Jackson’s UCLA Graduation Party

On Saturday, June 8, 2019 Mike and Mav hosted Jackson and his college friends for a graduation party before they head off to Barcelona for a special trip with friends.

It’s always nice to visit “The Rooftop” and enjoy an evening of cocktails, wines from the original wine cellar and fellowship with family and friends.

In addition to Jackson’s college friends we were able to invite family and friends of the family to celebrate with Jackson.

The party featured a pizza station with our good friend Edgardo as well as a buffet of pulled pork, chicken skewers and Hawaiian coleslaw.

Mike used his bartending skills to create two specialty drinks, Margaritas and Blue Hawaiians that filled three large dispensers for all to enjoy.  Of course, we had beer too!

For those of us who like wine instead of beer and mixed drinks drank the following in celebration of the next generation entering the workforce!

Whites

• 2016 Liquid Farms Chardonnay, Golden Slope
• 2017 Aubert Chardonnay, Sugar Shack, Napa Valley
• 2017 Carmenet Chardonnay

Reds

• 2005 Pahlmeyer Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
• 2012 Falcor Syrah, Napa Valley
• 2017 Pessimist, Paso Robles

Thanks again Mike and Mav for opening up "The Rooftop" and hosting the party in celebration of Jackson and his college colleagues.

Pictures from the entire evening can be found 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.

The Hilltop: A Must When Conducting Business in California

On Tuesday, September 16, 2014 the business meeting was over and it was time to enjoy an afternoon and evening on The Hilltop.

The Hilltop's resident sommelier Mike Wojo and his lovely chef de cuisine wife Mav hosted three repeat customers from the East Coast.

The only one missing - our great friend and colleague Clinton!  We'll get him here next time!

While we've been here before as a group, it must be said that we can never get enough grape and Mike can never seem to thin out the number of bottles that continue to grow inside the cellar.

I'm sure you've heard the saying "it's nothing I need but it's something I gotta have."

That's how we feel about our wine tastings on The Hilltop.  We are able to taste wines that we could never dream of in the course of our normal lives.

The wines below were properly pulled from the racks (some of the older ones got a little agitated when we turned them for inspection), decanted when needed, and tasted. You know, after being in the bottle for over 10 years, it just needs to be enjoyed!

In addition, we picked a couple of bottles to go to my favorite Italian restaurant, Casa Nostra, right here in the Highlands.

As always, we did our best to thin the cellar but when you're tasting ten bottles it doesn't put a dent in the thousands of bottles on the racks.

Don't be jealous, just sit back and enjoy the wine and sunset pictures HERE and please note the picture of our toast to our great friend HERE who couldn't make this trip - until next time!

White

• 2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay (Magnum)

Red

• 2001 Joseph Phelps Syrah, Napa Valley
• 2003 Richard Partridge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
• 2004 Realm Napa Valley Red Wine, The Tempest
• 2004 Quinta Tecedeiras Reserva
• 2005 Araujo Syrah, Eisele Vineyard, Napa Valley
• 2006 Copain Syrah, Mendocino County
• 2006 Staglin Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley
• 2013 Sunset Hills Custom Blend, Virginia

For a slideshow of the evenings event 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.