Friday night we went to a food, wine, and beer event in Sacramento,
A Taste of Sacramento, a benefit for Easter Seals. It featured over 70 local wineries, breweries and restaurants who
showcased their wine, beer and food to ticket holders. As you understand there was not enough time, nor room in my stomach to tasted everything at the event but I did want to share a few thoughts with you on some of the participants that I particularly enjoyed (or not).
Let's start with the food. Best BBQ in town was served up by
J.R.'s Texas Bar-B-Que who plated mesquite smoked brisket and baked beans. This is what BBQ should taste like.
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse had sliced steak with mashed potatoes. Yummy.
Rubio's flavorful, juicy and tender
carnitas in flour tortilla with guacamole was
surprisingly good considering it being a chain restaurant. Someone was serving a good
mahi mahi taco roll as well, but I can't recall who it was... I also had shrimp with a great cocktail sauce that I think it might have come from
Pilothouse Restaurant...
For dessert I had two favorites,
The Berry Factory (owned by
Shari Fitzpatrick of Shari's Berries) with their chocolate dipped strawberries (to die for) and a local chocolate maker that I had not heard of before,
Chocolate Silk The Chocolate Architect. They had a wide
variety of fudge. The
toffee chip chocolate fudge and espresso chocolate fudge were my two favorites.
On to the wine.
Holly's Hill Vineyards from Placerville, produces Rhone varietals, and poured a
2006 Viognier that really stood out with intense white peach on the nose and pear at the palate. Sometimes
viognier can be a little bit over the top for me but this one did not have to sweet fruit and was lighter and more
refreshing then most
viogniers. They also had their
2005 Patriarche, a blend of
Mourvedre,
Syrah,
Grenache, and the lesser known Rhone varietal
Counoise. Very nicely balanced with large, but not to ripe fruit, and savory tannins. Good wine for food.
Montevina was there and I only tasted their
Barbera and it was a
disappointment to me. The entry level
Barbera was bland and diluted and lacked the concentration this grape can have. Tasting the one-step-up
Terra d'Oro Barbera didn't do it for me either. I moved on...
Cosentino Winery was there and poured a long line of wine. As a former wine club member I know their wines very well. I tasted their
2005 Franc (Cabernet Franc) and the
2005 CigarZin (Zinfandel). These two wines have a very constant quality trough vintages and these were not an exception. They were as big, concentrated and plush as ever, with good tannins.
R. Merlo Estate Vineyards, poured one of the few
Pinot Noir that was at the event. The style of this
2002 Pinot Noir was more delicate and less concentrated, compared to the central coast
Pinot I usually drink, with red cherries and red berries and only hints of darker fruit. I usually prefer some more of the later, but it was never the less a really nice
Pinot Noir. I also tasted their
2002 Syrah. This one full of ripe, big berries and tannins to match. Very good.
Last but not least
M2 Wines was there, with owner/winemaker Chris
Matheny and his wife Diana pouring the wines. This was
one of the best pourings at the event. I have tasted their wines at a
wine tasting a while back and reviewed them in a
prior post. They had the same line up at this event and you can read my thoughts on their wines
here. One extra wine was poured that I had not tried before, the
2004 Clone Six Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. A great wine with dark cherry, black currant, oak and high on firm tannins. Will definitely drink well for many years to come.
Chatting with Chris and Diana they told me about the
M2 Autumn Winemaker Dinner they will be hosting October 20
th at Fair Oaks Nursery. When seeing the menu and the wine they'll be pairing with the four courses, it was hard to say no, and we did not... They are hosting a gourmet meal with appetizer,
choice of crab bisque or roasted beet salad, for entree beef tenderloin or plank grilled salmon, and then a chocolate creation for dessert. All paired up with M2's exciting wines, for a very
reasonable $80. To get more information, and join in on the fun call Diana at (916) 838-7914 or email her at
dmatheny@m2wines.com. Maybe I'll see you there...
With that I am wrapping up my thoughts on the 2007 A Taste of Sacramento event. I'll be back next year.
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The other night we had neighbors over for a glass, or two (or three) of wine. I took some brief note that I thought I would share with you...
Next up a bottle that our friends brought, Summers Winery 2004 Villa Andriana Vineyard Napa Valley Charbono. It is not very often you see a 100% Charbono and I was very excited to try this wine. The color in the glass was extremely dense purple/black color. On the nose first perfume with violet and rose. Then dark cherry, blackberry and a touch of creme brulee at the end of the nose.
Third out was the Fratelli Ponte 2004 Barbera D'Asti Superiore. I was recommended this bottle in our local grocery store for $10.99. At that price I had nothing to lose and grabbed a bottle.
