This morning I’m off to the annual Pinot on the River tasting, conveniently
held this year, not on the river, but on the plaza in Healdsburg. The event is put on by the Pinot Report, and proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma County. With anywhere between 80 and 100 pinot producers, its definitely the place to be if you’re a pinotfile. It’s a great event, but anytime I’m forced to stand in one place for4 hours it becomes a problem
After a day of pouring, I get to go to Zazu Restaurant where I’ll be hosting a wine dinner with Ziggy the wine Gal, Williams~Selyem, Arista, and Thomas George Estates. Zazu is run by John Stweart and his wife Duskie Estes. People may recognize Duskie from when she competed on The Next Iron Chef.
The food at Zazu is always terrific. Many of the ingredients come from their own garden, and John is well known for curing his owns meats, and making his own sausage. If you want to get a taste for yourself, check out their products at the Black Pig Meat Company. They are so good with a pig that this year they won the Cochon 555 compatition, which consists of several regional semifinals, and a final at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic put on by Food & Wine Magazine.
This will be the fourth year we’ve done the Westside Boys dinner, and its always a lot of fun, so I’m really looking forward to it.
