Wine that makes an impression

We’re proud to be the best jazz festival in the wine country – some might say the only real jazz festival in the wine country, untainted by commercial cross-over headliners. But we’re not complaining. In fact, we’re celebrating with our own wine!

bottle-smThanks to the creative juices (sic) flowing at Artiste Winery, you can now enjoy the first ever Healdsburg Jazz Festival wine, a 2007 Russian River Syrah, and 50% of the net profits  benefit our organization. The wine is a classic Rhone blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Grenache, from the Russian River estate vineyards of Frank Carrubba and Phillip Staley.

Familiar names? Frank Carrubba is our loyal chairman of the Healdsburg Jazz Festival organization, and is often seen at the Festival events helping perfect the sound system. Phillip  Staley has been growing and making wines in Sonoma County for over 25 years, focusing on Rhone grapes grown in the Russian River appellation.

Artiste Winery is a relative newcomer to the Healdsburg scene, with its winery and tasting studio at 439 Healdsburg Ave., just north from Cousteau Bakery. But the winery has been around for years, getting its start in Santa Barbara county with a location in Historic Old Town Santa Inez.

Why ‘tasting studio’? Each of Artiste’s wines are labeled with expressionist paintings, many by contemporary artists who have been commissioned or licensed to create a new work of art for each bottling.

The winemaker of Artiste is Bion Rice, whose family opened the Provençal-style winery Sunstone in Santa Inez 25 years ago. Bion’s own obsession is with blending wines from different vineyards to create what he calls “impressionist” wines —  “infinitely beautiful cuvees that are much more than merely the sum of their parts,” as he puts it. For the 2007 Russian River Syrah, both Phillip Staley and Bion Rice share winemaker credit.

Click to download coupon
Click to download coupon

Only two barrels were bottled to 48 cases by Artiste Winery exclusively for the festival. 50% of the net profits from the sale of this limited edition wine will go directly to the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Adorning the first annual label is local artist Robin Escher’s painting found on this year’s program and poster, “The Song That Is #2”.

And here’s the best news of all. The retail price tag on the wine is a modest $24, but with the coupon and discount code on this page you can get 10% off. Somehow this makes a good wine even better, yes?

To learn more about the special wine that Artiste has created for the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, visit this page online.

And remember that Artiste Winery is the scene of one of this year’s Jazz & Wine Pairings during the Healdsburg Jazz Festival, from 4 – 6 pm on June 6. For more information on the pairings, visit this page.

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