Cystic Fibrosis OC Wine Opener Event

Sunday Wes and I attended the Cystic Fibrosis, Inaugural Wine Opener event at the OC Wine & Food Center sponsored by the OC Restaurant Association, OC Life Magazine and A-Med Health Care benefiting the CFF’s research and care programs. What is a Wine Opener Event? I know you might wonder because I did too. The event was basically a “taste of” with many local restaurants and wineries showcasing their specialties along with local jewelers, clothing and accessories offering special priced items and a silent auction with great holiday items. The VIP event featured a special celebrity chef guest appearance and cooking demonstration with award-winning executive chef, Bravo Top Chef Finalist, and host of a television cooking segment, Brian Malarkey. Brian recently won San Diego Magazine’s “Chef of the Year”, and will be appearing in Bravo’s, Top Chef Masters.

The Wine Opener included some specialty vendors as well, such as Karma Tequila (this was a fun table), Saint James Spirits and Maya Trade Corporation (Olive Oil & Spice Imports).

We really enjoyed the event and thought the atmosphere and vendors blended well together. It was a small and quaint affair which was perfect for mixing and mingling with other guests. We arrived early which allowed us to “hit up” the tables and maneuver through the crowds with ease. Each vendor provided a small portion of their cuisine, wine or other. Of course we had our favorites which we shamelessly found ourselves visiting over and over. Our first stop was to a Costa Mesa classic, Antonello’s whose penne pasta was delicious and filling. We shifted from Italian to Asian to the Geisha House for the lobster/mango roll everyone was lined up to try. We moved quickly to Citrus City Grille to feast on the delicious ahi poke and beef wellington. Healthy and organic 118 Degrees sparked our interest with their refreshing and flavorful zucchini salad. Their products are available at Whole Foods Market and are gluten free, lactose free and 100% vegan. I don’t know about you but I have a few lactose/gluten free vegans in my life and now I know what to serve and where to find it.

We couldn’t wait to sample the wines since there were several Wes hadn’t tried yet and he was excited about. We were able to visit the tables of Semler & Saddlerock Wines, Oreana Winery, Briar Rose Winery and our favorites of the night, Jumping Vines (a hidden secret in Orange County) and b Cellars. Jumping Vines Wines are produced at Hamilton Oaks Vineyard nestled close to us in Trabuco Canyon. This was the first time we’d heard about the winery so we were shocked to hear that it’s conveniently located in the hills of Orange County. We enjoyed their wines and were able to meet the winemaker Ron Tamez who was in attendance. We are looking forward to our first trip to Hamilton Oaks in the near future to learn more about the wines and winery so more to come.

Our favorite specialty table of the night (besides the tequila table) was Maya Trade Corporation manned by Yasemin and Volca Altuner. Yasemin and Volca offer a variety of high-quality, premium olive oil imported from Lalei estate in Edremit Bay, a region of Turkey. Edremit Bay is well known as producing one of the best olives in the world. We were able to sample several of their products which were as fresh as they expressed. They offer unique aromatic flavored oils including Rosemary (my personal favorite), Thyme, Bay leaf, Red Bell Pepper, Garlic, Basil and more. Their oils are different from their competitors because the aromatic flavoring ingredient is crushed with the olive at the time of processing. This allows the natural oils of the aromatic to be mixed with the olive oil. The bottles and packaging are beautiful and make great gifts. I was able to snag Rosemary oil which my parents will love this Christmas. Yasemin offers home parties, demonstrations and cooking classes so we are definitely recommending their products and services to our Decant readers.

At the end of the night we were full and felt as if we just played a full-court press defense against the LA Lakers (we’re LA natives btw). As the night grew, so did the crowds which made it harder and harder to meet, greet and mingle. We were extremely excited to be able to attend and participate in this inaugural event and we look forward to next year’s festivities. It was a great night for a great cause. Congratulations to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
By Jen Guran


http://www.cff.org/Chapters/sca/index.cfm?ID=12542&blnShowBack=True&idContentType=1249&Event=12542