Friday, November 21, 2008

See you on Facebook!

Hey all you Facebook friends! We now have an official Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines Facebook Group... log on and add us to your groups to stay connected online! We will be posting event information, updates, photos, and news from the tasting room for everyone to be a part of.

What a great way to share your love of our wines with other wine enthusiasts! You can post comments about us, upload photos & videos! It's so much fun and so easy!

If you don't have a Facebook account you can create one very easily by going to http://www.facebook.com/facebook and choose Sign Up! It's free, fun and a great way to stay connected to the Paso Robles wine industry and Edward Sellers!

You can also add the Paso Robles Downtown Wineries as an additional Facebook group!

Looking forward to seeing you online! Azurae

Friday, November 14, 2008

Gala Event in Highlands, NC

Last night I poured our wines at the 2nd annual Highlands Culinary Weekend’s Opening Gala, in Highlands, North Carolina. For those of you that haven’t had a chance to visit this part of the country (as I hadn’t) put Highlands on your list of places to see and plan a summer trip to this beautiful mountain resort town in southwestern North Carolina. Nestled among the hard woods and pines, at 4,100 feet, you can see why Highlands for years has been the summer play ground for folks escaping the sweltering heat of Atlanta, Charlotte and as far away as Birmingham, Alabama.

The opening nights Reception was held at the Pine Street Park, under the elegant big tent, or as elegant as they come! The weather was chilly, but that didn’t curb the enthusiasm for the 400 food and wine junkies attending. The reception was a combined event featuring a few excellent local chefs matched with equally excellent wines, wineries to the likes of Caymus, Nickel & Nickel, E. Guigal, Duckhorn, St. Supery, Rodney Strong and our boutique winery, Edward Sellers. Some of the more notable chefs preparing their cuisine were Chef Wolfgang of Wolfgang's Restaurant & Wine Bistro and Chef Kevin Paoletti of the fabulous Ristorante Paoletti, both prominent restaurateurs in Highlands. Their food was outstanding!

This event was every foodie’s dream; great wine, great food, amidst the splendor of fall in Highlands. I’ll be back…

Saturday, more pourings and a dinner at Cyprus in the Highlands.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

The Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina

Yesterday, our wine dinner was held in a charming, early 19th century inn located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, named the Inn on Church Street. Built between 1919 and 1921, the 21 room Inn was developed during a time when Hendersonville had become a bustling, growing town in the western portion of North Carolina. During the turn of the last century, catering to the tourism boom, hotels had sprung up all around downtown Main Street. Today, the Inn on Church Street is one of the few remaining hotels of the period. In February 1989, the Inn gained official certification as a National Historic building. Aside from the historical background of the Inn, it is also most notable for its continuous use as a hotel for the duration of these years. In May of 2006, the Inn was purchased by Brenda and Steve Merrefield, who now take pride in keeping the legacy of the Inn on Church alive and growing.

Last night, the staff of the Inn’s quaint candle lit dining room left no detail over looked for our tasting, it was beautiful. Chef executed an impressive presentation that paired our wines perfectly with his exquisite menu. The Venison Osso Buco, served over roasted carrots and infused mashed potatoes, paired beautifully with our well structured and balanced Syrah Sélectionné
, it was fabulous, and all of the guests of the Inn loved it. Thanks Chef!

Michelle, the staff, and the Inn are just what you want on a quiet vacation to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, perfection. Thank you.

Chef’s Menu:

Lobster Consomme with Lobster
Pot Stickers and Wild Mushrooms.
2006 Blanc du Rhone

Five Onion Strudel
Caramelized Onion with pecans
Bound in Rich Veal Demi Glace
then Wrapped and Baked in Phyllo Pastry
on a bed of Apple butter Dijon cream sauce.
2006 Viognier

Cassoulet of Duck Breast, Duck Confit,
Wild Boar Sausage, Apple Smoked Bacon,
White Beans, Fresh Thyme and Tomato Concasse
2004 Cuvee des Cinq

Venison Osso Buco served over Roasted Carrot
Infused Mashed Potatoes topped with Fried Onions
2005 Syrah Sélectionné

Assorted Chesses and Fruits
2005 Le Thief

Tonight, Highlands, North Carolina and the Grand Pouring.

2008 Harvest Update

What an adventure this harvest has been. So many times the weather threatened us with disaster, and each time our vineyards were lucky enough to come out of it unscathed. This started way back in the spring, with a killer frost that shriveled all the new shoots, and we worried that we wouldn’t get any crop at all. Shortly, though, it got warm again and new shoots came out, only a couple of weeks behind the original ones. This meant that yields were down, but we began to anticipate a very high quality harvest. It stayed cool throughout the mild summer, allowing the fruit to develop slowly and steadily, but it got hot and windy right at bloom -- a recipe for shatter. Already low yields were reduced even further when many of the flowers on the clusters failed to become grapes. At this point I began to hear from our contract vineyards, warning me that we might not get as much fruit as expected, but I knew that this year would bring the first harvest from our Edward Sellers estate vineyard, which looked fantastic.

Well, a couple of heat spells and a few cold mornings later, we brought in our first grapes, Halter Ranch Marsanne, as usual… on September 2. If this was any indication, the quality of this harvest was going to be great. Whites trickled in, and then some reds, and on September 9 we finally picked the first of the estate fruit, again Marsanne, and absolutely lovely. The last of the fruit came in on October 31, just before the skies opened up and it began to rain.

Overall, through all the ups and downs, hots and colds, we’ve ended up with some exceptional wines in our stable, among the most exciting of which are the beautiful, first-crop reds and whites from our Estate Vineyard on Highway 46 West.

Stick around for a couple of years and you just might get to try them.

Amy Butler, Winemaker

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

What A Night in Durham

All I can say is, “what a night”… the food, the wine and of course, the company!Last night I did a wine dinner in Durham, North Carolina at Nana’s Restaurant, hosted by Nana’s Chef /Owner Scott Howell. From the outward appearance, Nana’s appears to be a very good local restaurant in the beautiful Raleigh/Durham area, or at least that was my first impression! But what took place in the kitchen was not just the preparation of local fare for the average sole, it was unbelievable. Because of the winery, I’ve had the opportunity to taste some pretty good food from some pretty good chefs over the years, but this was right up there with those TV chefs (just kidding Scott)! If you have a minute to check Scott’s website, you will see the results of night were not by accident; he and his staff are talented. The Wild Boar & Ricotta Agnolotti, paired with our Syrah blend, Le Thief, or the Lamb Tenderloin Wrapped in Prosciutto, paired with our Châteauneuf du Pape styled Cuvée des Cinq, this is what food and wine pairings are all about, bring the best out in both. Enough about the food and wine!

There are not many nights that I get to do these fabulous dinners and be introduced by a family member. Last night was the exception. My brother Peter (yes, his name is Peter Sellers) and his lovely wife Sara Foster were there to enjoy a marvelous dinner and to catch up. It was great to have family at the table. Seated next to me during the dinner was a gentleman by the name of Ed Mayes. With him was his wife, Frances Mayes, you may know her as the author of “Under the Tuscan Sun”. We talked about one of their projects, Italian olive oil, it’s awesome. He wanted to talk to me about wine, all I wanted to do was ask him about olive trees and oil pressing (we have 200 baby olive trees on our property). If you have a spare minute, take a look at their website, you’ll enjoy it.

Here is Scott’s Menu:

Reception
Gravlax with Crème Fraiche and Paddlefish Caviar
Goat Cheese and Peppered Pear Jelly on Crostini
Voignier, 2006

Amuse
Warm Porcini Egg Custard

1st
Shallow Poached B-Liner Snapper
with Local Fennel
Blanc du Rhone, 2006

2nd
Wild Boar and Ricotta Agnolotti,
with Broccoli Rabe in a Foie Gras Emulsion
Le Thief, 2005

3rd
Lamb Tenderloin Wrapped in Prosciutto,
over Local Crowder Peas with Black Pepper – Vodka Sauce
Cuvee des Cinq, 2005

4th
Chocolate Budino Tartlet
with vanilla sea salt and caramel
Syrah Selectionne, 2005
Tomorrow, off to the Highlands of North Carolina!