The Fabulous World of Pinot Noir

San Luis Obispo Restaurant Month

Here’s a great annual event that takes place in many good restaurants across the county through January 31. Each restaurant offers a three-course meal for $30 per person (not including tax or tip), and many of them offer an optional wine pairing with three half-glasses for an additional $10 - $15. You’re sure to find your favorite restaurants offering some delicious choices. But it also provides the opportunity to try some places you may have thought were out of your price range. For example, the Cass House restaurant in Cayucos is renowned for its upscale dining experience. During January, however, you can sample chef Jensen Lorenzen’s gourmet dishes at this bargain price. Lest you think it won’t be the same quality, fear not. “I get super stoked about this every January. It brings more people in afterward and really behooves all restaurants to participate,” Lorenzen enthused. “We have some really good dishes for this month. I have to streamline the menu but we’re still making handmade pasta, and using fresh foods like locally sourced eggs. It gives you a peek into our standards.” You’ll find several restaurants participating in each city. Get the full list of restaurants and their prix fixe menus at: SanLuisObispoCounty.com/RestaurantMonth/

Passionate About Pinot Noir
The Central Coast’s most popular wine festival devoted to one special variety.

BY KATHY MARCKS HARDESTY

In the year 2001, several talented Central Coast Pinot Noir producers joined together to create the outstanding World of Pinot Noir, and it became an instant success. Eleven years later, this educationally focused series of tastings is still one of the most respected wine and food festivals on the West Coast, attracting winemakers, sommeliers, and Pinot Noir zealots from around the world. Even during this economic downturn, this special wine and food affair always sells out early. That said don’t wait until the last minute to buy tickets for if you want to be among these passionate Pinot Noir enthusiasts who return annually. New this year, WOPN provides three days of educational seminars, tastings, and gourmet meals, along with the rare opportunity to taste extraordinary wines you’re not likely to find on sale anywhere.
Here’s a hot tip: tickets are still available for one of the very popular Burgundy tastings, but you must call WOPN now or you’ll miss out. It features “up and coming winemakers from Domaine Marc-Roy and Domaine Jean-Marc et Bouley. Described at the “young Turks of Burgundy, it provides the rare opportunity to taste their Burgundies while these winemakers are on their rise to stardom. Tickets are $295 per person.
The WOPN event coordinators, Patricia Rogers and Sophia Stephens, were enthused when we talked about the three-day line up of seminars, tastings, and dining, plus the new tasting on Sunday. It’s a walk around brunch and Pinot Noir tasting alongside the Pacific at the Cliffs Resort, they’re promoting as “bacon and Pinot Noir.” Of course, you’ll get much more to eat and enjoy it with a range of Pinots in a less crowded atmosphere--they’re limiting the number of tickets sold. The participating wineries will include some of those that poured during the Friday and Saturday grand tastings. What’s truly unique about those tastings is the fact that each day features a completely different roster of wineries: 100 on Friday and 120 on Saturday. The winemakers travel here from Burgundy, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. There is also a large contingent of great winemakers from Oregon wine country. The grand tastings sell out quickly, so it’s a good idea to register early.
Each year the coordinators strive to make each part of the event a new experience, another reason WOPN is so appealing. Among the informative sit-down seminars, held at local wineries, are: Pinot primer, international roundtable, Oregon vs. California Pinot, Hirsch Vineyard retrospective, and more. Buttonwood winemaker Karen Steinwachs, a WOPN board member, noted: “Our seminar topics relate to both site specific explorations and topics of the day. The panelists and moderators are all top-notch, and will only be outshone by the wines themselves. I expect both the California versus Oregon smack down, and the alcohol and balance seminars to be particularly lively with interaction and participation from the audience as well as the panelists—good thing we have great moderators!” she laughed.
One of the many merits of attending this event is the fact you don’t have to buy the entire package. You can simply buy one of the grand tastings at $95 per person, and the brunch for $75 per person. Or attend everything going on all day Friday or Saturday, both of which include two seminars, lunch, and transportation from the Cliffs Resort for $195, the grand tasting for $95, and finish the day with an exclusive dinner prepared by several popular local chefs for $180. It keeps WOPN affordable whether you are on a limited budget or able to splurge on an unforgettable tasting of all the great wines and foods provided during this festival. And it is money well spent if you love fine wine.
“I am really looking forward to the gala dinner Friday evening (Mar. 4), which will be held in a family style environment at Chamisal Vineyard. Our uber-talented Central Coast chefs will each prepare a course using fresh ingredients farmed within a 100-mile radius of the event,” Steinwachs explained. There will also be music by Area 5, an eight-piece band. “And with the dinner taking place the first week of March, that just shows how talented and creative these chefs are.” The food will be served from stations that are each represented by local restaurants and caterers, including: Full of Life Flatbread, Pier 46 Seafood, Central City Market, Luna Red, and New West Catering. “Combine that with the wines being poured from our participating wineries and I imagine the best of all worlds: local cuisine with worldly wines, could it get any better?”

World of Pinot Noir
March 4 – 6, Friday – Sunday
The Cliffs Resort in Shell Beach
For details and tickets contact Sophia Stephens or Patricia Rogers at 489-1758 or visit Wopn.comYou can reach New Time’s Cuisine columnist at khardesty@newtimesslo.com

Kathy’s Pick

Katin 2007 Syrah Chalone Michaud VineyardI first tasted this Syrah by winemaker Justin Kahler last October, and loved it. Tasting it again recently, it had aged impressively. Pretty in its complex fruit, it tastes of blackberries, plums, and blueberries, all nicely integrated with mineral and spice notes. This multi-layered Syrah is complex and quite elegant. Pair it with something equally special like rack of lamb, herb roasted prime rib of beef, or grilled quail with mushroom stuffing. Available at the Meritage Tasting Lounge beside Paso Robles City Park, $45 retail, it’s a great value considering the quality.

Ferrari Carano 2009 Fume Blanc Sonoma CountyThis fruity Sauvignon Blanc was aged in mature oak barrels, which makes it rich and creamy in texture. But the stainless steel fermentation retains its pretty fruit flavors of pink grapefruit, ripe melon, and mango, nicely woven with a thread of grassiness. Tasty on its own, it’s also a good choice for seafood based paella, roast chicken, or mild white fish. Widely available, you’ll find it at Costco, Trader Joe’s, and at BevMo! for $12.99 retail.