Casa Pacifica Best In Fest Brewery Competition 2016

The Casa Pacifica Best In Fest Brewery Competition took place on April 30th at the Twisted Oak Tavern, home of The LAB Brewing Company. Owner of the Twisted Oak Tavern, Jeff Walker, hosted the event. Roger Bott, LAB Brewing Company Brewmaster (AKA Dr. Hops) and winner of the 2015 Best In Fest award was not in attendance, but his latest beer entry was there. The Best In Fest award will be presented to the winning brewery at the Casa Pacifica Wine, Food & Brew Festival in June.

Curtis Taylor, Certified Cicerone®, coordinated the beer judging event. His website and blog, HopHeadSaid.com, focuses on beer and food pairings.

BEER JUDGES

The entries were judged by a panel consisting of cicerones, certified beer judges and industry experts that included:

Monie Wickenden, Beer Specialist at Wine Warehouse Beer.

Erin Peters, Beer Judge & Journalist, known online as “The Beer Goddess.”

Kevin Pratt, involved in the brewing industry for over 20 years is a BJCP Grand Master V and Certified Cicerone®.

Jorge Alem, owner of the Ojai Beverage Company.  

BEER COMPETITION COMMITTEE

Kevin Pratt, Erin Peters, Monie Wickenden, Jorge Alem, Curtis Taylor, Ryan Carroll, Jeff Walker, Matt Tobin, JC Lombardo and Anna Coulson

Chair JC Lombardo along with Kristin Lombardo, Ryan Carroll and Matt Tobin helped organize the beer collection and pouring for the blind tasting. Anna Coulson and Carrie Hughes represented Casa Pacifica.

ROUND ONE BEERS
The beer judges did a blind tasting of 13 beers arranged in an order that considered the styles and the level of alcohol in each.

The judging criteria were a combination Brewers Association Guidelines and BJCP (Beer Judge Certificate Program) Style Guidelines. Each judge evaluated the brews in five categories for a total score of 50:
  * Aroma: 12 points
  * Appearance: 3 points
  * Flavor: 20 points
  * Mouthfeel: 5 points
  * Overall impression: 10 points

They also could comment on pairing suggestions of different food types and specific pairings relative to Breakfast, Dessert, or Cheese. (Those comments will be released later on.)

Once all thirteen beers were rated in the first round, three top beers were chosen for the second round. The competition was close though, and two of the entries tied for third.

ROUND TWO BEERS

The Final Four - my personal favorite was the MadeWest Pale Ale

The judges discussed the round two beers and what makes a “Best Of Show” (or “Best In Fest”) winner as they tasted the four final beers. The conversation covered thinking about your favorite beer, pondering different beer styles (or not), and considering each beer like who you want to date, or take home.

Click here to watch the video

Best In Fest Brewery Competition 2016

Maybe the Belgian Triple from The Twisted Oak Tavern / The LAB Brewing Company had an edge with the name “Take Her Home Tripel.” The LAB’s Belgian Tripel has 10.8% ABV, 25 IBU and is a classic Trappist brew with citrus and spice flavors from Belgian yeast. Apparently all of the judges agreed that they’d all take this beer home.

Twisted Oak Tavern/LAB Brewing Company's Tree of Brewing

Congrats again to Roger and Jeff! Two years in a row! And congratulations to the other twelve breweries for submitting a range of interesting and tasty beers. Now I have an updated list of local breweries to visit.

CHEERS!

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Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Fest 2016

The 4th Annual Sierra Pelona Valley Vintners Association Wine Festival

Click here to view the festival video!

Last Saturday I took a scenic drive up the Antelope Valley Freeway and through Agua Dulce to the Sierra Highway for the Fourth Annual Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival. The event at Reyes Winery is always a fun way to get to know local vintners, sample their wines, and taste some authentic local food. There are plenty of handmade crafts and jewelry from  artisans and a stage with live music; all surrounded by vineyards in the early growing season. The visual impact of the mountain vineyards is absolutely stunning.

This year the festival supported the Senior Center of Santa Clarita Valley. The goal was to help the center acquire at least one new bus to serve the Santa Clarita community.  Judging by the good attendance, enthusiastic auction, and the rowdy raffle it seems like they may have achieved it!

The featured wineries included Agua Dulce Winery, Alonso Family Vineyards, AV Winery, Bouquet Vineyard, Chavez Cellars, Charles Wine Company, Coruce Vineyards, CPB Winery, Du Nasi, Golden Star Vineyards & Winery, Hearthstone Vineyard & Winery, Iconic Wines, LA International Wine Competition (featuring California wines from Strey Cellars and Sagebrush Annie’s), Reyes Winery, San Antonio Winery and Stephen Hemmert Wines.

The Rhone-style wines from Paso Robles by Stephen Hemmert were a real treat. The Viognier, Rousanne, and " Entwined," a blend of the two, were all excellent! 

Agua Dulce Winery

I enjoyed the Syrahs from Agua Dulce Winery, Alonso Family Vineyards, Hearthstone and Reyes. Other memorable red wines included the Purple Haze from Golden Star, the Red Blend (50% Barbera, 25% Primitivo, 25% Syrah) from Charles Wine and the Cabernet Sauvignon from Bouquet Vineyard.

Brown Knows Cider

In addition to these fine wines, there was a little something for those not interested in wine. A refreshing cider was available from Brown Knows Cider, AGWA Cocoa Leaf Liquer attracted many tasters, and the popular trio of Belgian beers -- Leffe Blonde, Hoegaarden and Stella Artois -- were on tap.

Best of Belgium

Truffles N Toffee

I enjoyed some of the gourmet food in the VIP area and many of the specialty foods offered by The Broken Bit, Gourmet Blends, Le Chene French Cuisine, Persia Restaurant and Hookah Lounge, Porto’s Bakery & Cafe, Tochigan Farms and Truffles N Toffee. My favorite snacking foods were the Tochigan Farms Hot Salsa (and a little of the Very Hot) and the Truffles N Toffee Almond Praline Bar samples.

Just Us

Throughout the festival you could hear the live entertainment that began around noon. The musical acts were Just Us, Sierra Highway, The Still Moving Project and The Sean Hughes Experience. Nice to hear the original tunes by some of the groups. It was great that they continued playing until 5:00 this year.

Click on this link to view a time lapse video of the Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Fest  (in Ultra High Definition / 4K). You can watch the whole event in a few minutes and maybe spot yourself! Music from The Still Moving Project and The Sean Hughes Experience is featured in the video...

And The Crowd Went Wild!

 CHEERS!

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California Jazz & Wine Fest 2016

Presented by Rotary Club of Westlake Village Sunrise

The 5th Annual California Jazz & Wine Fest moved to a third location this year and the new venue at the Westlake Village Four Seasons was a nice change.  It was a great place to sample wine, beer, spirits and food, plus shopping--all nearby two stages with outstanding entertainment.  Composer, arranger, saxophonist and three-time Grammy award winner Tom Scott headlined the live entertainment.

You can view and listen to some of the performers I managed to catch by clicking on their links below. Audio recording is always a challenging situation whether musicians are performing outdoors or indoors. The ambient crowd noise is definitely noticeable, but hey, you get that festival feeling! The video of Paul McCallum & Friends also includes pictures of most of the festival exhibitors.

Main Stage
- Tom Scott Quintet
- Adam Clark Trio
- Paul McCallum & Friends
- Santa Barbara City College Jazz Big Band
 
Bistro Stage
- The Doug Webb Group
- The Barrelhouse Wailers
- Lori Andrews, Jazz Harpist
- Westlake High School Jazz Ensemble

Festival Tour
Click on this link to get a feel of the festival vibe in both the ballroom (Main Stage) and the tent (Bistro Stage). Parts of the Adam Clark Trio and the Doug Webb Group performances are in this video.

The California Jazz & Wine Fest supports important jazz and music education organizations. This year proceeds are going to support Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, in particular for the Mark Taper and Johnny Mercer Artists Program that focuses on healing the whole child through art and music.

Food, Wine, Beer, Spirits and Shopping

I was especially glad to see the festival had replaced the food trucks with restaurants, caterers and other food vendors.  Some of the great food I tasted was served by Mastro's, Stonefire Grill, and Conejo Valley Catering, plus Sweet Arleen's, of course.  Others included Barone’s Pizzaria, Paul Martin’s American Grill, Marmalade Cafe, Spanish Hills CC, and Four Seasons (in the VIP area).

Local, Santa Barbara and even Paso Robles wineries were well represented. I was pleased to discover a winery that was new to me -- Lavender Oak Vineyard, with a nice Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir.  All of the wines I sampled were very good, but Cantara's Zinfandel, San Vicente's Malbec and Sunland Vintage's Alicante Bouschet were excellent! Additional enjoyable tastings were available from:

• Aldabella Custom Crush Winery
• Cielo Estate
• Labyrinth
• Nabu
• Plan B Wine Cellars
• Pomar Junction Vineyard & Winery

As an interesting side note, this was the first local festival I've attended where all of the member wineries of the Conejo Valley Wine Trail were pouring their wines. Several of the Ventura County Wine Trail members participated as well.

Beer tastings included:
Energren Brewing Company for a taste of "The Big Meat" Smoked Lager, a German rauchbier-style beer brewed with Beechwood smoked malt. Different!
 
Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion (Revolving Hop Series) which is billed as "an ever-evolving mix of experimental hops, designed to deliver mind-blowing flavors that break the rules with each new release." And they won't tell you what hops are used in it...  It had a hoppy nose, but I couldn't describe the flavor because my mind was blown after the first sip.
Twisted Oak Tavern poured their LAB Brewing Company "Honey, I'm Honey Blonde Ale" and "The Lab After Midnight Moo" milk stout.

Ventura Limoncello Company served a "Califonia Sunset" cocktail that combined their Ventura Limoncello Originale with Cranberry Juice, Sweet & Sour and Club Soda. Devon said it was great!

This colorful art by Jack Jambazian says "Jazz & Wine" to me!

I think this colorful California Kettle Corn would pair well with the mind-blowing Luponic Distortion beer from Firestone Walker Brewing Company.

In case you missed it, more pictures of the event are included in the Paul McCallum & Friends video.

If you like jazz and wine or beer or spirits and food then this is the best festival in the Conejo Valley area! Check it out next year.

CHEERS!

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Gagnon Cellars in Temecula

Last week Devon and I took a Taste N Trip to Temecula. After a great lunch at The Goat and Vine restaurant in Old Town we drove out Rancho California Road to visit the owners and winemakers of Gagnon Cellars, Gil and Rae Gagnon, at their new residence.

The route to their place, known as Rancho California Trail East, passes by wineries like Hart, Hallway, Thornton, Baily, Miramonte, Bel Vino, Mount Palomar, Maurice Car'rie, South Coast, Ponte Family, Wiens Family, Monte De Oro, and Wilson Creek.

WHERE'S THE TASTING ROOM?

Gagnon Cellars is currently a virtual winery; they reside in Temecula and their grapes are sourced from regions like Sonoma Coast and Alexander Valley. In the next few years they expect to start producing wine from their own estate grown grapes.

New Vineyard Planting

Both Gil and Rae have a successful background in special effects for movies, and as they say, they are transitioning from making movies "one frame at a time," to making artisan wine "one bottle at a time."  Their efforts result in hand-crafted wines that are excellent!

We were fortunate to taste a few recent releases and a barrel sample too. 

Gagnon Cellar's tasting notes are right on the mark ...

The 2013 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay "Reserve" has oaky, buttery flavors, while well balanced acidity keeps it bright and brilliant.  It was aged 18 months in oak barrels and was made in an old world, sur lie style to add just a hint of buttery flavor before bottling. This allows it to settle naturally with minimal intervention. The 15.4% alcohol level seems to balance well with the fruit.

The 2013 Alexander Valley Red Wine Blend (40% Petite Sirah, 40% Zinfandel, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon) includes varietals al from a single vineyard in the Alexander Valley. It has intense, complex, dark fruit flavors, is full bodied,  is aged 22 months in French oak, and has 14.7% alcohol.

The 2015 Petit Sirah barrel sample was an excellent inky example of Petite Sirah from Alexander Valley.  And if it turns out like the 2013 vintage it will have dark, intense, concentrated fruit flavors and aromatics of blackberry, cherry, and cedar.

Keep an eye out for Gagnon Cellars at Southern California wine festivals. They have an "Upcoming Tasting Events" section on their website at www.gagnoncellars.com.

Gary, Catherine, Devon, Sam & Pierson

We enjoyed having our relatives, Catherine, Sam & Pierson visit from the east coast join us on our tasting trip. 

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