Being Gringo is San Francisco bound — Sausalito, actually, at the spectacular Cavallo Point Lodge.

Last month I accepted a very kind invitation from The Wine Institute to co-speak/participate in an industry function titled “California’s New Generation Vintners & Growers.” This event is co-sponsored by The Wine Institute and CAWG and is intended to “Showcase the new generation of vintners and growers, and to generate awareness, stories, blog posts, etc. about how this diverse and dynamic group of people is making its mark on California wine.”  Among other things, I will be participating in breakout discussions on one of four topics:

• Next Generation — Passing the Torch
• Evolving Wine Styles
• Eco-friendly Growing and Winemaking
• Hip & Trendy Marketing     <– my break out

We’re actually turning the trip into an incredible, old school style road trip with our branding guy, Joel Beukelman.  Together, Joel and I will be storming the California coastline for a week with grandiose visions of a social media/wine tasting extravaganza.  We’ll make several stops at key wineries up the coast, tasting way too many wines, chatting with industry types.  And we’ll be documenting the entire trip with real time posts to Twitter and the Miramonte blog.  So stay tuned!  Good times ahead.

Special thanks to The Wine Insitute and CAWG for their interest in Miramonte.  I’m looking forward to tasting some great wines, participating in the discussions, and learning a lot from my fellow vintners.  Cheers!

*CAWG:  California Association of Winegrape Growers.