Something To Check Out: STARS of Cabernet

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world’s most recognized red wine grapes.   And with that in mind, Edible Skinny is stoked to be recognizing one of our favorite grapes at this year’s 7^th annual STARS of Cabernet at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, produced by WineLA.com

Cabs are statement bottles.  They’re full bodied wines with high tannins and acidity that makes you notice what is up!  And STARS is a full of bodied collectable showcase bringing the best producers together with their respected wineries.   Wines featured at this event includes: Fairchild, Duckhorn, J. Lohr, Jordon, JUSTIN, and many more. 

This STAR studded event allows all guest to enjoy unlimited wine tasting, tray passed Hors d’oeuvres, and an assortment of breads, cheese, and chocolate.  There will be a silent auction with 100% benefits going towards the TJ Martell Foundation, which help funds Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, a charitable 501c.  Splurge for the VIP tickets and you’ll enjoy a delicious VIP Buffet and receive a Gift Bag upon departure.  

The event’s almost sold out but if you want to grab some of the last remaining slots head over to:

http://www.starsofcabernet.com/

Hoping Life is Delicious and you’ll be recognizing one of our favorite grapes at STARS.  

 

 

STARS of SB (the Best of the Best)

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the press event for the 9th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara at the Peninsula Beverly Hills. Hosted by Ian Blackburn's Learn About Wine this event was a great way to explore the variety of wineries and wine varieties of Santa Barbara.

And there are a lot.

Below is a couple that of the many I tried, shown brighter and sparked like no other. So if you see them on the wine store shelf or on your favorite restaurant's list you cannot go wrong.

Liquid Farm
www.liquidfarm.com
Dragonette Cellars, Winemaker
Liquid Farm is a Chardonnay focused project run by husband and wife team Jeff Nelson and Nikki Nelson. The company is Los Angeles based with their wine made in the Lompoc wine ghetto. Liquid Farm debuted with the 2009 vintage in two cuvees: White Hill (named for the chalky white hills of Chablis) and Golden Slope (named for the undulating slopes of Burgundy's Cote d'Or). You can get their wares at K&L, the Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, and El VIno wines.
CHECK OUT White Hill Chardonnay, 2010. Baked pear, lemon curd, and cinnamon stick, this wine lasers in on Typicity (the degree to which a wine reflects its varietal origins, which truthfully I didn’t know that definition of until I read it in their Liquid Farm’s info). It’s their mission statement, and mission accomplished.

Sanguis
www.sanguiswine.com
Winemaker Matthias Pippig produces of Rhone and Burgundy varietal wines, Sanguis makes unique small production blends from the best low yielding cool climate vineyards of Santa Barbara County.
CHECK OUT Las Mujeres, 2007. A blend consisting of 68% Grenache, 28% Syrah, 4% Roussanne, 2% Viognier it was balanced and ever so slightly spicy tasting of Carmel, Vanilla, and Cherry Pie. If you can get your hands on a bottle, Do It!

D‘Alfonso-Curran Wines
www.d-cwines.com
Kris Curran & Bruno D’Alfonso, Winemakers
The makers of Foley and Sea Smoke got married and started making wines. They each have their own label; Curran for her, Santayna and BADGE for him, along with the joint project D’Alfonso-Curran Wines . Utilizing nearly 50 years combined experience, they offer a collection of awesome wines.
CHECK OUT All of them. Everyone I tasted was amazing!

Also along with their libations Gioia Wines had some amazing food products that you will soon be able to get on their website. Created by Lauren Berley, Maison de Ferme offers such magical tastings as Herbs de Provence Chocolate and Apple Chutney.

Something to Check Out: STARS of Santa Barbara Wine

If your New Year’s resolutions for this year included learning about Santa Barbara wine (which is a great great resolution!) then look no further than the Learn About Wine‘s "9th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara Wine.” Without actually driving to Santa Barbara, you’ll have the pleasure of tasting over 100 established and up-and-coming wines of the region, while learning about them from the owners, winemakers and winery executives themselves.

As someone who checked out Santa Barbara and the wineries a couple of months ago I will say that this list is really Ch-oice!: Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Bien Nacido, Bonaccorsi Wine Company, Brewer-Clifton, Brophy Clark Cellars, Buttonwood, Byron, Cambria, Coquelicot Estate Vineyard, D'Alfonso-Curran Wines, Dragonette Cellars, Fontes & Phillips Wines, Foxen, Gioia, La Fenetre, Liquid Farms, Martian Ranch & Vineyard, Palmina, Reeves Ranch Vineyard, Riverbench, Silver Wines, Tercero Wines, Thorne Wine, William James Cellars, Zaca Mesa and they’re still adding more.

I have to say one of my absolute favorite’s (Foxen, hence the pict) is on that list and in my opinion the event is totally worth it just to sip they’re Chards and Chenin Blancs (which I did in November at their tasting room in the Santa Maria Valley during the day and then again at illustrious Seagrass Restaurant in Santa Barbara that night).

I’ve been to a couple of events hosted by Learn About Wine’s founder Ian Blackburn and he’s awesome about teaching you about wine in a way that doesn’t overwhelm you or make you feel like an idiot (which a lot of wine people do and can be such a turn off!). The last Learn About Wine event I attended opened my eyes to French varietals like a kid who gets the 128 box of Crayola crayons after working with the 4 pack for a year straight.

The discounted rate of $139 it isn’t cheap, but truthfully you get what you pay for, which is why the good stuff (like the stuff that comes from Santa Barabara) never is!

So if you’re in need of a Santa Barbara wine education look now further than the STARS of Santa Barbara!

To buy tix click HERE.
And the Deets:
9th Annual STARS of Santa Barbara
January 26th, 2012
Los Angeles
Peninsula Hotel
9882 S. Santa Monica Blvd Beverly Hills, California 90212
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM