Those of you in Southern California know what I’m talking
about, when I quote this old song from 1958. This last weekend it was a 26 mile
trek across the channel to Two Harbors on Catalina Island for the 12th
Annual Summer Wine Festival.
A friend of mine owns a 42 foot Irwin Sailboat (the
Blonde Voyage), and invited us to join
her for a 3-day trip to Catalina Island, and a little wine tasting. Well….wine
tasting, beer tasting, food, sea, and sun to be more accurate. We left Long
Beach’s Alamitos Bay on Friday morning. Before even hitting the breakwater, we
each opened a bottle of beer, made a toast to Neptune (and Poseidon) for a safe
voyage across the channel. Each person took a drink, and then we poured the
remaining portion in to the ocean. The seas were calm, and we motored for the
first three hours. We caught some wind, and sailed the last 1 ½ hours into
Cherry Cove on Catalina Island. Upon reaching our mooring, we once again toasted Neptune with cranberry martinis.
We headed to shore to pick up our friends dingy, and had to
stop at the bar to try two local specialty drinks. The first was called a “Gatorade
shot”. While I see no similarity to the thirst quencher, we did learn that
before you down the shot, you must say “waka waka”. This was soon followed by
the island special, known as a
“Buffalo Milk”. It was more of a dessert drink,
with whipped cream and grated nutmeg on top, along with a splash of liqueur de
Cacao. Dinner was on the boat the first night, and grilled filet mignon paired
nicely with the
Buscador Pinot Noir and the Ancient Peaks Oyster Ridge. As the
sun set, we looked forward to Saturday’s wine tasting event.
The Two Harbors Wine Festival is sponsored by the
AvalonRotary Club and the
Santa Catalina Island Company, as a fundraising event for
local community programs. Tickets went on sale in May, and by the time the line
had formed to get into the event, there was a long waiting list for tickets. All
500 tickets had been sold, prior to the event day.
As we entered the fenced area on the beach, we were handed
our wine glass, and a program which listed more than 30 wineries/distributors.
The listed included wines from Avenui Brands, Bonterra Vineyards, Brander,
Coastal Wine Brands, Delicato Family Vineyards, Don Miguel Gascon, Don
Sebastiani & Sons, Fetzer Vineyards, Iron Horse, Jekel Vineyards, J. Lohr,
Lincourt, Michael David Wines, Old Bridge Cellars, Parker Station, Rusack Vineyards,
Starborough, Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Thomas Scott Wine Cellars, Treasury
Wine Estates, and one brewery: Belmont Brewery.
Included in the $40 admission were live music, and all you
could eat appetizers of cheese, cracker, meatballs, shrimp, ceviche and fruit,
provided by the Harbor Reef Restaurant. In addition,
Mad Mikes Gourmet Sausages
were there from Temecula. They took groups of six people, and tasted samples of
their sausages. I must admit that their bratwurst is one of the best I’ve had….just
melted in your mouth. I just wish I had some Riesling to go along with it! A
silent auction with Catalina items appealed to a lot of the crowd, who kept
returning to their favorite item, to make sure they weren’t out bid.
Of course, for us, we were there to taste wine. The event is
aimed at appealing to every type of palate. There were fizzy Muscats, to deep
dark Petit Sirahs. Most of the booths were represented by distributors or
friends of the winery. Only in a few cases did I talk with anyone who knew a
lot about the wines being served.
I was
only able to get to about 20 tastes in the three hours of the event. Out of
those wines tasted, I came across one bottle that was tainted (volatile
acidity). Some of my favorites for the tasting were the Greywacke Sauvignon
Blanc from New Zealand, and very yeasty Iron Horse Ocean Reserve Sparkling
wine, and my favorite of the day was the Don Sebastiani B-side Cabernet
Sauvignon. For about $25, you can’t beat this Napa Cab, with its’ dusty tannins,
black fruit and chocolate.
After the event, we hit the bar to “cleanse our palates”
with a margarita, then off to dinner at the only restaurant on the isthmus,
TheHarbor Reef Restaurant. Calamari steaks paired with a Santa Ynez Sauvignon
Blanc ended our time on the island, and it was back to the boat for a final
glass of Dragonette Cellars Rose, and a toast to the sunset, good friends and a
great trip.
Sunday morning came too fast, and we needed to pack up everything
for the boat trip back to the mainland. The winds remained calm, and we made
our voyage toast to Neptune with some homemade
Bloody Mary’s. About three hours
out, we came upon a pod of dolphins, and followed them for a while, before
returning to Long Beach, and a return to reality.
Next year, plan on scheduling your trip to Two Harbors for the
annual Wine Festival. The event is aimed at appealing to every connoisseur’s
palate, the festival has become one of the “must do events” while visiting
Catalina.
No comments:
Post a Comment