Grand Grape Celebration Wine Tastings in Yosemite

Lori and I signed up for a wine tasting in Yosemite right after our Fall Colors workshop in November 2016, featuring Silver Oak Cellars, Twomey Cellars , Martinelli Vineyards, and Tablas Creek Vineyard.

The wines were outstanding, and both Silver Oak and Tablas Creek poured verticals going back to 2001 so you could see how they can develop over time. This was overall schedule:

Session #4 ~ November 16 – 18, 2016
2016 Moderator ~ Dan Berger, Wine Journalist & Judge

Wednesday, November 16
1:00 PM “Tasting Nuances Between Site Specific Single Vineyard Wines”
Martinelli Vineyards & Winery Regina Martinelli

3:30 PM “Esprit de Beaucastel: The Evolution of a Flagship Rhone Blend”
Tablas Creek Jason Haas
6:00 PM Meet the Vintners Reception

Thursday, November 17
1:00 PM “A Deconstructed Tasting of 2016 Sauvignon Blanc”
Twomey Cellars David Duncan

3:30 PM “A Brief History of (Silver Oak) Time through Selected Wines”
Silver Oak Cellars Daniel Baron

6:30 PM Gala Vintners’ Dinner

I had received a promo email touting $149/person attendance to the 2016 series of wine events. Given that you’ll pay about $75 for a dinner in the Ahwahnee anyway, it’s not a bad price for four tastings, reception, and a four course dinner at the Ahwahnee paired with wines!

For one of the dinners we had the pleasure of dining with Tablas Creek general manager Jason Haas and his family. I’ve been following their blog since, and it has contained a lot of information that will help us with our own vineyard at home.

Also at the event were some well known people. I told Lori that I thought the guy a couple of rows in front of us was Charles Koch, a well-known wine collector (he and his brother had their cellar profiled in Wine Spectator). Lori thought I was wrong, but moments later a friend popped over and greeted him, “Hi Charlie!” I didn’t seeing him at the later sessions, so maybe he just flew over and dropped in for the Silver Oak one.

In recent years, the kitchen in the Ahwahnee closed for a remodel, and the hotel has been getting earthquake upgrades as well, so events may resume in 2024.

As nice as the event was, one disappointing development in the following years was the removal of the event-only option and only were bundled with multiple nights at the Ahwahnee. This ensured that these events in our public par was only accessible to pretty well-off attendees. Frankly, it seemed like a misuse of a public property, while also running contrary to the spirit of our national parks, which are supposed to be accessible for all. If was unnecessary for the operators of the Ahwahnee, Aramark, since the hotel tends to be fully booked a year in advance shortly after reservations open. Hopefully this obnoxious policy will be reconsidered for the 2024 season and beyond.