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all content copyright � 2014 RebeccaChapa
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Where did Summer go?! I am out on Nantucket, finally, and it is feeling downright cold. Kids are back to school, the water is still warm but rapidly cooling and the air is chilly. It's awesome. The last few months have been really busy, but great. A whirlwind of events and gigs. Fall is my very favorite season... Think Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in SF and scallop season in Nantucket, what could be better?
Cheers,
Rebecca
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Tannin Management
FALL 2014
Armagnac!
I am proud to say that I am now the new Armagnac Ambassador to San Francisco! I headed to the Gascony region of Southwest France in August for training and had an incredible journey! The spirits and the people in the region are just incredible and don't even get me started on the food. Soon I will come out with a blog about it, so keep tuned to www.rebeccachapa.com for that very soon! Also if you want to visit the region be sure to stay at Les Bruhasses, an incredible B&B. To learn more in the interim go to the Bureau National Interprofessionnel de l'Armagnac website. I talked about my trip and Armagnac with Joel Riddell on Dining Around September 6, 2014. The best news is that my first big educational event will be held November 14, 2014. It will be a benefit for Farms for City Kids and will include cheese. Contact me for information [email protected]!
 | | Statue of D'Artagnan & the Three Musketeers |
NEWS
San Francisco Wine School
I am excited to be a part of the San Francisco Wine School! They have a ton of programs for anyone interested in learning about wine from the beginning or fine tuning their knowledge. As a friend of Rebecca Chapa & Tannin Management use code FF100 and get $100 discount when you sign up! We also do corporate training, so ping me personally if you'd like to talk about that and I can set you in the right direction (and perhaps even be your instructor!) We travel too, so corporate trainings can be almost anywhere. And keep your eyes peeled for our cool new head shots coming soon to their webpage.
Border Free Travels
I am embarking on some fun work (and hopefully journeys!) with Kristen Kellogg of Border Free Travels, she's a kindred spirit who loves to traipse around the globe. Check out here amazing videos on her website and follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
Winter Wine Classes
Stay tuned for a class schedule to keep you from wasting your winter! Email me [email protected] if you are interested in a custom class.
Napa in Nantucket
In September we held a fabulous Napa in Nantucket event at B-ACK Yard BBQ on island. As an ambassador for the Napa Valley Vintners we served more than 30 wines to trade, press and consumers over the course of the day. The food was incredible, the wines diverse and delicious and a fun time was had by all. I look forward to more Napa Valley events out east!
A few belated updates! It's been a whirlwind year...
Taste Washington/Seattle Visit
This March it was off to Seattle to enjoy the Taste Washington event. It was a huge tasting with all the greatest Washington wines out there and tons of amazing food. I saw fellow Cornell Alum Greg Harrington and highly recommend you try his Gramercy Cellars wines. I also saw Rob Larcom, another Cornell alum, at Loulay Kitchen and Bar. We opened up a bottle of Gramercy Cellars with some friends. We felt like we could have spent a lot more time in Seattle, there is so much to do, but we enjoyed Pike's Place Market. We also saw our friends Ed and Shelby and Mike's family. Chris Harter hosted us to dinner at Palisade where we enjoyed not one but TWO seafood towers. Do not forget to go to Taste Washington next year!
Pebble Beach Food & Wine
I had a great time at Pebble Beach Food & Wine this year. Treasury Wine Estates hosted the sommelier team to a great lunch and Maison Marques and Domaines hosted a luxurious sommelier lounge to offer us some R&R. I had a back rub, foot rub and shoes polished all while enjoying some of their best bubbles. The work was long and busy but the after parties were worth the hard work, I think I ate more caviar than is meant to be eaten... The girls and I had a chance to visit our friend Thamin Saleh's new restaurant jeninni kitchen + wine bar, not to miss on your next visit to Carmel. The highlight, though, was the Rubicon 20th Anniversary dinner. It was so great to reconnect with the team from Rubicon and break bread together.
Cisco Brewers
Did my first ever (and last?) stint on the bottling line at Cisco Brewers to bottle their famed Lady of the Woods beer. It's a bottle conditioned sour beer. It's pretty amazing how many people it takes to bottle one beer. First we had to make a ton of 6 pack boxes (the bottles are 750ml) Then the bottles are taken off their pallets, washed and then drained on a rack, filled, handed to the rinser/corker (luckily the cork is inserted by machine), then (my job) was to take a crown cap and cage (like a Champagne top) and pinch it over the cork and hand it to Paul who finished it off in the twisty machine that spins the wire cage. Then it was on to Miguel who had the hard task of getting those bottles and putting them into cases and then stacking them back on a pallet. An entire day (almost 8 hours) was two pallets worth. Amazingly the beer is not yet done. It receives a bit of yeast and is bottle conditioned so it won't be ready for awhile. When it is ready Lucy will have to hand label each and every one before they are ready to be sold. I can't wait. http://ciscobrewers.com/beer/lady-of-the-woods
Daffodil Days
Sadly Daffodil Days on Nantucket was akin to the cold Mardi Gras I spent down in New Orleans, frigid temperatures and driving rain. We went out to see the car parade and hid in the Cisco van until it started, and sadly the dog parade was cancelled, our pup Chami was disappointed, but luckily we got a photo of his costume the day before.
  | | The Cisco Van on a sunnier day |
"Woman" About Town
Some of my articles have come out in
Judgings
The Sunset International Magazine judging was in April, a gathering of some of my favorite wine professionals! Wine Editor Sara Schneider let the judges raid the Sunset cellar and open up some rare vintages of California's greatest wines.
Bordeaux
At the end of May I had some time to enjoy spring in Chicago at the Chicago Wine Riot event. We poured wines of Bordeaux all under $40. I was happy to have some time off in Chicago to eat at amazing restaurants and visit with my friend from Rye, Per Jacobson who has an advertising agency called The Distillery Project. At the end of May it was off to New York as part of the Today's Bordeaux jury and selected 100 Bordeaux under $50! I had a chance to finally visit the Highline, the West side's overhead railroad garden with friend Beth von Benz. In our free time we were able to go to Pearl & Ash, Patrick Cappiello's great spot in the Bowery and Batard, and Drew Nieporent's new concept at the former site of Montrachet (where I worked in the 90's). I had a great time taking selfies with my former co-workers including Marty Shapiro, Marcy Rosenblum and Daniel Johnnes as well as winemaker of Cold Heaven Morgan Clendenen who happened to be visiting too!. We followed up the festivities with dinner at Telepan where we saw chef Telepan, formerly a student at the Windows on the World Wine School back in 93 or 94...
34 hours in New York
I enjoyed tasting Chilean wines with Snooth in May as well and in 34 hours enjoyed dinner at WD-50 with my brother, Speedrack NYC a cocktail focused benefit for breast cancer (which just happened to be during the time I was there) and then headed back to the west! WD-50 is one of the most incredible restaurants in the world...which is sadly closing. I traveled through Greece with Dewey Dufresne (aka Grandpa) and his son Wylie absolutely wow-ed us with dinner. I also got to stay in my favorite hotel in NYC, the Hotel on Rivington in the Lower East Side, it was sadly such a short trip though...
Nantucket Wine Festival
The Nantucket Wine Festival kicked off on May 14 with the opening party and then it was non-stop until Sunday! It was great seeing so many vintners from California in Nantucket! It was as if two worlds had collided. Thursday it was a cheese and wine pairing with Ihsan Gurdal followed by the Gala, which we got to enjoy as guests. Then Friday a tasting of Vega Sicilia wines at a private home followed by a 1989 Bordeaux tasting at the Nantucket Yacht Club with food by Jamie Bissonnette. Luckily the sommeliers were allowed to taste the food which was really incredible, Jamie had just won a James Beard award... Finally a Ruinart brunch with famed chef Michelle Bernstein, another James Beard award winner from Miami and a dinner at a private home with Faively and Chef Christopher Coombs of Deuxave and dbar in Boston. Nantucket Book Festival
In June the Nantucket Book Festival hosted some of the country's most incredible authors. One in fact, Tim Horvath, was a classmate of mine at Rye Country Day School. The best part of the festival was reading some of the incredible works by the visiting authors.
I was really excited to host an Author's Open Mic at Nixs Brew Pub on Saturday June 21st. Author and songwriter Wesley Stace performed as well as the incredible Megan Stielstra Once I Was Cool. Here are just some of my favorites...
Alice Hoffman The Dovekeepers
Elin Hilderbrand Beautiful Day
Gabrielle Zevin The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Central Coast Wine Classic
I zipped down to the Central Coast to work one of my favorite annual events, the Central Coast Wine Classic. The dinner at Hearst Castle was memorable a ever, but we had fewer shots by the pool considering they had drained the Neptune Pool due to leaks and the drought. We still had as much fun as ever dining at Giuseppe's and bowling at Pismo Bowl, and of course attending the auction itself.
Eat Drink SF
2014 was our best year ever! August 1-3, 2014 the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and a team of chefs, distillers, winemakers, and sommeliers took over Fort Mason's Festival Pavilion and showcased more than 66 spirits, beers and wineries. Highlights included an incredible Somm Lunch at Upstairs at Central Kitchen hosted by Col Solare, an opening industry party at Roka Akor hosted by Visit Seattle and Washington State Wine, great cocktails, beers and wines, and a little musical reprieve in the wine room with my friend and fellow musician Mario Noche. A heartfelt thank you to our sponsors and my amazing somm team.
Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health
This was my 13th year participating in the 20th anniversary Staglin Music Festival for Mental Health in Rutherford, Napa Valley, September 13, 2014. This organization helps to remove the stigma associated with mental illness. Did you know that one in eight people are affected? Shannon Staglin guided the sommeliers (some of the best in the country) on an incredible Napa Valley adventure, we went to Hourglass, Crocker & Starr, Colgin, Mayacamas and ended with a private dinner at the home of Annie Favia and Andy Erickson. The food, wine and company were exemplary and I even had a chance to bring out the guitar both with Shane Soldinger at Crocker and Starr and at the fire pit after our dinner. Saturday was filled with a lot of work at the festival, but it is always fun as well and the somms got their dance on with Ed Hudson. After a party under the oak tree we were ready for bed. Loved hearing Jewel that Sunday, she was funny and also had songs that were heartbreaking, and she was so inspiring. Her voice is incredible. To learn more about how to support mental health you can help by going to imhro.org and learning more.
 | | Crocker & Starr |
On a related note, I was very saddened to hear of the untimely death of Robin Williams. He was an investor in Rubicon and a regular at Jardiniere. He was often shy but at other times gregarious, a host of characters emanating from him. He was always kind and he will be greatly missed. This is why I participate in Sing Out of Darkness and write music, hopefully his passing will bring awareness to the issues of mental health. This photo is from my time at Rubicon in 1996-1997, an article in Food & Wine Magazine honoring Larry Stone. Also featured are Dale Chihuly and Karen MacNeil, and a young somm, yep that's me.
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Rebecca Chapa Music
NEXT GIG:
I am trying to win a Guitar Center contest, so if you wouldn't mind clicking here and watch one of my videos as often as possible that counts as a vote!
May 31 was another great Sing Out of Darkness benefit gig at Bazaar Cafe. I "busked" at my friend Ziggy's Ribs, Rock and Rum party and at Fisherman's Wharf in SF as well as Main Street Nantucket. July 6th I was the feature act at Bazaar Cafe. A great coffee shop venue famous for its support of local musicians, Bazaar Cafe only allows original songs, so I put pen to paper to revitalize a few old songs that had languished and create some new material. It was a great challenge to play close to two hours of originals and some new music is coming soon as a result.
I was the feature act at Ireland's 32 Open Mic Night on August 12 and played 97.7 ACK FM for their Music from the 228 live show August 17 in Nantucket. That evening I also played the Starlight Nantucket!
What I am digging music wise...
Gurf Morlix that was phenomenal. My first ever house concert, BYOB, and amazingly someone brought a Gramercy Cellars wine!
Saw Crazy Famous at my friend Ziggy Eischelman's Ribs, Rock and Rum party, they are a great band out of Healdsburg, had just opened for the Cure at Bottlerock and were fabulous.
The Revivalists played the Chicken Box Nantucket and were amazing.
 | | photo by Frankie Frankeny |
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Ambergris
Ambergris has been approved to participate in the Nantucket Christmas Stroll Craft Show December 5 and 6 at 11 Centre Street in Nantucket. Come and shop for great holiday gifts or go to Ambergris/Sand Dollar Dreams if you can't make it in person! This stroll I am focusing on taking found items and up-cycling them, amazing what some paint, glue and inspiration can create. About the name:
For those of you not familiar with the inner workings of whales, ambergris is the substance created in a whale that has a blockage of squid beaks in its intestine. This initially foul smelling substance is expelled eventually via death or other and then travels through the ocean for many years gaining a unique odor found to be impossible to replicate. Thus it is well known as one of the rarest oils used for perfume. It only comes from about 1% of sperm whales, and has to be found... I am still looking!
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Happenings and Travel
It's scallop season! I am happy to be getting back in the water finally after a hiatus from scalloping from March 31-October 1. It's a challenging year but still great exercise. Here I am enjoying a Pumple Drumkin and holding my largest scallop ever caught after leading the Chow Fun Food Group on a scallop expedition!
"Old" News
The "summer" tourist season on Nantucket Island started early as we hosted our first Airbnb visitors in April. It was so cold the week they were here that we had to scrounge for blankets. The summer booked up fast and we have enjoyed having guests at our home. Fall is the best time to visit, so hit us up, we have room! Airbnb
I enjoyed a quick jaunt to Palm Springs, my first time there, for the wedding of two dear friends Serena and Nate. The heat was oppressive but made for some great pool time at the Colony Palms Hotel. The wedding was gorgeous, Serena is an event planner so it was incredible the level of detail. I also found a fabulous deli there, Sherman's, where I had a piping hot huge bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup, pickles, a half a corned beef sandwich on fluffy rye bread, red potato salad and stuffed cabbage. This "light lunch", iced tea, and stuffed cabbage was $24.58 with tax, I thought a great deal! Palm Springs also has a great Antique Mall. My cousin Christian and bride Cynthia married at Calistoga Ranch amazing wine, great food and seeing my family was a blast.
The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival was epic once more! See below for some photos... Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, John Prine, Steve Earle, Vince Gill (reading lyrics from his iPhone), and David Rawlings Machine (David Rawlings & Gillian Welch). Thanks once more to Warren Hellman's legacy we continue to enjoy an incredible weekend (this year a very HOT weekend) of free music. I even got to meet the incredible Ralph Stanley!
 | Ralph Stanley photo by Beccy Breeze
 | | Emmylou Harris |
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Amazingly it was my 25th High School reunion at Rye Country Day School. It was great catching up with all my friends and former teachers from Rye!
Phew, hope to catch up with more news sooner rather than later! Stay well.
And GO GIANTS!
www.rebeccachapa.com.
Cheers!
Rebecca
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Don't hesitate to call us for more information at [415-378-1674] or email [email protected].
We are happy to help!
Rebecca Chapa
Tannin Management
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LISTEN TO REBECCA CHAPA MUSIC
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
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