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Weekend Wine Pairings Expand to Charcuterie and Chocolate!

Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

What we(I) need is “CHANGE” ! – by John

A few weeks ago, I realized that in spite of having a potential inventory of 150 cheeses from Vivant, that I was beginning to get a “bit’ bored with my offerings. If the concept of being bored with a menu reaches me, than sooner or later, I was afraid it just might reach my loyal “repeat” customers.

That’s right, I do have a group of customers that not only come routinely, but are quick to point out what is new to them and what is not. These are my most important customers because they are my best critics.

As a result, three weeks ago, my first step was to contact Patty Menna, a local choclatier and owner of the Truffle Garden, with a plan to list her chocolate truffles weekly, next to the cheese. The result was immediate. We sold out that weekend.

Today, three weeks later, I thought as long as we were at it, we should offer charcuterie as well. This way, not only could we offer a third choice, but a couple could enjoy one plate of each with a knife for sharing.

Most important, I won’t become a “one trick pony”-something us seniors fear most! But not to fear, I won’t be offering panini’s or mac and cheese as of yet!

Most importantly here are the 3 Menus for this weekend January 28^th :

Charcuterie and Wine Pairing Menu:

· 2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Prosciutto with apricot/Busseto

· 2009 Chardonnay

Duck Pate/Fabrique Delices

· 2009 Pinot Noir

Sinocchiona-locally produced pork with fennel and Chianti.

· 2008 Syrah

Chorizo from Spain

Truffle and Wine Pairing Menu:
Local handmade truffles from the Truffle Garden.

· 2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Lemon Hazelnut Truffle

· 2009 Chardonnay

Orange Truffle

· 2009 Pinot Noir

Lavender Truffle

· 2008 Syrah

Mexican Chocolate Truffle

And last but not least our Wine and Cheese Menu for this weekend:

· 2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Mango Ginger White Stilton

· 2009 Chardonnay

Vella Jack

· 2009 Pinot Noir

Mont d’Or

· 2008 Syrah

Sartori Sar Vecchio

All are the same price at $20pp or $15 pp club members each. If you would like to make reservations email me, jshakley@tolosawinery.com or give us a call at (805)782-0500!

JOHN SHAKLEY

CONCIERGE, TOLOSA WINERY

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Tags: charcuterie, pairing wine with food, truffles and wine, wine and cheese
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6th Annual Blending Seminar- Feb. 25th

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

Have you ever wondered, or more like dreamed, of what it was like to be a winemaker? Well this is one event where you can step into the shoes of a winemaker and experience what it is like to create a wine.

In our 6^th Annual Blending Seminar, guests will have the chance to create a white wine blend which will be bottled under the Mission V white wine label. During the event guests will work alongside our winemaker and cellar crew to learn the ins and outs of winemaking. Teams of 6-8 guests will be asked to come up with a final blend to submit for a blind tasting that will take place after each team has created their winning blend. The blends will be blind tasted and voted on by all participants and the winning blend will be announced and then bottled for the Jan 2013 release of the Mission V wine club exclusive blend.

Guests will wrap up the afternoon with a catered lunch in our Heritage Room overlooking the Edna Valley. Guests of the event will also be given the opportunity to purchase a pre-release of the wine before any other club members at a discounted price!

Here’s a quote from a wine club member that attended last year’s event: “ The Tolosa blending seminar is an amazing and fun learning experience. Where else can you taste wine, be creative, and blend a new Tolosa Mission V wine? All of this and enjoy a wonderful luncheon while voting for your favorite blend, it’s definitely an adventure to remember.”

This event is limited to club members and does sell out quickly. Give us a call to make your reservations at (805)782-0500 or register online by clicking here >> $45pp all inclusive. Saturday February 25^th, 11am-2pm.

Katie Noonan

Marketing & Event Director

(805)782-0300 ext. 20

katie@tolosawinery.com

www.tolosawinery.com

Join us:

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Tags: blending seminar, winemaking event
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Ahwahnee’s past and future memories at Vintner’s Holiday

Friday, November 11th, 2011

My association with the Ahwahnee Vintner’s Holiday goes back to its very beginnings thirty years ago. Actually, Acacia was invited along with a couple other wineries who were represented by a rep named Lee Leardini to do a tasting with staff and guests of the Ahwahnee a year or so before the Vintner’s Holidays began. Out of that tasting the idea for the Vintner’s Holiday developed. I have been to many of them over the years. I’ve lost track of the exact number. Besides delicious food and a beautiful setting there have been some magic moments up there. I remember once walking outside after one of the dinners. It had been snowing all day and the skies cleared revealing a moonlit and snow blanketed Yosemite Valley. It was beyond spectacular. In the early days there were also some wild parties with the staff afterwards. For the winemaker the chance to give a long form seminar with the guests is one of the highlights. I particularly enjoyed one with Gerald Asher (legendary wine writer) who I had long been a fan of. This year I am planning on giving a modified version of the seminar I gave to the Southern Pinot Noir Workshop in New Zealand this past January which looks at the changes in structure and style of Pinot Noir globally over the last three decades.

Come out and join us for the last session on December 7^th and 8^th and I would love to share more epic stories. Here are the details:
Each session includes:

Exclusive “Meet the Vintners” wine tasting reception
Four lively and fascinating seminars in The Ahwahnee’s Great lounge
Gala dinner in The Ahwahnee’s grand Dining Room featuring an elegant five-course gourmet meal specially developed and prepared to complement the wines o f the distinguished vintners of the session.

Tolosa is part of Session VIII: December 7 – 8, 2011:
Moderated by Dan Berger, Wine Journalist & Judge
Wednesday, December
1:00 PM Tasting Seminar: Ceja Vineyards – Amelia Moran Ceja,
Proprietor & President
3:30 PM Tasting Seminar: Karjy Winery – Lawrence “Buck” Cobb,
Proprietor & Wine maker
6:00 PM Meet the Vintners Wine Tasting Reception
Thursday, December B’”
1:00 PM Tasting Seminar: Tolosa Winery – Larry Brooks, General
Manager & Winemaker
3:30 PM Tasting Seminar: Chateau Montelena Winery – Bo Barrett,
Portner & Moster Winemaker
6:30 PM Vintners’ Holidays Gala Dinner in The Ahwahnee
Dining Room

Packages and Rates available on the Yosemite Park Website. Click here for booking and details.

-Larry Brooks

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Something To Crow About

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Last week, I was asked to emcee the monthly meeting of the San Luis Obispo’s American Wine Society’s lecture, which included blind tastings of Pinot Noir.

Feeling as “inadequate” as I usually am, I first reached out to my co-member and “wine wife” Nancy Rodgers and secondly, most importantly, our winemaker, Larry Brooks.

Larry agreed to summarize his thirty plus harvests in California, as well as guide us through three flights of three wines each(nine in all).

Larry’s years have paralleled not only California’s own “identity” with Burgundy as such, but the difficulty encountered in the early years including rootstocks, potential planting sites and of course, winemaker’s objectives.

All of this being especially timely since the recent brawl broke out at “WOPN” when California’s Pinot Noirs and most specifically their alcohol levels, were critiqued. Which Larry explained to us, for most part, “missed the entire point”!

The real fun however, came during blind tastings. Candidates included: Edna Valley (3), Russian River(2), Oregon(2) and of course Burgundy(2). We ranked each using “Nobles” wine wheel and evaluated by: Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Aftertaste and Overall impression. Votes were totaled for overall best and tallied “Chicago style” – in other words-vote early and vote often!

The winner-Tolosa’s 2007 Edna Ranch ($28) Pinot Noir!

John Shakley, Concierge

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What Mothers Want

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

A quick review guys. When a women says to you:

Don’t you think that chair in the corner would look better by the window”? She means:

a-She wants your opinion.

b-She’s just making conversation-you should agree.

c-She wants you to move the chair for her.

And so it goes. In my life, I’ve watched and listened carefully for years- as mother’s boy, then a husband, later a father of two girls and now a grandfather of three girls. And honestly – I still don’t have it figured out – and probably, subconsciously, don’t want to either!

But with Mothers day just around the corner, I must warn you, there are plenty of potential “land mines” planted in this week ahead. Just a few:

-They may tell you, as a husband, that it’s really the child’s responsibility to plan something special.

-They’ll encourage you to go ahead with that previously planned fishing trip with the guys.

-They might tell you that they’re contemporary enough not to need a “Hallmark” holiday.

-A perfect day for them will be a bar-b-que at home (you know-where you think just because you do one third of the work, it was ALL YOU) and homemade cards from the kids plus one from Von’s from you know who.

None of the above suggestions are true.

They want out of the house for something special. They want something spontaneous from you, something original and somewhere away and apart from their responsibility-the home and the family!

My suggestion? Bring her to Tolosa, where for $20 per person ($15 for members) you can have her sit down and relax while enjoying soft music, a beautiful view of the spring vineyards and a choice of either homemade chocolate truffles (from SLO’s own Patty Menna/Truffle Garden) or artisan cheese (locally owned by Danika Reed) paired “deftly” with four Tolosa wines- by you know who! Pairings will be available this Saturday and Sunday from 11-4pm, with reservations highly suggested. Call 805.782.0500, email jshakley@tolosawinery.com or sign-up online by clicking here.

One other thing. If she asks me about the chair-I’ll move it for you!

John

CONCIERGE, TOLOSA WINERY