Wining and dining over the Easter holidays and beyond

Wine Tasting
The Santa Cruz Mountains are awash with incredible wineries, so it’s good to get out and try new wines, and discover a new place you haven’t been to before. Visit the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association website—scmwa.com—for a list of wineries and tasting rooms in the area.

Pinot Noir 2010—Big and Bold

The big fruity purple liquid that makes up the 2010 Pinot, Central Coast ($26), is bold and vivacious. Earthy flavors linger on the tongue, along with luscious ripe fruit—cherries and blackberries in particular. It’s actually a blend of two vineyards from the Central Coast region, but this lovely Pinot made by Savannah-Chanelle has all the quality and structure of a high-end single vineyard bottling.

Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

Looking for something really luscious and exciting? Let me recommend Copious Winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon.

With a craving for some good Italian food, my husband and I went to Ristorante Barolo in Aptos for dinner and I took along a bottle of Copious Winery’s Cab ($42). With its muscular body and earthy nutty quality, it goes really well with hearty fare such as meat dishes and a good bowl of pasta. I almost always have a pasta dish at this restaurant and the one I had this time, one of the specials stuffed with crab, was excellent.

Odyssey 2010—take a wine journey with Monty Paulsen

I would say a winery has reached the dizzy heights of fame when its wine has been served in the White House. But all that was some time ago when the winery was owned and run by Pat Paulsen. As many of you will remember, Paulsen, who died in 1997, was a celebrity comedian and regularly featured on the Smothers Brothers TV shows. He might be even better known for running for president of the United States—albeit rather tongue-in-cheek attempts.

Rose of Syrah 2011— a lush pink wine

What do Shopper’s Corner, Beauregard Vineyards and West Cliff Wines have in common? They all belong to the same family. Jim Beauregard owns Shopper’s Corner, and his sons Ryan and Andre are the talented duo behind their own wine labels—Ryan with Beauregard Vineyards and Andre with West Cliff Wines.

Syrah 2007: A desirable red wine for Valentine’s Day

Looking for some sexy wine to drink over Valentine’s weekend? Then I would recommend Silver Mountain’s full-bodied Syrah.

This gorgeous rich wine has the classic meaty quality of Syrah with an abundance of dried blueberries, pepper and a touch of prosciutto. With juniper and allspice on the palate, and fennel, blackberry and blueberry on the nose, this is a delicious wine to simply enjoy. Syrah is also a very easy wine to pair with a variety of different foods—especially with all the decadent stuff you might want to eat this Valentine’s weekend—chocolate, oysters, voluptuous desserts, titillating delicacies, and so on.

Chardonnay 2011—From Talbott Ties to Talbott Wine

By Josie Cowden Dining at Pacific’s Edge in the Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel is a wonderful experience. Not only is this a stunning restaurant with an almighty ocean view, but also the cuisine is outstanding. The wine cellar is one of the finest on the Central Coast and features a selection from all over the world, as well as many California wines. And if you need a suggestion of what to pair with your food, one of the restaurant’s sommeliers will take care of you.

At a recent dinner at Pacific’s Edge, I selected a Talbott Chardonnay 2010. The estate-grown grapes for this excellent wine come from Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, one of the most significant vineyards in this appellation. Owned by Talbot Vineyards, this expansive piece of land is prime grape-growing country with deep sand and gravelly soils coupled with dramatic coastal weather, which means the right amount of sun and then cooling fog.