OK folks, here's the deal. Today is the last day of A Menu For Hope charity raffle. You've got until Midnight tonight, Pacific Time, to buy raffle tickets for some seriously awesome prizes. Every raffle ticket increases your chance of winning said prize, and every ticket buys healthy, nutritious lunches for school children in Lesotho. What could be better than that?

It's important to realize that even a single $10 ticket can win you some seriously good loot. One of the most popular prizes last year (and this year), the Meadowood vacation package, was won by someone who bought a single ticket.

It's also important that you know that some of this year's prizes have had slightly less bidding than others, which means the chances of you winning them are QUITE HIGH with just a single ticket, and INCREDIBLY HIGH were you to buy say, 10 tickets.

You may be asking, "Now why would I go and spend $100 on raffle tickets, even though the cause is so good." Here's the answer: because if you did, you'd have a very good chance of winning prizes that are in some cases worth THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.

Getting the picture? It's like this: if I told you that by spending $100 you'd have a 3 in 5 chance of winning $400 worth of wine and be doing a great thing for charity, I hope that you'd see this as a winning proposition, no?

So here are some prizes that need a little love in the bidding department, and might just be yours for the taking, depending on just how generous you're feeling (or how much Champagne you've already had today). Go bid a little bit (or a little more), and have yourself a very Happy New Year!

Wine and Film Premieres from Wilson Daniels
One of the country's most respected wine importers, Wilson Daniels Ltd., is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2008. The Napa Valley-based company has created a Menu For Hope six-bottle collection of wines from its portfolio of European wine estates, offering bidders an opportunity to taste wines from six different regions spanning three countries -- with a high-definition twist. Winners will receive the following wines:

NV Delamotte Brut Cotes des Blancs Grand Cru
2006 Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss Kritt Gewurztraminer Alsace
2005 Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges
2006 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage Rouge
2004 Castello di Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG
1996 Royal Tokaji Nyulászó First Growth Tokaji Aszú 6 Puttonyos

This fall, Wilson Daniels premiered documentary-style films for its French and Hungarian wine estates, which the winning bidder can watch online or download to an iPod at www.wilsondanielsfilms.com to "virtually" tour the vineyards and meet the winemakers before, after, or while they taste the wines. Value: $275. Prize Code: WB04. Courtesy of Wilson Daniels Ltd.

Two World Class Gruner Veltliners and a set of World Class White Wine Glasses
This prize includes a set of six Denkart Zalto white wine glasses and the two most highly rated Gruner Veltliners in the Winemonger inventory, the 2006 and 2007 Donabaum Spitzer Point GV Smaragd Gruner Veltliner from Austria. The wines speak for themselves, but you should know about the glasses. 100% lead free and dishwasher safe, these glasses were created for the complexity and refinement of the most expressive white wines. Technical perfection is the basic principle of the Zalto Glass Manufactury. Zalto Glasses have always been produced following a tradition of using only the most highly skilled glass-blowers working with a selection of the best raw materials. The curve of the bowls are tilted at the angles of 24°, 48° and 72°, which are in accordance to the tilt angles of the Earth. This stunning glass has become the standard for many world-class tasting rooms and well-set tables. Shipping within the USA only. Value: more than $415. Prize Code: WB07. More details at
Winemonger.

Half Case of Verge Syrah, and a Tour of the Vineyard
Join VERGE Winemaker Mike Brunson for a special tour of Bradford Mountain where you will see firsthand what it means to farm on the edge of the wild. At just over 1200 feet elevation, Bradford Mountain is on the far western edge of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. VERGE Wine Cellars produces small lots of block specific Syrah and these organcially grown vineyards are perfect examples of what we call Fringe Vineyards. Mike Brunson has over 15 years winemaking experience and will describe the ins and outs of organic viticulture, mountain farming, and Syrah winemaking. After the hike, you'll enjoy a tasting of Syrahs from Bradford Mountain as well as a selection of other Syrahs from around the world. As a parting gift, you will also recieve 6 bottles of VERGE Wine Cellars' inaugural release, the 2006 VERGE Syrah. Value: $240. Prize code: WB08. Courtesy of Verge Cellars.

Wine Book Bonanza
There's only one thing better than drinking wine, and that's drinking wine with a nice wine book on your lap. Here's your chance to add to your library and maybe learn a thing or two in the process. Courtesy of University of California Press, pick any 5 wine books from their current list of titles. Value: approx $150. Prize Code:WB09. Courtesy of University of California Press.

Wine Travel Guide Voucher
The main raffle prize on offer from Wine Travel Guides is a gold gift subscription to Wine Travel Guides (worth £49 or approximately $75 or €60) which lasts a whole year from activation. This will give you access to all the travel guides on the site. Today there are 46 comprehensive guides to the wine regions of France. By mid-January there will be a further seven guides covering Tuscany in Italy, Rioja in Spain and Mosel in Germany. Here is your chance to plan that trip to the wine regions of Europe with expert insider advice from 15 top-class wine and travel writers.

The bonus offer: If you can meet author Wink Lorch in either the Jura or Savoie wine regions of France, she will personally drive you around the wine region for a day, meeting and tasting with some of her favourite wine growers and taking you out to lunch. Value: $80 or more. Prize Code:WB10. Courtesy of Wink Lorch.

Inaugural Vintage of Capture's Tin Cross Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc
This prize consists of a bottle from the first launch of Capture Winery's 2008 Tin Cross Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is the unprecedented, first product of the winemaking team's efforts with Tin Cross being to be released in Spring 2009. Additionally, this wine will arrive paired with an elegantly framed vision of its origin; an image of Tin Cross' upper vineyard, professionally photographed and signed by the renowned Olaf Beckman. The total package is valued at $542. Prize Code:WB14. More details at Our Wine Story.

Port Wine Starter Set from Quevedo
If you're a lover of port wine, or think you might be, you'll enjoy this gift: A Port Wine Starter Kit made up of:
- port wine tongs
- port wine filter
- port wine decanter
- port wine cups
- dark chocolate
- a coupon for a bottle of Quevedo 2005 Vintage redeemable at the closest wine shop that carries the wine. Value: $90. Prize Code: WB17. More details at Quevedo Wine.

Exclusive Wine Accessory Set
This prize includes four exclusive wine accessories developed by Wine Line:

-Wine Vine 12 bottle stainless steel wine rack
-Wine Flyte Carrier--for easily serving 6 glasses of wine, carrying & drying glasses as well-patent pending
-Wine Aerator w/single glass adapter-patent pending
-Chateau Epernay Handmade Rosewood Corkscrew in gift box

These accessories make fantastic gifts for wine lovers. Value: $200.00. Prize Code: WB18. Courtesy of WineLine

Custom 90 Minute Wine Seminar
Bill Wilson, the host and producer of the Wine for Newbies Podcast will offer a 90-minute live wine seminar. The winner of this prize can choose the topic(s) for this wine seminar which he'll broadcast via streaming video at a time and date of the winner's choosing. The winner can have as many people participate as he or she wants! Since the seminar will be live via the Internet, the winner can be anywhere, as long as they understand English. Prize code: WB20. Courtesy of Wine for Newbies.

Wine, Wine and More Wine from Domaine 547
This prize includes a Magnum of 2003 Pax Cellars Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah and a $50 gift certificate to domaine547.com. The prize can be shipped to anywhere that FedEx legally delivers alcohol to, with the exception of New Hampshire. Domaine 547 is also willing to arrange for shipping to other states, on behalf of any bidder who wants to ship the wine via use of their own UPS account. Value: $150. Prize Code: WB27. Courtesy of Domaine 547.

Magnum of wine, tour, and tasting at Tolosa Winery for Six People
Join Tolosa winemaker Larry Brooks for a past, present and future tour of the Winery in San Luis Obispo and finish with a artisan wine and cheese pairing. A Magnum of our 10th Anniversary wine will also be given to the winner upon arrival.

PAST: Guests will learn about the origin of our name and the story behind our brand. They will also have the opportunity to taste past vintages from the Tolosa library collection.

PRESENT: After a brief talk about our vineyard and outside production area, guests will be toured through our tank and barrel rooms.

FUTURE: The tour finishes with a futures tasting from select French oak barrels. This intimate tasting will take place in our private barrel designed area with our finest wine selections.

Following the tour you and your guests will be guided through an artisan wine and cheese pairing with Tolosa's wine and cheese educator & sommelier, John Shakley. As you relax in our beautiful private Heritage Room, John will pair five limited production wines with five artisan cheeses from around the world. Value: $400. Prize Code: WB29. Courtesy of Tolosa Winery.

See the full list of prizes and instructions on how to bid here. I hope you win!!

Since day one, I’ve wanted a map of the wine regions of Spain and Portugal. Seems like a simple request, and if I couldn’t have one of Iberia, at least you would think that there would be one of Spain and another of Portugal. You would think. You would also be wrong, sort of. Announcement

Interestingly, there are no good maps of the peninsula we call Iberia, or at least as it relates to wine. Wines of Spain, the bureaucratic agency in charge of promoting Spanish wine, does have an outdated map, but you can’t get a copy of it. I had a prominent tour guide friend of mine once ask to buy a few copies to give to her clients, all of which were on wine tours, and she was told it was not possible. Hence, I’m not sure why they made it. We had to steal a few copies from a regional government’s office, and while we use them occasionally, in truth, they are worthless.

That said, Portugal is no better, and I have yet to find a map that accurately sums up the many nuances in a very confusing set of regional wine laws. And considering that there is little consensus among differing governmental maps, it is clear that one concise and accurate map was desperately in need to be created.

Enter the DeLong wine company, creator of such treasures as the Wine Varietal Table. Having encountered way too many inaccurate regional wine maps around the world, Steve decided to fix the problem by making his own map. Smart guy! The best part for us is that he asked us to help him out. Now, we can’t claim much in the way of contributions to this map, but we did make sure he included some important landmarks and we worked with him to make some editorial decisions on how to handle certain place names and regional identities. I asked him a few questions about how this map came about:

Why did you choose to start with Iberia?

We started with Iberia for three main reasons: 1. It’s the most dynamic (and constantly changing!) area in the wine world - but you already knew that! 2. There wasn’t a good map available (for France there are a few) 3. It’s a great looking land mass.

Which regions are next on your list?

We’re working on France and Germany right now, which will be available early next year. Then on to Italy, and finally, the New World!

What makes this map different from other wine region maps?

The one very simple thing that distinguishes these wine maps from others is that the wine regions don’t stop at the border. In reality, the wine regions reflect the regional differences that underlie the country borders. Catalunya and the Basque Country, which both overlap France and Spain, are just two examples.

Hence, this is just the start of a much bigger plan to cover the planet with quality wine resources - something that is SORELY needed! We hope that this first map is a resource that we can not only learn from, but can also use when reading about Catavino’s adventures throughout Spain and Portugal.

And best of all, if you click here and buy the Iberian wine map through the Catavino website, a small portion of the sale will come back to us - something we would appreciate! Also, if you are in Spain and want to see this in Spanish, please let us know. We are considering translating it into Spanish and Portuguese if we find enough interest. Also, if you have a wine shop and would like either English or Spanish versions of this map, just send us a note at map(at)Catavino(dot)net, and we’ll tell you about additional opportunities to buy larger quantities.

We’re very excited about this and feel VERY privileged to have Iberia be the first map of the series, a testament to the importance of this rich and exciting wine region. We hope that if Iberian Wine interests you at all, you’ll pick one up and let us know what you think.

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

All content protected by a Creative Commons License2005-2008. Catavino.net.

• 2+1 Iberian Wine Survey - Tim Elliot of Winecast.net
• 2+1 Survey Returns with Joe “1WineDude” Roberts
• Iberian Wine Wiki - Well Sort of
• New Portuguese Brand stresses Region not Country
• Catavino’s Portuguese Wine Story Map