Fine Dining Restaurant Awarded Five Diamonds

Article and Photo by Frank Mangio

They’re toasting one another at the posh Addison at the Grand Del Mar as this signature fine dining restaurant has earned one of the most coveted awards of all: a Five Diamond rating from AAA.

It was not too long ago that I visited the brilliant young Wine Director at the Addison, Jesse Rodriguez, who launched the ambitious wine program there.

Jesse gained fame as lead sommelier at the renowned French Laundry Restaurant in Napa Valley . He’s now a non-stop advocate for Addison and its 21,000 wine collection. It’s not unusual to see a coveted 1961 Mouton Rothschild on the list and a large number of French Burgundies to enhance Chef William Bradley’s creations, featuring an artisan approach to French style cooking with seasonal influences.

Since opening in October of 2006, the thirty-million dollar dining venue has enjoyed critical acclaim from the major wine and dine publications. The five diamond accolade is the first one for a San Diego restaurant, proving the high level of excellence and service that Addison displays.

I recently renewed my friendship with Jesse at the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, where he was selected to be one of the sommeliers on a Blind Tasting panel designed to show expertise in breaking down a wine’s components and identifying it by visual, nose, palate and taste evidence.

Jesse Rodriguez, director of wines at Addison at the Grand Del Mar.

Jesse and the others elected were able to pinpoint the country of origin, region, varietal and vintage of the wines selected for analysis. I always marvel at the wine wisdom these sommeliers possess. It’s a devotion to wine nurtured by many hours of research, tastings and notations of what they have learned. When it all culminates in a world-class rating as in the Five Diamond award, this devotion to excellence deserves our applause and our dining loyalty. Visit the web site: www.thegranddelmar.com.

More Food/Wines for Holiday Tastings
The Pinnacle Restaurant on the grounds of Falkner Winery in Temecula is a Thanksgiving experience with a special menu and wines including roasted turkey and all the trimmings. Falkner’s Amante Super Tuscan is worth ordering, with mostly Sangiovese, some Cabernet Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot. The ’04 is amazing with the ’05 giving it a run. $39.95. www.falknerwinery.com.

Try the #1 wine in ’08 awarded by Wine Spectator: Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta from Chile . A lovely red. $75.

Pinot Noir always adapts to whatever is served as the main entrée, from turkey to fish and I have two for you: the 2006 Joseph Drouhin from Beaune France, a great Burgundy appellation ($20.); and 2007 Gioia (“ joy” in Italian) from Santa Barbara County, a small handcrafted wine vineyard, aged in French oak with a deeper ruby color than most. $38.

Over at Wine Street Carlsbad , they debuted the latest Chiaramonte Sicilian Nero D’Avola, a 2006 for $16.99. A different style of Italian red, it had rich cherry fruit with strong acidity. Excellent wine!

R Collection 2006 Monterey Chardonnay. Gotta have one chardoannay in the mix. This one is out of Raymond Vineyards of St. Helena Napa Valley. Exhibits tropic fruit overtones, an old style of Chardoannay. $14.

If you’re counting calories, wine is kind to your waistline. Roughly 3.5 ounces (about a third of an average stemmed glass) is 76 calories for a white wine and 44 calories for red. This compares with 200+ calories for a similar size glass of beer. Still another reason for make the switch to wine.

Wine Bytes
Bacchus Wine Market downtown San Diego has its occasional “Drink Yourself Blind” tastings Fri. Nov. 28 from 4 to 8pm for $15. ea. Try eight wines that are bagged, and guess the grape. Prizes for closest calls. Call 619-236-0005.

Bernardo Winery in Rancho Bernado presents the Ira Liss Big Band Jazz Machine Sun. Nov. 30 at 6pm in the Winery Courtyard. A 17 piece music concert that’s FREE to all. Food and beverages available. Call 858-487-1866.

Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido has a couple of heavyweight tastings: first one is Thurs. Dec. 4 from 5:30-7:30pm with a Port Wine tasting for $25. ea. Next is Thurs. Dec. 11, when Holiday presents a Napa Valley pouring from Jarvis. Try Chardonnay, Merlot, Cab and more. $25. Call 760-745-1200.

Callaway Vineyard & Winery in Temecula is planning a Candlelight Dinner on Sat. Dec. 6 from 6:30 to 9:30pm . A sparking wine and hors d’oeuvres followed by a four course gourmet dinner prepared by their new Meritage Restaurant with chef Mike Henry. Each course has a perfectly paired Callaway wine. Live holiday music. $100. pp. RSVP at 951-676-4001.