Visit local wineries the day before the big game and sample wine straight of the barrel on Super Barrel Saturday Feb. 6.
The event, which goes from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., is part of the local effort to coordinate with the Super Bowl 50 committee to promote the Santa Clara Valley and Bay Area regions as thousands of visitors swarm the area for the Feb. 7 Super Bowl in Santa Clara.
On Super Barrel Saturday, participating vintners in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy will each bring a barrel of young red wine up from their cellars and tap into them with an instrument called a “wine thief,” according to Kim Englehardt of Lion Ranch Winery in San Martin. Red wines are typically stored in barrels to age for a few months after harvest. While resting in the barrels, the wine’s flavors deepen, and the wood from the barrel infuses the wine with flavor.
On barrel tasting days such as Feb. 6, guests are allowed to taste the wine several months, or even years, before it will be bottled.
Participating in Super Barrel Saturday are Guglielmo Winery, J. Lohr Vineyard & Wines (pouring at Lightheart Cellars), Kirigin Cellars, Lightheart Cellars, Morgan Hill Cellars, Solis, Sunlit Oaks, Creekview Vineyards, Martin Ranch, Medeiros Family Wines (pouring at Blended Wine Studios) and Rapazzini Winery.
Tickets cost $25 each, and can be purchased online at eventbrite.com or at the participating wineries.
