Fridays at 15c!
•November 30, 2009 • Leave a CommentGiornata Release Party Menu
•November 29, 2009 • Leave a Comment$15 flight-Giornata Release Party Menu
Tonight! Saturday Nov 28th!
il Campo 08 | $19
paired with Burrata Toscana salami & heirloom tomatoes
Nebbiolo 07 | $40
Paired with local fungi, carmelized cipollini onion & tallegio
Sangiovese 06 | $29
Gemellia 07 | $30
Paired with roasted potato, Giornata olive oil, estate rosemary & pecorino
Aglianico 07 | $
Paired with charter oaks lamb sausage, kale & happy acres chevre
15c Featured in the Telegram Tribune!
•November 28, 2009 • Leave a CommentWine Notes: Cool at 15 degrees C
Bar offers more than 500 wines, as well as beers, cheeses and meats
Much has changed over the past two years since Ali Rush Carscaden opened her Templeton wine bar named 15 degrees C.
First of all, she no longer has a partner. Good friend Allison Dominguez, who began the business with her, decided to pursue her interest in environmental science and has since moved on (amicably) to another job in Edna Valley, leaving Carscaden the sole owner.
Her original inventory of 300 wines from around the world has expanded to more than 500, and her beer selection has grown to more than 30 international brands. She’s also added a panini maker to the shop, a professional meat slicer for her expanded charcuterie selection and a wide selection of artisanal cheeses. And just last month, Carscaden achieved her goal of becoming a certified sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers, the second revered wine organization to certify her status as a sommelier.
Wine bar 15 degrees C in Templeton offers more than 500 wines from around the world, as well as select beers, meats and cheeses.
Ali Rush Carscaden has owned wine bar 15 degrees C since she was 27. The Cal Poly grad says she can’t even add up the amount of hours she spends in the bar.
But some things haven’t changed, such as her love of wine and her desire to help others share in the experience. “We’re always willing to help people, no matter what their price point, no matter what they’re looking for,” Carscaden said.
In fact, the last two years have gone beyond even Carscaden’s original expectations. “The bar has actually been far more successful than I had ever imagined,” she said.
That success is the result of Carscaden’s creative marketing, relentless hard work and vast knowledge of the world of wine.
The Cal Poly grad started in the wine industry when she was still in school, first working in sales and marketing positions at Eberle and Castoro and then selling wine as a representative for the Henry Wine Group for four years.
She opened 15 degrees C (named for the ideal storage temperature for wine) with Dominguez when the friends were just 27 years old. Their goal was to feature wines not otherwise found on the Central Coast, including wines from France, Italy, Spain and Germany.
She also carries a small selection of local wines from selected small wineries such as Villa Creek, Booker, L’Aventure and Four Vines. Wines are offered by the taste and by the glass, in addition to full bottles and cases.
And a full menu of sandwiches, salads, cheeses and other nibbles is available to savor with the wine or to take out.
Local winemakers immediately found new sources of inspiration in the wine carried there and made 15 degrees C a favorite destination. “It’s definitely quite the industry hangout,” Carscaden said. In fact, she estimates that close to 80 percent of her sales go to clientele that are somehow associated with the local wine industry.
But it’s clients without vast wine knowledge that Carscaden is intent on bringing into the shop and educating. In January she is starting her fifth “Wine University” program, an intense six-week course on wines from around the world, based on a class she has taught at Cal Poly.
“We end up tasting thousands of dollars of wine in the class because I get really enthusiastic about something, and I have to go and open it,” she explained.
The 15 degrees C calendar also includes Thursday wine & food pairings, Friday champagne and oyster bar and Monday industry night. Every day represents a new opportunity to taste new wines and introduce them to her customers.
She also carries a wide assortment of olive oils, salts and wine-related merchandise for customers looking for gifts in addition to wine.
Her location next to Trader Joe’s has been ideal for attracting walk-in traffic, and she has partnered with her other neighbor, fish market Pier 46, in programs like her recent sushi night tasting, featuring fresh fish from just across the parking lot.
She describes the Vineyard Center, which also includes Joe Bella, a local organic coffee house, as an “old world marketplace” where everything for dinner is within a short walk.
Although she has hired a full-time assistant to help staff the store seven days a week, Carscaden is usually found behind the bar. Asked how many hours a week she works, she laughed and replied, “I have not kept track of that. It would be far too scary to actually try to add it up.”
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/living/food/wine/story/935762.html
Hope you haven’t forgotten!
•November 27, 2009 • Leave a CommentSecrets from the Boss……
•November 27, 2009 • Leave a CommentGiornata Release Party! Saturday Nov 28th
•November 24, 2009 • Leave a CommentCome taste new release wines from one of our favorite local couples!
Brian & Stephy Terrizzi who make Giornata wines and Broadside will be pouring 4 of their new wines this Saturday Nov 28th.
Wines will be paired with Italian cheese and meats from 15c.
$15 per person
6-8pm at 15 Degrees Wine Shop
~Bring your family and friends who are in town this weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday!~
1121 Rossi Rd. Suite A, Templeton, Ca (805) 434-1554
*Trader Joe’s Shopping Center
Special Holiday Hours for Thanksgiving Eve
•November 23, 2009 • Leave a CommentGirls Night Out Party
•November 23, 2009 • Leave a Comment15 Degrees c Celebrates Second Anniversary & Ali Carscaden Attains Certified Sommelier Status!
•November 21, 2009 • Leave a CommentPRESS RELEASE
October, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherine Jaeger, catherine@jaegerwinecomm.com
Jaeger Wine Communications
805.269.8205
15 degrees c Celebrates Second Anniversary
Owner Ali Carscaden Attains Certified Sommelier Status
Ali Rush Carscaden is a happy woman. Not only is she approaching the second anniversary of her wildly successful wine shop and bar, 15 degrees c, she has recently become a Certified Sommelier.
The Court of Master Sommeliers, the creators and administrators of the Sommelier Certification, was established in 1969. It is an international organization representing the highest distinction attainable in fine wine and beverage service. The grueling all-day Certified Sommelier exam includes a blind tasting, a written test and a service exam.
“When I began my career in the wine industry eight years ago, I set a personal goal to become a Certified Sommelier,” says Ali. “I am beyond thrilled that I passed the first time I took the exam, and have vowed to celebrate through the end of the year!”
Ali first worked for numerous local wineries including Castoro Cellars and Eberle Winery. She graduated with a MS degree in Agriculture from Cal Poly, then went to work for the Henry Wine Group as a fine wine specialist for the following four years. Always searching for the next new challenge, Ali looked to the retail market and found a unique niche in northern San Luis Obispo County.
15 degrees c opened on December 1, 2007, offering hard-to-find local wines as well as a wide range of imports. With Ali’s expertise at hand, visitors experience tastes, glasses and/or bottles of all sorts of wine varietals – as well as beers from all over the globe. The carefully conceived food menu includes salt plates, cheese and charcuterie selections, and hand-made panini.
Classes and events are a large part of what 15 degrees c is all about. “After teaching courses at Cal Poly, I realized how much I love the wine education process,” says Ali. “My classes at the shop have become one of my favorite parts of the business.” The 15 degrees c calendar includes Thursday night Wine Food Pairing, Champagne and Oyster Bar Fridays, and Ali’s signature 15C Wine University; a six-week intensive course covering every major wine producing region in the world.
In addition to becoming recognized as a Certified Sommelier, Ali completed the Advanced Certification with Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) in 2008.
15 degrees c is located in the Vineyard Center at 1121 Rossi Road in Templeton, next to Trader Joe’s. More information can be found at www.15degreescwines.com.
Anti-Thanksgiving Dinner menu
•October 29, 2009 • 1 CommentAnti-Thanksgiving Dinner
_____
A Triptych of Crustini
BEET CURED WILD PACIFIC SALMON
FENNEL MARMELADE and SHEEPS MILK RICOTTA
ROSEMARY-CHICKEN PATE
15C OLIVE OIL and GARDEN SAGE
CHARTER OAKS LAMB TARTARE
MASALA SPICE and MINTED AIOLI
Paired with
Henriot Brut Champagne NV
_____
Served Family Style
MADERIA GLAZED and THYME ROASTED QUAIL
APRICOT –BRIOCHE and FOIE GRAS STUFFING
BUTTERNUT SQUASH, BOSC PEAR and CANDIED BACON
Paired with Marcel Lapierre Morgon 07 | Beaujolais, FR
_____________
BRAISED PHEASANT “CHASSEUR”
WILD OREGON MUSHROOMS and CIPPOLINI ONIONS
BROWN BUTTER POMMES PUREE and TRUFFLE SCENTED CREAMY LEEKS
Paired with Penner Ash Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir 07 | Willamete OR
______________
CHEESES from the ITALIAN ALPES
MOUNTAIN GORGONZOLA SOUFFLE
-and-
FONTINA VAL d’ AOSTA “MAC and CHEESE” GRATIN
Paired with Seghesio Home Ranch Zinfandel 07 | Dry Creek CA
_____________
Intermezzo
Dios Baco Amontillado Sherry | Jerez SP
_____________
“HOMESTYLE DESSERT”
BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES PECAN PIE
SPICED CURRY CRUST and BURNT CARAMEL CHANTIILY CREAM
with TEQUILLA CINAMMON HOT CHOCOLATE
_____________








