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.

WPO Wine Reception

On Saturday, February 9, 2013, The Hilltop Winery hosted 19 wine enthusiasts from Canada and the United States.  They even let a few locals in, as well as, their brother-in-law from Washington they can't seem to get rid of - get over it!

The reception started with a selection of Chardonnay's, we then proceeded to the backyard for a quick picture or two of the sunset and then immediately ran to the cellar where the fun began on pulling some reds.

Let's not forget to mention our caterers who were fantastic, Monrose Catering Company based out of Malibu delivered on the promise of an exquisite evening of hors d' oeuvres.

The following 25 wines were consumed.

White

• 1995 Kistler Russian River Chardonnay
• 1996 Chassagne-Montrachet Burgundy
• 2004 Alsace Riesling
• 2005 DR Stephens Chardonnay
• 2007 Staglin Chardonnay (two bottles)
• 2009 Ramey Sonoma Coast Chardonnay (two bottles)
• 2010 San Simeon Chardonnay (two bottles)
• 2011 Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay

Red

• 1984 Shafer Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, Hillside Select
• 1985 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1989 Caymus Special Select Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1991 Pahlmeyer Napa Valley Blend
• 1994 Dunn Vineyards Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1994 Maya Cabernet Sauvignon
• 1996 Eisele Vineyards Syrah Araujo
• 1999 Eagle Rose Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2000 Constant Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2000 Downing Family Zinfandel
• 2002 McWilliams Cabernet Sauvignon (Australia)
• 2002 Muga Rioja Unfiltered (Spain)
• 2004 Alto Moncayo Garnacha (Spain)
• 2007 Stagliano Sangiovese

For a slideshow of the evening event click HERE.