A lot of wining in a very short time...

Panini @ VWC - Yum!

Headed up to the Valencia Wine Company for the monthly meeting of the Grape of the Night back on the 11th. This month's grape was Cabernet Franc, and we had 7 wines to sample, ranging from inexpensive 'supermarket' wine to seriously overpriced.

Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire's Chinon. Cabernet Franc is lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, making a bright pale red wine and contributing finesse and a peppery perfume to blends with more robust grapes. Depending on growing region and style of wine, additional aromas can include tobacco, raspberry, and cassis, sometimes even violets. Records of Cabernet Franc in Bordeaux go back to the end of the 18th century; it was planted in Loire long before that. DNA analysis indicates Cabernet Franc is one of two parents of Cabernet Sauvignon, a cross between it and Sauvignon Blanc.

Wining and whiling away the time...

Time goes by so fast. Fortunately, we're doing a lot of wine tasting while it's going by!

Shai @Santa Barbara

6/25 - Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the Natural History Museum - At the very last minute, Shawn Shai Halahmy pinged me to ask if we could help him pour his wines in Santa Barbara. We said 'Sure!' and headed North. We weren't familiar with this particular festival, but it was huge! More than 70 wineries - most of whom I knew - lots of fun food, a gorgeous setting, and a really enthusiastic crowd. Shawn was pouring his 2008 Shai Cellars Adome, plus doing a sneak preview of his just-bottled 2009 Adome and 2009 Grenache. With all the great wines being shown, a significant number of guests came back to us to tell us how much they like Shai! What's not to like? Oh, and the photo of Shai is courtesy of Bob Dickey, a great photog and wine lover in Santa Barbara. No relation to JD.  Just a fortunate name.

WHining and wining...

Pre LAWineFest

The Goddess and JD are TIRED. We are just beat. Between the 6th Annual LAWineFest, the Arte in Junio event at the Beauty Lounge, wine events and winemaker dinners, and moving the parental units to a new location, we are tired. We have been up and down the coast between home and Morro Bay several times this month, with more to come as we clear out the old place and determine what stays and what goes. In between has been wine. And thank the universe for that!

Wining and adventures in Pasadena...

We set off early Saturday - breakfast with the usual gang at Lancers, plus a couple of Pete's nieces (new friends we now adore). Over to the Beauty Lounge in Pasadena, where Gina made us look shiny and new, and on to more adventures in wine.

Tasting @ Heritage

It was too early for most of the wine bars in Pasadena to be open, so we walked over to Heritage Wine and Spirits. We hadn't been there since the new owners had taken over, so we didn't know what to expect. Christian poured a glass of the 2008 Jana Rosé of Grenache for me (light, fresh, crisp), a glass of the 2009 Maipe Torrontes (a great aperitif) for JD, and we started off an adventurous afternoon! We sampled a fun sparkling Rosé, Fresita, a unique blend of Chilean sparkling wine (a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Moscatel) infused with fresh, handpicked strawberries from Patagonia. A little sweet for my taste, but Christian says he has trouble keeping it in stock. I believe it!

Still wining...really!

Yeah, yeah...I know...haven't written recently. But I've been busy!!

Been getting my somm's and pourers in place for the upcoming LAWineFest 2011! There's still time for you to let me know if you want to help.

• There will be over 500 wines and spirits to taste, plus great food from local restaurants and food trucks.
• There will be special programs - Wine, Scotch and Sake tasting, plus wine and cheese pairing with Barrie Lynn and George Rosenthal, winemakers and winery owners panels, and a special appearance by Chef Cyndy Schwanke, College of the Canyons -ICE making some glorious desserts to pair with dessert wines!

You should attend, even if you can't volunteer. Discounted tix are still available, but the discounts disappear the closer we get to the event. Don't wait!

But that's not all I've been doing...

So much wining...so little time to write!

I was trying to figure out why I haven't written in the last month, and I realized it's because JD and I have been running all over the place tasting wines, eating great food, and just generally having a good time, except for the broken nose. But that's another story. 
 
Here's what's been going on in the last month or so. And it doesn't include various dinners with friends and meetings about the upcoming LA WineFest!

3/14 - The Flask Studio City - Fog Crest from Sebastopol (wines were OK, nothing to write home about)/Shai Cellars from Santa Ynez (Of course, a personal favorite. And winemaker Shawn Halahmy was donating part of the proceeds of any of his sales to help Japan.)

Wining by proxy...A guest post from the First Acolyte himself...

So many wine events, so little time! Back on March 15th, the Family Winemakers of California came to town, but the Goddess couldn't get there...sob! So I sent my First Acolyte, JD, to cover the event. Here is his report:

Popping up from parking at the convention center I found myself in the conference building. Discovered the Exhibit Hall is on the other side of the Center grounds. I planned on mostly hitting wineries I was unfamiliar with, which would unfortunately mean skipping many known great tastes.

The doors opened and I headed for the end of the alphabet and started with William James Cellars, who had called the Goddess asking to be sure to taste their wines. Started with the “Simply Gorgeous” Grenache Rose, had good cran- & other berry spice, light, a nice start which led to the regular Grenache “Smoke Rings”, a slightly heavier version. “Persuasive” Pinot Noir had some nice earth in it. I found the Cabernet Sauvignon was a little hot on the nose, but would probably quiet down given a little time to swirl. Sampled a couple others too, but was getting a little anxious to move on- so many wineries in this huge room!

Wining at Noir...

Dining room at Noir

JD and I were lucky enough to be able to get tickets to a special winemaker dinner at Noir Food and Wine in Pasadena. By special, I mean special. Richard Sanford, the man behind the Sanford & Benedict vineyard, the original Sanford Winery, the current award-winning Alma Rosa Winery, and the inspiration for a generation of winemakers, was bringing his lovely wines to be paired with dishes created by Pasadena's most celebrated chef, Claud Beltran.

Wining, wining, wining...the wining never stops!

Grape of the Night @ VWC

Attended an intimate Grape of the Night at the Valencia Wine Companylast Monday, the 7th. Ringmaster Eve Bushman put out the call, per Rusty Dale Sly's command, for Bordeaux wines. You know, from France. JD & I showed up with a chilled 2008 Chateau Tertre de Launay from the Entre Deux Mers region, setting the bar pretty high, if I say so myself. A couple of attendees, who said they never drink white Bordeaux, had to admit it was pretty tasty (technical term, of course); a crisp, citrusy Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend that had a soft, honeyed finish. Yum!

Other hits of the night were the 2003 Chateau Franc, a lush blend of 65% Merlot and 35% Cabernet Franc, and the 2006 Chateau Tour Pauillac Cru Bourgeois, a 70/30 blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I do love Bordeaux! Next month, GOTN will feature Petit Sirah, that deceptively named grape that is anything but small.

Rhoning in Paso...

JD & I had the opportunity to head up to Paso Robles a couple of weeks ago for the annual Rhone Rangers Experience - Paso Robles chapter - seminar and tasting. We sweet-talked our cousins in Los Osos to put us up for a couple of nights, and headed up the coast.

Saturday morning, got on the road early, stopping in Solvang to break our fast at Paula's Pancake House. This time we had contacted our friend Lee Tomkow, a brilliant photographer and videographer, to meet us. Over breakfast, we chatted about wines and wineries. On hearing that we were headed to the RR, he suggested that we look up Ambyth Estate and try the wines there. He couldn't say enough about them - biodynamic, organic farming, great location at a high elevation in Templeton. I said we'd keep it in mind, time permitting.