In today’s Seattle Times, Wine Guy Paul Gregutt poses a mouthful of a question, “What is the foolproof, all-weather, any-food, surefire celebration Fourth of July wine?” His beyond-any-doubt answer? “There is only one possible answer: zinfandel.” The sharp and worthy read goes on to describe a brief history of the country’s native grape, noting the meteoric rise of the Skittles-sweet white zins that were as ubiquitous as white polyester in ’70s and beyond. Fortunately, “Zinfandel has since been reclaimed, rediscovered as the great red wine it truly can be.” He argues that while zinfandel is grown and made all over California, Sonoma County (particularly Dry Creek) – wink, wink - is the epicenter for many of the greatest examples. We tend to agree and are pretty damned happy he included “The Reverend” Zinfandel in his case of twelve recommended zins. So scoop up some zin up for your Fourth, or any and all other summer celebrations. And hurry, because supplies of our 92-point (Wine Enthusiast) offering are extremely limited.

The Press Democrat’s pop culture wiz, John Beck, stopped by the ranch yesterday to film his (highly entertaining, if not legally insane) 60-Second Weekend Podcast. Far from the bookish character I tend to invoke whenever I imagine a journalist, this man has combustible energy. So much so that he should probably be hooked up to wires and probed in a lab as a possible alternative energy source. That said, Mr. Beck had a lot of offbeat ideas as to how to incorporate the rock, paper, scissors into his podcast. Let’s just say he has single-handedly raised the sport to a new level. He also wrote a funny blog post about the event. And without further ado, I now present to you Rose’ Man… and the first ever, ATV RPS Joust.

The April issue of the North Bay Biz features an article about “saavy wine companies” that are going online to promote their brands. Click here for the entire story. Or if you want to skip straight to the part about the Roshamblog, I’ve reprinted it here. (Apparently, the writer Mary Burnam and Naomi are in cahoots, as she describes the Roshamblog as “a platform for Brilliant’s boyfriend.”  Maybe she has a point.)

Here’s an excerpt from the story…

“Other North Bay wineries have ventured into social networking on their own. Roshambo, the 15,000-case Sonoma County brand owned by Naomi Brilliant, has its own MySpace page as well as the Roshamblog, a platform for Brilliant’s boyfriend and official Roshamblogger Scott Keneally.

Roshambo’s MySpace profile has about 500 friends on it, who, Keneally says, “are mostly people who’ve tried our wines, who know us, have been to our events and partied with us.” The winery posts bulletins and events to its profile, instantly alerting its fans when there’s news to share.

Facebook, YouTube videos and a website revamp are in the works, according to Keneally, who envisions creating short, funny commercial spots that capture the brand’s edgy and irreverent spirit. He enjoys being the voice of the winery via the Roshamblog, which draws about 2,600 people a month: “We started the blog to regularly communicate with our fans, but more than that, it’s there to support Roshambo’s vision of an accessible wine culture,” he remarks. For Keneally, this means posting about everything from his favorite indie rock band to Brilliant’s tattoos.

Conspicuously—and purposefully—absent from his posts is much about wine. “I’m a self-proclaimed ‘vineyard idiot,’” he says. “My tasting notes consist of ‘yum’ and ‘yuck’ or a series of emoticons. I’m not qualified to comment on things like ‘terroir.’

“But there are things, like music and art, that we support that help give a broader sense of the winery’s personality,” he continues. “The new wine catalog on our website focuses on the wines, but the blog focuses on the personality imbued in each bottle.”

Roshambo’s approach highlights a point that comes up over and over again with successful viral marketers: be authentic…”

…and if you read today’s Napa Valley Register, you’ll see we are putting some pretty outstanding stuff in our bottles.

For those of you who haven’t been to COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, it’s a non-profit discovery center whose mission is, in the words of Robert Mondavi, “to educate adults and children to the joys of living well.” The goal is to expose the positive roles that wine, food and the arts have played in our lives. COPIA features all sorts of wine and food tasting programs, art exhibitions, organic edible gardens, films, concerts, lectures, etc. Located in the heart of Napa Valley, it’s a must-see wine country destination. (Of course, I’ve never actually been there… but that’s why I’m the Vineyard Idiot).

Anyways, last weekend COPIA hosted their Sixth Annual “Taste of Sonoma County,” a signature event in which over 60 Sonoma producers participated. Our beloved cellar rat/winemaker Mikey Smith showed up to pour and I think part of him wished he gussied up a bit. Dressed in his usual attire (black Roshambo tee and not the cleanest jeans) he said he felt “frumpy” amidst the sea of polo shirts. Apparently it didn’t matter. People flocked to our table and Roshambo was a crowd favorite at the tasting, which is encouraging because first and foremost, we are interested in making great wine.  Here’s what Register Staff Writer L. Pierce Carson had to say…

SONOMA WINES GET HIGH MARKS AT COPIA TASTING

While Napa Valley is lauded as America’s premier winegrowing region, the grapes grown by our Sonoma neighbors are nothing to sneeze at. That fact was made more than clear last weekend as Copia hosted dozens of Sonoma County winemakers eager to pour their latest releases for wine lovers from near and far. Copia’s “Taste of Sonoma County” brought together producers from a number of Sonoma’s appellations, ranging from Rockpile to Carneros, Dry Creek to Russian River, Alexander Valley to Knights Valley. For more than three hours, consumers roamed the large lobbies of Copia tasting wines that ran the gamut of chardonnay to zinfandel. Starting with three favorites from Roshambo, the playful, consumer-savvy producer from Healdsburg, here’s our impressions of a number of wines worthy of your attention:

Roshambo 2005 Imago Chardonnay ($18): A stainless steel fermented, lees-stirred chardonnay with bready and tropical fruit aromas, this one has attractive ripe stone fruit and pear flavors with a bit of passion fruit that lingers in the mouth. It’s a medium-priced chardonnay without the slightest hint of oak (hooray!) that is an ideal aperitif or a fine accompaniment for salads, fruits and creamy cheeses.

Roshambo 2005 Zinfandel ‘The Reverend’ ($25): The winemaking team said it all in explaining why “The Reverend” was applied to this ripe, well-balanced zin - “Just like an old fire-and-brimstone sermon, it starts easy and lures you in with scents of Christmas spices. And then it kicks up the volume with an explosion of juicy red and blackberries, plums and chocolate. To finish, you are called up to the altar to be healed by a smack to the forehead of spicy, smooth tannins. You’ll be back next Sunday for some more.” To that, I say, “Amen!”

Roshambo 2005 Syrah “Justice” ($25): An outstanding Dry Creek syrah with floral and plum aromas and a big mouth full of blueberries and baking spice. This is ripe fruit in a bottle, from enticing entry to lingering blueberry finish. It invites a second, even third, sip, and proved to be one of the best syrahs tasted last weekend.

**ARE YOU WHET YET? If not, if you need a little bit more to turn you on, perhaps a little visual stimulation, then take a peek at these bottle shots.

Sexy huh? Now… follow your senses. Try the wines that everyone’s raving about.

Over the holidays, a writer from The Chronicle unexpectedly popped into our new Cornerstone tasting room. Since most everything in this world - movie, music, book, wine reviews, etc. - is so utterly (and sometimes incomprehensibly) subjective, we were naturally curious as to what said critic thought. A great review might send new people in our direction, and a bad review… well, I’m sure you get the point. The review got off to a rocky start in the opening line when our slogan was misquoted (It’s “Fighting for Fun in a Winey World,” not in a winery world.) That notwithstanding, I’m thrilled to report that we very much loved what Amanda Gold had to say. Por ejemplo, “If it weren’t for the flights being poured at the counter, you might not remember that this is Wine Country.” Thank you, Amanda! I couldn’t have said it better myself. Roshambo has always prided itself on creating a fun and disarming atmosphere in which to experience incredible wines. We never thought wine, even fine wines like ours, should be intimidating, esoteric, or an exclusive extravagance for the elite. We believe that wine should be as easy to embrace and enjoy as a cold bottle of beer. And that’s why Naomi designed another imaginative and offbeat tasting room (not to mention the Roshambus). It’s a place that, according to The Chronicle, “If you’re not in the mood to sample wine, you’ll still find entertainment - grab a seat at the old-school Ms. Pac-Man table and chomp away.” So what are you waiting for? Read this review. Then take a walk on The Wild Side at our new Cornerstone tasting room!

**Oh, and tell them “The Roshamblogger” sent you. (Not that you’ll get any special discount, but you’ll make me look good to my boss (and girlfriend, Naomi). And I promise that in return, I will love you forever. Well… “love” is a strong word. So maybe I will just like you forever. Not just a lot. But I will like you a lot, a lot.)

The Bohemian, our North Bay alt-weekly, just spotlighted us as their “Tasting Room of the Week.” Here’s an excerpt…

“Many of us may be asking the question, where did Roshambo go? A winery is usually the epitome of solid, long-standing institution. Yet this paradigm-shifting winery is in a state of flux, neither here nor there. Look, is that a Roshambus carrying a party army into the night? You’ll recall that the “old winery” was practically brand-new when sold to Silver Oak. Now, we find the wine country’s hippest tasting room under Blue Tree…” Click HERE to read the rest of the story.

In other exciting news… Naomi Brilliant will be featured in a piece in the February issue of Wine Enthusiast. Local sharpshooter Craig Clement snapped photos of our Wine Hero, and while we didn’t send this one to the magazine, we thought you might appreciate it. It’s just so… so, Roshambo.

Roshambo Winery started with the simple mission to slap wine off its pedestal and demystify it for the masses. In short, we are trying to lure new people into the world of wine. People who probably thought wine was too stuffy and elitist and esoteric for their tastes. And while we like to think offbeat attitude is working, we love it when we receive confirmation that our approach is actually working…

Will Work For Food is a food and wine and design blog that recently featured your beloved Roshambo.  The blogger, a brand new convert to wine, stumbled upon our website and seems to be quite smitten. Though he hasn’t tasted the wines yet, we are pretty sure that once he does he’ll be hooked for life. Because we have never just been about slick packaging. We know that we have to appeal to your senses as much as your spirit. With that in mind, I’d again like to direct you to this link where you can BUY OUR FANTABULOUS WINE!!!

(I’m getting better at this “central messaging” thing, huh?  Nailed it.)

In case you missed it on Saturday, the Press Democrat brought news of the demise of edgy Wine X magazine. After ten years, hipster publisher (and friend of Roshambo Winery) Daryl Roberts has finally called it quits. Our pirate hats go off to Daryl for his decade of dedication to briging wine to a younger crowd. And for all of you who missed out on the fun, here’s a story he wrote a few years back about our Wine Hero.

This morning Naomi woke up to a pleasant surprise when the Press Democrat landed on her lap. On the front page of the Food & Wine section was an incredibly well written and in depth feature about her plans for Roshambo 2.0. It wasn’t a surprise that the story came out, only that it was soooo overwhelmingly positive, that the writer got it right. “Reports of Roshambo’s death have been greatly exaggerated,” reads opening line. And as Naomi’s eyes scanned the rest of Virginie Boone’s piece, her face was lit with a smile that was bright enough to power all of Sonoma County. It’s one of the best stories she’s ever read about herself or the winery. And if you click here (and sign in, anoooooying) you can see why.

Muchos gracias to Marcia Simmons of The North Bay Business Journal for running a great page one feature about Roshambo 2.0. We thought the story was fair and accurate and we love how it turned out.

A savvy writer girl from the Contra Costa Times visited Healdsburg this weekend. She blogged about her three favorite experiences on CCT’s website. We wanna thank her kindly for her kindliest words about Roshambo.

So on the count of one, two, three… “Thank you, Je-ssi-ca!” Roshambo ventricles your fine taste and intuition.

Oh, and I’m not one to normally buy into the “hippest” things in life (please ignore my trucker hats and tattoos and toenail polish). Because the “hip” things are fads and fleeting and ephemeral and will lie dormant for another twenty-five years until the second coming of White Snake makes something like hair crimpers cool again.

God, NO!!!

I think this cartoon says it all. Ever since the year 2001, when our first vintage of un-oaked Imago Chardonnay beat out hundreds of other whites to win the “Sonoma County Harvest Fair Sweepstakes,” Roshambo has proven itself to be more than clever packaging. While WE DO NOT THINK YOU SHOULD EVER BUY A WINE BECAUSE OF ITS HIGH SCORES AND AWARDS, we do appreciate the wine trade magazines and tastemakers, sommeliers and everyday Jen-n-Jeff’s who consistently give us a Ropert-ready 2 thumbs up. Because, to be perfectly honest, we know that no matter how much you love our elaborate antics and attitude, parties and piercings, if you don’t love what’s inside the bottle then we are nothing more than a gimmick. And if you show me someone who wants a gimmick over a good wine, I’ll finally feel rich and happy, giddy and gay because I will have a buyer for that Brooklyn Bridge I’ve been meaning to unload. Ta-Da!!!!