We are proud to bring Wine Speak back for a third year in 2020. Once again, we will present topics and insights from different perspectives. By including new speakers who have something profound to share, we believe that we can foster continual learning and heightened camaraderie.
As you will notice, this year’s edition is still New World-centric, but we are also segueing into more discussions about terroir in addition to specific grape varieties.
We accordingly seasoned the list of speakers with experts from faraway places such Argentina, Spain and France, just to add further dimension to the sharing and discussion. It goes back to our original core value—to foster community, camaraderie and collaboration in the wine industry.
We hope to see you this year. Cheers!
Chuck Furuya and Amanda Wittstrom-Higgins
“Blind Tasting” featuring three legendary Master Sommeliers Nunzio Alioto, Fred Dame and Madeline Triffon
“Talk Story on Hospitality” featuring three legendary Master Sommeliers Nunzio Alioto, Fred Dame and Madeline Triffon
“Wine & Food Workshop” with Randy Caparoso (Editor at Large, The SOMM Journal)
BYOB Night is yet another opportunity to gather all of our wine friends, from near and far, to hang out, talk story and enjoy camaraderie. The casual setting is ideal for mingling and meeting winemakers, sommeliers, wine professionals and other real wine lovers—in fact, this has really turned out to be a star shindig. Attendees bring bottles of their favorite wines to share with old and new friends, and we are always amazed at the wide variety and vast numbers of wines brought and shared.
We advance our prior discussions on this king of grapes with two leaders who exemplify what Cabernet Sauvignon can be in California. Thomas Brown is a bonafide winemaking superstar, based in the Napa Valley with many wine projects such as Schrader and his own label Rivers Marie. Fred Dame is one of the most iconic Master Sommeliers in the world, and has now joined DAOU, which has produced a parade of highly acclaimed Cabernet wines while bringing Paso Robles onto the world-class stage for this grape variety.
In this lively discussion, proprietor / winemaker Stephan Asseo of L’Aventure in Paso Robles and Emmanuel Kemiji, master sommelier/owner at Clos Pissarra in Priorat, Spain, will compare and contrast their eye-opening blends from two different worlds.
In 1987, Madeline Triffon became the first American woman, and only the second woman in the world, to pass the Master Sommelier examination. She is also widely regarded as a humble leader who takes great pride in helping others succeed. In this session, Madeline will talk about her personal journey and share advice about lessons she has learned along the way. In the words of Wine Speak Co-Founder Chuck Furuya, “In the world of sommeliers, Madeline Triffon is one of the truly inspirational ‘Hall of Fame’ icons. She persevered through all of the challenges and rose to the very top of the profession through hard work, graciousness and genuine hospitality. She has been a true inspiration to me, and I hope you take the opportunity to hear the insights from this legend. I believe she will greatly inspire you.”
Featuring Matt Kettmann (Wine Enthusiast) and Randy Caparoso (The SOMM Journal), moderated by Amanda Wittstrom Higgins (co-founder of Wine Speak / VP of Ancient Peaks).
This panel presents an opportunity to taste and learn about wines from a very different perspective.
For 2020, we are opening the door to the WORLD of wine. In the words of Wine Speak Co-Founder Chuck Furuya, “I clearly remember the face of an assistant winemaker when he first tasted the 2015 Faury Condrieu. It really was an ‘aha’ moment. I was also quite moved by watching the joyful faces of young, visiting sommeliers when they tasted through the offerings from Washington state, Australia, different parts of California and especially Paso Robles after having visited the vineyards.” Such was the inspiration for creating this event—to give our guests a sense of wonderment from discovering something new, something totally ‘out of the box’ and broadening their imagination. This is that night! We already have confirmed wines from Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Argentina and France, as well as many of our friends from Paso Robles and throughout California.
Ticket includes one hour early admittance to the Grand Tasting and the entirety of the event. Get exclusive access to all wines and producers. A limited amount of tickets are available.
Lionel Faury of Northern Rhône Valley, France, brings us some Old World perspective on wine.
Get ready for a journey into the wisdom, experiences and insights of Bruce Neyers, who helped launch Joseph Phelps Winery’s iconic Insignia wine; became the national sales manager for Kermit Lynch Wine Merchants; and who today runs Neyers Vineyards in Napa Valley.
Featuring Jason Haas of Tablas Creek, Jordan Fiorentini of Epoch, Steve Peck of J. Lohr and Mike Sinor of Ancient Peaks. Moderated by Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, co-founder of Wine Speak Paso Robles and VP of Operations at Ancient Peaks Winery.
This seminar is a great opportunity for our guests to learn more about Paso Robles, our host wine region.
Featuring Tegan Passalacqua of Turley Wine Cellars in Paso Robles, California, and Laura Catena of Bodega Catena Zapata in Argentina.
At the last Wine Speak, a longtime winemaker friend asked us, “When are we going to start discussing ‘sense of place’ rather than grape varieties?” That was the inspiration for this panel. And, in this case, rather than simply do a comparative tasting, we sought to bring in two speakers from very different niches on the subject.
Welcome to the Paso Robles region, we encourage you to visit producers during your stay. Here are a few recommended self-guided wine tours.
