wine events | Sip Tripper

Merry Edwards Winery Toasts 20th Anniversary with a Celebration of Wine, Outdoor Adventure and Gourmet Cuisine.

Remember Missoula, Montana, the setting for that ’80s cult hit, “Twin Peaks” that I’ve since heard is making an updated series? Well, I’ll be heading to Missoula in about a month, and so will you if you decide to fly to Montana’s premier luxury ranch resort, The Resort at Paws Up.

All 37,000 acres of The Resort at Paws Up is located in Blackfoot Valley in western Montana, and is internationally acclaimed for year-round adventures and stellar culinary events, and for a weekend in March is where you can enjoy the perfect blend of wine, gourmet food, thrilling adventures …and more wine.

The Resort’s first-annual Wine Weekend, this year’s Eat, Drink and Meet Merry event (March 16–18), will allow guests the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the country’s leading vintners. This year’s headlining talent will be Merry Edwards herself.

Much like Paws Up’s successful established weekend events, such as Montana Master Grillers (May) and Montana Master Chefs (September), the weekend retreat will feature top-notch talent, outstanding gourmet menus by award-winning Executive Chef Ben Jones, specialized wine pairings, live entertainment and plenty of adrenaline-pumping adventure. After attending, guests will no doubt be able to impress even the most knowledgeable of their wine-loving friends with sommelier-like expertise.

As part of Paws Up’s inaugural Wine Weekend event, Resort guests are invited to wet their whistle during interactive seminars, educational tastings and wilderness excursions with Merry Edwards and her winemaking partner, Ken Coopersmith. The highlight of the weekend will be phenomenal dinners with expert pairings from Merry Edwards Winery, known for its exquisite Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs.

One of California’s first woman winemakers, Merry Edwards became a household name in the industry soon after she started making award-winning wines in the early 1970s. In 2013, Edwards was inducted into the Culinary Institute of America’s Vintners Hall of Fame, and she also won the coveted James Beard Award for Best Wine, Beer or Spirits Professional in the United States. Edwards was just the fourth woman to be so honored. The Eat, Drink and Meet Merry event corresponds with the 20th anniversary of the founding of Merry Edwards Winery in 1997.

Kick-starting Paws Up’s spring culinary events lineup, Eat, Drink and Meet Merry will be followed by WildFlavor (April 20–23, 2017), a four-day weekend event featuring exquisite menus and cream-of-the-crop culinary talents, including four Top Chef stars. Season 10 winner Chef Kristen Kish and Season 10 runner-up and current contestant Chef Brooke Williamson will be among the featured chefs.

For reservations or more information, call 877-588-6783. The Resort at Paws Up is also on Facebook and Twitter (@Paws_Up) and Instagram (@TheResortatPawsUp).

For more information on The Resort at Paws Up, visit www.pawsup.com or call 800-473-0601. For more information on Merry Edwards, visit www.merryedwards.com, or to schedule an in-depth tasting, contact 888-388-9050.

Founded in 1991 by the Boston Guild of Oenophilists, the Boston Wine Expo has grown into one of the most well-known and respected wine events in the country. Over $1,400,000 has been donated to local charities by the Guild including Tufts Medical Center’s Summer Camp Program for Children with Disabilities – the major beneficiary. Over 27 local charities have benefited from the Expo over the event’s history. Other organizations that have received considerable funding include the New England Center for Homeless Veterans, Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Pan Mass Challenge and the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.

Presented by Boston Guild of Oenophilists, the 24th annual Boston Wine Expo at the Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center is offering educational seminars during its President’s Day weekend event. This year’s lineup again will include a variety of highly regarded educational programs from top winemakers and industry experts from around the world.

With nearly 40 topics ranging from food and wine pairings, “Sipping Smarts: Wine Basics,” and vertical tasting flights of the world’s most sought-after grapes, class is now – deliciously – in session:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14^th

11:00am – 12:00pm: “Languedoc: The Frontier of French Wine” – $35.00

11:00am – 12:00pm: “The New World of World-Class Wines: New York” – $35.00

11:30am – 12:30pm: “Sipping Smarts: Wine Basics with Leslie Sbrocco” – $35.00

12:00pm – 1:00pm: “The Secret Life of Pinot Noir” – $45.00

12:00pm- 1:00pm: “Opus One Winemaker Michael Silacci: Beyond the Icon – Looking Backward and Looking Forward: A Vertical Tasting of the 1988, 1996, 2001 and 2010 Vintages” – $95.00

12:30pm – 1:30pm: “Iconic Wines of Spain with Patrick Mata, Winemaker and Wine Importer Extraordinaire” – $40.00

12:30pm – 1:30pm: “Central Otago: The Burgundy of the Southern Hemisphere – $30.00

12:30pm – 1:30pm: “Tenuta Santa Maria alla Pieve, the Bertani Family’s Veronese Estate Winery” – $45.00

1:30pm – 2:30pm: “The Biodynamic Approach to Winemaking with Rudy Marchesi of Montinore” – $30.00

2:00pm – 3:00pm: “Sake…Is it just for Japanese Cuisine?” – $35.00

2:30pm – 3:30pm: “Decadent and Delicious: Sweet Wines of the World” with Professor Ed Korry, Department Chairman at Johnson & Wales University and President of the Society of Wine Educators – $35.00

2:30pm – 3:30pm: “Exploring the Treasures of Argiano’s Tuscan Estate” – $40.00

3:00pm – 4:30pm: “Complete Ten Year Vertical of St. Estephe’s Chateau Meyney” with its rising star winemaker Anne Le Naour and Jean-Christophe Calvet of Aquitaine Wine Company – $35.00

3:30pm – 4:30pm: “Argentina’s New Terroirs-: A Journey of Discovery” – $30.00

3:30pm – 4:30pm: “Wine Words: Learn the Language of Wine” – $30.00

4:00pm – 5:00pm: “Scotch versus Irish Whisk(e)y” – $35.00

4:00pm – 5:00pm: “Craft Beer Cellar Beer Smart Academy” – $30.00

4:00pm – 5:00pm: “The Cool Climate, World Class Wines of the Finger Lakes” – $30.00

4:00pm – 5:00pm: “Wine Spectator Presents… Taste Like a Pro, 201” – $35.00

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15^th:

11:00am – 12:00pm: “Taste some of Italy’s Best Olive Oils” with Johnny Madge – $25.00

11:00am – 12:00pm: “The Wines of Uruguay” – $25.00

11:30am – 12:30pm: “Sipping Smarts: Wine Basics” with Leslie Sbrocco – $35.00

11:30am – 12:30pm: “Opus One Winemaker Michael Silacci: Beyond the Icon – Looking Backward and Looking Forward: A Vertical Tasting of the 1988, 1996, 2001 and 2010 Vintages” – $95.00

12:00pm – 1:00pm: “Cheese and Wine Matching Seminar” with Brad and Brian Wasik of the Wellesley Cheese Shop – $40.00

12:00pm – 1:00pm: “New England Cider: The Lost Apple Project’s Ciders with a Supporting Cast of Artisan Cheese and Salumi” – $30.00

12:00pm – 1:00pm: “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em…a Shootout Between the wines of Chile and Argentina” – $35.00

12:30pm – 1:30pm: “The Amazing Story of Barolo with Ciro Pirone, Director of Italian Wines, Horizon Beverage” – $45.00

12:30pm – 1:30pm: “Domaines Albert Bichot Verticals: Grand Cru Clos Vougeot and Meursault les Charmes” – $45.00

2:00pm – 3:00pm: “Frog’s Leap Presents -The Art of Winegrowing – Organic, Biodynamic and Dry Farming: A Presentation on the Implications on Wine Quality with a Cabernet Sauvignon Vertical” lead by John Williams of Frog’s Leap Winery, Napa – $45.00

2:00pm – 3:00pm: “The Republic of Georgia: Wines from Ancient Vines” – $25.00

2:00pm – 3:00pm: “Stefano Girelli Presents the Wines of Santra Tresa, Sicily” – $40.00

2:30pm – 3:30pm: “Sake and Sushi” with Hiromi Iuchi of Kuramoto Sake and Sushi from Cafe Sushi, Cambridge – $40.00

3:00pm – 4:00pm: “The Best of Chianti Classico Just Got Better! A Discussion and Tasting of the New Gran Selezione Classification” with Winemaker Leonardo Bellaccini as well as a Vertical Tasting of his Superb Chianti Classico Riserva ‘Poggio Rosso’ – $35.00

3:30pm – 4:30pm: “Wine and Chocolate: the Best Wine Matches for superb Valrhona Chocolates” – $35.00

3:30pm – 4:30pm: “Wine Spectator Presents…. Iconic Wines of the Pacific Northwest: a Taste of Oregon and Washington” – $35.00

3:30pm – 4:30pm: “The Modern Wines of Ancient Greece with Ted Diamantis, Founder of Diamond Wine Importers” – $30.00

4:00pm – 5:00pm: “Gin versus Vodka: the Title Fight” – $30.00

4:00pm- 5:00pm: “Cognac Seminar” with International Cognac Expert and Author, Becky Sue Epstein – $45.00

The Boston Wine Expo will take place at The Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center on February 14 and 15, from 1-5 p.m. This event is reserved for ages 21+. Tickets are on sale and available by visiting: www.wine-expos.com/buytickets. Weekend tickets and discount group tickets are also available.

The Seaport Hotel & World Trade Center is located at 200 Seaport Boulevard in Boston, MA. For directions and more information, please visit: www.seaportboston.com.

Boston Wine Expo sponsors include Infiniti, Citizens Bank, Alex and Ani, xfinity, Wines of Argentina, Hope Family Wines, National Wine Agency – Georgia Ministry of Agriculture, Cooper Smith, Maine Tourism, Humboldt Imports, Celebrity Cruises, Maple Leaf Farms, Lodi Wine Grape Commission, Taste New York, Legends from Europe, Italian Trade Commission and Massachusetts Beverage Business.

For more information, please visit:www.wine-expos.com.