Spirited News
Treasure Island sips
Sure, there are plenty of snobby wine-tasting experiences out there. This is the very opposite of that: A wine tasting with grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup shooters — in the middle of San Francisco Bay, yet. Treasure Island Wines is hosting its annual (Almost) Winter Solstice Tasting from noon to 3 p.m. Dec. 9, and pairing its new wine releases with American Grilled Cheese Kitchen’s grilled-onthe-spot sandwiches and other tasty fare. The party’s inside the warehouse-like tasting room, with doors that open wide to the breezy outside, so you may want to bring a sweater for all that sipping and noshing. (If you’re lucky, the grilled cheese lineup will include American Grilled Cheese Kitchen’s signature jalapeño popper sandwiches.) Tickets are $30 ($20 for designated drivers) through www. eventbrite.com (type Treasure Island Wines in the search box). Find winery information at www. tiwines.net. And after the party, don’t hurry away. There are more than half a dozen wine-tasting rooms plus a biergarten, the Woods Island Club, nearby.
Wine school
Byington Winery’s new Los Altos tasting room has kicked off a series of hourlong wine classes ($40) on topics that range from wine and cheese pairings (Tuesday) to winemaking 101(Jan. 16), taught by Byington sommelier
Vince Robledo. Check out the details at byington.com/new/ or call 408-354-1111, ext. 3. Napa’s CIA at Copia is known for its cooking classes and food events, but it also offers wine sessions for oenophiles and newbies alike. The upcoming “Bubbles for Every Occasion” (Dec. 8, $35)
asks the fizzy question: Can you taste the difference between Champagne and other sparkling wines? And fromage is the focus of “Janet Fletcher’s Wine Meets Cheese: Four Slam-Dunk Pairings” (Dec. 15, $55). Find details at www.ciaatcopia.com.