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/
