For our upcoming edition of our Local Treasures Dinner, our executive chef, Jason Paluska, and local winemaker, viticulturist and owner of Larner Vineyards and Winery, Michael Larner, have collaborated to create an amazing 5-course pairing dinner. Chef Paluska has carefully chosen local and seasonal ingredients to be specifically paired with Larner’s wines from Ballard Canyon. This event will be held…
I do like cold Sake, especially this time of year. However, I rarely get a sake menu offered here in a Santa Clarita restaurant other than at a sushi bar. Often, unless I’m in an over-chilled restaurant, I turn to Rose, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Champagne; or white Rhone varietals such as Viognier, Roussanne…
Each year around this time I think about how I want to stock up my little wine collection with the wines that will amaze… no … astound any guests that visit throughout the “dog days of summer.” This year is no exception… except I’ll keep it simple. I want to get back to the basics…
One of the first wine fests I attended as press was the LA Wine Fest. Founder Joel Fisher was very kind in extending passes and personally welcoming us at the event. Since then I’ve covered the 500+ winery/brew/spirit event in photos, as my hands are always too full with a wine glass and program to…
Clos Solene I was now ready for my final tasting at Paso Underground: the wines of Clos Solene http://www.clossolene.com/. Winemaker Guillaume Fabre came from France to Paso Robles. While building Clos Solene, which he has named after his wife, he worked as assistant winemaker at L’Aventure. He has recently left L’Aventure and is devoting himself…
The tasting room at Hammersky Vineyards and Inn is currently sharing samples from their all Estate 2010 vintage: four reds, and then a second line called Naughty Princess. Right away I was wondering about that second label, and owner/wine blender Doug Hauck said that he designed the line for his dental office staff that wanted…
For our latest trip to Paso Robles, my wife Karen told me that we really need to go to some new places. She opined that my readers were probably getting tired of reading about the same wineries over and over. Admittedly, I am a creature of habit, but I suspect her admonition was inspired as…
The last time we visited Tobin James Cellars www.tobinjames.com was in 2012, when I had a great conversation with Toby that I wrote about here: http://evewine101.com/2012/07/07/michael-perlis-reports-tobin-james-cellars/ We’ve visited Paso Robles a few times since, but with so much going on there all the time, we had not stopped in to the always busy and fun…
I belong to a group known as the Century Club. In order to be a member of this most unique group, one must meet the requirement of having sampled a minimum of 100 grape varietals. Now that is varietals, not wines. When you think about it, many people who enjoy wine seldom get beyond the…