ELIZABETH ROSE ROSE 2009 AT IL FORNO CALDO

A beautiful sunny lunch in Beverly Hills always puts me in the mood for a rosé.  Such was the case at Il Forno Caldo, a favorite lunch spot for the wife and me.  I can't remember which salad I ordered, but I won't soon forget the wine.

Elizabeth Rose rosé is a beautiful Napa Valley pink made from organically grown grapes in Yountville and Oakville, CA.  93% Syrah, 5% Cinsault and 2% Grenache are blended to create a rosé that's complex and delightful.  Its alcohol level is 13% and it cost $9 per glass.

Deep strawberry pink in color, this wine is absolutely gorgeous to look at.  The nose is very big, with watermelon Jolly Rancher in the forefront with a raspberry note.  There's a green, vegetal aroma in there, too, maybe bell pepper.  The taste is exceptional.  Dry and fruity, there's a truckload of strawberry and cherry flavors that are as fresh as the garden.  The acidity is crisp and the finish is completely satisfying.

WILLIAM SHERER, MASTER SOMMELIER

The Taste of Beverly Hills was just getting underway for the first Saturday session, when I found myself drawn into one of the giant tasting halls.  There were hundreds of foods and wines I wanted to taste and quite a few things I wanted to see at this event.  There were only a few people I knew I wanted to meet, and William Sherer was one of them.  And it was Sherer who greeted me at the very first stop I made that morning.

Sherer was there promoting his line of wine, Iberian Remix.  "Want to taste some Albariño?" he asked as I approached the table.  Still a little sleepy, smiling with rumpled shirttail out, he seems to be the living, walking definition of "affable," not what many might expect a genuine wine expert to look or act like.

Accomplished

Sherer has spent the last five years as Wine Director at Aureole, Charlie Palmer's restaurant in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  He has also spent time walking restaurant floors in Monterey, San Francisco and New York City, and he earned the James Beard award for Wine Service in 2006.

What really dazzles, though, is the fact that Sherer has accomplished something only 170 people in the world can lay claim to - he's a Master Sommelier, a certified, card-carrying wine geek.  It's not an easy status to acheive.  The Court of Master Sommeliers puts it this way:

"Achieving the distinction of Master Sommelier takes years of preparation and an unwavering commitment.  The Court’s intensive educational program guides aspiring Masters through four increasingly rigorous levels of coursework and examination, culminating in the Master Sommelier Diploma Examination."

That final step is by invitation only, after one has completed the other four levels.  I asked Sherer about the difficulty of the road to becoming a MS.

"Yeah, it's hard, and I passed it twelve years ago.  It's actually harder to do today, due to the expansion of the wine world in general.  There's a lot more to know today."  He's certainly in the right place for a person with such status.  The Court of Master Sommeliers cites Vegas as a popular location for those who belong to this exclusive club.  In fact, Las Vegas has more Master Sommeliers than any other city.  "Out of the fifteen that are here, probably only four work on the restaurant floor," he said.  "There rest do other things - administrative directors, wholesale, import.  What I do is a rarity, even in a small field like this.  A lot of people don't want to work nights, or just have other interests."

Remixed

Sherer himself has other interests, a white one and a red one.  He calls his Iberian Remix wines "California wines from Spanish varieties."  This notion was his answer to an importer who once told him Albariño grown in America wouldn't work.  "He said we didn't have anything like the cold, Atlantic climate of Galicia," Sherer continues, "and that anyone who tried to make an Iberian-style wine with American grapes was destined to fail.  I want to prove that person wrong."

Sherer uses Albariño grapes from Edna Valley's Paragon Vineyard and Tempranillo, Grenache and Carignan from the Central Coast for his red blend.  "The whole thing would not have happened had I not found the grapes that were available," he said.  "Growers appeared who found that they had planted too much of the grapes I needed.  I was happy to help relieve them of some."

"Iberian Remix is not a recreation of the Spanish originals, but that doesn't mean they're not high-quality wines.  And they're true California wines.  Even the label design evokes 'Endless Summer.'"

What's next on the horizon for Sherer?  "Austrian wines," he says, not missing a beat.  "I'll call them Danube Remix.  A Grüner Veltliner for sure.  Those grapes will be harvested this year and the wine will be released in early 2011.  The Grüner is fresh and aromatic, like the Albariño, but with a little more complexity and palate weight.  I might do a Blaufränkisch, too.  The labels for the Danube Remix will evoke the work of Austrian artist Gustave Klimt."

Aureole

Sherer's position as Wine Director at Aureole/Mandalay Bay puts him in charge of one of the most incredible wine storage systems in existence.  "It's a four-story wine tower holding 10,000 bottles - and that's just the young reds," he said.  I chuckle, but he's not joking.  "We keep the whites and the vintage wines in a different area.  Our wine angels get up and down the tower on cables to retrieve specific bottles."

"My predecessor installed the tablet PC wine list eight years ago, but it's not something that will allow a customer to surf the web for information about the wines, and that's by design.  We like to be able to interact one-on-one with a diner and offer our assistance personally.  You can always go online at home and look at the wine list.

Certainly, Sherer envisions a time when walking the restaurant floor will no longer be what he wants to do.  What happens then?  "Willi's Wine Bar!" he says with a big laugh.  "Actually there are already two places by that name - in Paris and Santa Rosa - so I guess I'll have to come up with something else."  I suggest "Willi's Remix," and he roars again, telling me he'll take it under advisement.

THE TASTE OF BEVERLY HILLS 2010, SUNDAY

September 5, 2010 – Beverly Hills, CA

Yesterday the Now And Zin Wine Blog was concerned with the Saturday daytime version of the Taste of Beverly Hills.


The Art Of Brunch was the title of Sunday's daytime session at the Taste of Beverly Hills and, as you may have expected, that means the participating restaurants do this sort of thing as a regular part of their serving day.

Brunch in Los Angeles can be a beautiful thing.  It can also be a perplexing thing.  If you've ever gone driving around in L.A. looking for a spot to have a late Sunday breakfast, you may think there are only a handful of places that cater to that need.  You can see lines out the door and down the street for some restaurants, while the waiters in a breakfast joint down the block will be standing with arms crossed waiting for the lunch rush to begin.  Such is the difference between an “in” place and one that's just a place.

There was no such problem at the Taste Of Beverly Hills.  Every place was an “in” place.  While there may have been a slight wait at a table or two, crowds generally moved along pretty quickly, affording everyone the chance to sample the goods from all the restaurants.

Saturday's high level of quality was at least matched by Sunday's small plates.  Everything was delicious and presented in an artful and appealing way.  And, my Sunday brunch started with someone handing me a Bellini.  That's never a bad thing.

How it tasted

Here's a timeline of my tweets from Sunday's Taste of Beverly Hills as presented on my Twitter account (@randyfuller1):


#tobh  Free parking in Beverly Hills structures on Sunday!

#tobh  Taste: #food demos from Scott Conant & Michel Nischan today.  Stella Artois tent: Chef Daniel Joly with Belgian Pouring Ritual.  #beer

#tobh  #Wine event at 2:00.  Belinda Chang talks CdP.  Captain Justin Warner does a wine rap.  Okay, I'll bite!

#tobh  Rats.  Intelligentsia booth too crowded.  It's OK, a little too warm for #coffee already.

#tobh  That's OK.  Start with Bellini.  Peach Vodka, peach purée and Monetto Prosecco.  #wine

#tobh  Circa 55 Restaurant has smoked salmon.  Great start to Taste of Beverly Hills.  #food 

#tobh  St Urbain St. Bagels.  Nice chewy bagel and sun dried tomato cream cheese.  So much else to get to, though.  #food

#tobh  The Farm has French Toast stuffed w/ banana & topped w/ caramel/peanut butter sauce.  Say yeah.

#tobh  Ventura County Wine Trail is pouring fab LH Zin from Rancho Ventavo and Casa Barranca Cab Franc that's nice and light!  #wine

#tobh  Can't get close to Huckleberry yet!  Full table and here comes more! 

#tobh  Grilled salmon burger from Nine-Thirty.  I need to eat like this all the time!  #food

#tobh  My pals from Summerland Winery have some rockin' good juice.  '07 Trio is very old world (thanks Mourvedre).  '07 Paso Zin is v nice.

#tobh  Would be remiss not to mention Summerland's Grenache rose.  A salmon colored dry delight.  #wine

#tobh  Crossing to other Great Tent, stop at Stella Artois.  Sampled Leffe this time around.  Abbey #beer.  Comes in a gift Chalice glass!

#tobh  Hansen's Cakes did it up right!  They knew we were comin' so they baked a cake.

#tobh  Firefly in Studio City came over the hill with a nice brioche w/ Italian ham and a carmerlized fig on top!  #food

#tobh  Breadbar serving quiche Lorraine and truffle potato.  It's really sinful.  It really is.  #food  Bread, oddly enough, only for show.

#tobh  Angeli presenting Italian bread with Fontina cheese.  Polenta coming soon.

#tobh #wine  Larry Schaffer of Tercero poured a Grenache Blanc with outstanding acidity and a Gewurz going as "The Outsider" - v floral

#tobh #wine  Tercero Grenache & Syrah use whole cluster so a little more herbaceousness  creeps in.

#tobh #wine  Tercero has reds that kill.  Syrah/Petite Sirah, Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre.  Great structure and depth.  I'm a Larry Schaffer fan.

#tobh #food  Plaisir on Santa Monica Blvd made these unbelievable cream puffs!  Watch out for the squirt.

#tobh #wine  Cambria Chardonnay - just enough oak.  Their '07 Pinot Noir Julia's Vineyard is a fave.

#tobh  Coupa Cafe with Venezuelan food!  Amazing beef empanadas, corn pancakes and Venezuelan cheese sticks.  #food

#tobh #wine  Mateus is here??  With Tempranillo rose?  Hey.  It's not too bad.

#tobh #wine  Demetrius has a white Rhone blend I like a lot.  Pinot is most exp., SGM blend the least exp.  Not that far apart to my palate.

#tobh  Overheard about Taste announcer: "Sunday Sunday Sunday..."

#tobh  On the way out now.  Can't believe how much I ate! & there's another session 2night - BBQ In The Hills - Taste of Beverly Hills.  #food


Congratulations to all who worked to present the Taste of Beverly Hills.  This food and wine event was truly something special, and I'm already looking forward to 2011!

THE TASTE OF BEVERLY HILLS 2010

September 4, 2010, Beverly Hills, CA

Saturday was the third day of the Taste of Beverly Hills, but my first appearance at the sprawling culinary event presented by Food and Wine.  It's actually six different food and wine fests under the umbrella title.  Thursday and Friday nights were great fun, I heard.  Saturday and Sunday have sessions during the day and night.

How It Looks

The sessions are built around two great tents in the parking lot of the old Robinson's-May store at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard, next to the Beverly Hilton Hotel.  Inside the tents, food tasting tables ring the perimeter while an inner circle of tables offers wine and other delicious beverages.

In between the two great tents is a large, open area and a smaller tent where Stella Artois pours three versions of their brews.  A main stage has sporadic entertainment on it.  When I arrived Saturday morning, Melinda Lee was doing her “Food News” show there, live on KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO.  Throughout the day, I heard musical acts performing from that area but, to be honest, I was so involved with the amazing array of food and wine being presented that I never went over to check out the shows.

There are other small stage areas where cooking and cocktail demonstrations are offered.  Some wine events take place inside the hotel, in a wine room called The Chateau.

If it sounds like it's a circus for food and wine lovers, that's not far off the mark.  It's just a little more upscale.

The Food

Events where many restaurants cook and serve samples of their wares usually are rather hit and miss with the food quality as it varies from table to table.  I was surprised that the Taste of Beverly Hills didn't seem to have a bad booth in the bunch.  Every food sample I tasted was deliciously prepared and happily served.  Here's how I reported on the food at the Taste of Beverly Hills on my Twitter account (@randyfuller1):

#TOBH 9021pho serving killer tofu tamarind salad.

#TOBH Meatball from Delancey, and Gonpachi is serving salmon on a stick! Also shrimp dumpling that rocks.

#TOBH Mr Cecil's pork cracklin's are great. So's the salmon tartare on a potato chip from Fraiche.

#TOBH Nonna's of Italy has fried risotto balls! I feel like I'm at the county fair.

#TOBH No clunkers yet, foodwise. Cheesecake Factory even wows with Piña Colada Cheesecake!

#TOBH Stop for water before the Jitlada table. "Not spicy" is spicy, "Spicy" is OMG. Rocks the house, though.

The wine

#TOBH My first Taste: William Sherer's Iberian Remix White. Then the red. Both quite nice. White craves seafood, red wants sausage pizza.

#TOBH Lioco table is a hit. Two Chardonnays - Sonoma & Carneros, both unoaked! And Indica blend, mostly old-vine Carignane.

#TOBH At the Sommelier Blind Tasting event. Boys vs girls. yfrog.com/7ebvbbj/>
#TOBH Taste of Beverly Hills sommelier Bonnie Graves leads the tasting. moby.to/cq5vvf/>
#TOBH Layer Cake Primitivo '07. Bright and juicy. Tons of fruit.

#TOBH Bonny Doon pouring a variety, including "Riesling To Live" sparkler.

#TOBH Four Vines only has Biker Zin today. They'll have full line tonight.

#TOBH Edith Piaf singing "La Vie En Rose" while I sample La Crema Chard, Murphy-Goode Cab and KJ Summation. None as good the song.

#TOBH Stella Artois Hoegaarden, white beer, cloudy in the glass but clean on the palate.

#TOBH Love the Sextant #wine - Zin's always good with me. Night Watch and Genoa are my faves, and are mostly Petite Sirah.

#TOBH After letting taste buds recover from B2B Thai and Indian #food, Jettlynn's Estate Petite Sirah scored! This place has only reds.

I got a little busy toward the end of the session and let a tweet-op pass.  I should mention that the Ventura County Wine Trail folks are there, pouring a nice Barbera and an elegantly understated late-harvest Zinfandel.  They also have all the information you need to tackle the Ventura County Wine Trail.

The Sommelier Challenge

The highlight event for me was the Boys vs Girls Sommelier Blind Tasting challenge.  Eight noted sommeliers – four men and four women – competed in a wine competition that was spirited and aimed more at whimsy than winning.

The Taste of Beverly Hills Event Sommelier Bonnie Graves presided over the competition with a light touch.  It was an entertaining event which included panelists David Rosoff from Osteria Mozza, Dana Farner from CUT, Christopher Lavin from XIV, Caroline Styne of AOC and Lucques, Jonathan Mitchell of the Palm, Rebecca Chapa from the Culinary Institute of America, Mark Mendoza of Sona and Comme Ça, and Diane DeLuca from the Estates Group.

The competition was a battle of the sexes.  The male sommeliers jumped out to an early lead with the correct identification of the first wine as Prosecco.  The gentlemen scored again by getting the Macon Chardonnay right.  The ladies nailed the Sauvignon Blanc, but could not correctly identify it as a New Zealand wine.  Wine number four was the ringer – Charles Shaw Merlot – which sent both sides scurrying to name it – to no avail.  The game changer for the women was getting the Rioja Tempranillo Reserva correct down to the last detail.

Sunday Lineup
Sunday's two sessions – The Art Of Brunch, from 10:00 a.m. To 3:00 p.m., and A BBQ In The Hills, from 7:00 – 11:00 p.m. - promise to be just as jam-packed with food and wine sampling and more.  Here are some highlights:

Sunday, September 5, 2010: The Art of Brunch
10:45 a.m. (LG Main Stage) - Live cooking demo by celebrity chef, author, and TV personality Scott Conant
11:15 a.m. (Mix Stage 1) - Mixology demo by Clark Moore (Stone Rose Lounge/Gerber Group)
11:45 a.m. (LG Stage 2) - Live cooking demo by Ray Garcia, executive chef of FIG at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel
12 p.m. (Mix Stage 1) - Mixology demo by Matthew Biancaniello (Library Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel)
12 p.m. (The Chateau) - Master Sommelier “Iron Sommelier” panel
12:15 p.m. (LG Main Stage) - Live cooking demo by Richard Ruskell, executive pastry chef at the Montage Resort and Spa in Beverly Hills
12:45 p.m. (Mix Stage 1) - Mixology demo from Jim Beam Global
1 p.m. (The Chateau) - Sommelier Belinda Chang Wine Seminar
1:45 p.m. (LG Main Stage) - Live cooking demo by chef, cookbook author, and media personality Michel Nischan
4 p.m. (LG Main Stage) - KCRW 89.9 FM’s Pie Contest hosted by “Good Food” Host and Chef/Restaurateur Evan Kleiman

Sunday, September 5, 2010: A BBQ in the Hills 
7:30 p.m. (LG Main Stage) - Live cooking demo by renowned Chefs Celestino and Gaicomo Drago
8:45 p.m. (LG Stage 2) - Live cooking demo by “Rock and Roll Chef” Kerry Simon
9 p.m. (Mix Stage 1) - Mixology demo from Jim Beam Global

Tips

It was a tad warm on Saturday, so if you are attending Sunday's day event, keep the Beverly Hilton's lobby bar in mind as a place to which you can repair for something cool to drink and a bit of air conditioning.  It'll come in handy.  It also makes a nice setting for an after-session meeting to discuss favorite tastes and sips.


Denise Fondo joins in from her vantage point on Middle Crescent Kitchen.  You can read her views on the Taste of Beverly Hills on the Now And Zin main website.


I hope to tweet from the event again on Sunday.  I'll be hashtagging #tobh.

THE TASTE OF BEVERLY HILLS, SEPTEMBER 2-5, 2010

If you pay even a little bit of attention to the social media of the Southern California food and wine scene, you've probably heard of the big food and wine event called The Taste Of Beverly Hills.  The festivities kicked off Thursday night with a party for the community's famous zip code, appropriately enough held on 9-02-10.  Friday night's mixology-focused event will be followed by day and night events on Saturday and Sunday. 

There's so much going on that you really should click over to their website and explore all the activities and presentations in each event.  A host of celebrity chefs and sommeliers will put on demonstrations, panel discussions and seminars.  In between all that information you can sample everything you want and even hear some live music.

It'll be a whirlwind weekend for me, as I will attend several sessions and report back to you on the events.  I hope to be able to pass along some wine tasting notes and report on some nice delicacies from the kitchen, too.

Here's the list of wineries which will be attending The Taste Of Beverly Hills.

I'll try to update my Twitter account periodically during the events this weekend, post images from the scene on the Now And Zin Facebook page and blog about it all here as I am able.

Bon appetit, and cheers!

MONTE ZOVO VALPOLICELLA RIPASSO 2007

Birthday month rolls on for Denise, and we dropped in on Il Buco again.  I've mentioned them before, with good reason.  The food is excellent, the service is unfailingly pleasant and the wine list is very Italian and fairly deep.  It's no surprise, then, that we ended up there for birthday lunch.

I went with a sausage dish and decided to have a red wine.  I asked the waiter for a good choice, and he pointed me in the direction of a California Meritage, Malibu, in fact.  I would like to try that wine, but as I explained to him, when I go to Il Buco, I like to go Italian.  He immediately suggested this Valpolicella, and I said that it would be fine.

The Monte Zovo Ripasso is the sort of wine I have come to expect from Il Buco, very Italian, a bit rustic and a great match with the food they make.  It's from the Valpolicella region of Veneto in the northeastern part of Italy.

The grapes used are Corvina (70%), Rondinella (20%) and Molinara (10%).  I'm told Ripasso means "second pressing," indicating the juice is re-fermented on the skins used in making Amarone, which is a "first-pressing" wine.  It's fairly hefty at 14% abv, yet it feels only medium full in the mouth.  It's a deep garnet color with a demomstrative nose of black cherry and blackberry.
 
The palate shows some dry, dusty, brambly notes which are suggestive of an old-vine Zinfandel.  The flip side of that coin is the freshness that this wine carries with it.  It spends two years in oak, yet the wood seems not to leave its mark as indelibly as it might with other grapes.

I enjoyed this wine with the farfalle and sausage plate.  The pairing was excellent.

SELLA AND MOSCA LA CALA VERMENTINO 2006, SARDEGNA

There are some pretty good options from which to choose in Los Angeles when I want to take my Italian-heritage wife for a birthday-month lunch.  For this outing, I opted for one of our favorite spots, Il Buco on Robertson in Beverly Hills.

For one thing, they treat us like it's our birthday every time we dine there.  For another, the food's great.  Also, they have a pretty decent Italian wine list.  Okay, that last one was on my side of the checklist.  It still counts.  A shrimp salad for the lady, I'll have the chopped, and a glass of Vermentino.

Sella and Mosca is a pretty big deal on the isle of Sardegna - Sardinia, if you prefer.  Their property contains a 1,600-acre estate just inland about four miles.  Their La Cala Vermentino is one of the prizes of the island and is exactly what I look for in this special grape.

La Cala is named for a small cove on the edge of the estate, and it's a natural to pair with seafood thanks to the slight saltiness in the wine.  You can thank the Mediterranean Sea for that.

This 100% Vermentino white is a pale, greenish straw color in the glass.  It delivers a soft nose of grassy salt air and lemons.  There's an alcohol content of 11.5% abv, and it serves up a bracing palate of minerals and tart lemon zest with a nice acidity that lies just beneath the surface.  It's a really good buy at $8 a glass.

It paired well with the shrimp, but also fit nicely with my meatless salad.  It does something good with the garbanzo beans in the chop.

THE STARS OF PASO ROBLES

The Stars of Paso Robles trade tasting was Wednesday at The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills.  Over 30 wineries of the Paso Robles AVA were represented at this event, staged by Ian Blackburn's Learn About Wine.  Blackburn is a pro at staging wine tasting events, and he likes to go for the grand flourish.  That suits Paso Robles well, as the wines from that neck of the California woods - er, vineyards - are deserving of some fancy notice.

I didn't get around to all the tables - why does that always happen to me? - but I got around enough to find a number of really fantastic wines, which I will list here.

Anglim Winery 

Showing a penchant for the grapes of the Rhone, Anglim poured their 2006 Cameo, a white blend with 50% Marsanne, 25% Roussanne and 25% Viognier.  It's flowery and floral.  I especially like the '07 Roussanne, a 100% varietal wine, where nuttiness abounds on the nose and palate.  The 2007 Viognier takes its fruit from Santa Barbara County's Bien Nacido Vineyard.  It is rich in aromas and flavors, with a floral nose and tastes of melon and peach.  Their reds are equally impressive.  The '06 Grenache is all Paso Robles fruit, with a little Syrah and Counoise in the mix.  It shows peppery raspberry flavors.  Their 2005 Best Barrel Blendis a Paso Robles mix of 45% Mourvèdre, 45% Syrah and 10% Grenache.  Earth, spice and dark fruit dominate.  It's a very dark wine, but oh-so-smooth.  Anglim's Zinfandel offering, the 2007 St. Peter of Alcantara, is 100% single-vineyard Paso Robles Zin.  It's vibrant and spicy with a big cherry taste.

August Ridge 

Off Highway 41E in Creston, California, August Ridge brought some interesting Cal-Italia wines to the show.  The 2008 Arneis features fruit from Pebble Ridge Vineyard in a blend with 10% Sauvignon Blanc.  It's aromatic with apples and shows grapefruit and tropical notes on the palate.  Their '07 Sangiovese is an estate wine with 9% Cabernet Sauvignon.  Smokey cherry aromas lead to lots of red fruit on the palate, with leather on the finish.  The 2007 Nebbiolo offers brambly cherry with a spicy, black pepper finish and some fairly big tannins.  Jovial 2006, their Super Tuscan-style blend, contains 69% Sangiovese, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 13% Merlot.  Smokey plum flavors with a nice tobacco profile come forward.

Caliza Winery 
The Rhone Valley serves as big inspiration for this Paso Robles producer.  The 2008 Kissin' Cousins is a white blend of 47% Viognier, 30% Grenache Blanc and 23% Roussanne.  A floral nose gives way to a tart beginning and a lot of influence from the Grenache Blanc and Roussanne.  There's good acidity here with a long, nutty finish.  The 2006 Azimuth consists of 51% Syrah, 19% Grenache, 14% Mourvèdre and 8% each of Tannat and Alicante Bouschet.  The latter two grapes are new for this vintage.  A big blackberry taste is abetted by coffee and firm tannins, with a really nice finish.  The '06 Companion is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre and 10% Tannat.  They call it "opulent and sexy," and I can't argue either one of those points.  It's a full-bodied, meaty wine.  Caliza's 2007 Syrah is 100% Paso Syrah and it tastes it, with a smokey flavor laced with black pepper.

Cerro Prieto 
The Bordeaux Rhone Blend 2007, from Larry and Teresa Stanton's estate vineyard is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Syrah. The vineyard's limestone quality comes forth with a wonderful minerality.  Larry Stanton not only tends the vineyard, but also writes about the process in Larry's Blog .

Derby Wine Estates
I tasted the two whites which Derby brought to the table.  Their 2006 Chardonnay features Edna Valley grapes with tropical flavors overlaying a bit of oak, and that special minerality for which Edna Valley is known.  Fifteen 10 is a VRM blend, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne in equal parts.  The fruit is from Paso Robles, the Derby Vineyard.  While it seems a bit light in acidity, it certainly makes up for that in flavor and is extremely drinkable.

Eberle Winery 
Gary Eberle co-founded the Paso Robles appellation in 1980, so it's fitting that he is invited to any Paso Party.  Eberle's '09 Viognier is produced a third in steel, a third in neutral oak and a third in French oak.  It has a big, floral nose and a lush mouthfeel.  The '09 Chardonnay is produced the same way and sports green apples on the palate.  The 2007 Zinfandel gets American oak and shows spicy berries on the nose and palate.  The '06 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon comes from 32-year-old vines and spends 18 months in French oak.  It is complex and very smooth.

Ecluse
The winery is west of Highway 101 and north of Highway 46W.  Their featured wine is the 2008 Prelude, a Rhone-style blend of 37% Viognier, 35% Roussanne, 18% Grenache Blanc and 10% Marsanne.  This is a great wine for sipping, with a lovely nose and a taste that's fruity, floral and nutty at once.

Four Vines Winery
I tried the Four Vines Biker Zinfandel, 2008. and found it to be one of the highlights of the day for me. It's an incredibly smooth and delicious Zin.

J & J Cellars
A small, family owned outfit in San Miguel, the group has grown grapes and citrus for 100 years.  I was struck by the lightness and freshness of their 2006 Vintage Flight Cabernet Sauvignon.  It reminds me a bit of an Italian red.  Barrel-aged for two years in French, American and Hungarian oak. this may be the "summer red wine" of the show.  Their 2008 Tempranillo is spicy - you may think Syrah, but it's not.  The 2007 Juliet Fiero Zinfandel is brash and spicy - a little too much for my taste.  Their '07 Petite Sirah seems lighter than I would expect from a PS, but it still has guts.  By the way, all the J & J Cellars wines I tasted are available for under $20.  Bargains.

Lone Madrone
I was particularly looking forward to sampling Lone Madrone's white blend, La Mezcla again.  Alas, they could not send a representative to this show.  One wine was available, however - the 2007 blend called The Will.  Sweet on the nose and dry on the palate, this mixture of 41% Grenache, 40% Petite Sirah and 19% Zinfandel is everything you would expect a blend like this to be.

Nevarez
Their '07 Cabernet Sauvignon is dry and fruity with pencil lead on the palate.  The '07 Nevarez Vineyard Syrah is almost dessert-wine sweet and rich with spices.  I can't help but feel that many Christmas parties will be brightened up by this wine.  And many barbecues, too.  The '08 Roussanne has a great nutty nose and guava on the palate.

Ranchita Canyon 
The 2007 Pinot Noir contains Monterey County grapes.  It's pale purple, a bit faint on the nose but smooth as silk.  The nose on their old-vine Zinfandel (planted in 1970) is what purple smells like.  A tiny bit of Petite Sirah is included, and it's brambly and smooth.  Fusion - their '05 Grenache/Petite Sirah blend - is a dark wine they refer to as "the beauty and the beast."  Ranchita has a 2005 Cabernet Franc that is deep and heavy, very smooth with an intensely grapey nose.

Rotta Winery
One of the few dessert wines at the show is from Rotta.  Their non-vintage Black Monukka features grapes which are in barrels, out in the sun, for two years.  The burnt-caramel and raisin flavor is sherry-esque, if there is such a thing.

Roxo Port Cellars
This Paso producer produces primarily Port.  Nothing but Port, in fact.  One of the more interesting stops among the tables, Roxo has quite a variety of delicious Port wines which are all fortified with neutral grape spirits to allow the fruit to put on the show.  The Paso Melange is made with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir.  The Ruby Tradicional is a combination of five Portuguese varietals, all grown in Paso Robles.  Roxo's Negrette is big and bold and begs for chocolate.  They also have a Barbera Port and the Magia Preta, made from a half-and-half blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.  Truly a niche producer, Roxo fills the niche quite nicely.

Terry Hoage Vineyards
The Pick, an '07 Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre blend shows lively cherry accents.  The 46 - just Grenache and Syrah in this 50/50 blend - has spicy raspberry flavors.

Treana /Hope Family Wines
 
The 2007 Treana is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Syrah.  It's luscious and full of berries and tobacco notes.  The white Treana - 55% Marsanne and 45% Viognier - has flowers to spare on the nose and an enticing grapefruit core.  The Austin Hope Syrah 2008 is all Syrah all the time, estate grown with very fine tannins and a silky, even velvety texture.  It's one of my favorites of the show.

Venteux Vineyards
Venteux's Fleur Blanc is a Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne blend in which the Viognier does not take over.  There's a lovely floral nose, but a nutty guava flavor that's irresistible.  Their 2007 blend of Petite Sirah, Mouvèdre and Syrah shows the dark side of cherry.  Tache La Verre, I'm told, means "stain the glass," and that's what this big, beautiful '07 Syrah does.  Santa Barbara County fruit with a big nose and lots of tannins.  The 2007 Estate Petite Sirah is deep, dark and delicious with a long finish.