by Frank Mangio
The 5th annual San Diego Bay Wine & food Festival touches down Wednesday November 12 through Sunday November 16, serving up over 160 wine and spirit purveyors with over 800 wines, 6o of San Diego’s Top Chefs, a Big Bottle Auction, cooking and wine tasting classes and a $50,000 Chef of the Fest Competition. It’s the largest food and wine festival in Southern California.
Wednesday the 12th the fun starts with Wine Rave 2008 from 7pm to 10pm at the W Hotel. Twenty-five of the edgiest wine and spirits on the market today get things going while wine and foodie fans frolic and dance the night away.
Thursday the 13th The San Diego Wine and Culinary Center is the location for four seminars ranging from wine appreciation and Feng-shui cooking to arousing the senses with Chocolate and Vino. The learning and tasting continues on Friday the 14th highlighted by the Celebrity Chef Luncheon and Big Bottle Auction from 11:30am to 2pm at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. Top Winemakers and chefs will sit together with visitors over a gourmet lunch in a one-of-a-kind event, capped by big bottle and other in-demand items in a spirited auction.
Later that day, more seminars at the wine and culinary center including a Rhone Varietal panel, a Surf, Turf and Cocktails get together with “Sam the Cooking Guy” and a Master Sommelier Blind Tasting competition.
Top Chef All Stars and Ted Allen Food & Wine Ambassador seminars are scheduled at Macy’s School of Cooking. Friday evening is the Reserve and New Release Tasting from 6:30 to 9:30pm on the Hornblower Yacht where you can meet celebrity food and wine authority Ted Allen.
Some of the 60 top San Diego chefs that will cook and compete for “Chef of the Fest” for $50,000. in cash and prizes, Sat. Nov. 15 at the Grand Tasting Event at Embarcadero MarinaPark San Diego; part of the San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.
The Saturday Grand Tasting is my personal favorite: a waterside pastoral setting at Embarcadero Park North with a choice of over 800 wines with cuisine from over 60 chefs stations, from 12 to 4pm. The theme is “lip smacking, glass clinking, celebrity watching, swishing, swirling, mouth watering kind of fun!” The 5 day extravaganza is capped off with a Champagne Tasting Brunch on the Hornblower yacht Sunday from 11am to 1pm.
Choose each event or purchase them all in an unlimited package. For schedule details and tickets access www.worldofwineevents.com or call 619-342-7337. Don’t miss it…The San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival Nov. 12 thru 16, the one the L.A. Times called one of their “favorite events of the year.”
Wine with Cheese – a Natural
I have to admit, my knowledge and taste for cheese was limited to Kraft Cheddar and that stinky stuff my mother would grate on to our nightly bowl of pasta (Pecorino Romano if you’re wondering). As I developed a palate for fine wine, my choices for cheese got more demanding. Other Americans are doing the same. The latest annual statistics show we are eating about 32.5 pounds of cheese per capita, up from 27.3 10 years ago. And we’re trading up to quality.
Every time I go into an artisan themed specialty cheese shop, I see things I have never tasted before and I wonder what kind of wine they would go with. Now that we have many more whole and organic food markets, the selections seem infinite.
Italian cheeses have always been a favorite with Americans, led by Provolone and Mozzarella. This came about due to the popularity of pasta and pizza. Current popular cheeses include Parmigiano and lots of offshoots like Reggiano, Grana Padano and Pecorino Romano. These are hard cheeses, full of flavor and ready to take on any red wine, even the richness of Port. Italian soft cheeses in addition to Provolone and Mozzarella include: Asiago, Taleggio, Ricotta, Gorgonzola and Stracchino.
That cheddar I mentioned earlier can come in some luscious styles, not just the bland Kraft American we grew up with. Its tell-tale tang is most evident in English cheddar from cow’s milk, it has a fine texture if aged about two years.
The best are “bandaged” (wrapped and bound) during aging. It goes best with a Ruby Red Port, but I’ve been happy with a lovely cabernet as well.
Local Wine Bytes (formerly local sip)
The Art of Food & Wine Palm Desert is a four day celebration at various points of interest in the desert Thurs. Nov. 6 thru Sun. Nov. 9. The Marriott Desert Springs Resort has a lot of the fun with Fri. night decadent desserts and sumptuous wines and champagnes. The Grand Tastings on Sat. & Sun. are there also with wine and delicious foods prepared by the best chefs in town. Tickets and other info available at www.artoffoodandwine.com, or by calling 866-968-2783.
Pinot Noir tastings from Burgundy, Oregon, Russian River Sonoma, New Zealand and elsewhere are featured at Bacchus Wine Market, downtown San Diego Fri. Nov. 7 from 4 to 8:30pm. Fee is $20.pp. Call 619-236-0005.
Tuscany Restaurant in Carlsbad brings you a winemakers dinner on Sat. Nov. 8 starting at 6:30pm. Featured wines are from the Umbria area of Italy, home of the Sagrantino varietal. $75. ea. Call 760-929-8111.
Wine Vault and Bistro has a Lafite Rothschild 7 course wine dinner on Sun. Nov. 9 starting at 5pm. A Lafite specialist will by on hand to host. $65. pp. RSVP at 619-295-3939.
Firefly in Encinitas has a busy schedule of 3 wine dinners in November: Wed. Nov. 12 with Bonterra Winery, Thurs. Nov. 13 with Testarossa and Fri. Nov. 14 featuring one of the leading Paso Robles wineries, Ecluse. All come with a wonderful menu. Cost for each is $75. Call in an RSVP for each at 760-635-1066.
The Westgate Hotel downtown San Diego has an Inspiration Vineyards Wine Dinner on Wed. Nov. 12 with a 6pm reception start. This is a small production lovely wine from Sonoma. $89. ea. Phone 619-557-3655.
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