Bubbles and Burrata at the 9th Annual Vintage Hollywood Wine Tasting

In June, I was able to volunteer at the 9th Annual Vintage Hollywood Wine Tasting Event held at Mr. Sugar Ray Leonard’s home. This charity event featured vineyards and proprietors from twenty plus wine producers, such as Joseph Phelps, Hitching Post, and Cargasacchi, and a dozen or so of California’s top restaurants, including Waterloo and City, Jar, and First and Hope. The event is lively and friendly all the food personalities know each other, especially everyone’s favorite Frenchman restaurant manager Nico Gourdon of Joe’s Restaurant who knows everyone.


Nico Gourdon of Joe’s Restaurant

The Vintage Hollywood started in 2002 as a gathering of a few dozen close friends. This backyard affair featured a few rare wines and some tasty cheeses. The evening was so much fun that those attending wanted to invite their friends for the same experience the following year. Thus was born the Vintage Hollywood Foundation created to raise funds to support charitable organizations, both large and small, that work to promote the health and well being of Southern Californians. This year’s event benefited the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, LA a non-profit focusing on children’s diabetes.


Bettie Reinhart and Suzanne Goin of Tavern

One of the highlights of the food offerings was the Angelo Sandwich coming from Suzanne Goin of Tavern (and an Advisory Board member of Vintage Hollywood). Goin is a James Beard award winner, for Best Chef in California, and with four restaurants to her name (A.O.C., Lucques, and the Hungry Cat on top of Tavern) she’s got the backing to prove it. The Angelo, comprised of Burrata , Artichokes, Cavolo Nero (An Italian cabbage with dark green leaves), and Meyer Lemon, was absolutely divine.

There was an absolute array of wines with producers hailing from Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Napa. And although all of the Californian’s were great (we always are…) my absolute favorite sip of the night was from the French Champagne company Pierre Morlet. The Sparkling was a blend of an early palate of hazelnut and almonds with a final finishing of fresh pear. But the best part of this glass was the effervescence, it has been noted the smaller the bubbles the better the Champagne and this my friends did not disappoint in either the former or the latter.

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