Cultivar Launches Virtual Napa Valley Wine Tastings

What's an even better pairing than wine and food? Wine and friends! But these days, it has been challenging to get together with friends over a bottle of wine. The emergence of online Happy Hours has been one solution, but for wine lovers across the world, the Virtual Wine Tasting has become the event of choice.

Think of it as a visit to the Tasting Room without the Tasting Room. The events are set up in advance, so participants can choose the time that works for the best for them. Just like a live tasting, the wines are pre-selected for each event, then sent to the participants' home, where they can taste them along with the event's host and the other participants.

Cultivar Wine launched its Virtual Wine Tasting Program on June 10th, and plans on having an event every Wednesday through July 1st. Depending on the popularity of the events, we could extend the events through the summer. And if the first event was any indicator, it's going to be a long, fun summer!

Participants in the June 10th event were treated to our 2019 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and our 2015 Leaky Lake Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Hosted by Deborah, Cultivar's Hospitality Director, we went through each wine and talked about how the amazing terroir of Napa Valley gave the wines their unique characteristics. Guests shared their own thoughts about the wines, while club members Jim and Laura even shared their dinner recipe that paired with the Leaky Lake Cabernet!

"I think Virtual Wine Tastings have opened the door to an entirely new approach to wine tasting," says Gingy Harris Gable, Co-Founder of Cultivar Wine. "People have come to see these events as an opportunity to get together with friends from across the country to share an experience they love so much - wine tasting. It's a way to bring Napa wine country to Colorado or Iowa or anywhere in the world."

It's also a great chance to meet your fellow wine lovers. Though usually limited to 10 participants, you never know which part of the country - or the world - the other attendees come from. 

"What's so fun about Cultivar's Virtual Wine Tastings is that you not only learn about the wine you're drinking, but it's also like a party," says John Taylor, Cultivar's Marketing Manager. "You can have three or four guests at your home enjoying the event, and find ten other groups online enjoying the event in the same way."

Cultivar Wine has three more Virtual Wine Tastings planned: one exclusively for Wine Club Members and two that are open to the public. Check out the details below and join us!

Jun 13, 2020 at 9:35 AM

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Celebrate Rosé Day with our 2018 Rosé Release at Cultivar SF

2018 Rosé of Pinot Noir, Napa Valley Release Day
Saturday, June 8th
National Rosé Day

Make reservations on Open Table to join us at Cultivar SF or
email us to purchase as soon as it becomes available.

Tasting notes for the 2018 Napa Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir
A beautiful light color of Rosé reminiscent of an early garden pink rose. Dried cranberries, roses and citrus create its delicate nose.  From the glass to your palate the wine is bright fresh richness of cranberries and soft spices. The Cultivar 2018 Rosé will be the perfect match for springtime brunch, summer barbecues, on the boat, beach, pool or picnic. 

May 13, 2019 at 8:56 AM

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Named in Top 5 Best Place for Business Lunch by SF Business Times

Cultivar SF is honored to be named in the Best Bay Area Spots for a Business Lunch by SF Business Times!

San Francisco Business Times Article January 18, 2019

Here are the best spots in the Bay Area for a business lunch

Jan 18, 2019, 1:00pm PST

In search of the perfect venue for a business lunch? Check out our slideshow on the top-rated local restaurants for a midday business meet-up, via rankings from online reservation tool OpenTable.

San Francisco alone has more than 4,400 restaurants, according to statistics compiled by the city. There’s enough Michelin star-rated restaurants in the Bay Area (54) to satisfy a year’s worth of weekly outings. But where to take that next crucial client? And where to go outside the city?

SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES

It might be worth finding a new favorite place now that workplace cafeterias could be on their way out. But if you're putting on the most luxurious of business lunches, you'll have plenty to choose from among San Francisco's most expensive eateries.

This slideshow has the top-ranked Bay Area restaurants on OpenTable's "Business Bites" restaurant database. Restaurants working with OpenTable can opt-in to the "Business Bites" section. The restaurants ranked here all have a rating between 4.6 and 4.9 stars out of five.

Alex Barreira

Editorial Intern
San Francisco Business Times

   No. 4: Cultivar // Californian // 2379 Chestnut St San Francisco, CA 94123-2609

Jan 28, 2019 at 9:14 AM

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Cultivar Wins Gold At 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Cultivar Wine is honored to announce that out of 7,162 entries in the  2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, four Cultivar wines have received awards. The 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll Cabernet Franc won Gold, the 2012 Cultivar Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc all won Silver. For those of you wanting to try these award winning wines, Cultivar Wine Club members will be receiving two of the winning wines in the upcoming February Wine Club shipment, the 2013 Oak Knoll Cabernet Franc and the 2014 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. Celebrate this accomplishment with us and enjoy our wines! 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc Silver Award $20.00 $204 Case / $192 Club Case Buy Now 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Silver Award $29.00 $296 Case / $278 Club Case Buy Now 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll Cabernet Franc Gold Award $52.00 a bottle $530 Case / $499 Club Case Buy Now 2012 Cultivar Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon Silver Award $72.00 $734 Case / $691 Club Case Buy Now Join Cultivar Wine Club

Jan 15, 2016 at 12:05 PM

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Sharing the Excitement of Harvest 2015 at Caspar Estate

CASPAR ESTATE’S VIEW ON HARVEST 2015 FROM WHERE WE SIP  We witnessed the unmistakable beauty of the leaves starting to turn colors, breathed in the earthy smell of crush and experienced the magic of harvest. The days were warm, stunningly beautiful and there was a crispness in the air. As we walked the rows of vines, we experienced the many micro-climates from the peaks and valleys within our vineyard. Each needed to be picked at it's optimum time. It was an exciting and busy time as we hand picked our Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot grapes from our 13 acre vineyard, and sent them off under the watchful eye of Julien Fayard, our winemaker, to craft our next vintages. (See all Caspar Estate Wines and Cultivar Wines) The growing season started and ended early this year - the earliest ever for us! That along with the drought yielded a smaller crop in 2015, and the quality is indeed excellent. The smaller berries lead to bigger wines, due to the skin to juice ratio, resulting in more tannins and significant flavor. With this warm and early 2015 Harvest wrapped up, we will begin to prepare your annual allocation of our 2012 Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. We are looking forward to sending out what is likely to be your favorite vintage yet. From our family to yours, Jody & Gingy THE BENEFITS OF GOING MAGNUM Create a party and keep it going with a beautiful and bountiful Caspar Estate Magnum, 3L, 6L or 12L bottle.  When you choose a large format bottle you are guaranteed to keep the good times flowing and create special memories too. Want to make a lasting impression? We love putting metallic pens on the table and getting everyone to sign the bottle. Your guests can add their warm wishes, and you have a timeless keepsake long after they’ve left. To personalize your experience even more, the 6L, 9L and 12L bottles can be custom etched. Contact Dianne for all the details. Celebrate abundance at your next special occasion with a large bottle of one of our most popular wines. Limited quantities available - order them while they last!

Oct 6, 2015 at 10:00 AM

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Experience Two Great Catches - Cultivar Wine & The Giants

Come experience the excitement of two of San Francisco’s favorite pastimes with the Cultivar Wine family. Enjoy an exclusive guided tasting of our newest Cultivar Releases paired with local, artisanal cheeses and our specialty Cultivar olive oils and vinegars as well as our distinctive “Straight from Caspar Estate” olive oil and wildflower honey. Meet the wine making team behind your favorite wine and get to know your fellow Wine Club Members as we cheer on our home team in the private Vintner’s Suite at AT&T Park. Limited tickets are available. Login to your Cultivar Wine account and secure your seats today. Let the games begin! Buy Tickets

Jul 22, 2015 at 3:10 PM

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Reverb & Cultivar Wine Happy Hour

One of the events we really look forward to here at Cultivar Wine is our quarterly happy hour with Wine Club Members. We love gathering over great food to talk wine and catch up with new and old friends alike.

This month we're especially excited to be introducing our wine club members to Polk Street's newest restaurant, Reverb Kitchen & Bar. We think Reverb's innovative comfort food crafted from locally sourced, sustainable, and peak-season ingredients is the perfect complement for our wines.

Cultivar Wine Club Members will enjoy tasting our selections for our May Wine Club shipment which include 2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and two of our newest releases: 2012 Cultivar Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon and 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc.

Will you be joining us?

Apr 21, 2015 at 11:00 AM

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High Style Collection Opening Celebration at Legion of Honor

Fans of fashion flocked to the Legion of Honor Wednesday March 11th, 2015 for the opening celebration of High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection.

“Dazzle” was the theme and fans turned out in glamorous fashion for the collection’s unveiling during a black-tie dinner for supporters hosted by the FAM Board President Dede Wilsey.

Cultivar was happy to support the museum donating wines to pair with the sophisticated three course menu. We paired our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc with the first course Celery Root, Truffle, and Leek Potage.

For the main course of Filet aux Morilles we chose our 2012 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The sweet tannins and refined structure of the wine pulled out the morels in the sauce and complimented the cream sauce.

Guests finished the meal with a Black and White Duo: Chocolate Pot de Crème, Vanilla Bean Pot de Crème, and Santa Cruz Strawberries.

The collection is on view at the Legion of Honor through July 19th and shouldn’t be missed. Curated by Jan Glier Reeder, consulting curator for the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and organized by the Met, High Style captures key points in 20th-century fashion design with rare pieces from French couture houses, including examples by Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy. Get your tickets today.

Apr 8, 2015 at 6:00 AM

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Men of Style 2015 Event

On March 5th, Cultivar Wine proudly partnered with San Francisco Magazine and Saks Fifth Avenue for the Saks Fifth Avenue Men of Style event. VIP guests enjoyed our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc that we donated

while enjoying passed appetizers and waiting in suspense as to who would be the 2015 Man of Style and which charity would receive a $5,000 donation. 

San Francisco Magazine readers and fans of Saks Fifth Avenue and Cultivar Wine had a tough job, choosing between the 2015 Men of Style nominees:

• Scott E. Miller, principal and founder at Scott Miller Executive Search;
• Geoffrey De Sousa, principal of Geoffrey De Sousa Interior Design;
• Joseph Becker, assistant curator of architecture and design at SFMOMA; and
• Yves Behar, founder and principal designer at Fuseproject.

All nominees were well deserving, but there could be just one 2015 Men of Style winner.

Congratulations Geoffrey De Sousa and Ronald McDonald House at Stanford! Not only did Ronald McDonald House receive the $5,000 award, but Geoffrey generously matched the award with a $5,000 donation of his own.

Photography Credits: The third and fifth photos were taken by Rachel Bussières for Drew Altizer Photography and used with permission. The other photos were taken by Cultivar.

Mar 23, 2015 at 6:00 AM

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New Release: 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose

Nothing says Spring more than a Rose inspired by the Rivera. And we’re excited to announce our latest 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose release, perfect to enjoy by itself, as a start to your springtime gatherings, or as the star of light meals.

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Tasting Notes

For our 2014 release, we blended Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc. Its pale pink, copper color catches your eye. Strawberry and cranberry aromas with hints of floral notes entice your nose. Then once you sip, tantalize your palate with cranberry and tart cherry fruit with spice and floral notes. Enjoy this bright and refreshing wine chilled.

Bottles are $17 / $14.45 Wine Club and Cases are $173 / $163 Wine Club. With only 229 cases produced, we expect to once again sell out of this popular wine. So stock up now!

Order before March 28th to have for Passover or Easter

If you’re planning on serving Cultivar Wine for your Passover or Easter gatherings, be sure to get your orders in before Sunday, March 28th, weather permitting.

Pairing the 2014 Napa Valley Rose

The secret to pairing a Rose is knowing how sweet it is. Unlike our 2013, which had a sweet finish, our 2014 release has a tart, dry, mineral finish. Here are three tips that will have your tastebuds singing.

1. Look for dishes with ingredients complimentary to the aromas you’re smelling and the notes you’re tasting in the wine. For our 2014, think of dishes with cranberry, strawberry, and cherry. Turkey with cranberry relish on ciabatta. A spinach and strawberry salad.
2. Bring out the fruit with mild goat cheeses. To extend the cranberry and strawberry aromas you inhale with our 2014 Rose, choose a creamy goat cheese that softens the dry, mineral finish and amplifies the fruit.
3. Turn up the heat. When enjoying spicy Indian or Thai dishes a wine lower in alcohol is the beverage to reach for.

Here’s how two Bay Area chefs paired our 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose.

From Chef Jeffrey Jake of Silverado Resort and Spa

Chef Jake of Silverado Resort and Spa showcased the flexibility of our 2014 Rose, pairing it with a cornucopia of fresh local vegetables, prosciutto, and a variety of spreads: Black Garlic, Olive Tapenade, Salmon Rillettes, Aioli, and Roasted Pepper.

Impress your family and guests with your own Salmon Rillettes with this recipe from Anna Zepaltas inspired by a dish at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bistro.

From Chef Adam Rosenblum of Causwells

Chef Rosenblum of Causwells took toast, topped it with an herbed goat cheese spread and slice of radish.

If you want to enjoy this pairing yourself, try this radish, green onion, and herbed goat cheese spread recipe from Whole Foods Coop.

Mar 11, 2015 at 6:00 AM

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