Wine, Cocktails & Friends in Pacific Palisades

Today is Sunday, July 16, 2017 and I’m on my way to the LAX airport to return to reality.

Yes, the Pacific Palisades and the West Coast can be a fun and fanciful place to be any time of year.

I must say the first weekend started with a fresh Pomegranate Martini made with Tito’s and a special juice from Stirrings.

We moved quickly to the wine and started with a very nice Hunnicutt Chardonnay.  It didn’t last long.

When I arrive in California, which is usually on a Friday, we make our way to Cosa Nostra. This Friday was no different and you must have the Branzino special.

The middle of the week was filled with West Institute activities and the new venue for graduation at the The California Yacht Club was fantastic!  For a pictures of that event go HERE.

As tradition has it, we ended the week with our Annual West Institute Wine Reception and Dinner at the Bel Air Bay Club with Mike and Mav as our hosts.

We started with a reception in the Wojo’s Cabana and moved to the formal dining room for an incredible evening of food, fun and fellowship.

We were so glad that our Institute National Board Chair and West Institute Chair could attend with their spouses.

Go HERE if you want to see a review of that event and a listing of the 21 bottles tasted that evening.

My last weekend in Los Angeles started with a Paddle Tennis Tournament that Mav was in and she was a rock star and showed off her athletic ability, and then we went to the beach bar to have Bloody Mary's and oh boy, Tequila Mockingbird's when we returned home.

And one more thing, Mike has a new passion, it's smoking things!  Here he is smoking almonds.  I must admit, they were great!

Ok, I've spent too much time describing what I did in Los Angeles and it’s now time to review the wine we consumed during the week.

Hate the game, not the player (Madison's favorite saying)!

Rose

  • 2016 Les Jeunes Rose, Santa Barbara County
  • 2016 Liquid Farm Rose, Santa Barbara

Whites

  • 2006 Vincent Dancer Meursault
  • 2010 Falcor Chardonnay, Henry Ranch, Napa Valley
  • 2013 Falcor Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
  • 2014 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley (two bottles)
  • 2015 Au Bon Climat Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County
  • 2015 Carmenet Chardonnay, Napa Valley (four bottles)
  • 2015 Hunnicut Chardonnay, Napa Valley (two bottles)
  • 2015 Hunnicutt Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
  • 2015 Liquid Farm Bien Bien Chardonnay, Santa Maria
  • 2016 Chateau Montelena Riesling, Napa Valley

Reds

  • 1993 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 1993 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 1995 Castillo Ygay Rioja, Gran Reserva Especial (Magnum)
  • 1999 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 1999 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2002 Kaesler Stonehorse Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre, Barossa Valley
  • 2004 Chase Zinfandel, Hayne Vineyard
  • 2005 Tenuta Guado Al Tasso Bolgher
  • 2005 Downing Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2006 Falerno del Massico, Italian Blend (Double Magnum)
  • 2008 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2008 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2013 GeekZ Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2014 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County
  • 2014 Irony Pinot Noir, Monterey
  • 2015 La Follette Pinot Noir, Russian River, Sonoma County
  • N/A Tandem Red Wine (two bottles)

For pictures of the week go HERE.

11th Annual West Institute Wine Reception and Dinner

It’s Thursday, July 13, 2017 and time to celebrate another great week with our volunteers, faculty and staff.

And I should say our family too, yes, the Wojo’s have become family to so many of us over the past 11 years.

We started with a reception in their Cabana and moved on to the formal dining room for dinner.

Of course we had a photo shoot, found HERE, for your viewing.  For many, it’s always a struggle to find the perfect outfit, right ladies and gentlemen?

But I digress, let’s move on to the main attraction and the celebration in front of us with a selection of wines we enjoyed throughout the evening.

And did I mention that our very own faculty member, Brian Baker, from Chateau Montelena brought a number of wines that our sommelier Mike had to match from his private collection for the evening.

Here’s the list of wines we had, all great!

Whites

  • 2006 Vincent Dancer Meursault
  • 2014 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay Napa Valley (two bottles)
  • 2015 Hunnicutt Chardonnay, Napa Valley (two bottles)
  • 2015 Carmenet Chardonnay (three bottles)
  • 2016 Chateau Montelena Riesling, Napa Valley

Conducted Tasting (at dinner)

  • 1993 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 1993 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

  • 1999 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 1999 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

  • 2008 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
  • 2008 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Reds

  • 1995 Castillo Ygay Rioja, Gran Reserva Especial (Magnum)
  • 2006  Falerno del Massico, Italian Blend (Double Magnum)

For pictures of the evening go HERE.

Super Bowl Weekend

It's Monday February 6, 2017 and that means it's time to head to LAX for my flight home after a great weekend with the family and some familiar food and beverages.

Yes, the kind of fruit that comes in a bottle and food from one of our favorite restaurants, Casa Nostra's in the Pacific Palisades.

We also asked the resident Sommelier (Mike Wojo) to become a mixologist to get us started each afternoon (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) before tasting the wine from the cellar.

And so we started each afternoon with the following happy hour drink: Friday was Blood Orange Martini's; Saturday was Lychees Martini's; and Super Bowl Sunday was a pair of Bloody Mary's from the Bel Air Bay Club.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention a special Bloody Mary that was delivered by my good friend Ray Poblick. You can see that gem HERE.  It was just what I needed to help my paddle game at the club.

Speaking of paddle tennis.  We had a great family match with Mav and I taking on Madison and Jackson, the next generation.  We split sets and all went to lunch happy.

As the weekend progressed we dug a little deeper into the wine cellar and pulled/enjoyed the following wines.

Whites

  • 2010 Ramey, Chardonnay, Hudson Valley
  • 2011 Ramey, Chardonnay, Hudson Valley (2 bottles)
  • 2014 Au Bon Climat, Chardonnay, Santa Barbara
  • 2014 Aubert, Chardonnay, Carneros
  • 2014 Aubert, Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, Richie Vineyard
  • 2014 Liquid Farms, Chardonnay, Bien Bien
  • 2015 Carmenet, Chardonnay

Reds

  • 1994 Stagliano, Sangiovese, Napa Valley
  • 2003 Downing Family Vineyards, Zinfandel, Napa Valley
  • 2009 Tamarack Cellars, Syrah, Columbia Valley
  • 2010 Melee Grenache, Napa Valley
  • 2012 Stagliano, Sangiovese, Rutherford, Napa Valley
  • NA The Transcendentalist, Santa Barbara (Magnum)

The weekend ended with a great Super Bowl party at the Bel Air Bay Club on Sunday evening.

Just for the record, sunny California was not sunny this trip!

For pictures from the entire weekend go HERE.