Paso Robles AVA. Red pins indicate wineries.

Paso Robles is where you go for punch you in the face, no holds-barred, swift kick in the cohones wines. This is Zinfandel country with some wineries rocking 60+ year old vines. The wines are big, fat, juicy, jammy wines that pack one of the biggest bangs for their buck in California. What started out as a one-trick pony, with the key grape being Zinfandel, in the 1990s expanded and grew when the French wine powerhouse Château de Beaucastel dropped their US branch, Tablas Creek Vineyard, right in the heart of Paso.

They brought with them winemaking techniques but also grape vine clippings from primo Châteauneuf-du-Pape soil. Eager to make friends the new neighbors shared their French grapes and helped turn Paso Robles from a few dedicated winemakers with a dream into a world class wine region.

The wineries you shouldn’t miss are Chronic Cellars, Tablas Creek, JUSTIN, Cypher Winery (with their epic wood fired pizzas at Farmstand 46), the OG Peach Canyon, hit up Hope Family Wines and don’t miss the downtown wine scene including Clayhouse Wine. Of course you wouldn’t want to miss Eos Estate Winery where we’re hosting the circus.

Whether you live in LA or San Francisco or even New York, if you’re not hitting up Paso Robles, you’re missing out on wine. As a member of the Millennial Wine Circus I’m excited and proud to be hitting speaking to such a talented group of winemakers. Now let’s drink some Zin!

This post was created by Tyler Balliet, Founder and President of Second Glass, and speaker on the Mutineer Magazine Marvelous Millennial Wine Circus.

A platoon of Mutineers and millennial wine marketing wizards hit the road today to kick off the Mutineer Magazine Marvelous Millennial Wine Circus in none other than rip roaring Calaveras County, California.

Calaveras County is located in the Sierra Foothills a couple hours east of San Francisco. The Mutineers called Calaveras County home for over 7 months in 2010 & 2011, living in the small mountain hamlet of Murphys as part of a wine marketing project called “Camp Mutineer”, which utilized a range of artistic mediums to tell the Calaveras County wine story.

The Calaveras County stop of the Wine Circus will take place at Twisted Oak Winery, home of the great Jeff Stai and his twisted rogue renegade regiment of rubber chickens. Twisted Oak focuses on Rhone and Spanish varietals, including the epic “River of Skulls” Mourvèdre & Syrah blend (sold out), or the prolific “The Spaniard” Tempranillo, Graciano & Garnacha blend.

There are a bunch of killer wineries in Calaveras County, and some that really resonate with me include Newsome-Harlow, Tanner Vineyards, Chatom Vineyards, Zucca Mountain Vineyards and Lavender Ridge.

If you ever visit the area, definitely rappel down the Moaning Cavern, check out Ironstone Vineyards for concerts and a museum, and the Murphys Historic Hotel, because you must.

Stay tuned for video blog diaries by the great Chris Eldridge of CineVine.com. We’ll try and post as soon as possible. In the meantime, follow the circus on the Mutineer Facebook as well as on Twitter through @MutineerMag and using the #winecircus hashtag.

Here’s a full list of the speakers on tour and their twitter handles:

Tyler Balliet, Second Glass: thesecondglass.com / @SecondGlass

Harry Oranges, Mutineer Magazine: mutineermagazine.com / @MutineerMag

Alan Kropf, Mutineer Magazine: mutineermagazine.com / @MutineerMag

Christophe Smith, Harvest Live: harvestlive.tv / @cork_dork

Ashley Nicole Teplin, Teplin+Nuss: teplinnuss.com / @TeplinNuss

Sarah Elliman, CellarPass: cellarpass.com / @CellarPass

The latest installment in the Ex Aqua Vinum Tour, the launch party for the new super-natural wine label “The Divining Rod” will make its way to DC next week. Guests will have the chance to be one of the first to ever try this new wine label and also the unique opportunity to party in a swanky loft with Marc Mondavi. Meet this Winemaker and Water Witch Extraordinaire and get your taste on with his Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay. Simply Divine.

In the DC area? Be sure not to miss Marc Mondavi and The Divining Rod wines.

Thursday, May 17
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

The Hamilton Loft
600 14th Street NW
Washington, DC

For more information visit http://thediviningroddc.eventbrite.com

PDT’s Jim Meehan. Photo by Kent Miller

New York City’s highly acclaimed PDT (Please Don’t Tell) won the first ever James Beard Award for “Outstanding Bar Program”, sponsored by Campari. The award, a first for the James Beard Foundation, recognizes restaurants that display and encourage excellence in cocktail, spirit, and/or beer service through a well-presented drink list, a knowledgeable staff, and efforts to educate customers about beverages. Clearly, PDT, led by industry veteran Jim Meehan fits the bill.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit PDT, you must. To get in, you first enter a noisy hot dog eatery, then walk through a vintage phone booth which will lead you into PDT, a Prohibition-era speakeasy style bar. Shh..

Also nominated for the award were Chicago’s The Aviary, San Francisco’s Bar Agricole, NYC’s Pegu Club and Chicago’s The Violet Hour.

Congratulations to Jim Meehan and PDT, and all those nominated.

The Wine Circus is coming! The Wine Circus is coming!

Mutineer Magazine’s Marvelous Millennial Wine Marketing Circus will hit the road next week with five events across five wine regions in five days.

May 14 – Calaveras County
May 15 – Santa Barbara County
May 16 – Paso Robles
May 17 – Sonoma
May 18 – Napa Valley

Click the links above to register now for FREE.

The Millennial Wine Circus is a traveling marketing conference for the forward thinking winery. Mutineer has brought together seven noteworthy speakers to discuss the word MILLENNIAL and its impact on the wine industry.

Millennial entrepreneurs and dynamic wine professionals like Tyler Balliet + Morgan First will offer insight into the minds of the millennial wine drinker. The wine riot continues as Ashley Teplin will discuss the role of “Traditional PR in a Digital World” while Sarah Elliman will share untold relics from her journey to ”Rediscover the Tasting Room Experience”.

The infamous Harry Oranges will ensure there is never a dull moment as Ringmaster for the Millennial Wine Circus. Wine biz dynamo Christophe Smith will display his “Dancing Bears, Snake Oil, and Listening Skills” and The Mutineer himself, Alan Kropf will take the stage to prove that anything is possible in the world of fine beverage.

Registration is filling up quickly with Napa and Sonoma already sold out. To request to be added to the reserve list for events in Napa or Sonoma email HarryO@MutineerMagazine.com

Click the links above to attend the Wine Circus today!

*Note from the Ringmaster: This video was filmed and produced by #WineCircus videographer Chris Eldridge. If you could put wine video talent into a bottle, it would have upfront flavors of ”CineVine” with notes of catnip and a juicy finish.

Buffalo Trace Distillery has just announced the newest addition to the Colonel E.H. Taylor, Jr. Collection with the addition of The Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey. This barrel proof, uncut, unfiltered rye recipe bourbon comes in at a respectable 134.5 proof and was aged for seven years on the sixth floor of Buffalo Trace’s Warehouse C, built by Colonel Taylor in 1881. Fourth in the line of E. H. Taylor, Jr. collection of whiskeys, it joins the Old Fashioned Sour Mash Bourbon, Single Barrel Bourbon and Warehouse C Tornado Surviving Bourbon released within the past year.

What’s it like? According to a press release “an aroma of cooked, berries meets the nose, followed by a rich caramel and slightly floral smell. The taste is bold – full of spice that fills the mouth with a distinct flavor of toasty vanilla, dried oak and pepper. The finish is long and satisfying with a powerful rye character and lingering hints of fruit.”

The Col. E.H. Taylor, Jr. Barrel Proof Bourbon will be available in June with a suggested retail pricing is $69.99 for a 750 ml bottle. Limited availability.

Thinking about making the drive to Napa Valley but gas prices have you thinking otherwise? Charles Krug Winery doesn’t want you to sweat it and is offering a rebate to visitors coming from out of town. They’ve made it pretty simple; as long as the San Francisco Bay Area gas price average is over $4.00 per gallon (or until September 30), visitors to Charles Krug will receive a rebate applicable towards their tasting fees. Drive from 10-24 miles, receive $5 off. Drive 25-49 miles, receive $10 off. 50+? $15 off your tasting fee.

The fine print?

-Rebate must be printed at www.charleskrug.com and redeemed at tasting room.
-Rebate is by zone (10-24 miles, 25-49 miles, over 50 miles), $5, $10 and $15 respectively.
-One rebate per vehicle, and applicable to a tasting fee.
-Promotion runs through September 30 or until the price of gas falls below $4/gallon–whichever comes first.
-Cannot be combined with any other offer.

Regardless, a cool out-the-box initiate that is Mutineer Approved. The beautiful and historic grounds of Charles Krug will also be home to the Marvelous Millennial Wine Marketing Circus on May 18th. We hope to see you there!

This much we know: There’s never been a more exciting time to be a passenger on the whimsical train that is the modern fine beverage experience. We’ve undone the damage of prohibition and then some, and we know fine beverage culture not only is evolving on a linear two-dimensional path into the future, but into a third-dimension of depth and inspiration.

The evolution of LGBT culture within fine beverage culture is a spectacular example of this. It’s a vibrant scene that we are humbled and proud to share with you in this glorious new issue of Mutineer.

The May/June 2012 Issue of Mutineer Magazine brings you:

Mutineer Interview Special Edition: LGBT Pride in Wine Country

Mutineer celebrates LGBT Pride in the fine beverage world aboard the Napa Valley’s Big Gay Train.

Rediscovering Madeira: The Island Vineyard

Spirits writer Lance Mayhew travels to the lost islands of Madeira to rediscover some spectacular nearly forgotten wines.

Joining the Family Business

In honor of Mother’s and Father’s Day, Mutineer takes an intimate look at beverage producers where sons and daughters and mothers and fathers work together to carry on their family legacy.

Hungry Mutineer: Shrubs

Shrubs have been the subject of much curiosity at Mutineer Central ever since we discovered the drinking vinegars put out by the popular restaurant Pok Pok Som in Portland. Mutineer Food Editor Erin Jimcosky shows you how to make your very own.

DIY: Boozy Salts

Salt + Fine Beverage = Boozy Salts. Mutineer Food Editor Erin Jimcosky shows you the ropes of how to infuse your own salts with your favorite beverages at home.

What People Drink: Judd’s Hill Winery’s Judd Finkelstein
What People Drink: Cantina’s Duggan McDonnell
Beer Styles: Flemish Red Ale
Classic Cocktails: The Bijou Cocktail
+++ Soda Jerk: Kvass, Tri-Milk Cheeses, Drink Night Cocktails, Mutineer Library: Amber, Gold & Black and much, much, more…