Zinfandel Festival Tasting Ticket Giveaway -- CLOSED

Just like there are varietals of wine grapes, there are a variety of wine events and festivals in California. One coming up later this month focuses entirely on one varietal – zinfandel.

The 19th Annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP) Festival, “Zin in Paradise,” is a three-day event of grand tastings, pairings, silent auction and dinner in San Francisco. This year’s festival features a well-known chef from my home state of Hawaii, Beverly Gannon. Chef Gannon is creating the Hawaii-inspired menu for the Dinner With The Winemakers event on Friday, Jan. 29.

Here’s a rundown of all the ZAP Festival events:

Jan. 28: Good Eats and Zinfandel Pairing, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Fort Mason Center. Cost: $95 for ZAP members and $125 for non-members. More than 50 wineries and restaurants will be creating bites and pours to help you savor the combination of zinfandel and good food.

Jan. 29: Flights: A Showcase of Zinfandels is a seated tasting and in-depth seminar focusing on limited-produced zinfandels. Event runs from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at The InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel’s Peacock Court. Cost: $65 for ZAP members and $80 for non-members.

Jan. 29: Evening With the Winemakers: A Benefit Live Auction and Dinner is the grand event of the festival with a major dinner planned by Chef Gannon and zinfandel from a variety of wineries, including Cakebread Cellars, Charter Oak Winery, Dogwood Cellars, JR Wines, and St. Francis Winery. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a reception that will offer a taste for the very first time of the 2008 Heritage Vineyard Zinfandel. Cost: $210 for ZAP members and $260 for non-members.

Jan. 30: 19th Annual Grand Zinfandel Tasting at the Festival and Herbst Pavilions at Fort Mason, showing off more than 200 wineries. Go and try the wines from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: $49 for ZAP members and $59 for non-members.

To learn more about the ZAP festival and ticket information, go to www.zinfandel.org.


TICKET DRAWING: The planners behind the ZAP Festival has graciously provided two pairs of tickets to its Saturday (Jan. 30) Grand Zinfandel Tasting at Fort Mason to readers of the Cooking With The Single Guy blog. You get to spend a Saturday trying zinfandel from some of the state’s zin producers.

This is how the drawing is going to work:

1. You must be able to attend the Grand Zinfandel Tasting event in San Francisco on Jan. 30, a Saturday. So even if you don’t live in San Francisco but plan on being in the city that day, feel free to enter. (Of course, all you Bay Area people should definitely enter for a day of wine drinking!)
2. There will be two winners selected. Each winner will get two tickets. (So a total of four tickets will be given out, each valued at $59.)
3. To enter, post a comment saying you want to attend the event, and correctly answer the following two questions: a) Chef Beverly Gannon is from Hawaii, but what is the name of the particular island where she’s from (it’s also where she has her famous restaurant loved by locals and tourists alike), and b) Every island in the Hawaiian chain has a nickname, what is the nickname of the island where Chef Gannon is from?
4. Post your comment with your two answers by midnight, Tuesday (Jan. 19).
5. If you answer correctly, I will add your name to a basket and then pull out two winners. Winners will be notified next Wednesday. Their names will be placed on the Will Call list, and they will need to pick up their tickets on the day of the event at Fort Mason.

UPDATE: This drawing has closed and the two winners selected from the commenters can be found in the comment section. Thanks everyone for playing!

Grape photo courtesy of Getty Images