Jeremy’s on the Hill Food and Wine Pairing

Jeremy’s on the Hill Food and Wine Pairing

An afternoon with Chef de Cuisine, Jeremy Manley

Jeremy's on the Hill

Jeremy Manley is one talented chef. And busy. As the owner of Jeremy’s on the Hill in Wynola, cooking isn’t foreign to him. At the age of ten, Jeremy started working in his mother’s business kitchen at Angels Landing Country Inn, first washing dishes and then around age eleven, he chopped and diced with a family member, Karla Ludtke. Under her tutelage he worked with many different types of food from Italian to African, learned to carve fruits and create beautiful displays. By age thirteen he took over cooking, catering weddings and retreats.

“Sometimes, we would have a wedding in the main area, a retreat going up in the conference room and a rehearsal dinner up in the Lilac Suite.  Very often, days would start at 6:00am and end at 10:00pm. Jeremy has quite the stamina,” says his mother, Teresa Keller.

After graduating from Julian High School, Jeremy headed to San Francisco to study at the world famous Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. After an externship at Mill Fleur in Rancho Santa Fe, he was ready to start his own adventure. In March 2008 he opened Jeremy’s on the Hill, a true family affair, with his sister, Brigida, mother Teresa, grandparents and cousin Karla all part of the restaurant.

Jeremy Manley

After the Julian Union High School District was awarded one of Michelle Obama’s Farm-to-Table grants, Jeremy was selected to offer the lunch program for the schools.  Starting this fall, he will make food at his restaurant and distribute it to the schools in the district.

Recently, in spite of his busy schedule, I was lucky enough to enjoy a food and wine pairing that Jeremy prepared for a group of food and wine writers. This memorable meal was paired with local wines making it all the more special.

Flash Fried Brussel Sprouts

The amuse-bouche, offered to tease and cleanse our palates, was crispy flash-fried Brussels sprouts with Jeremy’s tangy ponzu sauce (a soy sauce infused with citrus) and an orange slice to soften the flavors. This made the usually ordinary greens absolutely luscious. The burst of flavor in my mouth was an excellent starter to the meal. I was told that this recipe was a result of a mistake, and what a wonderful mistake it was.

The first course was a Festival of Radish Salad and homemade blistered jalapeno stuffed with hunter sausage. Jeremy makes his sausages with pork from Cook Pigs Ranch in Julian. The medleys of radishes were delightfully light and fresh and served on a bed of spicy radish leaves. Perfectly matched with a Grenache Blanc from Turtle Rock Ridge Winery in Ramona, this surprisingly rich and full white wine had plenty of crisp acid to hold up to the radishes.

In between courses we were introduced to each entrée and regaled with stories of Jeremy’s life, his friends, what he’s up to and all the fun he’s having with his food truck. This summer he has been out at Turtle Rock Ridge Winery offering foods for guests on the patio.

Next up was an heirloom tomato salad with smoked eggplant, Maytag blue cheese, red onions and sage balsamic vinaigrette. This was paired with a Warner Springs Hawk Watch 2010 Syrah. Jeremy smoked the eggplant because he felt that the Syrah was smoky and the two would complement each other. He was right. Summertime and lush tomatoes go hand in hand. This pairing was the group’s favorite.

Heirloom tomato salad with smoked eggplant

The main course was a house made sage fettuccine with a summer vegetable ratatouille, featuring locally grown vegetables and house cured Pancetta (bacon) from Cook Pigs Ranch and sprinkled with a thinly sliced Manchego cheese. Warner Springs was well-represented with a 2008 La Serenissima Cabernet Franc. Tony, the winemaker, has craft this bold and complex wine that held up nicely with all the flavors of the entrée.

We finished with a Strawberry Shortcake Jeremy Style. Peach preserves, oregano and mint garnished with shaved chocolate. Aah! Paired with 2012 Menghini Winery Julian Gold Muscat Canelli, this dessert melted in our mouths.

This fall when you’re headed to Julian for Apple Days or Pumpkin picking, make sure that you stop in Wynola for a spectacular meal. You can thank me later.

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Three San Diego Urban Wineries: Abnormal Wine, Witch Creek Winery and San Pasqual Winery

One of the exciting things happening the San Diego wine scene is the phenomenon of “urban” wineries. Urban Wineries are popping up all over the county, as well as many city settings around the United States. An urban winery purchases its grapes from the countryside and produces the wines in the city. An urban winery doesn’t require a drive to the countryside (although we all love a drive out in the countryside), and urban wineries usually have a tasting room with facilities to sit and have a glass of wine after you’ve found your favorite wine. Urban wineries usually offer all of the amenities of estate wineries including wine clubs, wine events.

We will explore three urban wineries in San Diego:

Abnormal Wine Company/ Rancho Bernardo:

Located in a commercial building complex in Rancho Bernardo this winery strives to push the boundaries of what people think about wine and how it is presented. They label their wines by number (as opposed to varietals), therefore making their wines more approachable to people who can’t pronounce or don’t know about a particular varietal or who might be scared to try a new or different wine. Owners James Malone and Matt DeLoach say the core of their drive is the knowledge of creating something new. They want to change the way people think about the current wine culture.

Abnormal's Wines

Co-Owner Matt

“We’re not doing things the traditional way,” Matt says. “We’re working on using essences. We have a Chocolate berry port and Chocolate citrus port and we’re working on a coffee port.” Tip: Try the #18. Matt says there are #18 fan clubs.

No. 19

Also a strong focus for these two men is education. They call themselves novice winemakers and feel that the time is now to get into the wine industry in San Diego.

Enjoy their lovely tasting room/lounge Wednesday through Sunday 2-6pm (9pm on Thursdays and Fridays). For more information go to: http://abnormalwine.com/

Witch Creek Winery/ Carlsbad:

Tasting Room in Julian, CA.

The first urban winery in San Diego, Witch Creek has expanded to two tasting room locations. Founded in 1993 they have a tasting room on Main Street in Julian and on Highway 101 in Carlsbad in 1996, just two blocks from the beach. Owner Dave Wodehouse, was the winemaker until he fired himself.  Now the winemaker is Ryan Baker assisted by Ryan Scott.

Their Carlsbad tasting room is a working winery and tasting room combined. It is a walk-up tasting room. There are no chairs and tables to sit at and sip wine. When you taste there you are among their barrels, making you feel like you’re a part of the production process. The barrels are all covered with fun trivia, like it takes 75-100 grapes to make a glass of wine or one acre of land averages 797 gallons of wine.

Fun trivia at Witch Creek Winery

Carlsbad Winetasting room

This winery currently sources their grapes from Clarksburg, by the Sacramento River in Northern California, and Baja California’s Guadalupe Valley. This summer they have been tasting seven red wines,  two whites and two sweet wines. For those big, bold red wine lovers, definitely try their Montepulciano, Primitivo and Kathy’s Cuvee, a Meritage blend of Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Tasting hours in Carlsbad for the Fall are 11AM-5:30PM Sunday-Thursday. They stay open a half hour later on Fridays and Saturdays. The tasting room on Main Street in Julian is open 11AM-5PM daily.

San Pasqual Winery/La Mesa

La Mesa's own Winery

San Pasqual Winery has been on the move in 2013. In June owners Mike and Linda McWilliams augmented their Pacific Beach production facility and La Mesa storefront tasting room and added another much larger facility and tasting room on Center Street, just a few blocks away. The industrial neighborhood in La Mesa is very approachable with plenty of parking. A new 4,500 square-foot facility has room to process grapes, tanks for storage and a tasting room. The winery still offers music on weekend nights, come sip wine and listen to local musicians. They will also continue promoting local artists as well as their different arts programs where people create art projects in the winery. Watch for them to grow even more. This winery has quite a reputation for their quirky Passion Fruit/habanero wine. You must try it! Sure it’s just for fun; you can find other serious wines with grapes from Northern California: Tempranillo, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are plenty of sparkling, white and rose wines also. Currently the tasting room is open 12PM-8PM Monday through Thursday, 12PM-10PM Friday and Saturday and 12PM-5PM on Sunday. For current events go to: http://www.sanpasqualwinery.com/

If you’re researching urban wineries, San Diego has a newly formed urban winery alliance. Currently eight urban wineries are part of the alliance. http://sdurbanwineries.com/

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

A Taste of Coronado Cuisine and History: An Afternoon Walking Tour

A Taste of Coronado Cuisine and History

We girls are always looking for fun and unique things to do with our friends. We need our girl time away from daily life, time to chat and find out what each other is doing, how the kids are, the husband, parents, how the job is going plus time to get out and exercise, try some new foods and learn about different neighborhoods in San Diego. History and culinary tours in San Diego offer just that; a great girl’s outing and an afternoon with friends.

So Cal Food Tours currently offers two different itineraries: one for Friday afternoons and one for Sunday afternoons. This Sunday the group met at the Tent City Murals at Glorietta Bay Marina. Owner, tour guide and Coronado resident Barbara Trenchi told stories of life on Coronado in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s on a three-hour tour of the south end of the quaint island.

Murals of the Tent City Vacation Area

The tent murals are a tile mosaic marquis with photos transferred on to the tiles depicting the seaside resort of the Tent City, south of where the Hotel Del Coronado now stands.

Between 1900 and 1939 cost-conscious vacationers from around the world would flock to the seaside resort community of Coronado and stay in one of the 1,000 tents set up on the Coronado Strand. Started by sugar magnate John D. Spreckels this cost conscious vacation was priced at $5.00 a week. Although visitors staying in tents, it was much more than a rustic experience. This family destination boasted a trolley, carnival booths, a Ferris wheel, and a dance pavilion named “Casino”. Vacationers could attend a performance at the Pavilion theatre, stroll the boardwalk that led to a seal tank, visit an ostrich farm and see the monkey cages. Or they could simply swim in the ocean or bay, take your pick which side of the strand you wanted to enjoy. One of the many attractions was a 10-cent performance of a horse named Cash diving into a pool of water. Wyatt Earp even did gun fighting demonstrations in the shooting gallery.

The tour passed by the ubiquitous Hotel del Coronado, built by Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story between 1887 and 1897 with the goal of being the “talk of the Western World”. Built entirely of wood in the Queen Anne Revival style the hotel features whimsical turrets and an asymmetrical design. The Hotel Del Coronado currently has a turret wrapped up with a red bow in celebration of its 125 year anniversary. Mr. Spreckels bought the hotel and built his private residence across the street, which is now the Glorietta Bay Inn.

Next door is the El Cordova Hotel, originally built as Elisha Babcock’s retirement home and currently houses the charming and colorful patio restaurant, Miguel’s Cocina. Over appetizers tour members met and munched tasty chips, salsa and creamy white sauce. Some of our group enjoyed a margarita along with a sample platter of zesty Mexican antijitos (starters) of ceviche, rolled tacos and fried calamari.

Across the street we went to see the first house that was built in Coronado. It was built f the first couple who got married at the Hotel Del Coronado. Today a plaque proclaims it the “Home of a Naval Aviator”. On this day we were fortunate enough to meet the owner/aviator in front of his house and he regaled us with stories about flying navy planes with George H.W. Bush. Huge smiles on the group’s faces reflected the charm of this man and his stories. The house has neither heat nor insulation. It has been a labor of love to own it and try to bring it up to this century’s standards.

House where Frank L. Baum wrote 2 of the Wizard of Oz books

We passed by the house on Star Park Circle where Frank L. Baum wrote two of the Wizard of Oz books enroute to our next culinary stop, Coronado Taste of Oils, an olive oil and vinegar store on Orange Avenue.  

The group enjoyed meeting the owner, Roberta Korte, who gifted us with vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate balsamic vinegar. This heavenly concoction was a very creative use of vinegars. There were many “Oohs and Aahs”. We were given a paper with the top pairings and encouraged to roam and try some pairings. A favorite was Peach White Balsamic and Tuscan Herb Extra Virgin Olive Oil. You could really spend hours here trying different recipes. We left the store laden with treasures.   

Next stop was Alexander’s Pizza which has been voted “Best Pizza” of Coronado year after year. We enjoyed gooey Scooby Snack appetizers (dough balls with red sauce for dipping) and two pizzas, the highlight for all being a vegetarian pizza.

Refreshing artisan gelato was served at Bottega Italiano before walking to the house on Ocean Avenue that once belonged to Mr. Spreckels and now finds itself in the forefront of a murder/suicide mystery.

We dispersed from the charming boutique hotel, The Glorietta Bay Inn, overlooking Glorietta Bay and the Coronado Yacht Club. Mr. & Mrs. Spreckels sure knew how to live. This lovely property built with the classic simple lines of the Italian Renaissance style boasts many patios, an Elizabethan garden dotted with colorful bougainvilleas, a lap pool, a music room with a baby grand piano and an air of sophistication.

Coronado has much to be proud of and seeing a tiny bit of it on this tour whets the appetite to try the next tour. To enjoy a fun afternoon with your girlfriends go to: http://socalfoodtours.com/ or to reserve your space call 800-979-3370 or 212-209-3370. 

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Curds and Wine at Milagro Farms Vineyards and Winery

Cheese tray for sampling

Gi Claassen

Jim Hart offers us some barrel tasting

Curds and Wine at Milagro Farms Vineyards and Winery

Cheesemaking Demonstration and Wine Tasting

“The #1 rule of cheesemaking: don’t stop, keep going – even if you think something is going wrong. It WILL make A cheese!”  Gi Classen tells the group at Milagro Winery to peals of laughter. Nervous laughter, to be more exact. Gi’s eyes sparkle as she talks about the science of cheesemaking. Science was never so delicious as today’s cheesemaking demonstration and wine pairing.

On a lovely spring day, Milagro Winery hosted an afternoon in the vineyards with upstart business Curds and Wine. Milagro winemaker Jim Hart led a tour of the 10-acre property, showing us the different rows of many varietals that they grow before leading into a cool subterranean cave, decorated with red and white checkerboard tablecloths and soft amber lighting from the wall sconces.

Gisela Claassen- call her Gi, our cheese matron/chef/hostess left a career in cancer research. To be more specific the career left her after two research companies folded leaving her high and dry and wondering what to do next in life.  She continued her passion with science, but in a completely different avenue—cheese and wine. In November 2010 she opened Curds and Wine in San Diego and hasn’t looked back.

Cheese goes with wine like laughter goes with friends. But why does it go so well together? It’s all about tannins. Tannins are natural organic compounds found in grape skins, seeds and stems. Winemakers use tannin to give wines their distinctive flavors. Tannins are released either by squeezing the grapes or crushing them, depending on the desired flavor. Wines that improve with age will have plenty of tannins. The ageing process will soften the taste and reduce any bitter aftertaste. Long story short, scientists have found that high fat, high protein foods balance the taste of tannin. And that is why cheese pairs so perfectly with wine.

Deciding what cheese goes with which wine is an ongoing, ever-changing, highly subjective debate that can never be settled definitively. That, of course, leads to hours of cheesemaking (and wine drinking) fun and experimentation, which is what today’s event was all about.

Gi gave a brief science lesson on what happens to make cheese.

Step 1- Starter culture: Use either cultures or acids to make the chemical reaction needed to make cheese.

Step 1

Step 2- Cutting: Add to warm milk. This causes the protein to get charged, change shapes and fall away from the water (whey), leaving the fats behind to become cheese (curds).

Step 3- Add rennet, a milk-clotting enzyme, used to coagulate the milk, forming a custard-like mass.

Step 4- Stirring, heating and draining. We cooked the curds to a desired temperature and firmness. The whey is continually drained off, leaving a tightly formed curd.

Step 5- Seasoning:  add a special cheese salt (kosher salt, not iodine salt) for flavor, to control the moisture level and to make the bacteria very happy.

Step 6- Molding and pressing your cheeses. Here you get your characteristic shape of cheese and completes the curd formation. This can typically take between three and 12 hours. Some cheeses are hung to drip dry, some are pressed, to force out whey.

Step 7- Aging or curing . This process depends on the cheese you are making. Cheese is moved to a refrigerator (or locker) that is temperature controlled to 50-55 degrees (wine fridge makes a great cheese locker) and 80 percent humidity. It is imperative to keep a clean environment so that the bacteria stabilizes and doesn’t grow.

 

Gi shows us the process

“This is so easy to make its ridiculous,” Gi giggles, to more nervous laughter from the crowd.  “Today we are making goat’s milk chevre and ricotta.”

We filled our plates with cheese samples while the Milagro staff filled our wine glasses with Rosé of Sangiovese, for which winemaker Jim Hart won double gold.

During the demonstrations we stop to pair a new wine with a new cheese.

·         2012 Sauvignon Blanc with plain and dill Chevre.

·         2012 Rosé of Sangiovese with homemade Feta.

·         2010 Barbera, working man’s wine, full-bodied, dark and structured. Milagro won three gold medals on this wine. Paired with Ricotta Salata (with paprika) and Mimolette.  There were many rumblings of “Dang that Barbera’s good. I need a few bottles to go home with me” and “how long will it be until my ricotta is ready.”

·         2009 Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Noord Hollander, from the rich, green pastures of North Holland. Another perfect pairing. Rich with black cherry and leather flavors, Jim’s Cabernet Sauvignon is not to be missed. This wine deserves double gold, if it hasn’t already won it.

After this fun afternoon, many participants with similar interests formed new friendships, learned what curds and whey mean, and enjoyed a variety of Milagro award-winning wines. My husband said, “We’re SOOO going to do this.” We have already made our first visit to Curds and Wine.

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

A Quasi Judge at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition

The Sheraton Fairplex hosted a group of Wine Scholars and Writers at the 74^th annual Los Angeles International Wine Competition one fine Wednesday in May. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association I was invited to attend this event which included a full day of judging with lunch and dinner. The winners of the competition will be served at the L.A. County fair this summer. The competition is also the foundation for an extensive wine education program available to the fairgoers.

75 talented judges congregated to blind taste approximately 100 wines each. The judges with an average of 25-30 years experience in their fields were called upon to test their vast knowledge of wine. The quickness with which they tasted, smelled, and scored the wines was mind boggling. 

The blind-tasting method is used to judge these domestic and international vintages. Glasses are tagged with numbers in specific categories. No bottles were anywhere to be found, except behind the curtain where staff worked vigorously to prepare wine flights. The only things the judges know are what the varietal is and what the retail price point is. For example, some categories my panel tasted were: Merlot over $30.00 retail, Merlot under $29.99 retail, Cabernet/Merlot Blend (Australia), Ruby Cabernet, Marsala and Muscat . 

There were 3,000 wine entries for judging, ranging from innovative new wines to sweet dessert wines. Prizes were awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and Best in Class.

I was fortunate to sit with 2 winery owners, a sommelier and a wine educator.  I’ve been seriously enjoying wine for about 25 years. I thought I knew a few things, but boy was I wrong. When I sat down with my panel to taste our way through 86 wines, I was immediately humbled. My scores didn’t count, I was observing the event. I found that sometimes I agreed with my compatriots and sometimes I didn’t. Never was I told I was wrong.  I asked the sommelier judge at my table for words of advice and he said, “Think long/think wrong. Go with your first impression.”

I quickly learned that my standard way of tasting wine wasn’t going to cut it. I swirled, sniffed and sipped. When I had just tasted about four wines, they were through the whole flight of around fourteen wines. These seasoned professionals sniffed all the wines and could pick up different nuances from their noses: too much tannin, not enough barrel aging, a hint of VA. (Yes, I had to look that up too- volatile acidity. This is where the acidity of the wine is deliberately elevated in order to enhance the fruitiness of wines that are meant to be consumed young.) The judges sniffed the entire flight, then swirled the wines in their mouths to get a sense of the flavors. After a few seconds they would spit it out and go on to the next wine.  I always look to see if the taste delivers on what the nose smells. I like to see how the finish is: does it leave a nice taste in my mouth or a tart one, a bitter one, a sweet one?

We also were served rare roast beef, grapes and cheese to help keep our palates fresh.Thank heavens for my new favorite olive, the Graber olive. These unique olives cleansed our palates and refreshed our taste buds to try another wine. 

After about forty wines we broke for lunch which was hosted by the hotel and featured produce from their garden next door at the L.A. Fairgrounds. This garden, which we were able to visit for dinner that evening, produced enough vegetables for the hotel’s kitchen to prepare two fantastic meals for us and I’m sure for other guests too. The buffet was served outside in the garden and featured lamb, Atlantic Char, faro salad, baby greens salad and a cheese plate filled with unique flavors and colors. Dessert was chocolate cupcakes, made with bitter chocolate and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Atlantic Char

Deluxe Cheese Plate

Bittersweet Chocolate cupcakes

Faro Salad

Buffet Tables

We returned to our panels after lunch to taste dessert wines: Angelica, Marsala, Muscat, Vin Doux Naturel and Sweet Sherry. I can’t even pretend to know how to judge these wines, so I sat back and observed. My knowledgeable judges even knew what Angelica was (yes, I had to look it up too. A sweet fortified Californian wine made out of the Mission grapes which date back to the California Mission era and produced by Franciscan Missionaries.) and if it measured up.

Fun Facts:

·         Last year 10,000 wine glasses were used at the competition.

·         Glasses are washed five times after each use. (If you want to do the numbers that equals 165,600 washings) .

·         Glasses are never touched by hand; specially designed lint-free towels are used

·         These towels are made of flour sack and are washed multiple times a day in very hot water; soap is never used

·         More than 500 towels will be used during the competition

·         Judges smell, sip, swirl and spit a minimum of 200 times daily.

Fellow writer Tom Plant

The judges at work

Judging

More Judging

Los Angeles International Wine Competition

It’s all about relationships in the wine business.

A flight of dessert wines

The relationship with weather and grapes. The relationship with the grape growers and the wine makers. Some people like to grow the plants, nurture the grapes, and encourage their strongest output of fruit. Some people prefer to take that fruit and make a magical elixir with them. Some people like doing both. But a winemaker’s best friend is his horticulturalist.

The relationship with the soil and the plants.  Planting your varietal with the proper relationship to the topography.

The relationship with buyers and sellers. The buyer wants value. The seller needs to make money to survive. The relationship with food and wine. Need I say more?

And then there’s the relationship with judges and wines at the L.A International Wine Competition on May 15, 2013 at the Sheraton Fairplex in Pomona California. Here knowledge met challenge.

The Sheraton Fairplex hosted a group of Wine Scholars and Writers at the 74^th annual Los Angeles International Wine Competition one fine Wednesday in May. As a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association I was invited to attend this event which included a full day of judging with lunch and dinner. The winners of the competition will be served at the L.A. County fair this summer. The competition is also the foundation for an extensive wine education program available to the fairgoers.

75 talented judges congregated to blind taste approximately 100 wines each. The judges with an average of 25-30 years experience in their fields were called upon to test their vast knowledge of wine. The quickness with which they tasted, smelled, and scored the wines was mind boggling. 

We split into different tables for a day and tasted and scored wines. Smelling, swirling, tasting and spitting.  Four judges were at my table: one bigger than life winery owner, one wine educator, one master sommelier and a wine marketer, whose main focus is on direct to consumer marketing. These people know wine. They know what makes a good wine. They can determine when there were too many tannins, VA or not enough barrel time.

At my table we tasted 86 wines; the majority of them were Merlots. Smelling, swirling, tasting and spitting.  The winery owner didn’t care for Merlots, he said, “Good Merlot is an oxymoron.” (He likes Cabernets.) The sommelier felt, “Merlot is the great massager. It says to Cabernets, it’s okay, everything’s going to be alright.”

The blind-tasting method is used to judge these domestic and international vintages. Glasses are tagged with numbers in specific categories. No bottles were anywhere to be found, except behind the curtain where staff worked vigorously to prepare wine flights. The only things the judges know are what the varietal is and what the retail price point is. For example, some categories my panel tasted were: Merlot over $30.00 retail, Merlot under $29.99 retail, Cabernet/Merlot Blend (Australia), Ruby Cabernet, Marsala and Muscat . 

Tags of wines blind tasted

There were 3,000 wine entries for judging, ranging from innovative new wines to sweet dessert wines. Prizes were awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold and Best in Class.

The wine owner talked about his relationship with his customers. “It’s all about trust,” he said. “I barbecue about 400 pounds of meat every weekend and customers come and try my wines with different foods. They put their trust in me to make good wines.”

The sommelier got a huge smile on his face when he talked about his relationship with his restaurant guests. His greatest joy is helping people find the right pairing with food and wine. His greatest honor is when his guests tell him to order their meal and pair their wines for them. He likes them to sit back and enjoy each course pairing.

The wine marketer said, “It’s all about the relationship between wineries and wine drinkers. If they trust you and your wines, then you will be successful.”

Robin tries her hand at judging (her scores didn't count)

This experience was very eye-opening. Myself and my fellow writers are still in awe at how much we learned by attending this event. We were unanimous in our respect for the entire event. The judges were admirable, the wait staff that took care of the judges, brought the wines were silently efficient and the event organizers were perfection. The personnel were always available to handle any situation and answer questions. As anyone who has put on an event of this magnitude knows, there are a lot of people working tirelessly behind the scenes. I applaud everyone’s efforts.

Robin with her group of esteemed judges

Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com

Valentine’s Day Chocolate and Wine Pairing, San Pasqual Winery, La Mesa, CA.

La Mesa Blvd is romantic at night. The tree-lined boulevard twinkles with white lights. People meander, window shopping, enjoying new gourmet restaurants or old favorites. Others browse antique stores or plan vacations at the travel agency. We dipped into San Pasqual Winery for a wine and chocolate pairing. This was a perfect way to spend Valentines Eve.

San Pasqual Winery, an urban winery whose tasting room is on the Boulevard hosts an annual Valentine’s wine and chocolate pairing event for guests and wine club members. This fun evening features five wines with desserts from San Diego Desserts.

Tonight’s pairings were:


“Toast of the Town”, a Brut Sparkling Wine, is a chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend of wine crafted in the classic Methode Champenoise. This was paired with a white chocolate covered strawberry.



“Classy but Sassy”, a sparkling wine cocktail with a splash of their “Habanero” passionfruit wine was paired with chocolate-orange mousse. This cocktail is very drinkable and surprisingly delicious!

2008 Santa Barbara GSM Blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mouvedre) paired nicely with a Raspberry Linzer cookie. My tasting notes say “Yum!” for this wine. I am a big sucker for this classic Rhone blend.


2008 El Dorado Tempranillo paired with a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. As a peanut butter purist, I didn’t care for this pairing. In my opinion wine and peanut butter don’t mix. However, the Tempranillo was rich and full. I wrote in my notes “very unique, a bit sweeter” than other Tempranillos I have had. The tasting room staff and we had fun deciding which wine would be better with the peanut butter. I’m not sure which one they finally decided on, but it was fun trying.
Lastly a Tawny Port paired with a salted caramel fudge cup. The port had a very nutty flavor, the tasting notes say “think Raisinets” but with a kick.
All wines were in the $20-25.00 range and very drinkable. A fun wine to try is their “Habanero” passionfruit wine. I know sounds weird, but tastes freakishly good!

Linda McWilliams, the winemaker, was a student of Jim Hart, winemaker at Milagro Farm Vineyards, and Adam Caruth, of Caruth Cellars. Currently, the wine production site is in Pacific Beach but owners Linda and Mike McWilliams have plans to move this to a larger facility in La Mesa, allowing them to double their production to 3,000 cases annually.

We are lucky to have this urban winery in our neighborhood. It is great to be local, and we can practically walk there.



Robin Dohrn-Simpson Freelance Writer www.robindohrnsimpson.com