Wine Festivals
10 Great Wines of Garagiste
Written by shawn on date 16 February 2016 in Central Coast, Happy Canyon, Santa Barbara County, Wine Festivals , Wine Reviews, Winemakers
The Garagiste Festival is one of those great wine events where visitors can discover numerous super small brands. In some cases these winemakers only produce a few barrels of wine. It is also worth mentioning that many of these wines are not found in a tasting room, or store shelves due to such low production.
The Saturday seminar in Solvang (Santa Ynez Valley) kicked off with a much lessor known varietal, Mourvedre. The panelist included (left) Bob Tillman from Alta Colina in Paso Robles, Eric Mohseni (middle) from the long time famed Zaca Mesa of Santa Barbara County, and Mr ...
Read moreEarth Day Food and Wine Festival
Written by shawn on date 12 April 2015 in Central Coast, Food , Wine Festivals , Winemakers
Earth Day Food & Wine Festival
Located: Paso Robles at Castoro Cellars on Hwy 46 West
When: April 18 is the main event ( however the entire weekend is filled with events 17th-19th)
Time: VIP 1:00 PM $115 and General Admission $75 at 2:00 PM and ends at 5 PM
What: Group of people interested in sustainable practices that are some of the best local chefs, farmers, and wineries all getting together to party.
This just might be the most casual event you will find in the State without an ounce of pretension. These are some amazing people that simply ...
Read moreWine Alcohol Debate
Written by shawn on date 08 April 2015 in Central Coast, Restaurants , Santa Barbara County, Wine Festivals , Winemakers
The Garagiste Festival (Santa Ynez Southern Exposure)continues to shed light on smaller production winemakers. Many of these wine producers cannot be found on a wine map. In some cases, the wines poured cannot even be found in any bar, restaurant, or wine shop. The discoveries can be fun, interesting, and even stellar.
Preceeding the grand tasting in Solvang (Santa Barbara County), a panel of winemakers met to discuss the Great Alcohol Debate, The Elephant In The Bottle. This just might be a more inside or industry debate, but it can be a very hot topic in some circles.
Neither ...
Read morePinot Noir Is Deserving
Written by shawn on date 12 March 2015 in Santa Barbara County, Wine Culture, Wine Festivals , Wine Regions
Recently I had the opportunity to attend one of the greatest wine events on California's Central Coast, World of Pinot Noir. Attendees had the opportunity to taste stellar discoveries like Storm from South Africa, Leelanau Vintners Association of Michigan, and Austrialian Pinot Noirs.
I also had a chance to visit with some fantastic (personally) known producers including: Navarro (Anderson Valley), Talley (Arroyo Grande), Ryan Cochran (Santa Maria Valley), Gypsy Canyon (Sta Rita Hills),Verdad (Edna Valley), Hillard Bruce (Sta Rita Hills), Siduri (Northern CA) and many others.
Along the way I discussed Pinot Noir with some winemakers whose wine ...
Read moreWorld of Pinot Noir
Written by shawn on date 20 February 2015 in Central Coast, Restaurants , Santa Barbara County, Travel, Wine Days, Wine Dinners, Wine Festivals , Wine Geek, Winemakers
Food and Wine Challenge
Written by shawn on date 06 January 2015 in Wine Dinners, Wine Festivals , Winemakers
Throughout the year there are countless wine events, but none quite like the Ventura County Wine Trail Food and Wine Challenge. This event brings food and wine together the way they belong, paired, and tasted together. Local chefs and local winemakers put their goods to a pairing challenge. One bite is offered by the participating restaurant chefs, and one paired wine from the winemakers table. Revisiting the tables is encouraged.
The idea is simple, decide what team came up with the best pairing. A team of judges (tasting blind) is composed of sommeliers, foodies, restaurant people, bloggers, and winos. In ...
Read moreItalian Slow Wine Event
Written by shawn on date 28 December 2014 in Natural Wine , Wine Festivals , Wine Regions, Winemakers
The Best of the 805 Wine Panel
Written by shawn on date 21 October 2014 in Central Coast, Restaurants , Santa Barbara County, Wine Dinners, Wine Festivals , Wine Regions, Winemakers
(All photos copyright protected and taken by Shawn Burgert)
The Best of the 805 is taking place this weekend, October 24/25th, at the historic Camarillo Ranch House. It is a loaded weekend event kicking off with a Friday night wine dinner featuring some of the very best local chefs including John Paolone of Cafe Firenze, Tim Kilcoyne of Scratch, Anastashia Chavez from Barrel House 101, and Gabe Garcia of Tierra Sur.
Saturday, October 25th, is the main event held from 1:00-5:00 PM. The event is loaded with live music, over 100 venders that include great wineries, breweries ...
Ventura Wine Trail Food and Wine Challenge
Written by shawn on date 04 January 2014 in Wine Festivals , Wine Pairing
Last year's Food and Wine Challenge was my very first time attending, and it was an exciting event. The Ventura Wine Trail puts on this annual event showcasing the synergistic impact of wine pairings. Local wineries pair with local restaurants to show case their goods and take a spin at winning both the judges votes, as well as tickets holders for the People's Choice Award.
This is not your typical wine event as it is held on a Thursday night locally, and makes for an easy date night....well, that's what I am doing.
2014 Teams ...
Read moreTop Chef Michael Voltaggio interview at Savor Central Coast
Written by shawn on date 14 October 2013 in Central Coast, Food , Restaurants , Travel, Wine Festivals
Chef Michael Voltaggio was one of the many celebrity chefs at Sunset Magazines' Savor the Central Coast. Savor CC for short, is an annual food, wine, and cooking event held in September at Santa Margarita Ranch in Paso Robles. (More event details)
It really is so much more, with four days of events, winemaker seminars, gardening demonstrations, live music, cooking demos from celebrity chefs, cookbook signings, and all loaded with wineries/breweries/restaurants from all over the central coast.
The best analogy just might be a real life experience from the pages of Sunset Magazine, or maybe just a Disneyland ...
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