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Paso Pinot and Paella Festival!

The 9th annual Paso Pinot and Paella Festival is right around the corner and let me tell you now, this event will be amazing! Not only is the name fun to say but also every aspect of the name is something most of us enjoy . . . a lot. Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine and amazing with food, Paella, for those who have not had it, is one of the most flavorful dishes around and finally we all love a good festival (especially a festival featuring wine and food from Paso Robles). All of the Pinots being poured at the event will be from wineries in the Paso Robles appellation and I can’t think of a better way to taste them all than this great event.

Before I dive into everything that is wonderful about paella, I’d like to let it be known that I love food. I’m sure most people would say the same but I really love food, especially food that is packed with flavor, spice and creativity. Paella is all of the above and for this reason is one of my favorite foods. Paella, often described as the national dish of Spain, is both colorful and flavorful with saffron being a key ingredient. Although it is often served with shellfish, you can expect to see a wide variety of ingredients ranging from prawns and mussels to chicken and duck.

Representing Castoro Cellars this year will be assistant winemaker Sherrie Holzer and Sherry Sweeney from our tasting room. Together they will be pouring our 2010 Blind Faith Estate Pinot Noir and barrel samples of our 2010 Whale Rock Estate Pinot Noir. This is really exciting stuff considering our 2009 Blind Faith Pinot Noir won two Gold medals last year at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the Riverside International Wine Competition, resulting in the wine selling out shortly thereafter. The Blind Faith vineyard has been a staple for us over the years, producing great Pinot after great Pinot with the 2010 vintage falling perfectly into line. The barrel sampling of the Whale Rock Pinot Noir is also exciting because this is a first vintage for us from our 100% organically grown vineyard located near our tasting room in Templeton. All of the wines from the Whale Rock vineyard are coming along very nicely and this is a wonderful opportunity to sample the beginnings of a great vineyard.

The event will also feature live music by the group Incendio who are one of the most fun instrumental groups you will ever see. They have a great following on the central coast and play a wonderful mix of latin-inspired flamenco jazz. They are wonderful musicians with a lot of energy and talent.

Tickets for the event are on sale now for $65.00 with all of the proceeds going to Local Youth Performing Arts. Great wine, great food, great music and all for a great cause! For more information on the event and to purchase tickets please visit: http://www.pinotandpaella.com/

The event will take place on Sunday June 3rd from 2-5pm in the Templeton Community Park (where I learned how to swim as a kid).

Til’ Next Time
Cheers,

Luke

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