The Hilltop Winery: alto moncayo

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California Fun: Wine, Cocktails and More

It’s Tuesday, July 17, 2018 and I’m wheels up at 6:00 a.m. out of LAX to Des Moines, IA.

I’m looking forward to finding a steak house to match my favorite, Tornado Steak House, in Madison, WI, where the Institute team dined last month to start our summer travel season.

When I left the East Coast heat wave on July 6, I arrived in Los Angeles to the same, if not worse, heat wave Californians have experienced in the last couple of years. Oh boy!

So if the weather is hot, you must stay hydrated, and to that end, we did a number of our favorite specialty cocktails over the week and why not start with a Moscow Mule for a prelude to our opening dinner?

For a before and after shot of the mule, or what was left of it, go HERE.

We stayed with tradition and upon my Friday arrival we did our Friday evening dinner at Casa Nostra restaurant in Pacific Palisades. With a $15 corkage fee, Mike decided to bring two great bottles for dinner, a 2015 Aubert Chardonnay for Mav and a 2015 Alto Moncayo Garnacha for the boys!

On my bucket list when coming to LA, is to play paddle tennis and enjoy Ray Poblick’s Bloody Marys. I’m happy to say I checked that box on my second day in town. Go HERE for those pics.

Thanks Ray, it’s been two years since I got to visit with you in your Cabana and enjoy your bartending skills.

Before I go on and on with all the specialty cocktails made throughout the ten days I thought I'd just give you a list of the cocktails and pictures. Here we go!

Mid-week we had our West Institute Annual Wine Reception and Dinner with staff and friends. This year’s event was once again held at the Wojo Cabana and dining room at the Bel Air Bay Club (BABC). They did a special mid-course surprise that can be found HERE. The Grouper was incredible!

We were also fortunate enough to have some old friends join us to celebrate a great week at Loyola Marymount University (LMU). For pictures from that event go HERE.

For the weekend post Institute we started with a couple of Clementine Martini's. Oh boy they were good!

See below for a list of the wines we consumed over the course of my stay.

Rose

2017 Cougar Crest Cabernet Franc Rose
2017 Domaine De Fontsainte

Whites

2013 Falcor Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
2014 Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Chalk Hill Appellation
2015 Aubert Chardonnay, Sugar Shack, Napa Valley
2015 Liquid Farm Chardonnay, Golden Slope (three bottles)
2015 Peter Michael Chardonnay, La Carriere
2016 Carmenet Chardonnay, Napa Valley (three bottles)
2016 Cougar Crest Albariño, Walla Walla Valley (two bottles)
2016 Cougar Crest Chardonnay, Walla Walla Valley (two bottles)
2016 Frank Family Chardonnay, Carneros
2016 La Follette Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast

Reds

1994 Stagliano Sangiovese, Napa Valley
2003 Dunn Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain
2003 Retro Petite Sirah, Howell Mountain
2004 Linne Calodo, Paso Robles
2005 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
2005 Vinum Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2006 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
2008 Kobalt Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2011 Cougar Crest Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla Valley
2012 Scurati Nero D'Avola
2012 Stagliano Sangiovese, Rutherford, Napa Valley (two bottles)
2013 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley
2013 Torrin Akasha, Paso Robles
2014 Chateau L'Argenteyre, Medoc
2014 Justin Isosceles, Paso Robles
2014 Liquid Farm Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills
2014 Pickpocket Grenache, Paso Robles
2015 Admirable Malibu Ruby Blend
2015 Alto Moncayo, Garnacha
2015 Robert Craig Affinity Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley (two bottles)

Thanks Mike and Mav for your hospitality and I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Pictures for my entire stay can be found HERE.

Raymond, Raj and Andrew Storm The Hilltop

On January 8, 2016 Raymond invited himself and a few friends (he has a habit of doing that) to The Hilltop Winery for a wine reception hosted by Mike and Mav and then off to one of his favorite restaurants in the Pacific Palisades, Casa Nostra.

The weather that particular Friday was stunning!

The evening wouldn’t be complete unless his favorite mother-in-law (he only has one by the way) joined us on The Hilltop Winery for the festivities. Oh, she also just happened to be his transportation from the airport to the house or should I say Villa.

The festivities began promptly at 4:00 p.m. with a twist this visit, Mike made everyone a specialty cocktail to start the party! He made tangerine martini’s using freshly picked produce from his backyard as well as his favorite vodka, Tito’s.

Once we all settled down and said our hello’s, finished our martini’s, we proceeded to the cellar where the real party began. Hold that thought, the special guests were given a second specialty cocktail, a burnt grapefruit vodka soda!

Now settled, in the cellar, and in honor of Andrew’s birth year, and the fact that Raymond got married that same year, the Sommelier (Mike) pulled a very nice 1991 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon.

We couldn't stop there so we had to pull a wine in celebration of Raj’s birth year and Mike pulled a 1990 Chateau Clerc Milon Bordeaux.

Both needed a little time to breath and then both were consumed and enjoyed by all.

Well it was now time to go to Casa Nostra for our 6:30 p.m. reservation so we took an Aubert Chardonnay, a Brander Cabernet Sauvignon and rounded it out by taking a Frank Family Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here’s the entire list of wines we drank throughout the weekend on The Hilltop Winery. Thanks Mike and Mav for another wonderful weekend!

White

2013 Aubert Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast (2 bottles)
2014 Carmenet Chardonnay Reserve (2 bottles)

Red

1990 Chateau Clerc Milon Bordeaux
1991 Staglin Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2002 Chateau Montelena Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2009 Frank Family Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2010 La Follette Pinot Noir, Dunah Vineyard, Russian River
2011 Alto Moncayo Garnacha, Spain
2011 La Follette Pinot Noir, Sangiacomo Vineyard, Sonoma Coast
2014 Brander Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Ynez Valley

For pictures of the evening go HERE.

Institute All Stars

On Tuesday, July 16, 2013, The Hilltop Winery hosted the Institute All Stars for a wine reception and pizza party while enjoying the view and the Baseball All Star Game being played in New York.

It was a quick trip and a prelude to our upcoming Annual Institute Wine Reception and Dinner this coming Thursday.

The following wines were tasted along with some great wood fired pizza’s:

White

2010 Aubert Chardonnay
2010 Julien ColloVray Chardonnay
2012 Realm Sauvignon Blanc

Red

1988 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon
1998 Araujo Eisele Syrah
2003 d'Arenberg Shiraz
2005 Alto Moncayo
2005 Pahlmeyer

For a slideshow of the afternoon and evening event click HERE.

California in February

On February 10, 2012, I visited The Hilltop Winery and had the opportunity to watch my sister-in-law and niece run the Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Run.

They both did exceptionally well placing high in their age brackets.

After the race we visited Empress Pavilion, a dim sum house, and enjoyed some great food with great friends. Yes, that’s me eating chicken feet. They tell me it’s a delicacy. I don’t know about that, but never again! And I thought peer pressure was a thing of the past for me.

Well, the trip wouldn’t be complete without visiting the cellar and pulling a few bottles. On this trip we tasted the following at a private dinner party:

1990 St. Francis, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County
1991 Opus One, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
1993 Von Strasser, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
2004 Realm, The Tempest, Napa Valley
2006 Alto Moncayo, Garnacha, Spain

What a night! Good food, great family and friends and some incredible wine!

For the slideshow of the events click HERE.