Pairing with a Top Chef

This past Sunday was a special evening for Stolo Family Winery.

A few months ago, I received a phone call from Charmaine Coimbra, the event coordinator for Friends of the Elephant Seals. She was putting together an auction item for their annual Grand Ole Soupabration Fundraiser and wanted to know if we were interested. The item consisted of a private dinner for 12 hosted at a Cambria beachfront manse. The private dinner included a 4 course meal prepared by Top Chef Texas contestant, Dakota Weiss. Would we be interested in pairing our wines with Executive Chef Weiss' creations? Heck Ya!!!

I arrived on Sunday evening to an unbelievable home located on the bluff of Cambria with stunning views of the ocean. I proceeded to get myself set up. Bringing in wine, chilling the Chardonnay, opening the reds, etc. All the while keeping one eye on Dakota working seamlessly in the kitchen doing her prep work. It took me approximately 10 minutes before I geeked out and told her how much of a huge fan I was of Top Chef. She was extremely gracious and we began talking about her experience on the show.

Quickly guest began to arrive to enjoy the sunset with a glass of bubbly and our little tete-a-tete ended. The guests were seated for dinner service after the sunset and the meal started off with a deconstructed plate of sweet potato blini, smoked salmon, deviled quail egg, and horseradish cream. It was like a build your own appetizer. We paired it with Stolo Family Vineyards 2009 Chardonnay. Fabulous match! The evening was off to a great start.

The second course came quickly. I barely had enough time to get the red wine glasses on the table. But when Dakota says it's go time, we go. The next dish was a tomato and white bean bisque topped with creme fraiche and little cheddar cheese madeleines. I poured the 2009 Stolo Family Vineyards Pinot Noir. Again, a really good fit. The tangy tomato and cheddar corn bread really brought out the subtle sweetness of the wine.

Third course, and I am already full, but looking forward to the beef tournedos atop a lobster and potato hash drizzled with black truffle jus. Good Lord! I poured the Stolo Family Vineyards 2009 Syrah. The guests really seemed to love this match up. I went through an extra bottle on this course.

Room for dessert? Always. The dessert was a version of a dish that Dakota prepared on Top Chef; a caramelized banana bread pudding topped with a bourbon hard sauce (think bourbon butter) and drizzled with brown sugar caramel. I was skeptical that our 2009 TreViti Zinfandel would work with this dish, but I was proven wrong. The sweetness of the dish was contrasted by the medium bodied red, giving balance and harmony.

What a fabulous evening. I felt a little guilty that I was "working" and really just enjoying talking about our wines and eating a 5 star meal while my husband was at home eating mac n' cheese with the boys. But Dakota packed up a little something for me to take home so the guilt quickly vanished.

Thanks to Charmaine, Dakota, Mark and Chris Landgreen, and Friends of the Elephant Seals for putting together such a wonderful evening. In advance, Yes, I would love to do another one!!

2012 So Far

2012 has started off with a bang, we've been busy! Treviti Wines poured at Red Wine and Gold again this January. The event is held by Rosary High School in Fullerton to raise funds to provide financial assistance to students. This year my sister, Breanna, and I poured at the event, both of us Rosary alumni. It's always a treat to return to your alma mater for a good cause!

Also in January, TreViti Wines took part in the Cambria Art and Wine Festival. This year, our 2008 Chardonnay was chosen to be paired with a dish for the sold out friday night kick-off dinner. Five local restaurants are chosen to create one course and choose one wine that will pair well with their dish. We were chosen by Robin's Restaurant in Cambria for the first course pairing, a fantastic crispy pancetta wrapped radicchio with pickled root vegetables and warm balsamic vinegar reduction. The Chardonnay complimented the dish beautifully.

Along with each pairing, the chef and winery are asked to speak about their dish/wine. Although public speaking is not my strong point, I think it went pretty well. I got a few laughs in the right places and applause at the end. Thank God. I keep telling myself, the more I do it, the easier it will become. Still waiting for the "easier" part.

The following day TreViti Wines poured its 2008 line up at the The Cambria Art and Wine Festival grand tasting along side 50 or so other wineries. We had many people stopping by the table to "retry" our Chardonnay from the kick-off dinner the night before and lots of fabulous comments on the wine. It is always a really fun local event.

Next Up: February we will be pouring our wine at a private dinner for 12 that was auctioned off by A Friends of the Elephant Seals Fundraiser Event this past winter. Chef Dakota Weiss from Top Chef Texas will be preparing the 5 course meal to pair with TreViti Wines. Another speaking engagement for me, but 12 people should be manageable. Looking forward to seeing how it comes together.

Playing Catch Up

My New Year's resolution to blog at least once a month quickly disintegrated. I am ashamed, because there is so much to talk about. But I will try, try again. I may be preoccupied by other things, but I am not going to quit that easily.

What's been going on:

1. We finally put a sign up at the vineyard- it looks awesome!

2. This season of wine competitions brought many awards our way. Here's the final tally:

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2008 TreViti Wines Chardonnay, Stolo Family Vineyard

Silver Medal: 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Platinum Medal: 2011 Monterey Wine Competition (nominated for Best of Show White Wine Category)Silver Medal: 2011 Orange County Fair Wine Competition
Bronze Medal: 2011 Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition

2008 TreViti Wines Pinot Noir, Stolo Family Vineyard

Silver Medal: 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Silver Medal: 2011 Monterey Wine Competition

Silver Medal: 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition

Silver Medal: 2011 Los Angeles International Wine Competition

Silver Medal: 2011 Orange County Fair Wine Competition

Silver Medal: 2011 Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition

2007 TreViti Wines Syrah, Stolo Family Vineyard

Silver Medal: 2011 San Francisco International Wine Competition
Bronze Medal: 2011 Los Angeles International Wine CompetitionBronze Medal: 2011 Orange County Fair Wine Competition

3. My parents, Luke Pope, and I did a radio interview with Lyn Diehl for The Krush 92.5. It was unbelievably fun and nerve-racking at the same time. I think it turned out great! Listen to it here:

http://radio.securenetsystems.net/radio_player_large.cfm?stationCallSign=KKAL-OD

4. It looks like harvest is going be a fantastic one this year. We are scheduled to pick both blocks of Pinot Noir October 14 and the Chardonnay will probably come off the following week. Our Syrah did not make it again this year, due to the cold year, but we look forward to it returning next year. The early winter storm at the beginning of October concerned us a bit, but Luke assured us that warm weather was waiting behind it and he was right. We will be able to get our brix right where we want them due to waiting out the rain and giving the grapes a bit more sunshine.

We are so close to breaking ground on our winery and tasting room. It's looking like Novemberish. I will keep you posted, I promise :)

2011 Monterey Wine Competition

We entered the 2011 Monterey Wine Competition a month ago in an ongoing effort to get our wines "out there" and see what others really think (other than friends and family members). Once again, we were floored with the results that came back this week:


Platinum- 2008 TreViti Wines Chardonnay Stolo Family VineyardSilver- 2008 TreViti Wines Pinot Noir Stolo Family Vineyard

*we did some research on what platinum actually means, and to our surprise, it means that our TreViti Chardonnay was nominated for Best of Show in the white wine category!

This little vineyard continues to surprise us...this time in a good way.

2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition Results Are In

Picked up the mail yesterday and noticed the envelope from the SF Chronicle Wine Competition peeking out among the catalogs and junk mail. "Oh, no," I thought. "The results are in". With a surge of nervous anticipation I opened the letter to find that we had placed!

2008 TreViti Wines Stolo Family Vineyard Chardonnay----- Silver!
2008 TreViti Wines Stolo Family Vineyard Pinot Noir------- Silver!

I called my parents to tell them the fantastic news and together we looked up the results on the internet. I was shocked to find out that the Chronicle had again broken their record number of entries this year. The competition is the largest wine competition of American wines in the world and our tiny 9 acre vineyard, 350 case winery, went up against a staggering 5,050 entries. What a great way to start the new year.

Congrats to all those who placed, especially our local Central Coast wineries!

Order Our Award Winning Wines Here

2010 Harvest

It really is going to be a strange vintage for everyone up and down California. A very cool season caused almost everyone to thin their canopies more than usual (remove leaves so the grapes have more access to sun/heat exposure). Last week, the state was unexpectedly hit with several days of blistering heat. Edna Valley, a usually mild/cool climate, hit as high as 114 degrees. Unfortunately, the grapes that had been exposed were severely damaged or lost. Stories started to trickle in of vineyards losing crops. We did not escape the nightmare entirely. We didn't lose crop, but we did see some water loss and heat damage on our pinot, prompting us to check the numbers and, ultimately, pick the pinot. I definitely think it was the right decision. The pinot looks great and the numbers are good. I am very thankful that mother nature cut us a break this time. Our Chardonnay is holding up like a champ. Barely even showing signs of having gone through the dramatic weather shift. A few more weeks on the Chardonnay and it will be ready to go.

Under Design

We are knee deep in the planning and designing of the new winery and tasting room. Although we had preliminary drawings that were approved by the Coastal Commission, the details had yet to be ironed out. Things like, solar panels v. skylights, where to put all the hook-ups, and of course, how the tasting room is to be laid-out. Between the architect, Steve Dooley (our winemaker), our consultants, and my parents; I think we’ve come up with some really exciting ideas. I feel like a kid in November knowing that Christmas is right around the corner and hardly able to contain my excitement. But above all, seeing my parents finally realizing their dream is more than a kid could ask for.