Alexander Valley Winegrowers host opening celebration at Lancaster Estate Winery with chefs Josh Silvers, Jeff Mall, Carlo Cavallo, and the music of Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums

Taste Alexander Valley, celebrating its 15th year, will be held May 18, 19 and 20 in Sonoma County’s majestic Alexander Valley appellation.

More than 30 wineries will open their vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms for guests to enjoy the latest releases of world-class wines from grapes grown in the fertile Alexander Valley.

The weekend kicks off with an opening celebration Friday evening, May 18th, at the exclusive Lancaster Estate Winery, which features a 53-acre hillside vineyard at the southernmost tip of Alexander Valley. Running from 5 to 8:30 p.m., the outdoor celebration will feature reserve and library wines from throughout the valley, allowing guests to interact and mingle with local vintners, growers and winemakers.

Alexander Valley fine wines will be paired with passed hors d’oeuvres and small plates created by notable local guest chef/owners – Josh Silvers of Jackson’s Bar & Oven and Petite Syrah Bistro, Jeff Mall of Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar, and Carlo Cavallo of Meritage Sonoma.

The food and wine repast will be accompanied by the lively blues, swing and jazz sounds of event crowd-pleasers, Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums.

On Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., wineries will host individual parties at sites throughout Alexander Valley. Wineries will create colorful and engaging decorative environments for their TAV guests, often including live music and entertainment to enhance the wine and food offerings.

Weekend passes and Opening Celebration tickets are available at www.alexandervalley.org. Passes are $65 in advance and $75 at the door. Tickets for the Opening Celebration are $105 in advance only and may be purchased with a weekend pass for the best value price of $155, with limited availability.

This year’s participants are Alexander Valley Vineyards, Arbios, Blue Rock Vineyard, Clos du Bois, deLorimier Winery, Draxton Wines, Field Stone Winery & Vineyard, Francis Ford Coppola Winery, Hanna Winery & Vineyards, Hart’s Desire Wines, Hawkes Wine, Icaria Winery, J. Rickards Winery, Kelley & Young, Medlock Ames, Mercury Wine, Pech Merle Winery, Pendleton Estate, Quaking Hills Winery, Robert Young Estate Winery, Rodney Strong Vineyards, Sapphire Hill Winery, Sausal Winery, Simi Winery, Soda Rock Winery, Starlite Vineyards, Stonestreet Winery, Stryker Sonoma, Stuhlmuller Vineyards, Trione Vineyards & Winery, White Oak Vineyards & Winery and William Gordon Winery.