John Cesano of John On Wine
John On Wine – January is busting out all over.
I know the saying is “June is busting out all over,” and I love June, but we’re in January and there are lots of events this month, so here goes:
Patrona Restaurant & Lounge, located at 130 West Standley in Ukiah, is a wine-friendly restaurant that I am finally getting around to mentioning. In their own words, “we serve refreshing lunches and inspired dinners using the freshest Mendocino sourced ingredients. We have a huge Mendocino wine list and a full bar serving the cocktails of your dreams!”
Having eaten there a dozen times in the last six months, I can attest that they have delicious food, a terrific wine list and possibly the best cocktails in Ukiah. I’m a wine guy, but I love stopping in after work to sample whatever brilliantly conceived special cocktail is being offered that day.
Patrona is pairing Roederer Estate wine maker Arnaud Weyrich with Patrona chef Craig Strattman for a very special Crab and Wine Dinner starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18.
The working menu, subject to change, features a crab eggroll in sesame aioli and Roederer Brut; poached crab, green apple and avocado in a saffron curry and 2012 Carpe Diem Chardonnay; chicken and crab with a Winter Pin Nut Pistou and 2004 Roederer Estate L’Ermitage (Wine Enthusiast magazine’s #1 wine of 2013!); pork belly with crab or mushroom pastry in a crab sauce and 2011 Carpe Diem Pinot Noir; and a Crepe and Roederer Estate Sparkling Rose.
The dinner, food and wine, will run $75 per person. For more information, or to secure your spot, call Patrona at (707) 462-9181.
On a related note, Patrona is making Monday a little more magical with a special wine 50 percent discount on all bottles of wine. You can look over your menu, choose the perfect bottle to pair with your food, enjoy the wine at half off, and take any unpoured wine home for later enjoyment.
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Second Saturday in Hopland will take place on Jan. 11th. This January edition of Second Saturday sees several tasting room managers featuring the crab dishes that will be paired with wine over the following two weeks. Visit Ray’s Station, McFadden Vineyard, McNab Ridge, Cesar Toxqui Cellars, Graziano Family of Wines, Milano Winery, Naughty Boy, and Rivino tasting rooms to sample delicious complimentary appetizers and wine pairings. Don’t forget to stock up on local wines at the very affordable Hopland-wide January Case Sale event.
The Mendocino County Crab, Wine & Beer Fest is January 17-26 this year. More than 40 winery tasting rooms throughout Mendocino County, with roughly half along or near Highway 101 and the other half along Highway 128, will be celebrating January’s bounty of the county: Dungeness Crab.
Enjoy the most delectable crab creations, from crab and corn chowder at Milano Family Winery to crab mac and cheese at McFadden in Hopland, and crab and Pennyroyal Farm Laychee Wontons at Navarro to Blini with creamy Crab at Yorkville Cellars along Highway 128. Most of the winery tasting room crab dishes will be served on the weekends, but the many restaurants of Mendocino County, whether inland or on the coast, will be serving up special crab-centric menus during the event, and the biggest event of the festival falls on my birthday (a coincidence, I’m fairly sure) with the 15th annual Crab Cake Cook Off & Wine Competition taking part on Saturday, January 25 from noon-3 p.m.
For more information about everything Crab this month, go to VisitMendocino.com/crabfestival
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Barrel Tasting 101, runs Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 19, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, during the Crab, Wine & Beer Festival, and stretches from Hopland to Calpella and Ukiah to Redwood Valley.
The $10 price includes one commemorative wine glass. Each tasting room will be offering crab themed pairings.
Participating winery tasting rooms include: Barra of Mendocino, Brutocao Cellars, Campovida, Cesar Toxqui Cellars, Frey Vineyards, Graziano Family of Wines, Jaxon Keys Winery & Distillery, Jeriko Estate, McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room, McNab Ridge Winery, Milano Family Winery, Naughty Boy Vineyards, Nelson Family Vineyards, Parducci Wine Cellars, Ray’s Station, Rivino, Saracina, Seebass Vineyards, Simaine Cellars, and Testa Vineyards.
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Check out Zinfandel Advocates & Producers’ (ZAP) The Zinfandel Experience on Wednesday, Jan. 22 through Saturday, Jan. 25 at various spots in the bay area. If you love Zinfandel, this is your event!
The event kicks off for trade and media at Rockwall in Alameda on Wednesday when Tim Fish moderates a panel that includes Morgan Twain Peterson of Bedrock, Tegan Passalacqua of Turley, and Mike Officer of Carlisle; three Zinfandel powerhouses.
My two favorite events from the past fall on Thursday at The Presidio and Friday at the Four Seasons, both in San Francisco. Thursday features Epicuria, an evening tasting of food from top restaurants and caterers paired with Zinfandel from some of California’s best producers, is an amazing event. Friday’s panel tasting, Flights, is enjoyable for the sit down, off the cuff comments offered by Zinfandel luminaries on a Zin-centric topic, with flights of Zinfandel poured to illustrate points.
Friday evening is the big and fancy event, the Winemaker’s Dinner and Auction at the Four Seasons. Everyone who has attended raves about this event. I have not attended…yet. There is a small chance, space permitting, that I may be able to attend this year.
Saturday is the big day, with the giant Grand Tasting, which has been changed into smaller educational tasting tracks this year: Sensory Tasting, Reserve & Barrel Tasting, and Terroir Tasting. All three events within an event take place at The Presidio. For more information, or to grab tickets to these very limited space events, visit Zinfandel.org.
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January offers many great events, and you’ll see me at a number of them. I know we need rain, and that means the winter cold that comes with it, but this January I find myself wishing I was surrounded by June. I love June’s warmth, and the perfect combination for me, not for farmers but for me, would be to enjoy a little June in January. Cheers!
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