The Best Wine Buzz in San Diego

The Best Wine Buzz in San Diego

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The ordinance passed - more wine for us!

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed the wine ordinance I posted about earlier this week, which means that local boutique wineries with small productions will be opening tasting rooms around the county in the near future. Check out this Union Tribune article for the full scoop:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/04/county-sets-the-table-for-wine-tasting-rooms/

Cheers!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Vote on County Ordinance could change local wine scene





Breaking News!

Not really, but this is the first I'm hearing about this, and I love the jolt of adrenaline that comes from those two words.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors will vote tomorrow on legislation that could have a huge impact on the SD wine scene.

The Board will decide whether to approve the San Diego Winery Ordinance, which would allow small wineries in unincorporated areas of the county that bottle less than 12,000 gallons of wine per year to sell their wine on-site. Right now, obtaining the permits and zoning necessary to build tasting rooms in the county is an expensive and complicated endeavor, but a change in the policy would simplify the process and could lead to new hubs of wine drinking activity that would boost our local reputation.

Vince Vaquez of The Daily Transcript has a great overview of the issue posted on The Transcript's site: http://bit.ly/aBUKiW.

Of course, I think this would be an awesome development, but there are two sides to every story. Check out this news piece from Channel 10 that describes why Ramona residents are worried about what will happen to their quiet community if the ordinance is passed:  http://bit.ly/bqvhEP.

I'll keep you posted when I find out more...


Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July!


To all my wine-drinking friends, I hope you have a wonderful holiday and you get to enjoy a relaxing weekend, complete with good food and delicious wine.  If its warm where you are and you want to try something new, I'd suggest picking up a bottle of chilled Rose - its a refreshing option, and it is pretty much designed for drinking on a sunny summer afternoon.

Or, you can do what I plan to do - drink beer. Shocking, I know, but there is something about the heat and the BBQing and the fireworks that just screams Hefeweizen to me.

Also, San Diego is home to one of the largest Navy fleets in the world and also Marine Corps and Coast Guard bases, so the military is a big part of the culture. I'd like to say thank you to all of men and women serving here and overseas in our military on this Independence Day. 

Happy 4th of July!

Photo courtesy Jeremy Anderson, San Diego Padres game, Memorial Day 2010

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Paso Robles: Round 2

A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about a great event I went to in Point Loma that showcased about 40 wine makers from Paso Robles.  Many were there to connect with distributors who could sell their wines into local restaurants, meaning that you should start seeing some of these brands in eateries around town.

I was covering the event for the San Diego Community Newspaper Group, which I had just started writing for as a reporter.  However, they didn't end up running the article...until now.

The July issue of Downtown News was released today, I am happy to report (ahem) that the article, "It is time to explore Paso Robles wine in San Diego," was included.  Click on the title to read the piece.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

My beef with beef cheeks




In spite of plethora of research on the horrors of carnivorism, I must admit that I do indeed eat meat. I admire my vegetarian friends more than you could imagine, and I envision that one day maybe I, too, will be able to go meat-free. But until then, I will continue to savor hamburgers, ribs and the occasional steak, grilled to perfection by my Texan boyfriend.

However, I feel that I have to draw the line at some of the beastly animal parts I have been asked to eat at fancy winemaker dinners as of late.

Over the last three months, I have been lucky enough to attend winemaker dinners at two great establishments in town: Seghesio, L’Aventure and Leal at The Wine Vault, and Saxon Brown at The Wine Sellar & Brasserie. These dinners are a great opportunity to meet the people behind your favorite wines, learn about their production and distribution, and try a variety of varietals that you might not otherwise have had access to.

The real joy in these dinners is that the chefs prepare a menu that is, in theory, perfectly paired with the wine they are serving. However, every single one of these dinners has included at least three meat products that I cannot touch no matter how hard I try. The offending fare?

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Wine events finder (and about that resolution...)

So, dear readers, in spite of my best intentions, my mid-year resolution has gone the way of so many New Year's aspirations - it bit the dust. However, I haven't given up hope that I will indeed cover all of the great wine events that I have been able to enjoy in the last month, as well as the ones that I plan to attend soon.

On a related note, one of my resolution-worthy blogs was supposed to be a listing of wine events coming up in and around San Diego. However, while conducting my research, I came to the realization that there is a another site out there that frankly does a better job with event listings than I can. Sad, I know.

That site is www.localwineevents.com, and if you are one of the many SD Wine Scene readers who is not actually in San Diego, this is an excellent resource for you, too. You can search their database by location and date to find a comprehensive list of tastings, pairings, parties and events, all tied together by red, red wine (and fine, white as well). Events appear to be available in all 50 states, plus DC, as well as parts of Canada and the UK, so it is a good choice for finding destination wine adventures.

You can also check out the site and recommend events to me that you think I should write about, in the comments section below.

Happy tasting!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Vin de Syrah: Down the rabbit hole...

Vin de Syrah is considered a modern day speakeasy, which means that it is A) very trendy, and B) very hard to find. Even though the address is listed as 901 5th Ave. in downtown, it took us three times to find the front door.

After consulting with two valets at a nearby hotel, who assured us that we were in the right location ("But whatever you do, don't turn right at the bottom of the stairs," he cautioned ominously). So, did we ever find our way in? Find out after the jump:

Monday, April 19, 2010

Mid Year's Resolution

I've left a big void on my blog over the last month that I feel compelled to fill immediately. It is not as if I've been off the wine scene; on the contrary, I have been drinking up a storm. Maybe a little too much, since I seem to have less and less time to devote to writing about my adventures.

In any case, I have decided to make a mid-year's resolution to catch up on all the fabulous places I've been sampling lately with a week of posts dedicated to all things San Diego wine. I'm planning out my seven-day challenge to keep myself accountable...feel free to barrage me with email encouragements as you see fit.

Starting tomorrow, the schedule will (hopefully) look something like this:


Thursday, March 4, 2010

Wine & Dine at Cohn Restaurants, March 2-12

The Cohn Restaurant Group is behind several of San Diego's most well-known restaurants, including The Prado, the Gas Lamp and La Jolla Strip Clubs, Blue Point, and 333 Pacific. If you have been planning to test the wine selection at any of their establishments, this is the week to do it, as they have launched a wine special that looks very tempting. From their website:

Wine & Dime - 10 Wines, 10 Days for 10¢

Visit any of our Family of Restaurants from March 2nd through March 12th and purchase a glass of wine from our "Dime Wine" list and receive your second glass of equal or lesser value for 10¢.

To check out the rest of their website or see their full list of restaurants, visit their website here.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Family Winemakers Event - Five Days Left to Register!

If you live in San Diego and have been wanting to visit wineries in Napa or Paso Robles or some other exotic California wine locale but haven't had the time or money to do it, have no fear - you have an opportunity to have THEM come to YOU.

Family Winemakers of California will host Tasting 2010 at the Del Mar fairgrounds on Sunday, March 14 from 3 to 6 p.m. The event as billed as "a showcase for the state's small, family-owned wineries," and the list of participating wineries does not disappoint. Register before March 5 for discounted tickets.

Among the wineries that caught my attention:

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Profile: Burgundy Grill and Wine Bar - La Jolla

I went here for the first time to meet up with two girlfriends, and we were very happy with our choice. Burgundy has great happy hour specials, a solid wine selection, a menu with both appetizers and full meals, and inexpensive flights so you can try a few new things.

It was a nice place to go with a group of girlfriends, but given that all three of us kept commenting on how romantic the setting was, the best occasion for this place is probably date night.

On the other hand, there is a huge outdoor patio that will probably become a scene when the weather is warmer, and I could see getting a big group together to enjoy the wine and sunshine.


Thursday, February 25, 2010

Paso Robles comes to San Diego

So, I have totally been slacking with the blog, and not for lack of material - there are a ton of great wine-related things happening in San Diego. However, I was inspired to get cracking again after an event I went to yesterday.

About 40 winemakers from the Paso Robles area came to San Diego this week as part of the Grand Tasting Tour, a series of tastings, winemaker dinners, and seminars designed to connect Paso winemakers with San Diego residents. I went to the trade tasting event in Point Loma to interview reps from some wineries that I am going to be profiling as part of my new gig as a freelance reporter for a local San Diego newspaper group (another reason I have been a blog-slacker).

For some of theses wineries, San Diego is the largest restaurant account for several of the wineries I talked to, which means there is huge demand for Paso wines in America's Finest City. Here are some of the highlights from the people I talked to:

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Meet Frank the Tank







On Friday night I had the serendipitous experience of eating at Addison for the second time. As the French-nouveau restaurant at the heart of The Grand Del Mar, Addison is one of the few places I have been where I truly understood how food preparation could be considered an art form, and the only place I've been where butternut squash, mustard, carmelized apples and crispy shallots really do taste good together.

The best thing about this restaurant, though, is not the five-star dining but the way that the staff actually make the wine experience fun...

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

San Diego Restaurant Week

I just got home from back-to-back trips to visit my parents and to Park City for the Sundance Film Festival, and while I had a great time, I was bummed that I had to miss San Diego Restaurant Week. Then I found out today that Restaurant Week has been extended and all the deals will be on through January 29. The event is a great way to try a wider variety of food and explore new places without paying the full price; more than 180 San Diego restaurants offer 3-course meals for $20, $30, or $40. Plus, where there is good food, there is usually good wine, and many restaurants have specials on their drink menus as well. I'm hoping to try out a new place this week; let me know if you have a recommendation in the comments below.

Coincidentally, this month's issue of San Diego magazine profiles six of the hottest new restaurants in the greater San Diego area, and two of them are having Restaurant Week deals: Roseville in Point Loma and 333 Pacific in Oceanside. Rounding out the rest of the Top 6 are The Red Door in Mission Hills, West Coast Tavern in North Park, Hane Sushi at Banker's Hill, and Cucina Urbana in Hillcrest. I discovered the latter this summer with one of my fellow wine fanatics, and we fell in love with the California Cuisine/Italian fusion menu, as well as the eclectic wine list. She liked it so much she had her birthday dinner there several weeks ago, and everyone who attended gave the restaurant rave reviews. I highly recommend trying it out, both for the food and to switch up your wine drinking routine.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Profile: The Barrel Room - Rancho Bernardo




My goal with this blog is to provide not only fun stories about the wine experience, but also profiles of the places I visit in case you want to check them out yourself. Here is my first attempt:

The Place: The Barrel Room, 16765 Bernardo Center Drive, San Diego (Rancho Bernardo). Arrived at 7 pm-ish on Friday night.

The Face: The Barrel Room bills itself as "North County's only retail, wine bar, and full casual dining restaurant..."It’s located in a shopping center between a Big 5 and a Round Table Pizza. Inside, the décor is informal, with a style that our group placed somewhere between hacienda and casual lodge; hacienda for the dark wood and wrought-iron accents, casual lodge for the massive flat screen mounted above the bar, ensuring that the single men sitting there don’t miss a second of football playoff coverage.

An impressive collection of more than 180 bottles occupies one wall in the main dining area, a sea of soldiers ready to battle our limited will power. The lighting is dim in a romantic way, and the amped up noise level indicates that people are having a good time.


Find out the rest after the jump:

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Welcome to the San Diego Wine Scene

Before I can expect you to take anything I have to say about wine seriously, I have to make a confession:  five years ago, my wine of choice was Charles Shaw Cabernet.  Granted, I was in college, so I should get bonus points just for drinking something that didn't come out of a can.  Or a box.  However, I will lose those points all over again when you find out that I went to college in San Luis Obispo, a mere 30 minutes South of Paso Robles, which is home to some of the best wineries in California (the region is especially well-known for their Zinfandel...the red kind).  In any case, to say my palate was untrained is an understatement.  I was perfectly happy to linger in this ignorant bliss, and it didn't hurt my budget either.

That all changed when I took a job during my last year of grad school to work in the tasting room at Foley near Lompoc, CA, an hour South of San Luis (are you seeing the pattern? Surrounded by great wine and still drinking barrels of Chuck. A travesty).  For six months, I was exposed to mouthwatering Pinot, spicy Syrah, and buttery Chardonnay.  I was teaching people about the wines I poured and simultaneously learning more than I ever thought possible about planting, growing, picking, processing, bottling, pairing, and, of course, drinking. I began to appreciate what wine was all about.

That appreciation has continued to grow even though I no longer work in a tasting room.  Some of my best memories involve drinking wine in Lompoc, in Napa, in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, even in Italy.  I can't name most of the wines I have tasted, but I can tell you some amazing stories.  And now that I'm in San Diego, I am committed to finding not only great tasting wines, but also great wine experiences.