Holiday Winemaker Dinner at Barona Oaks Steakhouse

Our 2010 holiday winemaker's dinner was a huge success with our guests.  The weather was perfect, cool and clear. We were thankful that the rain storm came the day after!


We really enjoyed the evening. We were touched by Barona Oaks Steakhouse’s generosity and kindness to us and to our guests.

We have fond memories of course after course of delicious food paired perfectly with our wines. The 5-course gourmet meal created by Executive Chef Duncan was paired perfectly with the Mahogany Mountain wines.

The evening was off to a fabulous start with a glass of Mahogany Mountain White Zinfandel paired with Cured Pork Rillette served with a cider mustard sauce– such a great pairing!

Next we enjoyed an appetizer of House Smoked Salmon with Root Vegetables Remoulade. The Mahogany Mountain 2007 Zinfandel paired wonderfully with this second course.

The following course was, presented in a cappuccino cup, a very unique and tasty Wild Mushroom soup. The Mahogany Mountain 2007 Merlot paired with this course was outstanding.

At last we were presented with the Main Course. Our guests had a choice of Dry Aged New York Steak with Mushroom Crust, Slow Cooked Scottish Salmon with Herb Fingerling Potatoes and Swiss Chard, Stuffed and Roasted Free Range Chicken with Roasted Carrots, Spinach and Sage Jus.  The main course was paired with the powerful 2008 Mahogany Mountain Mourvedre or the robust 2007 Mahogany Mountain Zinfandel.  I chose a beautifully presented Dry Aged New York steak served with Potatoes Au Gratin topped with delicious morsels of ham and Baby Asparagus.  Both of the wines, Mahogany Mountain Mourvedre and Zinfandel, paired so well with the juicy and tender steak. Yummy!

Knowing a delicious dessert would be waiting, I saved some room. The Mascarpone & Pistachio Stuffed Pear poached in Mahogany Mountain Port, Cinnamon Ice Cream and Warm Chocolate Sauce was unbelievably good together and definitely a sweet treat we would like to enjoy again. The Mahogany Mountain Vintage Port paired with this final course left us all smiling with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

The service provided by the Barona Oaks steakhouse’s staff was friendly, gracious and impeccable. We all walked away from the evening with many happy and delicious memories.

Many of our guests told us how much they enjoyed our winemaker's dinner at Barona and would look forward to the next one.

Our compliments to the Barona Oaks Steakhouse, Executive Chef Duncan, and Manager Scott.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Cheers!

The most beautiful time of the year

I am thankful for the nice and cool weather we are having in Ramona. While the North East and Midwest regions are under some awful snow storms, we’ve had some rains. But other than that, our weather has been beautiful: cold mornings with a little bit fog and sunny afternoon. The last two weekends have been absolutely golden and warm. Our evenings and nights are chilly, but it’s a nice and snuggly kind of chilly weather. Our vineyards had the most gorgeous fall colors this year, thanks to the wacky (not typical Southern California) weather that we have had all year long. The grape leaves changed their colors daily. The vines and their leaves have a new look every day. God is very artistic after all.

Since we opened our tasting room, we have had a very positive experience. So far, the local folks in Ramona, especially the members of Ramona Vineyard Association and Ramona Wineries Association have been exceptional in their support of our tasting room. I am surprised and touched by the generous and collaborative spirit exhibited by the local winemakers in Ramona. People from all over San Diego County found out about our tasting room and went up the hill to Ramona to visit our winery, even when it rained. Our friends, neighbors and relatives have been wonderful. Despite the fact that they have tasted our wines many times, they still came by and bought some more. Without the support of these good and kind hearted people, our winery would not have had a chance for survival. I truly believe that it takes a village to nurture a boutique winery.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday since childhood. As it turned out, our holiday celebration has started much earlier this year since Thanksgiving Day, thanks to invitations to holiday parties to which we could not say No. So far, there have been four holiday parties with good company, good food and excellent wines! My waistline can attest to that (I will go on a diet next year, after the Lunar New Year!). With all of the excitement of opening our tasting room and holiday celebration, I am a little behind in getting our Christmas cards mailed and presents wrapped. All that will have to wait until after our winemaker dinner at Barona on Saturday. Ah, c’est la vie.

We look forward to another out-of-this-world gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Duncan at the Barona Oaks Steakhouse. As we have anticipated, our winemaker dinner at the Barona Oaks Steakhouse is another sold-out event. Several of our wines will be featured and paired with food exquisitely prepared for us and our guests. Although there are other choices for the main course, I can’t wait to indulge myself eating a juicy and tender steak and drinking a glass of our Mourvedre or Merlot estate-bottled wine! Life is good!


Cheers! A votre santé!