Inside UDJ by Editor K.C. Meadows

I spent Saturday in San Francisco at the Wine by the Bay expo of Mendocino County wines which can only be described as a huge hit.
(I should say up front that I was the guest of the Mendocino Wine and Winegrape Commission at the event and I helped pour at the Graziano Family of Wines booth with my husband, Bob, who manages the Graziano tasting room in Hopland.)
Since I was just the helper at my husband's booth I had lots of opportunity to walk around and watch what was happening (and taste wine and eat). The event - very elegantly produced - was held in the atrium of the Hyatt Regency Embarcadero and attracted more than 700 people - that was the number of pre-event ticket sales I was told so more may have come by the opening. Also, KGO radio's Gene Burns broadcast his popular Saturday "Dining Around" show from the event. The idea, of course is to introduce more Bay Area folks to the Mendocino County wine labels and the quality of wine and grapes of our region.
This was the first big San Francisco event that the Commission has put on since it was formed and just about every winery in the county was there, from Barra of Mendocino to Yorkville Cellars. More than 40 of them plus some other local products like olive oils, gluten-free baked goods, fine restaurant offerings and at least one beer. A few San Francisco restaurants also took part so you had a nice variety of food tidbits to eat as well like, cream filled strawberries, sliced beef with horseradish cream, zucchini gallettes with tomato fondue and goat cheese, deviled eggs with crab, grilled octopus on a hollowed out Yukon potato and lots of desserts.
Everywhere I wandered I saw raised eyebrows, surprised looks and heard "wows" as people discovered the quality of the wines. At $35, the ticket price was very reasonable for a noon to 4 p.m. event and the ticket came with a booklet with pages for notes on every single winery there. And people were really taking notes.
I heard lots of people say that they still really only go to Napa and Sonoma to taste - especially when friends come to town - because Mendocino County is too far to go for a day trip. I think our lodging folks have some work to do in that respect as no one I talked to even considered that you could stay someplace nice off the Mendocino Coast on Highway 101 for less than $300 a night. In many cases the idea of having to spend a fortune to spend the night was holding people back from considering us for a weekend trip.
Many people didn't realize that there are lots of wineries right on 101 inland that are just an hour and a half away from the city - not the three or so hours they thought they had to go to get to the coastal area or Anderson Valley.
Mostly, however, I think people really enjoyed the wines and the people pouring them. Mendocino County is, for the most part, full of friendly, knowledgeable people who aren't going to treat you like they're doing you a favor to let you taste their wines.
People like that.
I talked to Tom Merle, of the Wine Enthusiast Guild, who had brought about 10 guild members with him to the event to introduce them to Mendocino County wines - which he says he loves.
"I'm a strong believer in bringing the mountain to Mohammed," he said of the event. He liked the idea of having many labels from one appellation all in the same room and said the whole event was "so well thought out."
He also recommended for the next time that the Commission provide individual spitting cups for attendees. As it was you had to spit into the buckets provided - but Tom feels it's nicer to spit into a cup of your own then pour it into the communal bucket. OK.
Also, Tom wished there could have been winemakers at the event. Of course having an event during crush means winemakers aren't going to be able to come. The upside however is that crush is a good time to get people's attention.
A couple of suggestions I have based on requests I heard was: give people pens to write with. They wanted to take notes but I was digging in my purse for every pen I had - some of which I actually got back. Also, give people a small shopping bag when they enter to hold their booklet and all the business cards and brochures they're going to want to pick up.
My biggest recommendation however is, next time, shorten it to three hours.
Between 3 and 4 p.m. is when people started getting loaded. You started hearing glasses breaking, watching people weaving. At 3 p.m. they were happy and excited. At 4 p.m. it was more like annoying and sloppy. But that's a small point for what was an impressive event.