Bryan Cass & Blake "The Pourfessional" Ball

Lounge Six

It was a busy week for wine aficionados  in Southern California. Last Monday I went to San Diego to the beautiful Lounge Six at the Solamar Hotel in downtown for R & R Wine Marketing‘s Spring Portfolio Tasting. The weather was picture perfect and the views were awesome… Petco Park, the downtown skyline and the Pacific Ocean.

I was also introduced to some Read more »

The weather was ideal. Escondido was the perfect venue for Rhythm and Vine, a fundraiser for the Greater San Diego Boys & Girls Club. Three different musical acts enlivened the evening and food and drink was plentiful. Silent auction items ranged from bottles of wine and spirits, wine tours, fine and casual dining to autographed memorabilia from Bruce Springsteen and Celine Dion.

John Torres

John Torres performed an acoustic set as attendees surveyed the silent auction items. When the event doors opened at 6:00, Read more »

“Oh, you’re Craig Larson, the winemaker. You’re the key.” Craig was having dinner at Meritage at Callaway with his wife one evening when someone came up and said that to him. Craig has been Callaway’s winemaker for the past two years now. He says there’s a lot of pressure when you come into a winery as a new winemaker because you really have to prove yourself. “That’s a lot of responsibility.”

Craig is Canadian born and began his love affair with wine at the age of 15 or 16. His brother began introducing him to French Bordeaux and Italian Chianti and it was love at first sip. Many people have to acquire a taste for dry red wines, but not Craig. When he makes wine, his Read more »

Marco Caporole warming up the '07 Estate Cab

It somehow seems each time we visit Paso Robles we enjoy ourselves more than the time before. This visit was no exception. Starting with dinner with friends Thursday night, we visited wineries Friday and Saturday and savored all that is Paso Robles. Sunday morning began with a visit to Hoover’s Beef Palace in Templeton. We first dined at Hoover’s last year and this was our third visit. The food is delicious, the portions are humongous and the atmosphere is, well, unique. Laura ordered the French Toast with fresh blackberries, Denny & Jodi shared a Chili Verde omelet and both had more than enough to eat and I ordered Mark’s Mean & Meaty omelet. I’m not exaggerating when I say I ate less than a quarter of it and couldn’t squeeze in one more bite. Candy, Mark’s wife threatened to make me wash dishes as penance until she saw we were taking the rest with us.

Mike Giubbini & Gail

We went straight to Rotta Winery where we were reunited with our new found friend Gail who poured for us while Read more »

Prototype label for the yet to be released Doffo Zinfandel

As people entered the Doffo Vineyard grounds for the wine pickup party, they were greeted with a glass of Viognier and the wonderful aromas of roasted meats cooking on the hand crafted stone barbecue.  Appetizers lined the tables with meats, cheeses, olives, and many other wonderful dishes available to eat.  It is obvious that this was not any ordinary pickup party, it had Marcelo Doffo’s signature all over it.

Marcelo was stoking the fire with a blend of hickory and coal that intensified the aromas that permeated the air.  Marinated skirt steak, tri-tip, and Read more »

Gray skies, temperatures on the chilly side and a few drops of rain couldn’t deter hundreds of wine lovers from enjoying the World of Wine barrel tasting event presented this past weekend by the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association. 27 wineries offered tastes of their wines, though not all offered barrel samples. If you check out my ticket on the right side of the page, you’ll note I paid a visit to every single participating winery. Ah, the sacrifices I make in being a wine writer.

I tip my cap to the Temecula Valley Wine Society who did a stellar job checking people in, pouring wine, serving food and so much more. It was great to see Marshall Stuart, Jim & Christine Hart, Dorian & Les Linkogle, Ray Falkner, Nick Palumbo, Marcelo & Damian Doffo, Robert Renzoni, Bob Olson (owner of Danza del Sol, formerly Filsinger), Jennifer & Rick Buffington, Phil Baily, Steve & Valerie Andrews and to meet South Coast’s head Chef Dean Thomas, Van Roekel winemaker Gus Vizgirda and Dave & Gail Bradley, owners of Read more »

Future site of Lorimar Winery's visitor center & tasting room

“I’ve got a song in my heart, and I want our visitors to have a song in their hearts when they spend time here.” Temecula’s newest winery, Lorimar, has a music note on several of its bottles. When I asked co-owner Mark Manfield why, that was the answer I received. Mark grew up in the bar and restaurant business, working in his dad’s restaurant in Kansas City, MO since he was nine years old. When he left college he took over the bar and remained in charge until they lost the family business they had owned since 1948 to eminent domain. Mark moved to California and got into real estate and Read more »