Hospice du Rhone Paso Robles 2018: Day 2

We’re back to share about Day 2 of Hospice du Rhone. You can read about Day 1 here, and if you are unaware of this amazing wine event you can learn more direct from their website here.

You can see the schedule for Day 2 and the menu for the lunch that day, below. As with Day 1, due to work and our kid we only attended the breakfast, the two seminars, and the lunch and live auction. I don’t really need to say anything about the food, they always nail it. Can’t say we’ve had a bad food experience in the five times of attending this insanely fun and informative event.

As for the seminars, they were quite fascinating. Both were filled with more information than one brain could soak in. The old vines seminar was moderated by John Alban from Alban Vineyards and founder of Hospice du Rhone. The panel included Tegan Passalacqua from Sandlands and Turley Wine Cellars along with Morgan Twain-Peterson (Master of Wine) from Bedrock Wine Company. The knowledge shared by these three folks is immeasurable. Here’s what we tasted in this seminar:

2016 Turley, El Porron, Consault – Bechthold Vineyard, Lodi (Tegan Passalacque, winemaker)

2015 Wind Gap, Grenache – Sceales Vineyard, Alexander Valley (Pax Mahle, winemaker)

2015 A Tribute to Grace, Grenache – Besson Ranch, Santa Clara Valley (Angela Osborne, winemaker)

2016 Bedrock Wine Co., Odes to Frances, Grenache blend – California (Morgan Twain-Peterson, winemaker)

2016 Neyers, Carignan – Evangelho Vineyard, Contra Costa County (Bruce Neyers, winemaker)

2015 Sandlands, Mataro – Contra Costa County (Tegan Passalacqua, winemaker)

2015 Once & Future Wines, Mataro – Oakley Road Vineyard, Contra Costa County (Joel Peterson, winemaker)

2016 Carlisle, Two Acres, Mataro field blend – Russina River Valley (Mike Officer, winemaker)

2016 I. Brand Wines, Mataro – Enz Vineyard, Cienega Valley (Ian Brand, winemaker)

2015 Bedrock Wine Co., Syrah-based field blend, Gibson Ranch Heritage Wine – McDowell Valley, Mendocino (Morgan Twain-Peterson, winemaker)

An amazing sampling of old vine Rhone wines.

The second seminar of the day was completely outstanding. All about the wines from the Guigal family. I have to be honest, I had not heard of these wines before but wow…they were truly phenomenal wines. The family history in the business was quite impressive to learn about as well. Here’s what we tasted in this one:

2016 Saint-Joseph Blanc

2016 Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Blanc

2015 Saint-Joseph Rouge

2015 Saint-Joseph Lieu-Dit Rouge

2015 Saint-Joseph Vignes de I’Hospice

2014 Saint-Joseph Vignes de I’Hospice

2006 Saint-Joseph Vignes I’Hospice

2014 Cote-Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis

2013 Cote-Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis

2005 Cote-Rotie Chateau d’Ampuis

2005 Cote-Rotie La Turque

There’s not really anything I can say to give these wines the justice they deserve. Beautiful, elegant, stunning wines presented by Phillippe Guigal.

Annie and I want to send another shout out to Vicki Carroll, John Alban, Faith Wells, the rest of the HdR staff, and of course, the amazing sommeliers. Hospice du Rhone 2018 was outstanding! Thank you!

Schedule:

Check-in and Garden Breakfast 8:30 am – 9:15 am

Seminar Three: Old Vine Rhones Across California 9:30 am – 10:45 am

Seminar Four: The Majesty of Guigal 11:00 am – 12:15 pm

Lunch and Live Auction 12:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Closing Tasting: 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm (early access for media and trade)

Closing Tasting: 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Farewell Dinner 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Live Auction Lunch Menu:

Organic Baby Greens: sliced apples, candied walnuts, crumbled blue cheese, tossed with citrus vinaigrette

Israeli Couscous: artichoke hearts, cranberries, toasted almonds, dressed with red wine vinegar and parsley

BBQ Choice Top Sirloin: with house made salsa