RECAPPING 2024’S ALEXANDER VALLEY CABERNET ACADEMY
by Jessie Birschbach Photo Credit: All photos by CW HOWARD PHOTO
Wine buyers pose withHarry Wetzel (far right) in a block of vines at Alexander Valley Vineyards. Denise Trione, committee chairwoman for the Alexander Valley Cabernet Academy and sales and marketing director at Trione Vineyards & Winery.
In my dreams, I dined at the Montage Healdsburg with the same convivial group of people I had actually broken bread with the night before. Denise Trione, committee chairwoman for the Alexander Valley Cabernet Academy and sales and marketing director at her family’s Trione Vineyards & Winery, welcomed a trio of sommeliers and me with the California French–inspired fare of resort restaurant Hazel Hill. I awoke still surprised at how well the delicate white fish in bright, creamy dill sauce swam with the notes of sage in the Trione 2019 Henry’s Blend Red. With a yawn, I pulled up the window blinds in my Geyserville Inn room. The dull gray light revealed a densely foggy morning: Neighboring vineyards could be seen, but the surrounding hills and mountains were faint suggestions at best.
A bit later in the lobby, a small group of renowned wine buyers from across the country gathered and introduced themselves between bites of pastries and sips of coffee. Most of us seemed tired from the previous day of travel followed by reception dinners such as the one I attended—and yet the next two days of the 2024 Alexander Valley Cabernet Academy
This Article was originally published on The SOMM Journal
