Riboli Family Winemaker’s Dinner at San Antonio Winery

San Antonio Winery, Southern California’s most awarded Winery, invites all wine lovers to join them at the “Riboli Family Winemaker’s Dinner” on Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Riboli Family Winemaker’s Dinner, offered only once a year provides the opportunity to learn about the world of wines in a fun, relaxed setting. The event will be hosted by Anthony Riboli and Michael Papalia. There will be a four course gourmet menu designed to be paired with the featured wines, specially chosen from the Riboli Family Library.

Among the wines to be sampled are:

• 2009 Maddalena Sauvignon Blanc Paso Robles
• 2009 Heritage Blanc Central Coast
• 2008 Windstream Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands
• 2007 San Simeon Monterey Syrah
• 2006 Heritage Red Blend
• 2007 Riboli Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford – Library Selection
• 2008 Riboli Cabernet Sauvignon Rutherford
• La Quinta Crema Marsala

These fine wines will be served with:

• glazed marinated albacore salad with avocado and ginger; white frisee with Dijon vinaigrette and tarragon puree
• grilled five spice marinated quail and bacon fried rice with orange hoi sin sauce
• sweet potato gnocchi with fourme de ambert cheese sauce and roasted shallots
• herb roasted veal strip loin with sautéed porcini mushrooms and baby turnips
• chocolate terrine with spiced dried fruit compote and cinnamon cream.

For more information or reservations, please call (323) 330- 8771 or visit the San Antonio Winery website. The cost of the event is $78.00 per person.

Riboli Family Winemaker's Dinner
Saturday, October 9, 2010 from 6pm to 9pm
San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031

Winner Announced for Wine 102 Class and Lunch Giveaway

Thanks to all of you who participated in the Wine 102 Class and Lunch Giveaway from San Antonio Winery! After counting up all the various entries and running them through Random.org, a toast goes to Dao Nguyen (bluepupae) for being the winner. She and a guest will be enjoying a wonderful afternoon experiencing good wine and food at the San Antonio Winery on 02/21.

If you didn't win and you'd still like to go to the class, click here for more info! San Antonio Winery would love have you there.

Before you catch your breath, stay tuned for another awesome giveaway that will be posted this week. Maybe, you'll have better luck next time around.

Wine 101 Tasting and Food Pairing at San Antonio Winery and Prize GIVEAWAY!

Last month, I was invited by PR Rep, Dienna D'Olimpio of Barbara Bishop and Associations, on behalf of the San Antonio Winery to attend a Wine 101 Class and Food Pairing Lunch at their downtown Los Angeles location. Although I've visited San Antonio on my own in the past and more recently, I went to last year's Boutique Beer and Food Pairing, I've never taken one of their classes. Truth be told, I'm actually not much of a wine drinker, but I'm always interested in learning more about both food and beverages in general. So I decided to take her up on her offer.

For the event, Wine Store Manager, Michael Papalia told us all about the ins and outs of wines. I have to say that I absolutely loved having him as a presenter. He was funny, knowledeable and willing to take any question. If he wasn't sure about something, he told you, but for the most part, he really knew his stuff. Unfortunately, I don't have a very good picture of him, but you can see him below in front of a slideshow presentation that had all his talking points.

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His talk started with Tasting Techniques and that it's basically a two part process. First, you hold your wine glass, swirl the wine in the glass and than take a sniff. The swirling actually causes evaporation and concentrates the aroma so that you can really get a sense of what the wine smells like. Second, it's time to slurp, which involves, taking a sip and holding the wine on your tongue and breathing in. By breathing in, it agitates, aerates and accelerates the evaporation which allows you to better appraise the acidity, alcohol, sweetness and texture of the wine.

Towards the tail end of the Tasting Techniques talk, we were served our first course: Puma Goat Cheese, Orange and Roasted Eggplant Salad with French Vanilla Glaze, Basil Oil and Microgreens. It was paired with a Champagne Duval-Leroy Brut from France.

As we were enjoying our first course, Michael went into more detail about how to evaluating wine. It starts with sight. Hold the wine glass against a white background and make sure the wine is clear and brilliant and not dull, hazy or murky. Now comes smell and you are using your nose to check on the aroma of the grape and to ensure that what you smell is actually intrinsic to the grape itself. Does the wine smell fresh and properly fermented? You're also sniffing for depth and complexity. Can you smell hints of cherry or chocolate?

Finally, it's about the taste. Does the wine feel smooth, velvety or round on your tongue? What's the level of astringency coming from the tannins? When it comes to your palate, sweet is detected at the tip of your tongue, acidity on the sides of your tongue, saltiness at the upper front of your tongue and bitterness towards the back of your tongue. As this portion of the presentation ends, we get pours from three different wines to pair with our second course. Those three wines were a 2008 Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley), a 2006 San Simeon Chardonnay (Monterey) and a 2008 Maddalena Vineyard Riesling (Monterey)

I haven't been to too many wine and food pairings, but what I found interesting is that we got to sample two of our 4 courses with 3 different wines, as opposed to just one wine. It really gave you a great side by side comparison. The second course was Broiled Miso Alaskan Cod on a Potato and Chive Pancake with Miso Glaze and for me, the Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc was a perfect match because I thought the light crispness of this wine paired well with the light delicate fish.

As we are finishing up our second course, Michael goes on to discuss the grapes themselves. Some quicke facts he mentioned include:

• There are some 24,000 names for varieites of wine grapes
• There are 5,000 truly different varieities
• Only 150 are planted in commercially significant amounts
• There are only 9 grapes that are considered to be classic.

Those 9 grapes are follows: White Grapes (Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon) and Red Grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Syrah). Other grapes that are also gaining importance include White Grapes like Gewurztraminer, Muscat and Pinot Blanc and Red Grapes like Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Tempranillo. Soon after this discussion, three more wines were poured for our third course and they were a 2006 Luigi Bosca Malbec Reserva (Argentina), a 2005 Maddalena Merlot (Paso Robles) and a 2006 San Antonio "Cask 520" Bordeaux Blend (Paso Robles).

These wines were matched with a Roasted Ancho Pepper Crusted Rack of Lamb on Roasted Wild Mushroom Risotta with a Pinot Noir Coriander Sauce. As I mentioned, I rarely drink wine, but when I do, I stick with whites because I don't care for the strong taste of the tannins in red wines. Surprisingly, I didn't taste much of the tannins in either of the three wines, but perhaps, that taste was lessenened when eaten with the lamb, which also has a strong flavor. I remember favoring the Malbec, but have no particular reason why.

Halfway into enjoying our third course and through the end of our dessert course, the focus switched to Wine Making, where Michael talked about the fermentation of the wine. Simply, it's a natural process where yeasts convert natural sugars to alcohol (which stays in the wine) and carbon dioxide (which dissipates). With white wines, the juice is separated from the skin and seeds after crushing while with red wines, the entire grape is used because the skin adds both color and tannins. For rose and blush wines, the skins are used for a short time to add color and then removed. After fermentation, the wine is put in either wood barrels or steel barrels to age. To read about the whole process, click this Wikipedia link. By this time, we are getting a pour of a La Quinta Syrah Port N.V. to be served with dessert.

Dessert was a Island Mango Mousse with Candied Macadamia Nuts and Toasted Coconut Shavings. I have to say that if I dislike something more than red wines, it's port, but perhaps, I haven't had a good brand before? The port that I sampled was quite smooth and maybe, with a hint of chocolate or caramel? I really enjoyed it with our light and fruity dessert.

Other pieces of information that came from Michael towards the end of the event included:

• Dry wines have no sugar
• Wines that are aged in oak barrels will pick up flavors from the barrel itself
• The oak for the barrels come from trees between 100 to 150 years old
• Right now, the running cost of a French oak barrel is around $1000 while an American one is around $300
• Wines that are aged in steel barrels will have the flavors intrinsic to the grape itself
• Barrels are used up to 2 to 3 vintages (up to 10 years depending on the wine)
• Whites are usually aged for 8 to 10 months while Red are aged from 10 months to 2 years or longer.
  
• White wines should be stored in 40-50 degree temperature.
• Red wines should be stored in 60-65 degree temperatures. If it's too cold, it'll taste bitter.
  

With all that came the end of the this Wine Class. Overall, I really enjoyed this class. I learned a lot of great information. I thought that wines were paired well with the food and even better, I liked being able to compare and contrast between 3 different wines for two of the courses.

San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 330-8745

Be sure to visit www.sanantoniowinery.com for information on upcoming 2010 wine events.

Prize Giveaway!

Now that you've read about how much fun I had at the Wine 101 Class, here's a chance for you and a guest to attend the Wine 102 Class on February 21, from 1 to 4 pm for free! The total cash value for this prize is $110.00 and includes the class, the wines and a 4 course lunch. What a perfect way to spend a Sunday Afternoon. There are several different ways to enter and each way gets you an entry!

1. Leave a comment on my blog and let me know why you'd like to win this prize.
2. Follow Pleasure Palate on Twitter
   
3. Follow San Antonio Winery on Twitter
   
4. Fan Pleasure Palate on Facebook
5. Fan San Antonio Winery on Facebook
6. Join the Pleasure Palate Dining Group
   
7. Friend Me on Facebook and Mention this Contest on your Facebook Profile
8. Tweet: Win a Chance for Two to Attend a Wine 102 Class at San Antonio Winery via @pleasurepalate: http://bit.ly/c1wMYb

Only comments will be counted as entries. If you just comment, that's one entry. Remember, to gain extra extries, you can do any or of all the things listed from 2 to 8, but please comment back here so that I can keep track of everything you've done. That'll be helpful when it comes time for me to choose a winner utilizing ramdom.org.

Contest Ends Monday, February 8 at midnight. Winner will be chosen randomly. Please leave some kind of contact info in your comments so that I'll be able to email you if you've won this prize!


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“Wine 101: Introduction to Wine ” Tasting and Food Pairing at San Antonio Winery

This Sunday, January 24th, 2010, San Antonio Winery would like to invite all wine lovers to join them at the Wine 101: Introduction to Wine Tasting and Food Pairing. Among the wines to be sampled include:

• Louis Perdrier Rose Champagne
• Windbreak Chardonnay 2006, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey
• Maddalena Vineyard Reisling 2008, Monterey
• San Felice “Il Grigio” Chianti Classico Riserva 2005, Tuscany
• San Antonio “Heritage” Rhone Blend 2006, Paso Robles
• San Simeon Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Paso Robles
• Maddalena Vineyard Muscat Canelli 2008, Paso Robles

These fine wines will be served with an array of delicious foods like puma goat cheese, broiled Miso Alaskan black cod on a potato and chive pancake with Miso glaze and Island mango mousse with candied macadamia nuts and toasted coconut shavings. This will definitely be a fun learning event that will include great wine and food. So hopefully, you won't pass it up.

For more information or reservations, please call (323) 330- 8771. The cost of the event is $55.00 per person.

Wine 101: Introduction to Wine Tasting and Food Pairing
Sunday, January 24, 2010 from 1-4 pm
San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031

Be sure to visit www.sanantoniowinery.com for information on upcoming 2010 wine events:

“Champagne and Sparkling Wine” Boutique Wine Tasting – February 7, 2010

“Wine 102: Exploring California’s Grape Growing Regions” Wine Seminar Luncheon - February 21, 2010

“Understanding Bordeaux Varieties” Wine Seminar Luncheon – March 20, 2010

Heritage Square Museum 40th Anniversary Fundraiser

Heritage Square Museum -
40 Years of Preservation Celebrated at the Historic San Antonio Winery

On Saturday, November 7, the Heritage Square Museum will host a very special 40th Anniversary Fundraiser and Luncheon at the historic San Antonio Winery. This event will help raise critical funds for Heritage Square Museum to continue for another 40 years. The Fundraiser begins at 1:30 p.m. and ends at 4:30 p.m. Honorary Event Chair, Councilman Ed Reyes, District One, will be in attendance and making a special presentation.

Tours of the San Antonio Winery and wine tasting reception are from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., with the luncheon buffet beginning at 2:30 p.m. Special celebrity guest appearances soon to be announced.

More About the Heritage Square Museum:

In 1969, Heritage Square Museum began its mission to preserve the history of Southern California and eventually saved eight historic structures. Forty years later, it is one of the leading living history museums in Southern California, dedicated to telling the story of the development of Los Angeles.

Heritage Square Museum has seen remarkable growth in 2009. With an aggressive slate of exciting programs, events and exhibits, museum attendance has already surpassed all of 2007 and will exceed 2008s total before the year is over. In 2010, the museum is planning its greatest period of expansion in decades. A new drugstore (complete with original furnishings), the recreation of historic windows on the Lincoln Avenue Methodist Church, an expansion of the Victorian Fence Project, important infrastructure improvements and more are planned to meet the museum’s growing needs make for more exciting opportunities for all of its International, National and Southern California visitors.

Heritage Square Museum is regularly open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 12 to 5 p.m. (Hours vary November to February). Admission is $10/adults, $8/seniors, $5/children ages 6-12. The Museum is located at 3800 Homer Street, off the 110 Arroyo Seco Parkway (110/Pasadena Freeway) at Avenue 43, just north of downtown Los Angeles. For further information, visit our website at www.heritagesquare.org.

Heritage Square Museum 40th Anniversary Fundraiser
Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
Tickets are $125.00

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Heritage Square Museum at (323) 225-2700

Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing at San Antonio Winery

Last month, I was invited by San Antonio Winery to attend their Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing, but before I talk further about what was a really fun event, I'd love to give you some history first on San Antonio Winery, which is a Los Angeles Cultural Historical Landmark.

In 1910, Santo Cambianica left Italy and eventually settled within an active Italian-American community in Los Angeles, CA. Seven years later, in 1917, Santo founded San Antonio Winery, still at its current location on Lamar Street, in the downtown LA area. At the time, Santo's winery was just one of nearly a hundred make shift wineries located along the LA River basin. His winery was so named due to Santo being a devoted Catholic and wishing to honor his Patron Saint Anthony. It was this strong relationship to the church that actually saved his business three years later when Prohibition was passed. While other Los Angeles wineries were being permanently closed, the San Antonio Winery was given permission by the Archdiocese of LA to make sacramental wines for ceremonial purposes. Over 65 years after the repeal of Prohibition, San Antonio Winery continues to produce altar wines for religious services.

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As a young man, Santo’s nephew, Stefano Riboli, learned the wine business under Santo’s tutelage and when Santo passed away in 1956, Stefano took over the business. In the 50s and 60s, there was a shift up North in regards to the growing of the grapes since the quality was deemed better the grapes produced down South. Finally, in the 70s and 80s, the Riboli purchased vineyards in Monterey and Napa Valley. Today, all their white wines are fermented on premises in steel containers, while their red wines are produced in Paso Robles, and bottled there at the winery in their bottling room.

Today, San Antonio Winery is the only producing winery in Los Angeles, still on Lamar Street and still carrying Santo’s tradition of hand crafting quality wines and all under the watchful eye of Stefano, his wife, Maddalena, children, Santo, Steven and Catherine and grandchildren. In recognition, the city of Los Angeles designated San Antonio Winery a Cultural Historical Landmark.

Now that you know a little more about the history, let's talk beer and food or more specifically, the Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing Event that I was lucky enough to attend last August. First, I should mention that this event was part of San Antonio Winery's 2009 Festival program. There are actually still two more to come, but I'll give more info about those at the end of this post.

When my guest and I arrived, the first thing that caught our attention was the smell of the tri-tip and sausages being grilled in the parking lot. If I thought I could be quick enough or sneaky enough, I would have grabbed some of that meat and got out of Dodge. Thankfully, my friend reminded me we were going to get that and more inside.

After checking in, I took my friend on a little tour. First, we went into the Maddalena Restaurant, so named after the owner's wife. What's nice is that there are samples of the various dishes on tables in front of the counters. Though the food is served cafeteria-style, I've eaten there before to know that the dishes are top-notch, both delicious and affordable. The dining area is large and can accommodate small to large groups and I like the wine barrel motif that is prevalent throughout the space.

Then we walked over to the tasting room and wine shop which was a busy hive of activity. We wandered around and took a look at the wine selections. At the time, we decided not to do any wine sampling yet since we knew beer was awaiting us in a few minutes. Amazingly, we did have room afterwards and were quite happy with the generous pours. In the end, both my friend and I definitely left with lighter pocket books in exchange for both beers and wines that sampled inside the Beer Festival.

Now for the highlights of the Boutique Beer Tasting and Food Pairing. One thing I should mention is that it wasn't really a structured event where you sat down and someone told you which beer is supposed to pair well with a particular food. Instead, the beer and wine stations and food stations were separate from each other, which made it a more casual affair. I actually kind of liked that because it allowed attendees the freedom to do what they wanted.

For me, it's generally all about the food first and my favorite station was the sausage station. There were 5 different kinds, from Argentine Sausage to Polish Sausage to Mexican Chorizo and with the sausages came 5 different mustards with my favorite being the Chipotle Mustard. I could have stayed there all night.

If you're a taco lover, there were carne asada tacos and chicken tacos to be had along with rice and beans.

Different tamales were also served, including chicken, pork or just straight cheese along with a variety of different salads like corn salad, coleslaw, etc.

Between two beer stations, one wine station and one agua fresca station, libations were always available. What was nice about the wine table in particular is that you got to sample 6 of the wines from San Antonio Winery which really gave you a good sense of what they offer.

All the eating and drinking took place inside areas of the winery that are usually only seen during their tours so we got to snack beside large holding tanks or dine below stacked wine barrels. We were even treated to some live music. Yes, people were even swaying while holding cups of wine. One or two may have even tapped their feet.

Overall, it was a fun few hours spent. Until this event, it had been a few years since I've been to the San Antonio Winery, so it's a good reminder not to wait so long until my next visit. For those of you haven't visited in awhile, there are two more festivals coming up that you may want to check out On Sunday, September 20, from 2 pm to 5 pm, there is the "Taste of the Americas" Wine and Food Festival and on Sunday, October 18, from 2 pm to 5 pm is the "Taste of Italy" Wine and Food Festival. Both cost $50.00 per person. For reservations, call (323) 330-8745.

Click here to see all the photos!

San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street
Los Angeles, CA 90031
(323) 330-8745




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