It’s all about the Chardonnay baybee!

Chardonnay Symposium

 

The Chardonnay Symposium is the sister event to the Cabs of Distinction, and is equally awesome. The 2016 event yet again did not disappoint. We were able to pick from a list of several different great seminars, thankfully some were similar to those I went to last year, so I was able to attend other ones that also interested me. The 2 seminars I chose were the Wente Clone Comparative Tasting, and the Hone Your Chardonnay Blind-Tasting Skills but I also got to attend the Pét-Nat Sparkling Wine & Oysters Gala, La Paulée Dinner and Vintners Awards Ceremony (thanks to my date Glenn from Adelaida), and of course the Saturday Grand Tasting.

Pass me Somm Chardonnay -Segment 1

Chardonnay Symposium

Chardonnay is the number 1 selling wine in the world and in California alone there are 100,000 acres planted. It’s a very versatile wine with flavors and textures that can go from very tropical, to creamy and buttery, to minerally and it is even the primary white varietal used to make Champagne. Of all the varieties Chardonnay has been most popular with women and with so many different incarnations it’s easy to see why. This year I got to attend the Chardonnay Symposium for the first time and it was quite an event, with wine makers and Chardonnays from all over the world.

Cabs of Distinction 2015, Part Deux

Adelaida Vineyards

So part 2 of the Cabs of Distinction is all about the winery open houses. Unfortunately I was on a bit of a time limit so I only had an opportunity to attend 2 of the many open houses that day. The two I picked were Adelaida and Daou both established, well-respected wineries and supportive neighbors of each other. The age difference however is vast, with Adelaida having been started 34 years ago after having purchased their 50-year-old HMR vineyard from Doc Hoffman, one of the original pioneers of Paso. The Daou’s on the other hand, purchased and established their winery located atop Hidden Mountain Ranch and also including a part of the HMR vineyards in 2007. Since the winery’s inception, brothers Daniel and Georges have quickly made a name for themselves.

Distinctively Cab!

Cabs of Distinction

This blog posting is long over due. In fact it’s since April 2014 over due, because that’s when this event occurred.  I have already written a couple blogs on the Cab Collective but the Cabs of Distinction event is my current favorite. It was a collaboration between the acclaimed SOMM Journal, Parker Sanpei, and the Paso Robles CAB (Cabernet and Bordeaux) Collective (PRCC) it was 4 days (I was only able to attend 3 of the days) long and included a “camp” for Sommeliers and Press with the entire event culminating in a Gala tasting for the public. The first 2 days took place at the ballroom of the Paso Robles Inn, and 28 wineries were present.

A Very Boozey Weekend.

Rhone Rangers

Holy Crap Balls, what a “weekend!” President’s Day weekend started with a Hangar 24 Tap Takeover at The Boardroom in Pismo Beach on Friday, and the Rhone Rangers Grand Tasting at Broken Earth Winery on Sunday. Then to an exquisite luncheon at Thomas Hill Organics on Monday put on by the Paso Robles Cab Collective (PRCC) and Parker Sanpei PR (which I will write about in a separate blog posting), and lastly it was on to a “whale” party put on by our friends at Central Coast Distributors.  With such an awesome lineup it’s hard to even know where to start, so I guess at the beginning.

A ‘Stache, a Bash and a Smash!

It’s a ‘Stache Bash!!!

I’m a a big proponent of charitable organizations and the good works they do. Many of the events I’ve been lucky enough to attend and write about are fundraisers for charities; you may remember Must Charities from Forks and Corks, Zoo to you from the Mac and Cheese fest, and CAPSLO from An Afternoon of Epicurean Delights. Recently one of my favorite restaurant/bars in San Luis Obispo Sidecar, put on a great fundraiser for Movember, a global charity that focuses on men’s health; specifically raising funds and awareness to combat prostate and testicular cancer as well as mental health challenges. Participation is encouraged by men, growing mustaches or a Mo (“Mo” is slang for mustache) for all 30-days of November. The movement began in Melbourne Australia in 2003 when 30 Mo Bros first grew mustaches. It has since grown globally inspiring more than 4 million “Mo Bros” and “Mo Sistas” to participate across 21 countries worldwide.

Truffles are fun-guys

Chef Fillipini and Winemaker Michael

One of the things I really like about being a blogger is I’m considered a “member of the media”. It is an awesome designation in the sense that I get invited to things like previews and awesome events. One such preview happened yesterday, November 9, 2013 at Le Vigne winery. Owner and Chef, Walter Fillipini got in some rare white truffles from Italy, which he is using for an upcoming winemaker dinner on November 23, 2013.

White Truffle in the bowl on the left

October is the beginning of the very short white truffle season in Italy. Historically truffle hunters used special pigs to help find and dig up these little gems, but now a days they also use dogs to sniff them out because the pigs like to eat them too much. White truffles are highly aromatic, extremely expensive, quite rare, knuckle shaped mushrooms, that have been called “the diamonds in the kitchen”. In 2007 a world record price of $330,000 was paid at auction for a white truffle weighing 3.3 lb. On Saturday, Chef had an 8oz white truffle worth $2000 on display.

Savoring the Sunset

Sunset at the Castle

Sunsets are gorgeous, but there is something magical about sunsets on the Central Coast. Maybe it’s the clear, smog, free skies or the sparkling blue of the Pacific in conjunction with those smog, free skies. Whatever it is, when you add watching it from the balconies of a 1920s era castle that sunset becomes absolutely MIND BLOWING! Sadly pictures taken with an Iphone 4 can’t do it justice.

Mac ATTACK!!!

Nom, nom, nom

You have to have been living under a rock to not know that we were going to the Paso Robles Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese Festival on August 24th.  Macaroni and Cheese is one of those comfort foods that instantly takes me back to childhood and hungry for Kraft Mac and cheese with hotdogs, so I was beyond looking forward to this. The Mac and Cheese Fest is a charitable event put together by American General Media to benefit Zoo to You a non-profit organization through the Paso Robles Zoo dedicated to bringing education and adventure to kids, by teaching conservation through interaction.

Can I get you a CAB?

Just some of the selection

Typically, because this blog is meant to be a guide for events and places the public can go, I don’t make a practice of blogging on Industry only events. But Thursday night I was treated by the Paso Robles CAB Collective (PRCC) and Parker Sanpei PR to one of the coolest events I’ve been to so far; and if you read this blog, you know that is saying A LOT! Especially with all the unbelievably, wonderful events I’ve been lucky enough to attend recently. The reason I enjoyed this event so much is simple, it was an incredible opportunity to meet/ re-meet and mingle with the people behind some of the best wines on the Central Coast. From winemakers to vineyard and winery staff and owners, they were all together, in one incredibly beautiful location, Daou Vineyards. The PRCC was formed in 2012, and is a grass roots, non-profit organization made up of a group of wineries to promote and improve awareness of the Paso Robles American Viticultural Area (AVA), with regard to the area’s unique ability to produce great Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varietals.