VINO LAS VEGAS hits Mandalay Bay Beach for the 3rd Annual Rock N Roll Wine Amplified

Chris Hammond and Sonny Barton of Rock N Roll wines have done a fantastic job over the years with
their "one of a kind " touch of music and good wines.






We have attended all three Amplified events in Las Vegas as well as many of their smaller events at some of the best venues around town.










It was a beautiful evening at the Mandalay Bay beach along side their 1.6 million gallon wave pool and once again the bands were top notch. Special guest SHERWOOD warmed up the crowd and the renown GIN BLOSSOMS electrified all of us with their hits.

The guests could wonder along the beach , stop at the many cabanas and enjoy wines from
all over the world. A few wine makers made the trip to the beach as well. We stopped in and spoke with wine maker Dan Tudor of Tudor/Radog wines and Richard Oh wine maker of Otter Cove/ Oh wines as we enjoyed the great music and of course those great wines.











In our opinion this was one of the best Chris and Sonny have produced . But, we say that every year as each one is better and different than the previous. That's why all of us keep coming back to see what Chris and Sonny of Rock n Roll wines has in store for us next.




Join VINO LAS VEGAS as we take you into the 3rd Annual Rock n Roll wine Amplified and speak with a few of the guests

Our friend Gilles Desprez takes VINO LAS VEGAS to Chateau de Rieux for Harvest

VINO LAS VEGAS has friends and supporters world wide. Our friend Gilles Despez sent us this short film he made at Chateau de Rieux.



This is living proof of what VINO LAS VEGAS has said for years. Food and Wine brings people together from all aspects of life.

Cheers ! and Thank you Gilles

VINO LAS VEGAS samples wine at Marche Bacchus when 4Winesplusmore came to town with "Winemakers from around the World"

Many of us wish we had the time to travel to
Australia , Chile , Spain , South Africa and
California to sample their great wines and meet the men and women who make them



When wine distributor and importer 4Winesplusmore made a stop at Marche Bacchus in Las Vegas with their " Winemakers from Around the World" VINO LAS VEGAS had to attend.

This was a great chance to sample many wines from all over the world. They
told me there were over 50 but we think it was much more than that.

The lakeside venue of Marche Bacchus provided a relaxing atmosphere to walk through this great event


One of our first stops was to meet Danelle van Rensburg winemaker for
Van-Lovern-Robertson in South Africa. As we were sipping on some wonderful Cape Rock Sparkling Shiraz when we found out that Danelle had be
voted one of the top 6 women winemakers in South Africa. She was pouring
many of her wonderful Cape Rock wines as well has the Wolverine Creek
Cabernet Sauvignon and Shriaz.

We continued down our wine path and stopped at Sandalford Wines which are from the Margaret River in Western Australia. Grant Brinklow CEO of Sandalford had quite a crowd around him as he was pouring these highly rated wines. The Sandalford Sauvignon Blanc/ Semillon and of course the very limited production Prendiville Cabernet Sauvignon were stand outs for us.

We moved out of Australia on to Chile where we stopped at Santa Monica wines from the Rapel Valley. Ian Hutcheon from the winery was there pouring his Blue Fin and the very nice Santa Monica wines which have age on them. One that really stood out for us was the Santa Monica
Gran Resrva Cabernet Sauvignon 2000.

We made a quick trip back to South Africa where we enjoyed wines from Clos Malverne from Stellenbosch and of course those great wines from Lanzerac as well.

The Spanish section was a real treat when we had the opportunity to try D.O Rioja Alabanza and Entrecepas wines. But those Spanish wines just kept coming with D.O Ribera Del Duero Gondomar and Mirat wines as well.



One last stop in Spain was the lovely D.O Somantano Di Superi and the
Absum which we had in the past.

It was now time to sample those wines from the USA and we had some
good ones to choose from. John Monich from Silkwood wines our first
US stop where we sampled his very nice Silkwood Syrah , Petite Syrah
and his Duet which is a blend of Cabernet and Syrah. Silkwood wines
have been very highly rated and those fuzzy labels make it a stand out.


Stama wines from winemaker Gus Kapiniaris was also represented by their Stama Merlot , Stama Cabernet Sauvignon and their very fun Zany Zin

Our last stop was to visit Dalia Ceja and those great Ceja wines from Napa valley. We were at her table for a while as she insisted she take us through the entire line. She did not have to twist our arms and we were glad to comply. These wines are all highly rated and in a word "awesome". We finished this lovely afternoon with the limited production Ceja Dolce Beso a late harvest desert wine which is a blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Dalia explained there only 300 cases of this great desert wine and it to is highly rated as well.


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This was a fantastic event and for VINO LAS VEGAS the day was not over as we had a chance to unwind and have dinner with this great group of people from all over the world. Elaine from VINO LAS VEGAS sat down with each one and spoke to them about their wines .

VINO LAS VEGAS LLC goes High Definition ( HD )

VINO LAS VEGAS LLC is proud to announce that we have upgraded to High Definition ( HD ) video. There is a very big difference in sound , lighting and picture


quality. We have had requests from other broadcast media like television to move to High Definition to make it easier for them to use in their format. Our readers and supporters of VINO LAS VEGAS LLC deserve the best that we can provide and we have always tried to accommodate as much as possible. We hope you enjoy the Upgraded lights, sound , and video of VINO LAS VEGAS as we take you with us inside some great events and trips. There is much more to come and this is just the beginning .

Elaine from VINO Las Vegas attends a private tasting of the Right Bank of Bordeaux

One of the highlights of attending
Showcase 2008 was attending the
private wine tasting organized by
Regency Wines and Sopexa.




The Right Bank wines from Saint Emilion , Fronsac and Pomerol
were all featured as well as many of the winemakers themselves.
Charlie Palmer's Stirling Club at Turnberry Place provided the
class and sophistication that this event required.





When we arrived that the event we could not help but be impressed by the large marble staircase and a Grand Piano at the entrance to the club. We walked into the ballroom and our eyes were intimidately drawn to the wines lined up at a table in front of us.





As we walked over to the table we started
to read the labels. Chataeu Cotes De Puyblanquet , Chateau Franc Grace-Dieu,
Chateau La Valade Canon Fronsac ,
Chateau Lagrange , Chateau La Gravette De Certan Pomerol 04 which happens to
be the 2nd label of Vieux Chateau Certan.


We continued to walk down the line of these great wines of Bordeaux and
noticed Chateau Moulin de Lavaud and Clos des Menuts Saint-Emilion Grand Cru.

The name Bordeaux derives from au bord de l' eau meaning " along the waters" The food , wine and venue provided all that were invited a very special evening with some very special wines.

Join Elaine from VINO LAS VEGAS as she takes you inside this private visit to the Right Bank of Bordeaux

Master Sommelier William Sherer Wine Director of Aureole speaks about Aureole and wine list diversity

We have met Master Sommelier William Sherer on many
occasions. When we found out he was going to be speaking at The Regency Wines Showcase 2008 we had to stop by.

It is always an educational experience to listen to William as
he speaks about Food and Wine. William is currently Wine
Director at Charlie Palmer's Aureole located at the Mandalay Bay.

William graduated in 1998 from the Court of Master Sommelier after being a wine lover from a young age.

On this occasion he gave a great talk about balancing boutique diversity with brand name consistency.

Join us here at VINO LAS VEGAS as we watch highlights from this very informative talk.

VINO LAS VEGAS attends the Regency Wines and Praml International Trade Tasting Showcase 2008

Vino Las Vegas has written about many
aspects of the Food , Wine and Travel
Industry in the past. We have taken our
readers to harvest , crush and punchdowns in the wineries and vineyards
of California. We have taken you with us
as we attended many wine and food events
throughout the country as well.




One very important and often over looked
aspect of wine is the Distributor. We have
seen how wine is made and we have all
enjoyed many of those wines in restaurants
and wine shoppes all over the world.




Obviously the wine had to get from the winery to the final location and that is where the distributor comes into focus. These companies are responsible for " placing " wines into the restaurants and wine shoppes.


One of the distributors in Las Vegas is Regency Wines headed by Bruno
Laclotte. He has spent most of his life in France and has worked at
some of the reputable wineries in
Bordeaux and Champagne. Bruno
founded Regency wines in 1995.




For this event Regency Wines paired
up with Praml International that
provided a large selection of
gourmet foods for the event





This event was for the "Trade" meaning people who are in the
Food and Wine industry. This was a great way for Regency Wines
to show off their portfolio to the wine buyers and for Praml
International to show off for the Chefs.





This was a two day event like we have never seen in the trade.
Bruno stated to VINO LAS VEGAS to his knowledge an event of
this type and size has never been done in the past. We were surprised at the scope of this two day event. There were guest
speakers throughout both days. Master Sommelier William Sherer of Aureole and Jeff Eichelberger Sommelier of RM Seafood both gave very informative talks about wine and sustainability.




We had flashbacks of walking the
streets of Paris as we moved down
row after row of fresh gourmet food
of all types highlighted by wines from all over the world.






On the evening of the first day we were not
done yet when we were invited to attend a
private wine tasting organized by Regency
Wines and Sopexa. We had the opportunity
to taste Right Bank wines from Saint Emilion , Fronsac and Pomerol with many of the winemakers present. This event was held at the Palatial Trunberry Place at Charlie Palmer's Stirling Club.





When this two day event was over we felt like we had just spent the weekend in France. And in away we did ! We raise our glass of Champagne and say Cheers to a job well done to Regency , Praml and their entire staffs. We only have one question , will there be a Showcase 2009 ? Keep checking back .

Join us as we take you with us and walk the streets of Paris for two days
without ever leaving Las Vegas. This is a great chance to see an inside look at the Food and Wine Industry.

Join VINO LAS VEGAS Sep 13th at Marche Bacchus for a VIP tasting from 'Winemakers from Around the World "

The VIP tasting will be held at

Marche Bacchus

2620 Regatta Dr.
Las Vegas

Saturday, September 13th

2-5pm

$40 per person pre-sale
$50 at the door

The event includes tastings of over 50 wines, Hors D'oeuvres and

discounted pricing on wine ordered that night!

For the reservations hotline call
***-***-****
For questions call
310-375-4317 or email
kl@4winesplusmore.com !
Book ASAP as there is limited availability!!

Taste the Prendiville cab rated 96 pts!

Meet personally:
Van Loveren-Robertson, South Africa
Danelle van Rensburg- Winemaker and voted as one of the top 6 woman winemakers of South Africa!

Santa Monica- Rapel Valley, Chile

Ian Hutcheon of Santa Monica

Sandalford- Margaret River, Western Australia
Grant Brinklow- CEO of Sandalford Estate

Ceja Estate- Napa, CA

Dalia Ceja

Silkwood- Modesto, CA

John Monich- Winemaker

Taste the Pinotage Reserve, the best South Africa produces!

Taste the Pinot Noir poured by the glass at the French Laundry in Napa!

Taste the Syrah rated 98 pts!

Taste the exceptional Zany Zin old vine Zinfandel from Lodi!

Olives at the Bellagio is a stop for VINO LAS VEGAS

Las Vegas has many fine dining restaurants that are known world wide. If we have to say something we dont like about dining
in Las Vegas is that many of these great restaurants on the strip
are not open for lunch. On many occasions we have been hungry and really no place available to eat except fast food or a casino
food court.



The great thing about Restaurant Week is you are not only helping people who are not
as fortunate but finding new places to dine.






We have heard about Todd English's Olives located in the Bellagio many times over the years. But with so many great places to dine it takes time to get around to them all.

This is great fine dinning restaurant and it is even open for lunch. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch on the patio over looking the famous Bellagio Fountains. We will be back for dinner and enjoy the same view of the fountains and the "strip" under the neon for dinner.

Join Elaine from VINO LAS VEGAS as she shows you the view and a few other surprises that pop up during lunch

VINO LAS VEGAS enjoys Clos I ' Eglise Cotes de Castillon 2001 Bordeaux at T-Bones in the Red Rock Resort Casino

Its been a while since we wrote about a wine that has really stood out for us. As many of you know we are not Food and Wine critics and are proud to say that. VINO LAS VEGAS is about
Food , Wine and Travel appreciation. Many in the industry respect us for that.

We recently stopped in at T-Bones located in the Red Rock Resort and Casino in Summerlin. This is a beautiful restaurant with its large bar, fire pits , and even patio dinning provides a great background for a fine dining experience and we will be back again. The food was what we expected and one of the best we have had off the strip in a while. We looked at their very large wine list and found the Clos 1 Eglise Cotes de Castillon Bordeaux 2001 which we had to try.

The minute the bottle was opened and placed in the decanter you could smell the nose on this wine. As it opened up over the next 90 mins it only got better and paired well with seafood as well as steak.

The Vineyard was purchased by Gerard Perse (of Chateau Pavie) and Dr. Alain Raynaud (of Quinault l’Enclos)It is a typical Bordeaux blend from 70% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is crop-thinned as well as de-leafed, and, as one might expect, the wine making and upbringing are impeccable. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, it exhibits a dense ruby/purple color in addition to a sumptuous perfume of black fruits intermixed with hints of lead pencil shavings, new oak, and earth.

A little more research reviled it was aged in 100% new french oak for 18 months. The size of the vineyard is about 16 hectares and the vines average 33 years. We are always on the look out for a needle in a haystack in a wine list of this size. We found a very special treat with the Clos l Eglise Cotes de Castillon Bordeaux 2001