The
Fresno State Winery will open its doors to the community from 5:30
to 8 p.m Thursday, Nov. 20, to celebrate Le Vin Nouveau, the release
of its first wines of the 2008 vintage - two Nouveau-style wines and
the Vin D'une Nuit.
The $15 admission
will include samples of the three new wines, light hors d'oeuvres
and a cooking demonstration by Fredrick Clabaugh, executive chef of
the Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite.
Representatives
from the Tenaya Lodge also will be available to give a sneak-peek at
the eighth annual Fresno State Winemaster's Weekend to be held March
6-8, 2009, at the lodge in Fish Camp.
Le Vin Nouveau
attendees will have a chance to win a two-night package for two to
attend the 2009 Winemaster's Weekend, valued at over $650, and can
purchase wines at special discounts.
A drawing will be
held for a large-format etched bottled of the winery's 10th
anniversary Syrah. The commemorative wine is dedicated to Dr. Carlos
Muller, professor emeritus of enology and viticulture, and will be
released in December at a special event. Muller taught at Fresno
State from 1978 to 2004.
Le Vin Nouveau is
the Fresno State Winery’s annual tribute to the French tradition of
making fruit-forward wine from that year’s grapes and releasing it
to the public on the third Thursday in November. The wine is meant
to be enjoyed soon after its release. The Fresno State Winery is one
of only a handful of wineries outside France to produce
Nouveau-style wines, said Kenneth Fugelsang, winemaster and
professor of enology at Fresno State.
The event is hosted
by Fresno State Winery employees, members of the Enology Society and
faculty and staff from the Department of Viticulture and Enology.
Individuals must be 21 or older to attend. A $5 discount will be
available to Fresno State alumni, faculty, staff and students with
valid ID.
The Fresno State
Winery is the nation’s first bonded commercial winery to operate on
a university campus. It has won more than 200 awards at prestigious
commercial wine competitions. Wines are produced by enology students
under the direction of Fugelsang and winemaker John Giannini.
For more
information, call 559.278.6070