Besides all the great wines to choose from, Roshambo is known for its wild and wacky wine country parties. Whether their fans are throwing fists and fingers in their annual Rock, Paper, Scissors championships, or partying on the Roshambus, what's clear is that they do things differently. Why? Well, like us, they've always thought wine was too stuffy and precious and that the best way to smack it off its perch was to create a fun and fresh context in which to enjoy it. .
To hoards of Bay Area faithful, early June signals the most outrageously fun sporting event of the year. Roshambo Winery's annual Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship. The winery's signature event is held every year in their tasting room at in Sonoma and draws hundreds of people throwing fists and fingers for their slice of the $1700 grand price. Last year's tournament drew 256 competitors and hundreds of spectators from as far as Sydney , Tazmania, Toronto , Tokyo , D.C. and New York . "It's a great excuse to get dressed up, slip into character, and celebrate life," says Roshambo's president and self-proclaimed "Wine Hero," Naomi Brilliant. "Especially in times like these." .
The grape growing history of the Dry Creek Valley goes as far back as 140 years. In the early days the agriculture centered around wheat, hops and livestock, but by 1870 French immigrants had established the first winery in the valley. A century later, Frank Johnson, a career inventor and machinist, traded in his successful orthodontic equipment company for a simpler life in Sonoma County. Having grown up on a farm in upstate New York, he always felt a strong connection with the earth and sought to become a gentleman farmer. .
This month's selection is a blend of seemingly diverse grapes. In fact it is a blend that is highly regarded in France's Rhone and Provence regions. Grenache and Syrah are a classic pair of grapes that are always present in one of the great wines of the world, Chateauneuf du Pape. Petite Sirah was so named because it was thought to be a cousin to Syrah, but was actually related to the Duriff grape from the Provence.
August 2009 Limited Series Newsletter (.pdf)
