Our next event will be a blind sampling for testing your flavor acuities.
The tasting will commence at 2 pm September 26th at the Alger's
domicile located at 6 Stratford Way in Chico.
The cost will be $10 each.
Several Nevada County wines will be featured.
For more Information contact Don Alger.
Wine tasting at the New Clairvaux Winery Thursday June 27th.
A happy taster being served.
The sippers lineup: L. to R. Rocky, Bea, Jim & Joe.
The sippers lineup with Don on the right.
Carol on the left with guests Jo & David Smith.
Happy tasters purchasing some good wine: L. to R.
Maggie, Joe & Mary Ann.
Some happy tasters relaxing & enjoying a good meal at
The Lassen Steak House.
Dessert wine tasting at Carol & Jim Braziel's house Thursday May 30, 2024.
The samplers are getting comfortable while enjoying
the snacks and awaiting the sipping.
Jim Braziel, our host, explaining the various beverages
to be sampled.
The self-serve sampling has started.
There was a wide variety of aperitifs, dessert wines
and after-dinner drinks to be sampled.
Wine/Beer/Cider/Pizza tasting at The Commons Social Empourium April 25, 2024.
The April tasting was at the Commons Social Empourium.
Social: an informal gathering often organized by a group sharing a
common ground.
Empourium: an establishment that specializes in selling a wide variety
of beers and wine. (often used for humorously formal effect).
The commons are the cultural and natural resources accessible to all
members of a society.
This includes natural materials such as air,
water and the habitable earth.
These resources are held in common, we share them and they are not
to be owned privately.
The Commons is a taproom where the patron pours their own beverage.
It is a social gathering space with over 20 beers on tap and a small
selection of wine.
At The Commons you are in control of your own pour.
Whether it's a
taster, a half glass or a full pint it's easy to find your favorite
beer.
Each tap has a screen describing what you'll be tasting.
Don our host socializing with the happy tasters.
Happy tasters enjoying the wine, beer or cider.
More happy tasters. A good time was had by all.
A merry prankster searching for the Pizza.
More of the happy tasters group.
ABV110 tasters enjoying the ambience.
Wine tasting at Carol & Jim Braziel's house Thursday March 28, 2024.
The eager wine samplers awaiting the first pour.
Happy samplers enjoying the wine and snacks.
More happy samplers enjoying the wine and weather.
Don, our co-host, expounding on box wines. Where's Waldo?
The mystery wines revealed.
A merry prankster searching for Waldo.
Cider tasting at Lassen Cidery Thursday January 25, 2024.
Lassen Traditional Cider was founded by Ben Nielsen. Ben's love of
fermentation began when he started brewing beer in college. After
brewing extensively for his adult life, around 2005 he began delving
into cider in an effort to use the free fruit from a neighbor's
backyard apples trees in Corvallis, OR. After a couple years, this
morphed into an annual cider pressing party where all his friends
would bring apples to press or just help out. So of course, the
neighbor's apples weren't enough after a while. Unused trees in
yards all over town, unseen apple trees in the ditch on the side
of a country road, and long forgotten pioneer orchards were all
sought out and utilized. A major revelation occurred when a batch
of cider was produced from crab apples, and it ended up being the
best he'd ever made. So, some apples that were so astringent as to
be seemingly inedible actually made delicious cider. After this, an
effort was undertaken to seek out varieties of apples that were good
for cider instead of scavenging whatever was available. Finding Nick
Botner's orchard in Yoncalla, OR, with over 4,000 apple varieties,
was a godsend, allowing Ben to experiment with single varietal ciders
made from unusual apples, from European bittersharps and bittersweets
to an array of American heirlooms. Around 2012, when the cider craze
was beginning to kick into high gear and Ben's satisfaction with his
engineering job was waning in the opposite direction, he began to give
more thought to starting his own cidery. A timely layoff in 2014 pushed
him further in that direction. After spending a winter skiing and soul
searching, the decision was solidified and the plan was put in place
in mid 2015. Most of a year was spent finding a location and
undertaking the permit process. Although he's still learning how to
be an entrepreneur, he has a lot of pride in his cider, with a firm
desire to make high quality, traditional-style cider. Now here we
are ready for you to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Our host, Ben Nielsen introducing the next sample
with the tasters enjoying the cider.
Ben Nielsen expounding on the source of the apples
and the various flavors from different varieties.
Ben explaining the washing process and preparation of the apples.
Ben explaining the pressing process of the apples.
The many barrels of cider waiting their turn to be bottled
while tasters listen attentively to our host.
Ben explaining the fermentation process. Note: The merry
prankster didn't show up for the cider tasting.
Beer tasting at Sierra Nevada Brewery Thursday October 26, 2023.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was founded in 1979, with founders Ken
Grossman and Paul Camusi expanding their homebrewing hobby into a
brewery in Chico, California. Along with the brewery's location,
Grossman claims the company's name comes from his love of hiking
in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada. With $50,000 in loans from
friends and family, Grossman and Camusi rented a 3,000 sq. ft.
warehouse and pieced together discarded dairy equipment and
scrapyard metal to create their brewing equipment. They later
were able to acquire second-hand copper brewing kettles from
Germany before moving to their larger, current brewing facility
in 1989.
Our tour guide Anna explaining the growing and use
of the different hops.
A bale of hops in the hop storage room.
Tasters examining one of the brew tanks.
Anna explaining the use of the mash tank.
Tasters examining a copper brewing tank.
Anna explaining some of the brewing process.
Wine Tasting at the Braziel's Domicile, Thursday September 28, 2023.
Our host, Jim Braziel explaining the current wine sample.
Wine tasters comfortably waiting for the next sample.
Wine tasters enjoying the snacks & wine.
The snack layout with plenty for everyone.
Our host with Dave Jones our assistant pourer dishing out the samples.
A merry prankster rushing to get another wine sample.
Beer Tasting at the Secret Trail Brewery in Chico, Thursday June 29, 2023.
Secret Trail is the dream of Charlie and Michelle Barrett.
Charlie had been an avid home-brewer since the early 1990s, with
the intention of opening his own brewery one day. With the love,
help, and support of his amazing wife, a few investors, and plenty
of hard work, Charlie finally achieved this dream when Secret
Trail Brewing Company opened to a thirsty public in November
of 2017. The beers and good times have been flowing ever since!
Wine Tasting at the Grey Fox Vineyards in Oroville, Saturday May 27, 2023.
Grey Fox Vinyards Sign.
The watch cat at the winery.
Distilled Spirits Tasting & Tour at The Golden Beaver Distillery May 4, 2023.
The 2 distillers. The large 1 in the middle is called "Maude".
The small 1 on the left is called "Harold".
A distillation column. Vapor is collected at the top and condensed
to form spirits.
Beer Tasting at Mulberry Station Brewing Co. March 9, 2023.
Alger Vineyards Wine Tasting at Carol & Jim Braziel's House September 29, 2022
Wine Tasting at Barbara & Don Alger's House June 30, 2022
Wine Tasting at Carol & Jim Braziel's House May 26, 2022
Wine Tasting at the Bangor Ranch Winery
on Saturday, April 16, 2022.
Wine Tasting at the Almendra Winery
on Thursday, March 17, 2022.
Wine tasters L to R: Rocky, Bea, Jim, Carol & Don.
Wine Tasting at the New Clairvaux Winery
on Thursday, January 27, 2022.
Harvest Festival Wine Tasting at the Roney Winery
on November 9, 2021.
Wine Tasting at the Almendra Winery
& Distillery on September 15, 2021.
Wine Tasting Wine at Purple Line Winery on August 11, 2021.
Wine Tasting at Wine Time on July 13, 2021.
Wine Tasting at Wine Time on January 15, 2020.
Wine Tasting at the Roney Winery on November 13, 2019.
Summer's End Wine Tasting on September 19, 2019.
Spring wine tasting at Casa de Renlund on May 10, 2019.
Christmas Wine at Purple Line December 13, 2018.
Summer wine tasting at Wine Time August 16, 2018.
The "Perfect Blend - Vines & Pies" on May 31, 2018.