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.

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?

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!

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:

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: