Chef’s Table Dinner at La Villa (in San Diego!)

Sally and I enjoyed an unforgettable chef’s table dinner in late 2011 that may have been one of our best meals ever. So it was no wonder that we were excited when we heard about a chef’s table at La Villa San Diego.

La Villa is an Italian farm to table restaurant in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. It’s part of the Buon Appetito Restaurant Group, whose Buon Appetito restaurant is no stranger to this blog. Don’t bother searching for the chef’s table on their website. Just know that it’s there and call to make your reservation.

Our five course dinner was paired with wine and was simply outstanding. 

First Course
Beef carpaccio with parmesan, capers, and chianti mustard served over a bed of lettuce. Paired with NV Gruet Demi-sec (sparkling wine).

Sally and Jeff's Mom, Kathy

Second Course
Burrata with oven roasted tomatoes, artichoke, frisée, wild arugula, balsamic, olive oil, and pesto. Paired with a 2010 Stolpman L’Avion Roussanne.

Jeff and Jeff's Dad, Bob (Jeff is on the right)

Third Course
Ravioli with poached egg and mushroom. Paired with a 2010 Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir.

We're all enjoying course #3

Fourth Course
Prime rib-eye paired with potatoes, carrots, and sweet peas. Paired with a 2010 Storybook Mountain Zinfandel.

Mmmm!

Fifth Course
Dessert two ways (a polenta cake and ice cream). Paired with a Canadian ice wine (apple) and a South African late harvest Chenin Blanc.

Dessert two ways paired with dessert wine two ways

Pure Oregon Pinot - Cameron Arley's Leap

One of the things we love about wine is it is rarely just a bottle or a glass. There's almost always a story that involves some cool people, some good food, and a little bit of adventure.

Take our delicious wine from Saturday night for example. Sally and I enjoyed a bottle of 2009 Cameron "Arley's Leap" Pinot Noir at Eddie V's in La Jolla. You can't taste the wine or the food by reading this post, but I can at least show you the view:

If you love Oregon Pinot Noir, or are interested in getting to know Oregon Pinot Noir, pick yourself up a bottle of Cameron Arley's Leap. It has the perfect blend of strong earthiness and bright fruit that are hallmarks of the region's Pinot Noir.

I first discovered Cameron at Oregon Wines on Broadway while on a business trip in Portland, Oregon. I've been known to frequent the establishment while traveling because they really know their stuff. This wine continues to be one of my favorites.

Sally fell in love with it too when we tried some on a business/wine tasting trip last summer. A bottle or two made it home in our luggage and here we are a few months later. 

How I set my friend's Zinfandel bar too high

I had dinner last week with a friend when we were both serendipitously in Tampa at the same time on business. A colleague of hers joined us at a local steakhouse called Charley's. I've been feeling guilty ever since on account of what happened there.

You see, I set their Zinfandel bar too high.

Neither one of my dinner companions had ever tried Zinfandel. Californians take this wonderful grape for granted because there are so many incredible examples that come from our state. It's different outside of California where Zinfandel is rare and unknown, or worse, confused with White Zinfandel. The horror.

If I felt like Zinfandel, I should have introduced it to them with a nice Seven Deadly Zins or something else from Lodi. Perhaps an Artezin if I wanted to go a little more upscale. Maybe even a Ridge Ponzo Vineyard, which is one of my favorites. But you get a good wine list in front of me and I have a tendency to get carried away.

Charley's has one of those encyclopedic wine lists. It had two full pages devoted to Napa Valley Cabs for crying out loud. And it also had a few special bottles that were reasonably priced for what they were. One of those bottles was on something Sally and I call our automatic list. This is a small list of wines we automatically get it if we have the good fortune of seeing it on a wine list, which doesn't happen often.

I couldn't help myself.

Thanks to me, my friend and her colleague got their first taste of Zinfandel from a bottle of 2010 Robert Biale Black Chicken. It was every bit as good as it should be, but I'm afraid my two companions won't fully appreciate the fact that not all Zin comes from this same planet. They'll certainly try another Zin sometime soon, probably something popular from their local wine shop, and it will be good. It just won't be Black Chicken.

Am I sorry for what I did? Yes. But truthfully, I'd do it again. Black Chicken is so damn good.

Classes are a great way to drink and learn

Sally and I attended a wine and cheese pairing class at Village Vino this week. I'm pretty sure I'd flunk a test on what was taught, but our experience was proof that classes can be a fun way to learn a few new things, meet cool people, and drink great wine.

Our class was facilitated by Village Vino's own Rita Pirkl and cheese expert Mary Palmer. We tasted eight wine and cheese pairings, and were seated at a table with seven other participants so we could discuss our reactions to each one. 

Here were the pairings:

• NV Villa Sandi Prosecco paired with Brillat Savarin
• NV Over the Moon Sparking Pinot Noir paired with Ewephoria
• 2011 Domaine Girault Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc) paired with Bucheron
• 2011 Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc paired with Chabrin
• 2010 Copain "Tous Ensemble" Pinot Noir paired with Zamorano
• 2010 Cervantes Mt. Cuvee Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Fiscalini 18-month bandaged cheddar
• NV Nierport 10yr Tawny Port paired with 5yr vintage Gouda
• NV Quinta do Noval "Black" Ruby Port paired with Bleu de Auvergne

They were all expertly paired, and I did manage to learn a few things. For example, hard cheese generally works better with reds while softer cheeses generally pair better with white. And, there are actually some really good cheese and port pairings!

More important, our experience was a great reminder that classes can be a lot of fun. If you are in San Diego, check out Village Vino's advanced wine and cheese pairing class on January 22. 

Talk to someone at your local wine shop or wine bar if you'd like to know more about classes in your area. There are also a lot of email newsletters that advertise local wine events. In San Diego, we're big fans of The Juice.

Wine and cheese pairing at Village Vino on January 15

Village Vino - great place for a book release party

When Sally and I aren't drinking wine, we try to stay busy with our careers so we can afford to buy more wine! My day job is working as a customer service consultant, and I recently wrote a book called Service Failure to share a lot of my research. Since wine is never far from my mind, I decided to host my book release party at one of my favorite wine bars in San Diego - Village Vino.

Their tag line is "a place for friends to gather, relax, and celebrate," which couldn't be more appropriate for my event. Owner Rita Pirkl and her team were wonderful hosts and really made everyone feel welcome. Many of my guests remarked that they couldn't wait to return to Village Vino and try some more of their great wine.

For the event, Rita picked out a collection of wines from Spain:

• Raventos Mercat Cava, NV (bubbly)
• 2011 Antonio Sanz Verdejo (white)
• 2007 Cillar d Silos Tempranillo (red) 

There are two things I'd like you to remember about this post. First, a wine bar is a great place to throw a party. Second, Village Vino is a wonderful wine bar for any occasion!

New author Jeff Toister celebrating with friends