Stories from the Road- by Danielle Huber

Five months ago, long-time supporters of Tolosa and owners of Sheila’s Wine Bar and Restaurant in Camarillo, Pablo and Bertha Medina, visited Tolosa Winery.  Pablo and Bertha made quite an impression on me.

Now, I am not materialistic by any means, but what struck me was the generosity within the hearts of these warm and beautiful people.  Bertha, Pablo’s wife, was wearing the most attractive pave set ring with a lime green stone.  And I told her so! 

Before they left Tolosa’s tasting room, Bertha took the ring off her hand and put it on mine.  “If it fits,” she said, “you have to keep it.”  It did fit, and uneasily I kept it.  Who today pulls a ring off of their finger and hands it to you?!  “It will bring you luck!” both she and her exuberant husband told me. “Really??” I thought.  Still in disbelief, I could hardly imagine.

Well luck it brought…

Two weeks later, I was offered a position to sell full time with Tolosa Winery’s outside sales team in the South Central Coast. In my five year history at Tolosa, I couldn’t have dreamed up this role.  I was the tasting room girl and tour-guide on busy Saturdays.  I was the front door girl at the pickup parties…the one who carefully remembers our wine club members.  But outside sales for Tolosa?  Really?  Me? 

My new role for Tolosa is to leave my friends and seemingly “family” in the tasting room and be an ambassador on the streets.  Taking Tolosa to restaurants and stores NEAR YOU that may or may not know how amazing these wines are.  There is work to be done!  I couldn’t have had a better training ground…and I certainly couldn’t muster more enthusiasm for this unique brand!  Thank you to all who have known me along the way!

FULL CIRCLE:

Two days ago I visited Pablo and Bertha at Sheila’s Wine Bar in Camarillo…my newest restaurant account!  What a truly meaningful experience.

The moral of the story is that ordinary people can motivate one’s life in absolutely extraordinary ways.  The story of generosity doesn’t really end with Bertha Medina of Sheila’s Wine Bar.  I promise to write more from the road, so stay tuned.  But remember this…

Wine is the medium that bridges many hearts.  Be open to what it tells you.  And remember to pay it forward!

Updates from “The Road” soon…!

Best,
Danielle Huber

Danielle Huber

Central Coast Sales

Tolosa Winery

What we(I) need is “CHANGE” ! – by John

A few weeks ago, I realized that in spite of having a potential inventory of 150 cheeses from Vivant, that I was beginning to get a “bit’ bored with my offerings.  If the concept of being bored with a menu reaches me, than sooner or later, I was afraid it just might reach my loyal “repeat” customers.

That’s right, I do have a group of customers that not only come routinely, but are quick to point out what is new to them and what is not.  These are my most important customers because they are my best critics.

As a result, three weeks ago, my first step was to contact Patty Menna, a local choclatier and owner of the Truffle Garden, with a plan to list her chocolate truffles weekly, next to the cheese.  The result was immediate.  We sold out that weekend.

Today, three weeks later, I thought as long as we were at it, we should offer charcuterie as well.  This way, not only could we offer a third choice, but a couple could enjoy one plate of each with a knife for sharing. 

Most important, I won’t become a “one trick pony”-something us seniors fear most!  But not to fear, I won’t be offering panini’s or mac and cheese as of yet!

Most importantly here are the 3 Menus for this weekend January 28^th :

Charcuterie and Wine Pairing Menu:

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Prosciutto with apricot/Busseto

·         2009 Chardonnay

Duck Pate/Fabrique Delices

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Sinocchiona-locally produced  pork with fennel and Chianti.

·         2008 Syrah

Chorizo from Spain

Truffle and Wine Pairing Menu:
Local handmade truffles from the Truffle Garden.

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Lemon Hazelnut Truffle

·         2009 Chardonnay

Orange Truffle

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Lavender Truffle

·         2008 Syrah

Mexican Chocolate Truffle

And last but not least our Wine and Cheese Menu for this weekend:

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Mango Ginger White Stilton

·         2009 Chardonnay

Vella Jack

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Mont d’Or

·         2008 Syrah  

Sartori Sar Vecchio

All are the same price at $20pp or $15 pp club members each. If you would like to make reservations email me, jshakley@tolosawinery.com  or give us a call at (805)782-0500!

JOHN SHAKLEY

CONCIERGE, TOLOSA WINERY

Have you ever wondered, or more like dreamed, of what it was like to be a winemaker? Well this is one event where you can step into the shoes of a winemaker and experience what it is like to create a wine.

In our 6^th Annual Blending Seminar, guests will have the chance to create a white wine blend which will be bottled under the Mission V white wine label.  During the event guests will work alongside our winemaker and cellar crew to learn the ins and outs of winemaking. Teams of 6-8 guests will be asked to come up with a final blend to submit for a blind tasting that will take place after each team has created their winning blend. The blends will be blind tasted and voted on by all participants and the winning blend will be announced and then bottled for the Jan 2013 release of the Mission V wine club exclusive blend.

Guests will wrap up the afternoon with a catered lunch in our Heritage Room overlooking the Edna Valley. Guests of the event will also be given the opportunity to purchase a pre-release of the wine before any other club members at a discounted price!

Here’s a quote from a wine club member that attended last year’s event: “ The Tolosa blending seminar is an amazing and fun learning experience.   Where else can you taste wine, be creative, and blend a new Tolosa Mission V wine?   All of this and enjoy a wonderful luncheon while voting for your favorite blend, it’s definitely an adventure to remember.”

This event is limited to club members and does sell out quickly. Give us a call to make your reservations at (805)782-0500 or register online by clicking here >> $45pp all inclusive.  Saturday February 25^th, 11am-2pm.

Katie Noonan

Marketing & Event Director

(805)782-0300 ext. 20

katie@tolosawinery.com

www.tolosawinery.com

Join us:  

Tolosa’s Annual Holiday Open House last night was a great event to really get us in the Holiday spirits with only 8 more days until Christmas.  Our staff had a great time being wine elves and we hope all our guests had as good of time as we did! We’re still talking about how great the Mulled Wine tasted, and not to mention the delicious soup made by our fabulous staff member, Lori Morse.

Here is a note from Lori along with her soup recipe that is perfect for this winter season!  

For those of you who attended our Holiday Open House last night, here is the soup recipe I devised for the party.

This chowder is not as thick and rich as some, If you want a thicker chowder, you could use a “slurry” of flour (or cornstarch) and water (like thickening a gravy) to thicken the soup right before you add the cream.  Remember, you need to have the soup boil gently as the flour &water’s thickening power will be at its highest as it boils.

However, you don’t want the soup to separate, so stay with it & keep stirring!  Turn down the heat as soon as it thickens to the desired consistency.

All you need is a nice green salad & crusty bread alongside, a cozy fire, and some friends to enjoy it with!

I wish you and yours a wonderful Holiday Season!

Cheers,

Lori Morse, Tasting Room Attendant & Avid Home Chef

Tolosa Winter White Roasted Corn Chowder

1 onion, 3 stalks celery, 5 small carrots, diced

1 clove garlic, grated

2 Tbs. Butter /2Tbs Olive oil

2 Tbs. Flour

1 ½ c. Tolosa Estate (Oaked) Chardonnay (approx. half a bottle)

2 pks. Roasted Corn (frozen)

3 white potatoes, peeled & diced

1 Box Vegetable Stock (or chicken if preferred)

1 gallon full fat milk

½ each red, orange & yellow bell pepper, skinned & diced

2-3 stalks Fresh Thyme, leaves picked/Fresh Rosemary, chopped, to taste

1 8oz. carton heavy cream (or more to taste)

Salt &white pepper to taste.

Micro greens and/or croutons for garnish

Sauté the diced vegetables & garlic with the butter and oil in a large stock pot until soft. Salt & pepper lightly.

Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and let it cook, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the wine & stock, cook until slightly thickened about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the corn & milk. Bring it to a soft boil, stirring constantly. When it begins to thicken, turn down the heat, add the diced potatoes, peppers & thyme.

Cook gently on very low heat for 30 minutes (or more), stirring frequently until potatoes and peppers are tender, soup is thickened and flavors are mingled. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Add the cream at the last minute, stirring well. Warm through, and adjust seasonings for a final time.

Ladle in to bowls and top with micro greens and/or croutons & Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!! Come by the Tolosa tasting room to trick or treat for frightening discounts up to 50% off! Every customer that visits the tasting room will have a chance to draw from the witches pot of discounts ranging from 5% to 50% off your purchase for the Holiday! Knock on our door and see what fate has in store for your wine drinking future this Halloween.

Open 11-5pm Daily.

"The first rains of the winter moved in this morning. We're set for a little rain today, and apparently a lot tomorrow. It's an arctic storm which means that it will be cold and will move through quickly. During the harvest this is the best type of storm if you've going to have one. The alternative is tropical moisture which with its combination of rain and warm still air can cause common rot to quickly destroy your fruit.

Not all rain during harvest is harmless, and several vintages I have made were diminished by rain, but by and large it is benign. I recall my very first harvest in 1979 at Acacia when a storm moved in like this year towards the end of picking. I was very concerned, but Mike Richmond my mentor and boss at that time said, "Don't worry, it always rains during harvest." Good advice in general about attitude towards weather if you're going to be at all happy as a farmer. Our second harvest together we were receiving the very last fruit of the season and as we were loading it into the press the first rain of the season began falling. It felt both fated and magical. My fondest memory of harvest rain was in the late 80's. I don't recall the exact vintage but I suspect it was '87 or '88 as my son who was born in '83 was 4 or 5 at the time. We were driving to Lee Hudson's always anticipated harvest party. The fruit had been in for a week or so. Rain began falling heavily as we drove up. The party, always held outside, continued despite the rain. Everybody danced in the mud and got soaked. As the evening wore on, and the rain intensified, the adults retreated under the shelter of the barns while the children like little savages continued to dance around the bonfire until we took them home and to bed."

-          Larry Brooks, Winemaker

Harvest has officially begun at Tolosa! Today we brought in our first grapes from our Pinot Noir block 593, which most customers know as our Lily Gil. Block 593 is the highest point on the eastern hills of Edna Ranch. It is on a mix of soils the dominant one is reddish and of volcanic origin.  The flavor influence of the soil trumps the clonal material in this location. We also brought in the neighboring Pinot Noir block 587. In a few of these photos you’ll see winemaker, Larry Brooks, who is starting his 34^th harvest, doing analysis of the grapes as they are being processed and in the last photo he is using the refractometer to measure the brix.

Come on by in the next few weeks to catch a glimpse of the action from our patio while sipping on the final product!

A mall in Santa Maria is an unlikely place at best to eat a multi course winemaker dinner, but the owner of this mall likes good food and so enticed some first rate talent to run three restaurants and a catering operation within the mall in a town better known for growing strawberries than crafting gourmet food. The evening started with canapes and a sweet sparkling wine in a roped off area in the atrium of the mall. Odd location for appetizers - it felt a bit like being a rare tropical fish in an aquarium with the citizens circulating around us as we awkwardly sipped and supped. Once we moved into the dining room things relaxed a bit into the more settled routine of winemaker dinners. There was nothing routine about the food and wine pairings. The chef, Ryan and his staff did a superb job with this. All the food was excellent and the three, yup, three main courses were all ridiculously delicious. As good as the fish dish was with the baby carrots nicely setting off our luxurious 2008 Tolosa Block 569 Chardonnay, my favorites were the meat courses. The first of which was turkey done traditionally including light and dark meat, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and cranberry sauce paired with our 2008 Estate Pinot Noir. This light jazzy Pinot was lit up by the food and vice versa - a nice preview of Thanksgiving pleasures to come. Despite being completely stuffed at this point I somehow managed to eat all of the final course a NY steak served on a bed of spetzel and wild mushrooms. The 2008 Tolosa Estate Syrah helped ease the pain and was an excellent foil for this rich dish. Out of embarrassment at my own gluttony, I won't even talk about the heavenly pastries and the Viognier dessert wine that ended the evening. The fact that I can't even remember the last time I ate so much that my stomach hurt speaks volumes about the quality of this restaurant.

-          Posted by Larry Brooks, Winemaker

A few months back Tolosa was approached by a good friend and Louisiana Select Wine distributor, regarding a cause that her son was involved with. Tolosa was happy to support her son Daniel Northcutt in this amazing journey from Maine to Santa Barbara on bike for the Bike and Build non-profit organization with the tagline “ Pedaling for affordable housing.”  He is almost to the finish line in Santa Barbara which will total 3846 miles on bike. But not only are they riding across the country for this good cause, they also build houses along the journey; it’s truly amazing what they are doing!  Here are a few photos from Daniel from the journey and we must say a big congratulations to him and thank you for taking along our Tolosa hat for the journey!

For more information on his journey and the miles they covered, visit their website!