Anti-Thanksgiving Dinner

_____

WE ♥ BROC CELLARS & BROADSIDE

"True asphalt winemaking, in an urban winery." 

Berkeley is usually home to a set of polarized, yet eclectic, class of people: the affluent & non-so-affluent, the retirees & their college students, a smattering of liberals, perhaps some homeless, a large collection of artists, ‘the trustafarians‘, scholars, bikers, elitists, musicians & families.  Despite its known diversity, ‘winemaker’ would not be one I’d have readily added to that list — until I discovered Broc Cellars.

Let me preface this introduction with one note: although timid, I’m confident in my ability to sustain a discourse about wine yet, start to talk of the dichotomy between terroir & its resulting effects on the fruit or palate &…well, theeeen that’s when one might notice I’ve become VERY interested in polishing the bar glasses (read: I’m no Ali Carscaden.)

Thus,  upon invitation to visit one of the Bay Area’s most notable & ‘up-n-coming’ wineries, I was just a teeny bit nervous. Broc Cellars may be more familiar to some, because of their partner company, Broadside ( whom, in turn, owns Giornata Wines.)

Luck would have it that Harvest was underway the winery held a feeling of chaotic immediacy that left me breathless; giving me just a taste of the excitement that goes along with the artistry of winemaking. Especially one like Chris Brockway– Brockway is what some refer to as, uh, well… O.G. The mantra of Broc Cellars is about bringing it back.  And when I say back, I mean waaaaaaaaaay back. I’m talking Dionysus back. Like, let’s-get-barefoot-and-stomp-some-grapes back.

The dharma behind this enterprise is about re-establishing the traditional and romantic idioms of wine making vÍs a vÍs the enigmatic natural processes of wine, or as so aptly put on the website, in “the alchemy of wine.”

Or something like that. Who knows. What I can tell you is the wine tastes…real, natural, palatable.  The fruit used by Broc Cellars is either from vineyards that specialize in biodynamic, organic, or sustainable growing processes– letting the grape naturally develop without the weighing it down additives, etc.

The goal here is to “produce naturally-made wine with character” –wine that has endured the harsh struggle of raw nature and THRIVED – giving the wine a unique, sumptuous, and for lack of a better word, organic character.

| Food & Wine |

| “food is sex”… Anthony Bourdain |

Anthony Bourdain

Food & Wine pairing is very popular here on the central coast where the wineries are abundant and the Chefs are eager. The irony of these food and wine pairings is that the classics, the basic rules, and the jaw-dropping perfect pairings are far and few between. Sure, you can try to match food to wine. It’s hard when all the wines are similar and from the same producer, but what about matching wine to food? Does anyone do that anymore? Why do fois gras and sauternes create a culinary epiphany or goat cheese and Sancerre the perfect balance? The secret is having all the options you could ask for and experiment with. Food is culture and so is wine, which is why Anthony Bourdain’s quote at the top is so apropos.

There are so many opportunities to experience great food and wine pairings at 15c! Every Thursday night Chef Jeff Scott prepares authentic cuisine specifically matched to the wines that are the theme of the evening.

15c Wine University

The 15c University is a six weeklong, intensive course based on wine regions from around the world. The course covers every major country and wine-producing region while focusing on sensory evaluation and systematic wine tasting.

The course will help students expand their palate & vocabulary as well as decipher unique qualities of varietals and regions. Students will come away from the course with knowledge of how to evaluate wine as well as an understanding and respect for the diverse wine producing regions from around the world.

The class is every Tuesday night for 6 weeks starting October from 6 to 8pm. $350 per person

15 C Wine University

Photos taken by Todd Perkins

read: “i love tempranillo but where the (heck) does it come from?!

Thanks to the folks that run Paso Robles’ Wine Events,

you can go to their website and check out their wicked cool interactive varietal map. its ok. get your dweeb on. don’t fight it.

Haute  Pink

August 8th 2009
_________________

STATION 1 | WELCOME …chilled

fruits de mer

HAMICHI TARTARE
AVOCADO, YUZU CITRUS and TOBIKO CAVIAR

CHILLED MUSSELS RIVAGOTE
BELUGA LENTLS and CITRUS AIOLI

Paired with
Laetita Sparkling Rose & Jansz Tasmania Sparkling Rose
______________
________

STATION 2 | local

HEIRLOOM BEET LOLLYPOPS
LOCAL GOAT CHEESE and HAZELNUT BRITTLE

House Cured Salmon Gravlax
Red torpedo onion confit, fresh ricotta & fennel marmalade

Paired with
Tablas Creek Rose 08 & Botasea Rose 08
_______________
________

STATION 3 | earth & fruit

Chorizo EMPANADAS
Dipping sauces | cilantro, mango & sheeps milk

Morrocan SPICED CHICKEN BROCHETTES
PORCINI MUSHROOM COUS COUS and  CARROT-CUMIN GLACE

Paired with
Pisoni Lucy Rose 08 & Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose 08
______________
_________

STATION 4 | reflection of terrior

ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES in BASIL SYRUP

Cheese Bar
Spanish & provencal artisan cheeses

Paired with
Montezarges Tavel Rose 07 & Vega Sindoa Garnacha Rose 08
______________
_________

Chef de Cuisine
Jeffrey C. Scott

tickets are only 30 tickets. $55 each.

check us out! our Fair schedule is detailed in this link:

CLICK ME!!!

Haute Pink
August 8th 2009
_________________

STATION 1 | WELCOME …chilled fruits de mer

HAMICHI TARTARE
AVOCADO, YUZU CITRUS and TOBIKO CAVIAR

CHILLED MUSSELS RIVAGOTE
BELUGA LENTLS and CITRUS AIOLI

Paired with
Laetita Sparkling Rose & Jansz Tasmania Sparkling Rose
______________
________

STATION 2 | local

HEIRLOOM BEET LOLLYPOPS
LOCAL GOAT CHEESE and HAZELNUT BRITTLE

House Cured Salmon Gravlax
Red torpedo onion confit, fresh ricotta & fennel marmalade

Paired with
Tablas Creek Rose 08 & Botasea Rose 08
_______________
________

STATION 3 | earth & fruit

Chorizo EMPANADAS
Dipping sauces | cilantro, mango & sheeps milk

Morrocan SPICED CHICKEN BROCHETTES
PORCINI MUSHROOM COUS COUS and CARROT-CUMIN GLACE

Paired with
Pisoni Lucy Rose 08 & Domaine Tempier Bandol Rose 08
______________
_________

STATION 4 | reflection of terrior

ORGANIC STRAWBERRIES in BASIL SYRUP

Cheese Bar
Spanish & provencal artisan cheeses

Paired with
Montezarges Tavel Rose 07 & Vega Sindoa Garnacha Rose 08
______________
_________

Chef de Cuisine
Jeffrey C. Scott

Not only do we have fresh oysters and champagne on Friday we are also offerring…
a flight of 5 Henriot wines to kick off the weekend

5 flight for $15.