I have attended in the past, but still find HdR to be a unique and fun weekend.
Cheers!
Definitely pace yourself. I estimated that for one of the HdR’s from Wednesday through Saturday night, you got a chance to taste close to 1000 wines.
We’re also a fist time attendees going to the opening tasting on Friday. How are the lines for the ‘big-name’ producers (Saxum, Cayuse, etc.)?
Trying to prioritize which wineries we stop at. Definitely want to try your wines, Larry!