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!

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...

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

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?