What a (Greek Wine) TRIP!

After spending a week in SoCal, it was time to head back home for the weekend, and make our way up to NorCal with stops at Lido at Dolphin Bay, UC Davis and Pathos Organic Greek Kitchen.

Our central coast stop included an industry event held a Lido looking out over the bluffs. We asked chef Jacob Moss to put together some yummy appetizers to pair with our wines, Beach Butlerz created a beautiful set up, and nature provided perfect weather. We had several members of the Press at the event including Kathy Marcks Hardesty, Tom Wilmer, and Terrence Jones who interviewed our winery owner Yliana Stengou. Earlier in the day we all went up to Atascadero for a radio interview with David Wilson on Grape Encounter’s radio (hear the interview here).

Then it was up to UC Davis, where we were given a tour of the LEED Platinum Teaching Winery, brewery and food processing facility. It is the world’s most environmentally advanced facility for making wine. We walked over to the Jess S. Jackson Sustainable Winery Building another wine making facility. When the building is “fully equipped, it will enable the winery to become the first self-sustainable, zero-carbon teaching and research facility in the world”. After our winery tour, we went into the Robert Mondavi Sensory lab building and had a winemaker’s seminar and wine tasting of our Malagouzia, Chateau Porto Carras and the Limnio, with the viticulture class.

Our final official event was a wine dinner at Pathos restaurant in Berkeley. Chef Niko prepared a fantastic wine and food pairing. We started with a Smoked Kumamoto Oyster topped with a quail egg, Persian cucumber, smoked oyster mayonnaise, sweetie drop pepper, all presented in a Chinese soup spoon and paired with the Melissanthi (50/50 Athiri and Assyrtiko blend). It was one of my favorite pairings of the night. The salad course was a Spring Vegetable Melange with house made Strauss yogurt cheese, Scarlet Queen and Tokio turnips, baby chioggas and carrots, black Spanish radish and a Moschato Samou (a Greek Moschato varietal) vinaigrette served with the 2013 Assyrtiko.  The fish dish was a pan-seared Halibut (cooked to perfection) served with a green garlic-fava bean mash, and finished with Assyrtiko burre-blanc sauce, then topped with Nasturtium petals and paired with the 2013 Malaguzia. The meat dish was a grilled lamb loin with nettle -sweet Yukon mash, blackberry chimichurri, charred spring onion and peppercress oil served with the 2005 Chateau Porto Carras making it my other favorite pairing that night. Finally for dessert they paired the 2010 Magnus Baccata (our 50/50 Cab/Syrah blend) with a Bougatsa spoon sweet made with Lucero farms strawberry-rhubarb compote and topped with baklava sand.

All in all I’d say our spring tour was very successful. We got to travel California, introduce DPC to amazing people and have incredible wine pairing dinners at fantastic restaurants. Who could ask for anything else on a business trip? My hope for next year is that our schedule allows for us to spend much more time here on the central coast and to put on some great events for our local followers to attend.

“Wine can of their wits the wise beguile, make the sage frolic, and the serious smile.” ― Homer

Cheers!

#SHEdrinks

Great upcoming events:4/30/15 Barrels in the Plaza; 4/29 – 5/ 3/15  Wine Waves and Beyond; 5/2/15 Cabs of Distinction; 5/3/15 Flavor of SLO; 5/14-17/15 Paso Robles Wine Festival; 5/22-23/15 CA Festival of Beers; 5/27-30/15 Chardonnay Symposium; 5/31/15 SLO Greek Festival; 6/6/15 Morro Bay Oyster Festival; 7/10-12/15 7 Sisters Fest; 7/17-19/15 Bacon and Barrels; 9/19-20/15 Beaverstock