Beer & Wine Events in Wine Country this December
Usually December is a month filled with family obligations, work holiday parties, and entirely too much holiday shopping trips... So most smart event coordinators (at least the ones that I know) stay away from planning big events during the entire month of December.
I would too if I was planning an event. But, that doesn't mean I don't love a good beer release, or wine party - especially in December when I can dress up in Winter cocktail attire, or just a warm scarf.
I was only able to find a few events around Sonoma/Napa/Marin County that involved beer or wine during December. Here is my short list:
#GivingTuesday Holiday Pub Crawl
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Downtown Santa Rosa: Stout Brothers Irish Pub & Restaurant, La Rosa Tequileria & Grille, and Belly: Left Coast Kitchen & Taproom.
$1.00 per drink goes to the Child Parent Institute in Santa Rosa. While outside of Stout, stop and take an #unselfie to support #GivingTuesday. Stout Brothers is also donating 20% of all sales from the entire day from those that mention #GivingTuesday.
Details: http://on.fb.me/1z5JvlQ
Christopher Creek Winery’s 2nd Annual Prohibition Party
Friday, December 5th, 2014
The Healdsburg winery transforms into a Speakeasy for a night of 1930's fun with delicious food, dancing, entertainment, and of course, plenty of wine! Come dressed in your best flapper frock, gangster getup, fur coat, pinstripe suit, feathers, fedoras or any other era appropriate clothing, ready to party like it's 1933!! Tickets are $150 for wine club members, $200 for non-wine club members.
Details: http://on.fb.me/1z5LSoM
Bootleggers Ball, Presented by Napa Valley Museum
December 6, 2014 7:30-10pm
Celebrate the 81st Anniversary of Repeal Day in downtown Napa. The Museum will transform into a swinging speakeasy, with live music, cocktails and 1920s inspired food. A Fundraiser for Napa Valley Museum. $35 for Museum members/$45 for non-members.
Details: http://bit.ly/1z5O93m
Trione Winery's Christmas Open House
December 6, 2014 1-5pm
Tickets are $20 for Adults and FREE for children with an unwrapped toy! Tickets include your picture with Santa, hot cocoa bar, crafts, music, food and one glass of wine. Additional wine will be available for purchase.
Details: http://trionewinery.com/events/#sthash.CQTDcOKu.dpuf
Judd's Hill Hanukkah Hootenanny
Sunday, December 7th from 12:00pm-2:30pm
Sip current vintages and library wines at the Silverado Trail in Napa winery. Satisfy your sweet tooth with traditional jelly donuts and an extravagant latke bar with fine company and grand entertainment. Wine Club Members Price: $25, others $55.
Details: http://bit.ly/1z5NSgS
Anchor Brewing Pint Nite at Sprenger’s Tap Room
Friday, December, 12 at 6pm +
Enjoy Anchor Christmas Ale, and many others on tap.
Details: http://on.fb.me/1z5JzC4
Gloria Ferrer Holiday Crab Feed - SOLD OUT
Saturday December 13, 2014, 6:30pm - 9:30pm
A casual and fun evening of some fresh crab and award-winning sparkling and estate varietal wines. The holiday menu includes Dungeness crab, mussels, clams, shrimp, corn, artichokes, and potatoes. Ticket Price: $128, Wine Club member Price: $112
Details: http://bit.ly/1z5N6QT
Hopmonk Sebastopol 10th Annual Ugly Xmas Sweater Party
Friday, December 16th, 2014
Make or find your favorite Ugly Christmas Sweater and head over to the brew pub, Hopmonk in Sebastopol, CA at 8pm+. Frankie Boots And The County Line, a folk rock/Americana band will be playing.
Details: http://bit.ly/1z5LXZC
Feast of Seven Fishes at D'Argenzio Winery
Friday, December 19, 2014 - 5:00pm to 8:00pm
The D'Argenzio family has celebrated the Feast of Seven Fishes (Festa dei Sette Pesci) for over 100 years. Enjoy bowls of Cioppino, delicious Italian Bread, and (of course) D'Argenzio wines.
Details: http://bit.ly/1z5NBdO
Let me know about any other December Beer events I may have missed!
Takeaways from PSMGConf 2014
PSMGConf 2014 - the Ahead of the Curve Marketing: What's Now and What's Next was an all day marketing conference put on by the Professional Services Marketing Group-North Bay on Oct 16th.
The event was one of the best marketing conferences I have been to in a while. Yes, I was in charge of AV, and social media – but I had nothing to do with the amazing speakers that were at this event. I learned something I didn't know and was inspired by every single one of the seven speakers.
#PSMGConf had a great mix of speakers: content & storytelling, body language & how your nonverbal communication tells a story as well, differentiating yourself from the competition, social media & learning from the strategy of SF bat kid, meaningful marketing measurement & learning from data, strategies to conquer media relations & becoming a thought leader, and last – how to create smart goals for your marketing efforts.
I was able to meet Ann Handley, a content marketer that I have blogged about before, and she is such a generous and kind person. I definitely look forward to reading her book during my honeymoon next week.
Here are some screenshots of some of my favorite presentations of the day (here's a link to all the presentations on the PSMG North Bay slideshare).
Ann came in from Boston just for our event and she definitely rocked the keynote. My favorite of her slides was this post about how there is no one way to write:
Kristy Sammis' image of the sales cycle. In today's digital world, the sales cycle is no longer a funnel with the end result being the customer buying the product. Really good products compel customers to talk to their friends online about their experience, encouraging others to buy, and so on, and so on.
Ryan Kelly's slide on mobile engagement, and how important it is for brands to be watching where people are coming from, and make sure that their website looks great from that POV.
Traci Stuart's slide on thought leadership and how to make yourself, or your client become a thought leader in whatever industry they are part of.
Jeanne Marie Grumet's slide on tips for nonverbal communication and speaking inspired me. The tip that I felt applied to me the most was to pause, and breathe while speaking. She explained that the pause allows the other person to take a mental break, and take in what you're saying.... Because if you continue to speak in a run on sentences, the other person will take the mental break on their own, sometimes while you are still speaking.
Kerry Rego's slide on smart marketing goals is pretty self explanatory, but its important.
Roy on being different and being first and differentiating your brand from the others - and showing off the slides for Dollar Shave Club....
An Afternoon in Wine Country - Welcome + Disclaimer.
There really is an endless amount of activities to do here in Northern San Francisco Bay Area (aka Sonoma, Napa & Marin). It can be overwhelming planning a trip here because of these choices.
Othertimes San Francisco Bay Area / Silicon Valley / local residents are too busy to take a weekend, or even a full day to come up here to play.
My husband and I are always on the lookout for quick "staycations" or mini-adventures with an hour drive of our home in Santa Rosa, and while I share them on Instagram, I rarely blog about my adventures in food, wine, craft beer and exploration here in the SF Bay area. So, I decided to create a section of my blog dedicated to taking a half day at work and coming up to Wine Country for an afternoon of food, drink and fun.
Getting away from the desk and enjoying the outdoors - and the best that Wine Country has to offer.
Here we go with the first "An Afternoon in Wine Country" - an explorational blog series where I write about my favorite behind the scenes places to grab local food (where to grab a quick lunch, or items for a picnic, or a sweet treat), beverages (wine, sparkling, craft beer, cider and spirits) and fun things to do close by.
Each week will feature one of each of the categories - all in the general area.
Let's have fun!
NOW FOR THE DISCLAIMER: There really is an endless amount of things to do here, and new places popping up every day. So if I don't pick your favorite place to eat, drink or play in the area, please leave me a comment! I will definitely be hitting up the same areas again, and again with new recommendations!