Category: Dog Art Wine

Dog Days in Wine Country

By kdluck via flickr

Northern California wineries open their doors to dogs this August. Here is a great list of events for you and your pup courtesy of Sandy Lurins, publisher of FETCH (a monthly Bay Area pet newspaper), writer of The Bay Area Dog Blog, and producer of the annual Bay Area Pet Fair & Adoptathon.

Thanks, Sandy. Now grab your pups and go have a drink!

Dog Days of Summer at Mutt Lynch. The winery known for great labels such as “Merlot Over and Play Dead” (above) opens its
doors once each year for Dog Days of Summer, Saturday and Sunday August
10 & 11, 2008 in Healdsburg. This annual event includes wine tasting,
dog themed art, vendor booths, and great sniffing and hanging out in
Alexander Valley. Benefits the Healdsburg Animal Shelter. Dogs on
leash welcome.

Dog Days at Trentadue Winery. Just a few miles from Mutt Lynch, the serene and shady grounds of Trentadue
are ideal for roaming with your dog. Splash stations to stay cool in
between the doggy games, plus food and contests. In Geyserville, Sunday
August 10, 2008. $5 per person and per dog. Dogs on leash welcome.

Winery Pup by Bully-fied via flickr.

These events are not dog friendly, but they benefit local shelters:

Hot Summer Wine Fest. Westover
Winery in Castro Valley throws a Wine-Fest on Sunday
August 10. Proceeds from the event, which includes live music and wine
tasting, benefit the East Bay SPCA. $35 per car full of up to six animal lovers. Please, no dogs at the event.

by Ruth L via flickr.

Wags, Whiskers and Wine.� Unwind in wine country at the St. Francis Winery & Vineyard on a Friday night, August 15, 2008 and benefit the animals of Sonoma County. This fundraiser for the Humane Society and SPCA of Sonoma County includes
a full gourmet dinner, local wines and brews, live music, auctions, and
more. The cost is $95-$125 per person, but that’s a bargain for the
ambiance and great food and drink. Sorry, no dogs.

August 6, 2008
Dog Lovers Wine Club

Brooklyn & Georgia, Pinot Noir

I think Matt Hahn and Fleet Hamilton, the founders of the Dog Lovers Wine Club, might be geniuses or saints or both. They have figured out how to combine their passion for wine, dogs, art and charity and round up others across the country drink for a good cause – dog love.

Here's how it works, after you join the Dog Lovers Wine Club, you select from a list of their Bark Partners, shelters across the country that need financial support. Then, a portion of your dues goes to that specific shelter. So, you get the satisfaction of helping homeless dogs in your area and the shelters get a much needed steady stream of income to care for their animals. Oh, and you also get to enjoy a lovely bottle of wine (usually from Santa Barbara) with a one of a kind dog art label. Simply brilliant and perfect for Father's Day!

Via Vagablond, a luxury food, travel, wine and shopping blog.

Annie, Tempranillo

Sugar, Red Blend

Kelly, Sauvignon Blanc

P.S. You can also custom order wine with your dog's portrait on the bottles.

June 10, 2008
Hal Studholme’s Postcards to Otis (the dog) at Bottlerocket

Bottlerocker storefront

You know you’ll need a lot of wine tonight to make it through the red carpet and the 3 1/2 hour actor-y lovefest known as the Academy Awards. If you’re in NYC, you can stock up while having a super cool dog art experience too at Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit.

Otis at the opening of his postcard’s from Hal Studholme exhibit.

Artist Hal Studholme has sent Otis, dog and Bottlerocket mascot, a single postcard every day for months. Right now, these “beguiling images” described as, “Post Secret meets Ray Johnson,” are on display in the store. Each piece of art is also for sale. All proceeds go to send the artist back to art school (though I’m not sure he needs it. The money will surely keep him in postage stamps if his epistletory project continues.)

Beach

Dogcar

Flag

Make

Bottlerocket is a new breed of wine store all about celebration not intimidation. Their 365 wines are organized by theme. They try to use all “green” materials when possible. And they even have a children’s nook with toys so parents can leisurely browse, and water bowls and biscuits for dogs who want to hang out and discuss Studholme’s work.

Don’t miss out. Today is the last day of the postcard show. Take your dog and go get your supplies for the evening. And pick up a piece of art while you’re at it. Maybe you didn’t get to vote for the The Academy Awards, but you can still make an artist feel like a winner today. For an artist, every sale feels like an Oscar!

Information:

Bottlerocket Wine & Spirit
5 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011

Tel: 212-929-2323

Hours of Operation
11-8 Mon-Sat
12-6 Sun

February 24, 2008
A Rave for the Royal Bitch

My Pittsburgh regional food and wine correspondent, aka Mom, reports that the cheekily named Chlilean wine, Royal Bitch Chardonnay is quite lovely. Minnesota oenephile, Doug Fridley blogs its praises too – calling it “crisp and racey” without that “toasty oak” flavor of California Chardonnays. Sounds nice.

Mom wasn’t that keen on the Royal Bitch Merlot – too acidic, she thought. Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours
concurs, saying it looked like Welch’s grape juice and smelled of “turpentine funk.”

December 10, 2007
More Dog Art Wine

Recently my mother sent me a link to a wonderful website called The Naked Vine where Mike from Kentucky blogs his “wine advice for the rest of us.” The link she sent was entitled “For Jesse” on the one-year passing of Mike’s Chocolate Lab (above).

Mike has several great dog art wines to share along with reviews and excellent ideas for food pairings. Check out his blog to learn more (and read some hilarious stories about Jessie devouring steaks off the counter and drinking a bottle of wine.) Here are the wines he features in her honor:

Dog House “Checker’s Cab” Cabernet Sauvignon.

Finnigan’s Lake “Fin” Chardonnay. (I included the Cabernet Sauvingnon label too since they looked nice together.)

McNab Ridge “Fred’s Red” Syrah/Zinfandel blend.

Mike also features Vinum Cellars’s “Pets” Petit Sirah which I posted last month.

Thinking about the popularity of dogs and wine, I’m going to steal a quote from Ovid atop The Naked Vine’s Home page: “When there is plenty of wine, sorrow and worry take wing.” The same can be said about dogs 🙂

Thanks, Mom. Keep the tips coming!

August 20, 2007
Vinum Cellars’s Pets 2005

In vintner jargon Pets is short for Petite Sirah. So when it came time name this vintage, Vinum Cellars’s owners Chris Condos and Richard Bruno dedicated it to their friend, grape grower Ken Wilson and his dog Tanker. And they christened it Pets.

I love the bold red and black design of this label. It has the feel of a classic Italian movie poster. The wine’s description is wonderful too…”Dark colored, long legged and bold, we feel this wine has the potential of becoming your best friend.” Just like your favorite pet.

Order a bottle ($14.00) and toast the dog days of summer. (A portion of the profits from this wine’s sales are donated to the San Francisco SPCA).

July 12, 2007
Father’s Day Gift # 3: Cane Felice Wine

Jaffurs Wine Cellar’s Cane Felice (Happy Dog in Italian) is a great gift for dads who like handcrafted wines with an emphasis on fun. Made from the Tuscan Sangiovese grape and bottled with a handy screw cap – perfect for picnicking – this 2005 vintage features a darling dog label by one of my favorite dog artists, Rebecca Collins of Art Paw. And a portion of the proceeds go to the Santa Barbara Animal Shelter. Contact Jaffurs to order yours. Only 200 cases available — drink happy!

June 6, 2007