Show 535, July 22, 2023: Handpicked Wines, Sydney, Australia with Adam Dromi USA Market Manager Part One

Adam Dromi of Handpicked Wines

Handpicked Wines is a family-owned Australian Winery that specializes in crafting wines that offer a true sense of place, but fundamentally not from a single place. The Mornington Peninsula in Victoria is home to their Winery and flagship vineyard Capella, but winemaking spreads to five more fully owned, top-site vineyards across in Tasmania, Yarra Valley, and Barossa Valley.”

“With several trophies and hundreds of accolades to their name, Handpicked Wines has earned a reputation as a top site-specific producer vintage after vintage. They have proudly held their Halliday 5-Red-Star-Winery rating since 2014 along with being recognized as a Top Winery of Australia by The Real Review since 2018.”

“They are advocates of sustainable viticulture with a commitment to grape-growing techniques that improve the health of their vines and that of the local environment. Handpicked Wines is a proponent of minimal intervention, a vineyard-driven approach to winemaking that accentuates the character, complexity and geology of each site.”

Just back from Australia is Handpicked Wines’ USA Market Manager, Adam Dromi, to pull the cork for us on all that is Handpicked Wines.

Show 535, July 22, 2023: Handpicked Wines, Sydney, Australia with Adam Dromi USA Market Manager Part Two

Adam Dromi of Handpicked Wines

Handpicked Wines is a family-owned Australian Winery that specializes in crafting wines that offer a true sense of place, but fundamentally not from a single place. The Mornington Peninsula in Victoria is home to their Winery and flagship vineyard Capella, but winemaking spreads to five more fully owned, top-site vineyards across in Tasmania, Yarra Valley, and Barossa Valley.”

“Their ethos has always been to share their love of wine with others. Handpicked wants to demystify the world of wine and bring others on the journey, having lots of fun on the way.”

“They are advocates of sustainable viticulture with a commitment to grape-growing techniques that improve the health of their vines and that of the local environment. Handpicked Wines is a proponent of minimal intervention, a vineyard-driven approach to winemaking that accentuates the character, complexity and geology of each site.”

“The uniqueness of their fully-owned, top-site vineyards across Australia is captured under their Single Vineyards labels. The Collection series are a set of premium wines from hand-picked regions – each crafted to reflect a supreme sense of place and exceptional character. Regional Selections are a collection of classic varieties grown in the terroir that suits them best.”

Just back from Australia is Handpicked Wines’ USA Market Manager, Adam Dromi. He continues with us pulling the cork on all that is Handpicked Wines.

Show 289, September 8, 2018: Lisa Lipton, Esq., The American Institute of Wine & Food, San Diego Scholarship Chair

Lisa LiptonSan Diego area food fans who are pursuing careers in the culinary arts, enology / viticulture and beverage studies attention, please. The San Diego Chapter of The American Institute of Wine & Food is now accepting applications for Scholarships in full or part-time accredited continuing education programs. The scholarships typically range from $500 to $2,000, and the funds do not need to be repaid.

The American Institute of Wine & Food (AIWF) is a national non-profit educational organization established in 1981 by Robert Mondavi, Julia Child, Richard Graff, and others to promote a forum for the study and enjoyment of gastronomy. The AIWF is dedicated to advancing the understanding, appreciation, and quality of wine and food through fun educational experiences in support of its Days of Taste® and Scholarship programs.

The AIWF, San Diego Chapter awards scholarships for the pursuit of culinary arts, enology/viticulture, and beverage studies in full or part-time accredited continuing education programs. All schools must be accredited and offer continuous relevant hands-on, in-person experience (not online). Since the money for the scholarships is raised by the San Diego Chapter, scholarships are only awarded to people who are connected to San Diego by school, work, or recent involvement in food or wine/beverage in the area. The scholarship money may be used for study within or outside of San Diego County.

Applications will be accepted until October, 1 2018. Select applicants will be notified of an interview sometime in October.

Lisa Lipton, Esq., AIWF San Diego Scholarship Chair joins us with the details.

Show 143, October 24, 2015: 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival, Paso Robles, CA

Garagiste FestivalThe 5th Annual Garagiste Wine Festival returns to Paso Robles from November 5th to 8th. The Garagiste Wine Festivals are the first and only wine festivals dedicated to the undiscovered and under-recognized American artisan “garagiste” producers who are making some of the best, most exciting, handcrafted small-lot production wines in the world.

It’s three days of fun and educational wine-centric events in a superb wine region. No wine snobbery here.

“We founded The Garagiste Festivals five years ago to gather and bring attention to, the growing but under-the-radar population of micro-production winemakers who we knew were making some of the most exciting, cutting-edge wines in the world,” said Doug Minnick, Co-founder of The Garagiste Festival. “As our Festivals have grown and expanded, they have helped spur the growth of our participating wineries, as well as of the Garagiste movement itself. It has been a true win-win-win: matching consumers with the hard-to-find artists they enjoy discovering, helping garagiste wineries find a highly targeted and self-selected audience, and all in support of our work with Cal Poly.”

The festivals (3 per year) are produced by Garagiste Events, a non-profit dedicated to furthering the education of future winemakers and those training for employment within the wine industry. Proceeds from the festivals support the Garagiste Festival Scholarship fund of the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo Wine and Viticulture Department.

Co-Founder Doug Minnick joins us with the preview.