Tuesday, July 16, 2013

15TH WINEMAKERS COOKOFF HEATS UP AUGUST 10TH ©


            A popular sell out with Paso Robles locals will be the held at the hot spot for food and wine that Saturday, the Events Center complex on Riverside Ave. from 6 to 9 PM. Free parking is available across from the venue entrance.

You must be 21 to attend and tickets are available on line for $75 or a $40 designated driver fee. With over two dozen wineries lined up, there will be plenty of food for the drivers and lots of wine to sample for full pass holders. No dogs or ice chests allowed but blankets and beach chairs are welcome and handy if you plan to catch Julie Beaver & the Bad Dogs musical offerings.

The event is run by the Paso Robles Rotary and benefits the Harlow Ford Foundation, providing Paso Robles High seniors with scholarship funds to help them get started in college. There are both professional judges but you get to vote for people's choice on the various food and wine items. The event has sold out for several years so check out www.winemakerscookoff.com for details and ducats.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

NO PLAN FOR JULY 6? HOW ABOUT BBQ & CORKED BEVERAGES ? ©


            The shady oaks of Halter Ranch Winery may be just the ticket for your holiday weekend. FORK n' CORKS Fest 2013. The fest will bring people together to enjoy beverages that are sealed with a cork; such as whiskey, gin, wine, port, beer, hard ciders, champagne and more! I suggest moderation vs. a hangover with this potent mix of potables.

Spoiler alert: attendance is limited to 1,200 so jump on www.pasoforkandcorksfest.com or contact Jessica Beattie at (805)781-2750 or via jbeattie@americangeneralmedia.com. AGM is the event sponsor. Tickets are $70 and the Fest begins a 4 and runs to 8 PM.

Tasting samples will be paired with food from twenty local Chefs and restaurants. They are faced with the challenge of being allowed to cook only with the BBQ pit. They will then be limited to garnishing their creations only with pitted fruits and veggies, such as avocados, peaches, cherries, olives and more. Yes, the concept is pull it from the pit, put it on a plate and place with pits in proper perspective. Good thing I withheld imbibing before writing that, or trying to say it. You get to vote on the result and the top three chefs will receive some great swag.

Live entertainment will be provided by Code Blue Band & Three Martini Lunch, rotating on the stage. Live art can be seen while actually produced, painted or sculpted in the large Barn by artists from Studios on The Park (a nonprofit art center), with Central Coast Wine Country as the theme. Profits from sales will benefit the center's programs.

The event will benefit the community oriented MUST! Charities Organization, dedicated to offering resources to those in need in San Luis Obispo’s North County. 

WOPN MOVES TO SANTA BARBARA ©


            The 14th version of World of Pinot Noir has announced its plans for Friday/Saturday, February 28 & March 1, 2014.  The really-really big news is a move to Pinot popular Santa Barbara. Next year's celebration will be held at the Bacara Resort & Spa. Ticket packages went on-sale Monday, July 1st at www.wopn.com. Details on individual event tickets are there as well and be available in early Fall.

 

Pinot Noir producers from the most exceptional and unique regions in the world come together with Pinot pals for a weekend of celebration and education. Past WOPN weekends have seen 2,000 guests attend educational, culinary and tasting events. Pinot Noir bottlings from more than 150 wineries, including Burgundy as well as California and  Oregon, New Zealand and Austria, Australia & Chile, Switzerland and even New York.

 

Friday will feature a pair of seminars, a tasting from producers small and large and wine regions near and far, and a pair of winemaker dinners created by Executive Chef David Reardon. Saturday's schedule includes the popular Burgundy seminar/tasting, the World of Pinot Grand Tasting of over 100 wineries, the Gala Dinner and a featured winery dinner in the Miro Restaurant Wine Cellar.

  

For details about Bacara Resort & Spa, nestled on the bluff and beaches of the Santa Barbara coast between the Pacific Ocean and Santa Ynez Mountains, check their site www.bacararesort.com. It is a lovely property and offers a high end experience that includes golf packages with three local courses. Since I was involved with opening the course and the menu still offers things I named back in the day, I suggest the Santa Ynez Valley's Rancho San Marcos. On the actual wine trail, it is not an ocean view experience but located on a land grant from 1804 and now owned by the man who made Beanie Babies a multi-million dollar household word. It is a wonderful and often quirky test, well worth the visit.