One of the premier wine events of the year will take place on Sunday afternoon, Feb. 27, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the Pacific Ballroom of the Hilton Anaheim and Towers hotel. The 2000 Wine Extraordinaire event is sponsored by the Orange County Wine Society and features a vast array of fine wines that are currently available in the marketplace. There will be food stations, a silent auction, raffle items, music, and plenty of opportunities to discuss the wines with the winery representatives.
There are so many good wines available today, but it is impossible to try them all on your own. This is a perfect forum for comparing wines and finding the ones that are particularly intriguing to your palate. You’ll know what to buy on the next trip to the wine shop.
Tickets to the 2000 Wine Extraordinaire are $60 at the door, but you can get them at a $10 discount by ordering before Friday. Call the OC Wine Society at (714) 708-1636 for tickets and further information.
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One of the best ways to enjoy the talents of a chef is to attend a food- and wine-matching dinner. On these occasions, chefs create dishes specifically to complement the wines being poured, and they get to spread their creative wings and show off a bit more than the constraints of consistent menu management allow. And you can learn about some of the world’s finest wines along the way.
There are a couple of matching dinners coming that I think are quite worthwhile.
I really like the ambiance of Hook’s Pointe Restaurant and Wine Cellar at the Disneyland Hotel. There are drop-dead gorgeous touches, such as the sexy Italian glass lighting fixtures, mosaic floors and dramatic backdrops. For that and the interesting menu alone, I’d gladly dine there any time.
However, perhaps you should be making reservations for Tuesday, Feb. 29, when the wines of Gabrielli will be showcased from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Winery co-owner and winemaker Samuel Gabrielli will be on hand to discuss his Mendocino wines that are getting lots of good ink from the media these days. Rather than having a meal, the wines will be complemented with specific domestic and imported cheeses and smoked salmon.
Featured wines include Gabrielli’s Estate Sangiovese, Estate Syrah, Reserve Zinfandel and Pinot Noir. This repertoire shows to fine advantage what can be accomplished along the northern coast of California. You’ll love the bright but delicate nature of these wines, which I had the opportunity to taste with my wine panel. Admission is $40, and reservations should be made by calling (714) 956-6404. Disneyland Hotel is at 1150 W. Cerritos in Anaheim.
Also, though it is not scheduled to take place until Friday evening, March 24, I’d suggest you make reservations right now for the Best of the Best 1995 VintageVertical Cabernet Tasting to be held in the Wine Cellar of the Sutton Place Hotel. Due to limited space and the wines to be poured, this will be a quick sellout.
The tasting will include Arrowood Reserve, Silver Oak, Niebaum Coppola, Alexander Valley, Jordan, Montelena Estate, and Pichon-Longueville from the Pauillac region of Bordeaux. An assortment of finger foods to match the wines will also be presented. The cost is $95 per person, plus tax. Sutton Place is at 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach. Reservations: (949) 476-2001. Do it now!
Are you thoroughly confused about all the custom beers being made at brewpubs today? Taps Fish House and Brewery, the beautiful New Orleans-esque restaurant in Brea, will help you cut through the hype and understand the nuances of microbrewing on Sunday, Feb. 27, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. At Beerfest 2000, representatives from at least 15 of Southern California’s breweries,members of the Southern California Craft Brewers Guild,will set up stations and offer 4-ounce pours of their handcrafted ales and lagers and discuss their philosophy of making beer. Taps will offer a selection of hors d’oeuvres to cleanse the palate between tastings.
Just as in tasting wines, it is important to form a memory bank of aromas and flavors for various handcrafted beers, many of which are sleek and incredibly good with food. By tasting and comparing in a setting like this, you will understand the benchmarks of good beer and begin to build that taste memory that will serve you well from now on.
This is a great bargain at only $15 for 15 beer-sampling tickets. Taps provides the hors d’oeuvres free.
The restaurant is at 101 E. Imperial Highway (in the new Birch Street Promenade), Brea. Phone Victor Novak, Taps’ brewmaster, at (714) 257-0101 for reservations.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
