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A mall in Santa Maria is an unlikely place at best to eat a multi course winemaker dinner, but the owner of this mall likes good food and so enticed some first rate talent to run three restaurants and a catering operation within the mall in a town better known for growing strawberries than crafting gourmet food. The evening started with canapes and a sweet sparkling wine in a roped off area in the atrium of the mall. Odd location for appetizers – it felt a bit like being a rare tropical fish in an aquarium with the citizens circulating around us as we awkwardly sipped and supped. Once we moved into the dining room things relaxed a bit into the more settled routine of winemaker dinners. There was nothing routine about the food and wine pairings. The chef, Ryan and his staff did a superb job with this. All the food was excellent and the three, yup, three main courses were all ridiculously delicious. As good as the fish dish was with the baby carrots nicely setting off our luxurious 2008 Tolosa Block 569 Chardonnay, my favorites were the meat courses. The first of which was turkey done traditionally including light and dark meat, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce paired with our 2008 Estate Pinot Noir. This light jazzy Pinot was lit up by the food and vice versa – a nice preview of Thanksgiving pleasures to come. Despite being completely stuffed at this point I somehow managed to eat all of the final course a NY steak served on a bed of spetzel and wild mushrooms. The 2008 Tolosa Estate Syrah helped ease the pain and was an excellent foil for this rich dish. Out of embarrassment at my own gluttony, I won’t even talk about the heavenly pastries and the Viognier dessert wine that ended the evening. The fact that I can’t even remember the last time I ate so much that my stomach hurt speaks volumes about the quality of this restaurant.

-          Posted by Larry Brooks, Winemaker

A few months back Tolosa was approached by a good friend and Louisiana Select Wine distributor, regarding a cause that her son was involved with. Tolosa was happy to support her son Daniel Northcutt in this amazing journey from Maine to Santa Barbara on bike for the Bike and Build non-profit organization with the tagline “ Pedaling for affordable housing.”  He is almost to the finish line in Santa Barbara which will total 3846 miles on bike. But not only are they riding across the country for this good cause, they also build houses along the journey; it’s truly amazing what they are doing!  Here are a few photos from Daniel from the journey and we must say a big congratulations to him and thank you for taking along our Tolosa hat for the journey!

For more information on his journey and the miles they covered, visit their website!  

Cote de Tolosa Velo Challenge II

Cheers to Another Successful Event!

Tolosa Winery would like to say a big thank you to everyone that came out to ride the Second Annual Cote de Tolosa Velo Challenge and support the SLO Bike Coalition.  A thank you goes out to the friends and families that came to cheer all participants across the finish line as well.

Nearly doubling in size, this event turned out to be a huge success!  55 miles of steep climb and rough terrain did not stop last year’s first place winner Blake Anton from reclaiming his status as this year’s Cote de Tolosa Champion.  Prizes were also given out for Wine Industry first place won by Matt Brain, Women’s first place won by Ryan Hostetter, and last place won by two time champion Mike Richmond!

Check out some photos from the event courtesy of Terry Welliver!  Click here to view all ride times.

Visit our Facebook page to see the full Second Annual Cote de Tolosa Velo Challenge album!

Thanks again and see you next year!

Cheers,

The Tolosa Team

Join Tolosa Winery as we pour our estate wines at this classic surf and wine event located on the beautiful bluffs of Shell Beach. All proceeds go to support the Association of Amputee Surfers (AmpSurf). Here are the details of the event Tolosa will be pouring at, but be sure to check out their website www.winewavesandbeyond.com for more information on the weekend events!

“Barrel to Barrel” Friday, June 3rd • 5:00-8:00pm

The Cliffs Resort, Pismo Beach

Price: $35 pre-sale, $40 at the door

Event Includes: wine & beer tasting, food, live music, auction, local art and swimwear fashion show.

Is there anything better than kicking off your weekend tasting local wine, beer, & food out on a cliff overlooking the ocean?….we don’t think so. Come to the Barrel to Barrel event at The Cliffs in Pismo Beach and experience just that! Featured artist Forever Stoked will have their art on display, and local band Zuhg will be playing for all to enjoy. Back by popular demand, Chica Rica will be putting on their Bikini show once again. Come enjoy Friday night with us and help support AmpSurf. There will be a silent auction including donations from local businesses as well as the wineries and breweries throughout the county.

Katie Noonan

Event & Marketing Administrator

(805)782-0300 ext. 20

katie@tolosawinery.com

www.tolosawinery.com

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