If you spent three days driving throughout the Central Coast
wineries, from Santa Barbara to Los Pasos, you could not have sampled a
fraction of the wines you could have in an hour at Wally’s 8th Annual
Central Coast Food and Wine celebration. The event benefits the
Michael Bonaccorsi UC Davis Scholarship Fund and the endowment at Allan
Hancock College for students who want to pursue careers in Viticulture
and Enology. There were over 55 wineries serving 150 unique wines you
could sniff, swirl, taste and savor. It was like wandering from room to
room in one of your favorite art museums only to discover another
gallery filled with astonishing paintings you’ve never seen before.
In addition to such luminaries as Au Bon Climat, Qupe, Melville and The Hitching Post, to name a few, there were dozens of small hands-on wineries. Hard to find wines whose producers grow their own grapes, ferment them, and even drive to local wine stores to sell them. You could chat, query, and get a deeper appreciation of what goes into making unique wines in a market increasingly dominated by wine consultants and corporate ownership. Although the Central Coast is known for its distinctive Pinots and Chardonnays there was a healthy dose of Syrahs and Grenaches. These grapes are poised to make the same kind of impact in California that Cabernets did in the 90’s and Pinots in the 2000’s.
As a wine lover in Los Angeles, there is a wide range of dinners, tastings and classes one can attend every month and unless you have
unlimited funds, you have to become fairly selective in where you spend your wine tasting budget. I've heard many great things about Wally's Annual Central Coast Wine & Food Celebration, but was never able to attend until this year. This past Sunday, I decided to take a chance. For me, the biggest factor in whether I'm going to drag myself (and my
designated driver, a.k.a my husband) out to an event is what we call "bang for the buck." I don't normally go to festival-type functions because I want to talk to the winemakers about their offerings, which rarely happens when you're trapped in a tiny room with
other, equally excited, wine lovers who you have to elbow out of the way just to get a 1-ounce pour. Plus, it's hard to feel like you're getting your monies worth when you only remember tasting 20 wines...and that's if you're taking notes.
Food and wine pairing. Everyone tries to do it well. Most of the time, you go by the old standards - steak with Cabernet, white wine with fish - with the best of intentions just hoping that they don't clash, but praying you hit it just right. You're hoping, praying you get the perfect mouthful, where the wine and food meld together into something unexpected, complementing and enhancing one another into a perfect delicious union. When that happens, and it's not often enough, it's truly magical. 
, extolled the virtues of cookies and gave detailed directions on the care and baking of the most imaginative cookies I've ever seen.
. Each drink has specific instructions with photographs that recall a more settled time.
There are bartenders who make a living mixing cocktails, and baristas whose wages are earned behind espresso machines. There are high-concept tea masters, sommeliers, and soda jerks, too. At home we are never expected to be any of these, but when guests arrive for your holiday parties some simple instruction might be helpful. After all, there's a week's worth of celebrating still to be done.