Something to Check Out: Toast of the Coast "Fall Finds" hosted by LGO

LGO (or La Grande Orange for those who don't live within walking distance of the Santa Monica local) is hosting a "Fall Finds" edition of their monthly Monday night Toast of the Coast event.
The math is really simple:

$25 = 25 (unlimited) Wine Tastings + Signature LGO Hors D'oeuvres

The "Fall Finds," happening this Monday the 18th @ 6:30PM, will have imbibers tasters an assortment of fall varietals from Santa Barbara straight up the west coast to Oregon and Washington (without even having to put on a raincoat, and believe me I was in Portland last week, you need to). Plus for those who like equation wine + education (which, Nerdling that I am, includes me) there will be wine connoisseurs on hand from different vineyards to chat about each varietal (allegedly to divulge the alchemy of each boutique varietal).
So if your interested Sushi and Slider, along with a heck of a lot of wine options check it out. The Deets are below.
Toast of the Coast "Fall Finds" @ La Grande Orange October 18 @ 6:30 2000 Main Street.

Hey Guys, if you’re looking for a fun time involving food and wine (and who isn’t) you’ll get both (and an amazing amazing view) at the Saddlerock Ranch in the hills of Malibu on Sunday, October 24 from 1-4 pm so look no further than LA Magazine's 5th Annual "The Food Event: From the Vine". The day features unlimited food and alcoholic beverage from more restaurants and wineries then I can type (although there’s a Short List below). It also includes Chef Demos by Philippe Chow (Philippe), Mark Gold (Eva), Rory Hermann (Bouchon), Walter Manzke (formerly of Church and State), Mark Peel (Campanile), and Laurent Quenioux (Bistro LQ) in the Snyder Diamond Sub-Zero/Wolf Kitchen (one of the sponsors). There’s also panel discussions all day long with topics including: TOP CHEF MASTERS moderated by Los Angeles Magazine Dine Editor Lesley Bargar Suter and WINE AND CHEESE PAIRING with learnaboutwine.com’s Ian Blackburn and Andrew’s Cheese Shop’s Andrew Steiner.

Oh and did I mention they have horses, llamas, and zebras (Hello! The ultimate date events always includes Zebras.) Below is the Short List of Food and Wine offerings and the Deets on how to check it all out:

FOOD: Akasha Restaurant Bar & Bakery, Beso Hollywood, Bulgarini Gelato Artigianale, Coast Restaurant & Bar, Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, Kate Mantíliní, ¡Lotería! Grill, Malo Cantina Suavecita, Michael’s Restaurant, Noir Food And Wine, Palate Food + Wine, Rosa Mexicana At L.A. Live, Susan Feniger’s Street, Sweetsalt Food Shop, The Foundry On Melrose, The Penthouse At Huntley Hotel, Tra Di Noi, Barbix, Bread Basket, Cake Company, Café Habana Malibu, Eva Restaurant, Gotta Have S’more, La Mill Coffee, Magnolia Bakery, Matteo’s La, Mo-Chica, Onsunset Restaurant, Public Kitchen & Bar, Rosti Tuscan Kitchen, Sweet Rose Creamery, Takami Sushi & Robata Restaurant, The Lobster, Tierra Sur At Hertzog Wine Cellars, and Westside Tavern

WINE: (Ian Blackburn & learnaboutwine.com is the winery curator for the Food Event.) Aldelaida Cellars, Ampelos Cellars And Vineyard, Cantara Cellars, Cellers Melis, Coho, Coquelicot Estate Vineyard, D’anbino Vineyards & Cellars, Dutcher Crossing Winery, Farella-Park Vineyards, Fontes & Phillips, Hope Family Wines, J&J Cellars, Millesime Cellars, Quady Winery, Rosenthal-The Malibu Estate, Semler, Star Lane Vineyard, Sweeney Canyon Vineyard, The Malibu Vineyard, Zaca Mesa, Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards, Ahnfeldt Wines, Casa Dumetz, Cielo Malibu Estate Wineyards, Colcanyon Estate Wines, Malibu Cornell Winery And Tasting Room, Dierberg Estate Vineyard, Écluse Wines, Flying Goat Cellars/Ynot, Herzog Wine Cellars, Hoyt Family Vineyards Malibu, Jaffe Estate, Niner Wine Estates, Qupé/Verdad, Saddlerock Solsticio, Surfrider Wines, Tercero Wines,The Paring

THE HOW TO: Tickets are $95, $100 with a L.A. Mag subscription, and $110 at the door (this includes all demonstrations, food, beverages, parking.) It’s 21+ with absolutely no infants, children, or pets (Ah, you gotta love LA, that they even had to say that you can't bring your Rhinestone wearing Chihuahua… ) allowed.

To purchase tickets and for more information: www.lamag.com/thefoodevent

Drinking Merry with the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition

I recently attended the announcement for the winning wine from the 71st Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition. The competition was judged in May by 75 of the leading wine experts. With nearly 3,200 wines entered this meant that 10,800 wine glasses and 240 champagne flutes were utilized with each judge imbibing approximately 100 wines per day. Along with the wines 506 Olive Oils, 214 Spirits, and 400 Beers were also tasted.



“This competition a great way to keep abreast about what’s going on in the market place,” noted Michael Jordon, one of the four Master Sommeliers on the judging panel. “It’s a perfect outlet for people who don’t want to just rely one magazine’s scoring system.”



Highlighted Winners included:

• Best of Show Red ($14.99 and Under) Villa San Juliette, Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, 2008 (The inaugural vintage for the winery, the hit the mark the first time they tried)

• Best of Show Red ($15-29.99) Armida Winery, Zinfandel, Poizin, Sonoma County, 2008

• Best of Show White ($14.99 and Under) Ganton and Larsen Prospect Winery, Pinot Blanc, Birch Canoe, Okanagan Valley VQA, 2008 (This white is an amazing taste for its price point)

• Best of Show White ($15-29.99) James Arthur Vineyards, Edelweiss, Nebraska, 2009 (A sweet wine with edelweiss flavorings. If you have more than one glass you can add your own requisite Sound of Music joke)

• Best Organic Wine Bonterra Vineyards, Merlot, Mendocino County, 2007

• Best Sparkling Wine Mumm Napa, Brut Rosé, Napa Valley

• Best Sparkling Wine, Limited Production Terre Di San Venanzio Fortunato, Prosecco, Extra Dry, Valdobbiadene DOCG, 2009 (Absolutley perfect for a summer evening)

All the wines will be available for tasting at the L.A. County Fair, Sept 4th - Oct 3rd. For the full list of winners go to lawinecomp.com

Touring the Malibu Family Wines' "Taste of the Tour"

I was lucky enough to attend that Taste of the Tour (that being the Amgen Tour a bike race which rides through the Conejo Valley for those who are not sure what tour they are referring to, which was me up until the time I arrived at the event…) at Malibu Family Wines last weekend. Turns out the Amgen Tour is the biggest cycling event this country, Lance Armstrong (the only name I know in cycling, hey the only name most of us know in cycling) was there riding with Team RadioShack. And that wasn't the only thing I was ignorant about.

Now I knew there were vineyards in Malibu, but truthfully I was thinking that they were little rinky-dink tasting rooms. So now I am totally eating crow. I was, definitely, a little out of the loop on this one because I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of Malibu Family Wines (not to be confused with Malibu Wines, yeah it's confusing...) breathtaking location. You definitely don’t have to go to Santa Barbara to experience wine country because believe it or not it lives in the heart of Malibu.

Malibu Family Wines hosted the Taste of the Tour at their 1,000-acre Saddlerock Ranch Estate. Along with 60,000 vines of grapes on 65 acres (with varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Malbec, Grenache, Mouvedre and Viognier) this estate has extensive horse pastures and exotic animals (they’ve got Buffalo, Camels, Zebras, Llamas, and Peacocks to name a few). Let’s just say that it’s not surprising that along with making wine, and boarding horses, they do a booming (booming!) wedding business.



The Taste of the Tour featured wines from Malibu Family Wines' vineyards, Saddlerock and Semler, and a bevy of booths from restaurants in the Ventura area. I ended up making the tale end of the event so I wasn’t able to sample as much of the food offerings I was would have cared to (although the Saddle Peak Lodge sure makes a mean (and by mean I mean a refreshing light for a hot summer day) Sweet Pea and Peekytoe Crab Soup.)

Luckily a few food booths pushed through right till the end, including the wonderful Novy Ranch Grass-Fed Angus Beef. As someone who tries to avoid the corn-fed factory-farmed meat, I was in heaven. All of their beef is grass-fed free-range with no antibiotics or growth hormones. In layman’s terms: beef as it was supposed to be eaten. The lovely people of Novy Ranch were offering out samples of their New York Strip, their Pepperoni Sticks, and their Sausages.

All were great tasting, but the New York Strip was definitely the highlight. Dusted with just a tad of pepper the steak was lean (grass fed is pretty much always going to be leaner than corn fed) but still had a deliciously round flavor in my mouth. I highly recommend checking them out!

Another end of the event treat I was able to sneak in was Olive Oil Ice Cream drizzled with their Balsamic Vinegar from the people of the We Olive, Venture Store. We Olive is one of the premier retailers of California extra virgin olive oil in the US with 8 retail outlets throughout California. The Ice Cream was uber-creamy (most definitely helped by the fat molecules in the Olive Oil) which contrasted perfectly with the sweet tangy taste of the Balsamic Vinegar.

Luckily was able to get my hands on one of the last glasses of Saddlerock Rose. Crisp and cool with hints of watermelon it was the absolute perfect wine for a summer day.
Grass-fed Beef, Olive Oil Ice Cream, and a glass of Rose, it was the perfect celebration for my now absolute favorite bike tour!

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