Max with proud father and owner of Vintage Cellars Gene Walder, enjoying a glass at the 2009 San Diego Wine and Food Festival

Morimoto Napa seems to be delivering.  Napa restaurant-goers rave over unique dishes with playful names, such as “Duck Duck Goose” (a medley of duck preparations and frozen foie gras) and Sea Urchin Carbonara (uni, undon noodles, smoked bacon and crispy shallots).  The sushi menu is, of course, extensive, with fresh ingredients flown in from Japan.  Appropriately, most of the non-sushi ingredients are grown locally.  Many recent visitors have even had the pleasure of glimpsing the Iron Chef as he expedites in the kitchen, poses for photos with fans, or even shows off his impressive knife skills behind the sushi bar.

Of course, as a Napa Valley restaurant, Morimoto Napa’s wine list can’t disappoint.  And it doesn’t–about 200 local wines are featured, with lots of the sauvignon blancs, chardonnays, rosés, rieslings and the like that are needed to pair perfectly with sushi.  It also has a wide variety of deep, rich reds that pair perfectly with the straight-from-Japan Waygu beef that Morimoto serves here.  For non-winos, there is a great sake list, and rumor has it that Morimoto will soon be brewing his own beer on-site.

But in our opinion, the best thing about Morimoto Napa is that it’s the new workplace of Max Walder, the son of the owner, Gene, here at Vintage Cellars.  Congratulations, Max!  We wish you the best in your new life of creating fabulous dishes in one of the world’s premiere wine regions.

If you’re in San Diego,  click here to see a list of wine events going on right now.  If you’re anywhere else, click the website link above and stop missing out!

The venue

Gene, Jake and Chris had a successful day connecting with new clients and socializing with a crowd that loves wine as much as they do.  Gene said, “This is a great event and the venue is incredible.  I’m pretty amazed that there are so many wine enthusiasts here.”  Indeed, the Vintage Cellars booth was full all day as interested wine lovers checked out some of Vintage Cellars’ past projects and imagined themselves seated on chairs made from vintage wine barrels, enjoying a perfectly aged bottle from their private cellars.

Gene talks to some interested wine enthusiasts

But the San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival wasn’t all work and no play for the Vintage Cellars crew.  Beyond getting a chance to interact with new clients, they had a great time tasting wine and sampling great food.  Jake especially loved the wines offered by Ahnfeldt Winery, a Napa Valley winery that grows five vineyards of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes.  As for me, choosing a favorite wine was too tough to call, but two food standouts were an herb gnocchi from Anthology and a surprisingly delicious tempura-battered cheesecake dessert taco from Blue Point.

If you didn’t make it to the San Diego Wine and Food Festival this year, mark it in your 2010 calendar today.  The Vintage Cellars gang had a great time drinking, eating, and showing off their work to the foodies and wine aficionados of San Diego.  One customer, admiring Vintage Cellars’ past projects portfolio, remarked, “You know, the cellars they build are not just a place to keep your wine.  They are a shrine for your wine.”  I couldn’t have said it better myself.

 During my time around the wine business, I’ve also spent my fair time at local wine stores.  Many middle to high end wine shops will have weekly tasting for customers or club members.  These tasting are generally less then $20 and give you a chance to taste different blends, wine regions or varietals.  This is a great opportunity to create a relationship with a wine merchant and increase your wine tasting range. 

 Don’t miss out on local wine events in your area. Google words like wine festival (city name), local wine events (city name) or wine tasting (city name).  Enjoy the events and the entertainment to follow…