Phoebe Chongchua Joins Taste of Wine TV Team

San Diego resident and long-time TV and video host/producer Phoebe Chongchua will be producing and hosting wine and food feature stories for Taste of Wine TV. Phoebe is the founder and publisher of LiveFitMagazine.com. E-mail Phoebe with San Diego Wine, Food and Restaurant story ideas at Phoebe@LiveFitMagazine.com

FESTA Fun Happens in Carlsbad July 11

Photo: Herman Salerno, of Salerno Winery in Ramona

The sights of Italian people and products, the smells of home-style Italian food, the tastes of Italian wines, the sounds of Italian music. It’s the 5th annual FESTA Italiana at the Island Center, Faraday and College in Carlsbad, Saturday July 11 from 10am to 5pm.

This FREE-to-the -public benefit event is presented by the Encinitas Sons of Italy Lodge. Leading the entertainment will be classically trained opera tenor Herman Salerno and his team of singers and players. Authentically costumed Sicilian Dancers will perform the “Tarantella” dance and others. They are a favorite in San Diego’s Balboa Park program.

Salerno is also a leading maker of Italian wines from Ramona and he will team up with Carlsbad Wine Merchants in their shop at the center, for an Italian Wine Tasting event from 11 to 5pm.

The winery is most known for its Petite Sirah which recently won a medal at the San Diego International Wine Competition. His Barbera has recently deserved attention. It’s a “drink now” wine whose grape is from Northen Italy and is easy on the palate. Other Salerno wines to taste in the event will be Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and the proprietary Elegante, blended with Cabernet and Syrah. All wines will be poured inside Carlsbad Wine Merchants. Cost is $10.

In a recent interview Salerno commented, “with Ramona’s special terroir, this area has been recognized with its own official appellation, the Ramona Valley. I get extraordinary depth and character.” He has been making wine some 18 years, uses traditional hand-crafted methods to produce premium wines. For more information, call the winery at 760-788-7160. For details on the FESTA, call 858-537-9878.

Discover Granache
My Top Ten Tastings for the first half of 2009 will be unveiled with the July 5th column and I am picking up my tasting schedule to widen my candidates for this occasion. For a few years now I have admired the French and what they have accomplished in the southern Rhone Valley with Chateau-neuf-du-Pape.

At the same time, a Spanish wine has caught my attention, made in nearby Temecula at La Cereza. It turns out both wines are the product of the Granache grape. (The Spanish call it Garnacha).

Most of the time, it is used as a blending grape and takes a back seat to its big brother in the Rhone, Syrah. But some California winemakers are maximizing this grape into a soulful, splendid solo performer.

That leads me to a special winery in Monterey that makes a 2006 Granache from the Wild Horse Vineyard in Monterey’s back country, Marilyn Remark. Joel and Marilyn Remark tasted many small vineyard French Granache wines before they embarked on their own vibrant style. Theirs is a classic Rhone style varietal, pure and rich. The cost is $45. produced in limited quantity. Access the web for more at www.remarkwine.com

Wine Bytes
WineSellar and Brasserie in the Sorrento Valley of San Diego presents a “Sparklng Affair” on Sat. July 4 from 11:30 to 2pm for $29. pp. 6 sparkling wines with tasting notes offered. Lunch for an added $12.50 ea. RSVP at 858-450-9557.

Wine Street in Carlsbad has famed surfer turned winemaker Robert August appearing with his wines Sat. July 11. On Thurs. July 16, it’s an Italian wine seminar and tasting featuring Gabriella Orlando, specialist on these wines. RSVP and more info by calling 760-431-8455.

The Porto Vista Hotel in Little Italy San Diego and the Off The Vine Club offers two wineries and their new release party Sun. July 12 from 5-8pm. Rooftop views and a 5 course dinner for $45. Details at 760-579-2800.

Santa Barbara has it’s 6th annual California Wine Festival July 16,17 and 18. Events are downtown and at the pier and include top restaurants and wineries, capped by an all-day Sat. event from 11 to 4pm. For more information call 805-637-4411.

In Temecula, South Coast Winery Resort & Spa is hosting a winemakers dinner Sat. July 18 at 6pm. A five course meal paired with perfect wines. Each couple gets a bottle of wine signed by winemaker John McPherson. Cost is $125. pp. Find out more by calling 866-9-WINE.

Crab is King at Truluck’s

article and photo by Frank Mangio
When a restaurant owns its own fishery and can guarantee freshness for its seafood, focusing on an array of succulent crab, it gets my attention. On top of that accolade, add a wine list that favors the flavor of crab meat and is awarded the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence each year of its existence, and you have the new and exciting Truluck’s at the Aventine at I-5 and La Jolla Village Drive in La Jolla.

The menu showcases the always fresh 100% Stone Crab off the Florida coast. Claws are offered as tiered appetizers, with medium, large and jumbo sizes.

The Crab House menu has a Stone Crab Claw Platter, Dutch Harbor Red King Crab, which was my personal favorite, and fresh steamed Oregon Dungeness Crab. For foodies with the hungries, I would urge them to catch the All-You-Can-Eat Fresh Florida Stone Crab Claws every Monday night.

The congenial General Manager Matt Hunstman describes the essence of Truluck’s as “a high quality crab house that tantalizes the senses with a wine list of over 100 wines by the glass as well as an international array of reds and whites by the bottle.

Server Robert Turner displays the fresh crab choices on the menu at Truluck’s

"We have nine locations and we have a central selection process, but we work hard to get the best of the local wineries represented,” Huntsman said. “We are also proud of our many selections of wine flights with decided themes where our guests can be adventurous. This list is ever-evolving.”

Steaks, chops, chicken and other seafood fill out the rest of the menu and there are wines to bring out the full flavor of each. I chose a cool, crisp white for starters, the Austrian Gruner Veltliner 2007. Next I tried the R. Lopez Rioja Alta 2006, and finally with my Filet Center-Cut, I enhanced it with the Napa Ladera Meritage Red 2005. Truluck’s serves dinner nightly. Its Stone Crab Lounge cocktail hour is from 5 to 7pm. Learn more by visiting www.trulucks.com.

Wine Rating System Needs Updating
I hope you are relying less on wine ratings, those ubiquitous numbers you see at wine shops attributed to a wine critic or magazine. I did a quick count of 90 to 92 ratings and found that they were about the only two or three numbers posted on the supposed 100 point scale of quality. It seems that is the range at which most wines are blessed.

Too often, critics and consumers forget that wine has a living history, carefully crafted for the most part, and subject to personal taste. For instance an Italian wine will taste very different than the same varietal that is made in California.
Wine, at its core, is farming and a single number is not the story of the wine.

I urge indulging in the background of the wine, its terroir( homeland) and the grower’s philosophy of wine making. Use your own rating system, say a simple 1 to 5, with 5 as an excellent! Weigh in the color, smell, taste and finish.
Log in your findings, recording the brand, grape varietal, vintage and price. Learn to extract other information from the label, like alcohol content and winemaking process. Be smart and don’t use a rating number as your only source of choice.

Wine Bytes
 The lovely Gondola Wine Cruises at Loews Coronado resume with this year’s premier tastings on Sat. May 23 from 7 to 8:30pm. Guests glide through canals and waterways near the resort in an authentic Venetian gondola as sommelier Kurt Kirschenman presents a tasting flight of six wines and an attractive dessert plate. It is easily the most innovative wine tasting event in San Diego, and a romantic adventure. $45. each. RSVP at 619-429-6317. Access the site at www.gondolacompany.com

 Wine Street in Carlsbad presents Robert August, world famous surfer and now wine maker on Wed. May 27 from 6 to 8:30pm. His role in the iconic Endless Summer movie, brought world wide attention to Southern California’s surfing industry. A signature surfing “What I Ride” longboard is being raffled off with the winner named on June 14 at Wine Street. Taste Merlot and Pinot Grigio. $5. pp. Call for details at 760-431-7286.

 The 2nd annual San Diego Wine, Cheese and Chocolate Festival is Fri. May 29 from 6 to 9pm at Casa Del Prado Balboa Park, benefiting the Womens History Museum. Enjoy artisan cheese, breads, a chocolatier and swing music with Sue Palmer. Reserve your $30. tickets now at 619-955-8884.

 The California Center for the Arts in Escondido is rocking Sat. May 30 from 4 to 10pm as the Bonsall Rotary Club brings you its annual Wine, Brews and Blues Festival. Two stages of dance music, a great international list of wines and beer to taste, 20 local restaurants to sample and a huge silent auction with gifts, trips, wines and much more. Tickets are $60. each. Call 800-249-2024 for advance tickets or pay at the door the night of the event.

The Perfect Fit For Orfila Winery

Article and photo by Frank Mangio
Six weeks ago this column mourned the passing of a winemaking saint who touched the hearts of wine lovers in two continents. Leon Santoro of Orfila Winery in San Diego County’s Escondido brought to market some of the most outstanding wines ever tasted in Southern California. Judges in major world competitions agreed and presented Orfila with over 1,300 awards of excellence.

The winery’s owner, Alejandro Orfila of Argentina and a former official for that government, upon the passing of Santoro, placed many calls to this columnist and others who could spread the word and make suggestions for a successor. At best this was a difficult search. Santoro had sharpened his skills in French Rhone Valley varietals like Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Syrah, as well as Italian grapes like Sangiovese.

When I learned that the brilliant winemaker from Temecula’s Thornton Winery, Don Reha, had agreed to split his time between Thornton and Orfila, I silently said to myself “I do believe in miracles.”

Reha had been hired by Thornton 6 years ago from Northern California where he had a rich tenure with some household name wineries like Fetzer and Cline. All the while he was honing his skills in the Rhone and Italian style of winemaking, a footprint of what made Leon Santoro so popular in the wine community.

In a recent interview with A Taste of Wine, Reha echoed that thought. “It’s an honor and a privilege to come in to Orfila after Leon and carry on his legacy that will always remain here. My ideas of winemaking are the same ideas he had with him. The quality here has been outstanding.”

I asked him what favorites he had tasted and he quickly replied, “the Viognier Lotus 67 is perfectly structured for this appellation. It screams for more Viognier and we’ll plant more, as well as the Syrah with its great reputation at Orfila the past 10 years. I will be getting comfortable with what has been done and strive to use more estate grapes that will thrive.”

Orfila Vineyard and Winery is in a very good position and I have no doubt that Reha will be putting his skills in full throttle to make this winery even more successful and take it to greater heights. See the new website at www.orfilawinery.com.

Wine Bytes
In downtown Los Angeles, the historic San Antonio Winery has a Wine 101 four course lunch and wines on Sat. Apr. 11 from 12 to 3pm. Hosted by Michael Papalia. Cost is $65. pp. RSVP at 323-223-1401 ext 8745. Taste Maddalena, Luigi Bosca and Ruggeri Prosecco.

A wine & dinner salute to Federal Court Justice Gilbert Nares to benefit the North County Bar donor advised fund will be Thurs. Apr. 16 starting at 5:30pm with a reception. Location is The Crossings at Carlsbad. Orfila Wines will be featured. Cost is $95. pp. Call Mary Cervantes at 760-758-5833 for details.

Sat. Apr. 18 at Vintage Wines on Miramar Rd. San Diego, taste the latest Pinot Noirs from California and Oregon from 11 to 3:30pm. Just $5. Call 858-549-2112 for more.

The new Charlie Palmer inspired Next Vintage Wine Shop at Bloomingdales, South Coast Plaza Costa Mesa has a Cakebread Cellars Winemaker Dinner featuring Dennis Cakebread of Napa Valley Mon. Apr. 27. Call for prices and times at 714-352-2525.

The Future is Now at Orfila Winery

Article by Frank Mangio
Photo by Joe Zazzaro

Wine futures have always fascinated me. The fact that wine loyalists will invest in purchasing cases of wine after harvest but before bottling, betting that the wine will be of the highest quality without tasting it until the following year, is a sign of trust in the winery’s ability to produce consistent excellence.

Orfila Vineyard and Winery in Escondido each year presents its Merlot Futures Winemaker Dinner. The most recent gala, the 10th annual, brought aficionados from Las Angeles to New Jersey to make sure they picked up their orders for the 2006 Merlot, and placed their case orders at a discount for the 2007 which will be released at the next dinner in the fall of this year.

Last year’s 2005 Merlot received high praise at the 2008 Critics Challenge International Wine Competition in San Diego.

The Orfila creation was awarded a Platinum Medal, the highest possible accolade. Leon Santoro, Orfila’s winemaker, emphasized the low production, high quality of the Merlot grapes for the 2006. Just 1,116 cases were available.


A Taste of Wine columnist Frank Mangio with Steffi Habermann Event Manager for Orfila and performer Tom Rizzotto, at the Merlot Futures Winemaker Dinner.

He promised “beautiful notes of cherries, raspberries and violets. It has a deep, complex Merlot flavor with delicious oak overtones and maximum color and was aged primarily in French oak barrels blended with 4.5% Cabernet Sauvignon.”

The 2006 is the 16th production of San Diego County Merlot and counting the turnout to take possession of the 2006 futures and sign up for the 2007, many wine lovers have faith in their “Merlot Futures” at Orfila. For more information, contact the winery at 760-738-6500 or www.orfila.com.