Sculptor Tanya Ragir's home gallery/workshop provided the perfect venue for a Sunday afternoon of great wine and gourmet appetizers. Winery owner Martin Brown showcased 5 excellent wines that were all well received. Happy Spatulas catering did the cooking and what an array of delights it was.
Tercero Winery made the first winemaker dinner at Osteria Bigoli in Santa Monica a very memorable experience. . Guests enjoyed 4 lovely wines perfectly paired with the cuisine of Chef Claudio Marchesan, a legendary man who has worked in Italy, northern and southern California. He is making friends and fans in Santa Monica as people discover this little gem.
Santa Barbara County's Buttonwood Winery had the privilege of being part of the first wine dinner ever held at the iconic Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. Guests enjoyed 4 lovely wines perfectly paired with the cuisine of Chef Christine Brown, formerly of Restaurant Christine (Torrance). No slight of hand or zingers-just great food, great wine and a full house.
Steve Kistler's highly rated and hard to find wines were the talk of the evening. Guests enjoyed 2 Kistler Chardonnay and 3 Occidental (Steve's new, personal label) Pinot Noirs with a 4-course gourmet Indian meal created by Akbar's Executive Chef Avinash Kapoor.
Guests enjoyed a 5-course gourmet meal, each course paired with one of Area 5.1 Winery's "out of this world" blends. Owner Martin Brown was on hand to amaze, amuse and explain the unique philosophy behind one of Santa Barbara's up and coming boutique wineries
Guests enjoyed a 5-course gourmet meal, each course paired with a different wine from this relatively new boutique winery (about 3,000 cases) superstar from Santa Maria. Special Guests were Lumen Winemaker Lane Tanner and Lumen owner/founder Will Henry.
Winemaker extraordinaire Wes Hagen held court at Barbianca, entertaining and informing guests with some Santa Barbara County wine history (he lectures on this topic at universities around the US), some unique insight into the art of winemaking and of course, waxed poetic about the five J. Wilkes wines that were featured at the gourmet dinner.
