BY LUCIA CHUNG
The 8th Annual Golden Glass took place in Fort Mason’s Herbst Pavilion on February 4, 2012, and coincided with the publication of Slow Food International’s first English Slow Wine guide. 65 wineries from Italy and California were at the event, along with 25 local restaurants and food producers–all of them committed to the tenets of Slow Food. As expected with such copious amounts of wine flowing, the atmosphere was bright and festive, with smiles all around. Proceeds for the event went towards benefiting Slow Food San Francisco’s various projects, such as the Ark of Taste and School Garden programs.
I arrived early with the press crowd for an 11am marathon wine tasting, complete with whites, reds and sparkling Astis. The press was specifically instructed not to partake in the food that would be provided later on, but, as a food lover and blogger, I felt I had the responsibility to sample at least some of it so that I could report back to you.
The event itself was well planned, with plenty of bread and cheese available to soak up the wine. There were also thoughtfully placed standing tables so attendees could gather with their food and compare notes on what they were imbibing. A special table containing the winners of the Golden Glass Wine Competition were hidden off a bit to one side near the entrance, but lucky for me, someone pointed it out and I was able to sample them all in one go.
Since I was still on my Zinfandel kick from the Zinfandel Festival, Ca’ Momi’s winning Zin (“Rich in blackberry, black cherry, vanilla, spicy plum, pepper, & clove spice; It captures the great fruit and richness of Napa Valley,” per the winemaker’s description), definitely caught my attention, as did the man behind it.
See what I mean? The featured Slow Wine guide is all about the personalities behind the wines, the stories of these artisan winemakers who are seen as caretakers of the land. In the brightly lit, somewhat intimate space of Herbst Pavilion, you really got to see the pride they have in their wares and experience the spirit of the Slow Food movement.
Not long after the restaurants started serving food, whispers and murmurs of “Truffles! Where? There!” started to echo through the pavilion. I quickly saw a line build in front of E Tutto Qua’s table, and not without reason. They were dishing out plates of fragrant truffled ravioli to seemingly starved people with much delight.
It is with heavy-limbed satisfaction that I left this year’s Golden Glass celebration. Cheers to next year!
RELATED LINKS
Slow Food San Francisco Official Website
Ca’ Momi Winery Official Website
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