How do you decide which events to attend?
My interest in Cal Poly Pomona actually came about from two separate directions.
A very good friend of mine is heavily involved with the Cal Poly Pomona Collins School of Hospitality Management http://www.csupomona.edu/~collins/, so my wife Karen and I started attending events associated with the Collins School several years ago.
In addition, a few years ago I was researching information on the history of winemaking in the Los Angeles area, and my efforts to learn more about this topic led me to discover the Wine Industry Collection devoted to Southern California Winemaking at the Cal Poly Pomona University Library http://www.csupomona.edu/~library/specialcollections/wine/.
So, it seemed like my involvement with the college was meant to be.
One of the great events held by Cal Poly Pomona is the annual tasting and auction. This year it was held on the gloriously sunny afternoon of Sunday, May 4th in the huge campus Rose Garden and adjacent Aratani Japanese Garden. The three-hour event included more wine and food than you possibly taste, along with a silent auction, live auction, and musical entertainment, all to raise funds to support student programs.
Participating food and beverage vendors included:
90 Pacifica Restaurant & Wine Bar
Alosta Brewing Co.
Anheuser Busch-Goose Island of Chicago
Anheuser Busch-Shock Top
Applebee’s
Arel Imports- Candoni True Italian Wines
Barton &. Guestier
BJ’s Restaurant &. Brewhouse
Bravo Beverage- Oro di Milano Italian Beer
Buca di Beppo
Cabotella Mexican Ale-Baja Brewing
Chili’s Grill &. Bar
Clubhouse 66 Restaurant &. Bar
Dale Bros Brewery
Dolcissimo Bakeshop
Farm Store at Kellogg Ranch-Cal Poly Pomona
Finish Line Sports Grill
Fonda Don Chon Mexican Restaurant
Francis Ford Coppola Winery-Sofia
Freixenet USA -Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards
Frisella’s Roastery
Graber Olive House
Hangar 24 Craft Brewery
Herzog Wine Cellars-Jeunesse Wine
Horsehill Vineyards-Cal Poly Pomona
Internat ional Beverage Holdings USA, I nc. Chang Thai Beer
Kellogg West Conference Center & Hotel Cal Poly Pomona
Lazy Dog Restaurant &. Bar
Los Angeles International Extra Virgi n Olive Oil Competition
Los Angeles International Wine Competition
Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery
McKinley’s Grille-Sheraton Fai rplex
Mimi’s Café
Mionetto USA-Italian Wine
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
Pacific Palms Resort-Red Restaurant
Panda Inn Mandari n Cuisine
Pernod Ricard-Brancott Estate
PepsiCo Foodservice
Pine Haven Cafe and Catering
RA Sushi Bar Restaurant
Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen
Royal Wine-Bartenura Wine
Slater’s 50/50
Some Crust Bakery
Southern Wine & Spirits of Southern California
Ste. Michelle Wi ne Estates- 14 Hands, Michelle, Red Diamond
Suite 106 Cupcakery
Tamarind Restaurant & Catering
The Historic Galleano Winery
The Restaurant at Kellogg Ranch Cal Poly Pomona
Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery
TY KU Sake
Wente Family Estates-Entwine
Wine & Canvas
zpizza
A unique and fund aspect of the event was the ability to vote for your favorite in three categories:
Best of Show
Best Vino
Best Brew
You can see the winners here, along with a great video of the event to see what you missed:
http://www.csupomona.edu/~polytaste/index.html
My own favorites? Well, I continue to be a big fan the sparkling wine produced from Cal Poly Pomona’s own Horsehill Vineyards. My favorite beer was Chang Thai. As for the food, there were so many great choices but the Slater’s 50/50 https://slaters5050.com burger, made from 50% ground beef and 50% ground bacon, with pepper jack cheese, avocado mash and a sunny side egg on top was not only awesome but covered all the food groups very nicely!
Michael Perlis has been pursuing his passion for wine for more than 25 years. He has had the good fortune of having numerous mentors to show him the way, as well as a wonderful wife who encourages him and shares his interest. After a couple of decades of learning about wine, attending events, visiting wineries and vineyards, and tasting as much wine as he possibly could, he had the amazing luck to meet Eve Bushman. Now, as Contributing Editor for Eve’s Wine 101, he does his best to bring as much information as possible about wine to Eve’s Wine 101 faithful readers. Michael is also Vice President of Eve’s Wine 101 Consulting (http://evewine101.com/eveswine101consulting/). Michael can be contacted at michaelthezinfan@aol.com.
