April 19, 2013 – California Wine Festival

Picture a perfect backdrop, on the cliffs high above Dana Point with the sun just about to set, and the most fabulous wine and food to be tasted. This is what the Sunset Rare and Reserve Tasting – Friday, April 19, 2013 is all about. The crowds really got big, and so did the appetites, for all things delicious and rare. What a luxury once again to be a part of this fantastic event. Feeling so blessed and happy; I am in the zone. But I am not the only one. Everyone here is having a blast, like one great big amusement park for adults. You could tell that this was a wine connoisseur’s gathering. No one was really out of control, but with these great wines how could you not do a little over imbibing. Some of my favorite wines were the Old Vines Zinfandels; Sextant wines had a stellar one. The regions were varied and eclectic, some of which I had never tried, like Livermore Valley, and Lodi, who knew that these areas could produce such outstanding wines. That is the one thing I love about this job, I am always learning new things. The food was a perfect pairing; the oysters from Harbor Grill were fresh and lovely. The smoked salmon from Gemmells was another great addition. As the sun set you were cradled in the magic of this wondrous Cliffside area, and astounded at the fact that you could be able to enjoy all of this great bounty.

 

Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting – Friday, April 19, 2013

Food/Restaurants:

Harbor Grill

Horizon Sales Corp

Icelandic Glacial

Kerrygold Irish Dairy

Monterey Chocolate Company

Sadie Rose Baking Co.

Wine BIstro

Azucar Bakery

Billotti’s Catering

Butterfly Brittle

Carlsbad Aquafarm

Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Chef DJ Seals – Louisana Gumbo

Gemmell’s Restaurant

GG’s Gourmet Toffee, Inc

Grace & i

Harbor Grill

Horizon Sales Corp

Icelandic Glacial

Kerrygold Irish Dairy

Monterey Chocolate Company

Sadie Rose Baking Co.

Wine BIstro

Azucar Bakery

Billotti’s Catering

Butterfly Brittle

Carlsbad Aquafarm

Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Chef DJ Seals – Louisana Gumbo

Gemmell’s Restaurant

GG’s Gourmet Toffee, Inc

Grace & i

 

Wines:

Lorimar Winery

Macchia

Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Winery

McCay Cellars

Michael-David Winery

Nevarez Vineyard

Nicora

Nottingham Cellars

Oak Ridge Winery

Orange Coast Winery

Peltier Station

Perrymoore

Pomar Junction

Prager Winery & Port Works

Quigley Fine Wines

Ritual

Rugg Family Wines

Rutherford Wine Company

Sextant Wines & 10knots Cellars

Tercero Wines

Vena Vineyards

VineMark Cellars

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Wilson Creek Winery

Ahnfeldt Winery

Alexander Valley Vineyards

Barlow Vineyards

Bel Vino

Borra Vineyards

Bracey Vineyards

Callaway Vineyard & Winery

Cannonball Wine Company

Carlo Rossi

Carol Shelton Wines

Cass Winery

Claiborne & Churchill

Coastal Wine Brands

Falkner Winery

Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard

Grgich Hills Estate Winery

Handley Cellars

Harney Lane Winery

Hook & Ladder

Houdinihttps://www.frogmorecreek.com/

Huge Bear Wines

Inception Wines

Ironstone Vineyards

Keyways Vineyard & Winery

King Frosch

Klinker Brick Winery

LangeTwins Family Winery

Location, Elevation & Slope

 

Beachside Wine Festival – Saturday, April 20, 2013

 

I came here 2 years ago and was not able to spend the night in the area, this time around I made sure that I had close digs and enjoyed being able to imbibe and not have to worry about driving. The early part of this event is great because you get to sample all of the goodness without having the general public’s long lines. When they did open the gates at 1pm I was surprised that the normal number of attendees was really not that large. So the lines never got bad and you were really able to get around without any problems. The Reggae band was a nice respite in the running around the area and making new friend with new wineries. There was a lot of great food, near the entrance there were 2 different tacos from 2 different vendors, they both were delicious. Mahe restaurant had some very nice sushi. Harbor Grill had chicken wings and their signature St. Louis ribs, very yummy. I tried just to drink Chardonnays and lighter white wines, after all you have to start tasting at noon, how do you say pace yourself! By the end of the day I was pooped and had lost all of my taste buds. I loved the fast variety of food and wine, and once again the carefree vibe made it easy to understand why there are so many new wine lovers.

 

 

Food/Restaurants:

Mahe’

Monterey Chocolate Company

Nan’s Gourmet Good Pastamore

The Point Restaurant & Bar

Rubio’s

Sadie Rose Baking Co

San Luis Obispo Condiment Company

The Melting Pot

Azucar Cafe Bakery

Butterfly Brittle

Carlsbad Aquafarm

Chef DJ Seals – Louisana Gumbo

Chelas Mexican Grill

Gemmell’s Restaurant

GG’s Gourmet Toffee, Inc

Grace & i

Icelandic Glacial

Kerrygold Irish Dairy

LunaOlivo

 

 

Wines:

Lorimar Winery

Macchia

Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Winery

McCay Cellars

Michael-David Winery

Nevarez Vineyard

Nicora

Nottingham Cellars

Oak Ridge Winery

Orange Coast Winery

Peltier Station

Perrymoore

Pomar Junction

Prager Winery & Port Works

Quigley Fine Wines

Ritual

Rugg Family Wines

Rutherford Wine Company

Sextant Wines & 10knots Cellars

Tercero Wines

Vena Vineyards

VineMark Cellars

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Wilson Creek Winery

Ahnfeldt Winery

Alexander Valley Vineyards

Barlow Vineyards

Bel Vino

Borra Vineyards

Bracey Vineyards

Callaway Vineyard & Winery

Cannonball Wine Company

Carlo Rossi

Carol Shelton Wines

Cass Winery

Claiborne & Churchill

Coastal Wine Brands

Falkner Winery

Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard

Grgich Hills Estate Winery

Handley Cellars

Harney Lane Winery

Hook & Ladder

Houdinihttps://www.frogmorecreek.com/

Huge Bear Wines

Inception Wines

Ironstone Vineyards

Keyways Vineyard & Winery

King Frosch

Klinker Brick Winery

LangeTwins Family Winery

Location, Elevation & Slope

 

www.californiawinefestival.com/

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