And on Sunday...Monterey Bay Aquarium

The festival is just a day away! If you haven't got your tickets get them now on californiawinefestival.com or purchase them at the event. It is going to be two great days filled with wine, food, music, and fun!

And on Sunday, nurse your wine headache with a visit the world famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. Located on the site of a former sardine cannery in Cannery Row, this aquatic adventure is a MUST SEE in Monterey.

Their exhibits range from a larger than life Kelp Forest, to the brilliant Jellies Experience, and the famed Open Sea where the overhead aquarium makes one feel literally submerged under the deep blue.

Monterey is going to be overflowing with fun this weekend. Enjoy the 2012 California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula, and be sure to tell us about your experience!

Eat, Drink, and Experience Steinbeck

photo by: Samantha Decker | flickr.com/photos/sammers05/

Great wine and food aren't the only treats you are in for when you visit Monterey next weekend for the 2012 California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula! You will also be a living, breathing, walking John Steinbeck novel. The iconic literary figure based nearly all of his writings on people and places of Monterey County, calling the Salinas Valley, the "valley of the world."

As you visit Monterey County you will not only be able to experience many monuments in Steinbeck's honor--his child home turned restaurant and the National Steinbeck Center to name a few--but you will also be able to explore many of the places Steinbeck so eloquently spoke about in his stories. One of the most famous may be Cannery Row, which one of his novels was named after. On Cannery Row you can explore one of a kind shops, restaurants, and even wine tasting rooms, all while soaking in the rich literary history of one of Americas most revered authors.

For a detailed "Steinbeck" itinerary visit: 
www.seemonterey.com/things-to-do/itineraries/steinbeck/

For more info and tickets to the California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula visit:
www.californiawinefestival.com

15 Local Wineries Pouring at Monterey Event!

With so many great wineries spread across Monterey County (about 85 to date) it would be impossible to visit even a fraction of them in one weekend. . .until now. Fifteen local Monterey County wineries will be pouring at the 2012 California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula event on October 5 and 6. 

Enjoy the delicious wines from the following wineries, which from Monterey County's cooling influence of the Pacific Ocean, and the very deep marine canyon:

Bargetto Winery

Bernardus Winery

Blair Estate

Dawn's Dream

Galante Vineyards

Hahn Family Wines

J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines

Marin's Vineyard

Mercy Vineyards

Michaud Vineyard

Paraiso Vineyards

Pessagno Winery

Scheid Vineyards

Talbott Vineyards

Ventana / LeMistral

Stay tuned as we feature special highlights of some of these wineries and give you a sneak peak at what they are going to be pouring. Be sure to take notes at the event and let us know your favorites! 

Tickets and more info about the events available at californiawinefestival.com

We Heart Artichokes

In addition to great wines, beautiful coastlines, and champion golf courses, Monterey County is also known for artichokes. In fact Castroville, located inland of Monterey city, claims to be the "Artichoke Center of the World". The edible green flower is a favorite ingredient or stand alone dish for Monterey County locals and visitors alike. Below is one of our favorite artichoke recipes from Food Network's Anne Burrell. You can enjoy other local fare along with deliciously paired wines at the 2012 Harvest Wine and Food Festival on the Monterey Peninsula. For tickets visit californiawinefestival.com

Stuffed Artichokes

Ingredients:

2 lemons

4 medium artichokes

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1/2 bunch mint, picked and cut into a chiffonade

1/2 bunch Italian parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted, optional

3 anchovy fillets, minced, optional

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

2 cups white wine

Cook's Note: 

Before starting this recipe be aware that there is a lot of waste involved in artichokes. It's ok. Just accept it and move on.

Directions:

Squeeze 1 lemon into a large bowl filled with water and place the lemon halves in the water.

Cut off the pointy tops of the artichokes. Remove and reserve the stem of the artichoke. Peel off the tough green outer leaves and discard.

Gently spread the leaves of the artichoke. Using a melon baller, scoop out the hairy "choke" in the center of the artichokes. When clean reserve them in the lemon water. Remove the tough outer skin on the stems and reserve them in the lemon water as well.

In a small bowl combine the garlic, herbs, Parmesan, bread crumbs, crushed red pepper, pine nuts and anchovies, if using. Finely chop the reserved artichoke stems and add them to the bowl. Zest and juice the remaining lemon and add that to the bowl. Slowly drizzle in olive oil until the mixture forms a paste. Season with salt.

Stuff the artichokes with the paste.

Place the artichokes standing up in a saucepan large enough to accommodate them. Add the wine to the saucepan and enough lemon water to come 3/4 up the sides of the artichokes. Add the lemon halves to the pan also. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with salt.

Cover the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until the base of the artichokes are tender when poked with a fork.

Serve hot or room temperature drizzled with generous amount of olive oil.

Recipe from Anne Burrell on foodnetwork.com

NEW! "Great Guacamole Throw Down" at CWF - Monterey

At the brand new California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula, the 2011 Emmy-award winning TV personality, comedian, and food and travel expert, Mark DeCarlo, will host an entertaining half-hour cooking challenge. The culinary competition will take place on Friday, October 5th at the the Sunset Rare & Reserve Wine Tasting to be held at the Grand Ballroom of the Monterey Hyatt, as a part of the new two-day Harvest Wine & Food Festival.

During the 30-minute cooking challenge, DeCarlo will take the stage to oversee the contest, banter with the crowd, and tell stories from his food and travel adventures from his popular Travel Channel series "Taste of America."

The winner of the "Great Guacamole Throw Down" will receive a $10,000 all-inclusive vacation to a luxury resort on the Mexican Riviera!

"We are very excited to have Mark DeCarlo to appear at our first Harvest Wine & Food Festival in the Monterey Peninsula," says California Wine Festival owner and founder Don Fritzen. "Mark is an extremely funny, multi-talented personality, actor, comedian, and TV and radio host. His cooking challenge show is really entertaining and lots of fun."

This is just one of the many, many fun things to see and experience at the California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula. You don't want to miss out on what is sure to be a delicious weekend!

For more information on this and other events at the California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula visit californiawinefestival.com.

We're Coming to the Monterey Peninsula!

With the great following that the California Wine Festival has gained down south, we've decided to spread the love up north. This October we are coming to the beautiful Monterey Peninsula! This will be the fourth in a great line of wine festivals we put out each year (the California Wine Festival - Santa Barbara, the California Wine Festival - Orange County, and the California Wine Festival - Winter Wine Classic).

The California Wine Festival - Montery Peninsula will be a two-day wine and food extravaganza celebrating historic Monterey and the wine harvest season. Wineries from regions all over the state, as well as out-of-state wineries, will be encouraged to bring their new releases along with other vintages of wine in the spirit of harvest. Local restaurants and other food purveyors will serve seasonal foods that harmonize with the harvest theme.

The Friday Rare & Reserve wine tasting will take place on October 5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel & Spa. This newly renovated hotel complex is located near many of Monterey's most popular attractions and is literally on the prestigious Del Monte Golf Course, a Pebble Beach Company course. Special weekend rates at the Hyatt will be offered for festival attendees.

Many of California's most famous winemakers will attend and pour their finest award-winning wines at the Rare & Reserve event. Due to the limited availability of rare wines, the event is limited to 500 guests.

The Saturday event is another story! Over 2,000 quests are expected to attend and enjoy sipping over 250 different California wines, while sampling dozens of local gourmet foods, all accompanied by live music. The 2012 Harvest Wine and Food Festival will take place on Saturday, October 6, 2012 in the heart of old Monterey, at the historic Custom House Plaza overlooking beautiful Monterey Bay. In 1846, the U.S. flag was first raised in this historic square, claiming California for the United States.

The California Wine Festival - Monterey Peninsula will continue our tradition of great festivals with what can only be called a cornucopia of wine, food, and fun, making for a perfect weekend of celebrating the bounty of harvest! 

For more information on and to buy tickets for this and other California Wine Festival events please visit californiawinefestival.com!

California Wine Festival Santa Barbara Does it Again!

 

The 2012 California Wine Festival Santa Barbara broke attendance records as the sun, once again, shined bright for festival day. Estimates top 3,000 happy wine lovers for the Saturday beachside event. Our other events also recorded large crowds and great weather,  always a winning combination. 

Mark DeCarlo's $10,000 Cooking Challenge also drew enthusiastic foodies who watched the "Great Guacamole Throwdown" with the winning "chef" winning an all expense vacation to a Mexican resort.

Plans are already under way for the next California Wine Festival in Monterey, California: The Harvest Wine & Food Festival on October 5-6, 2012. Tickets and more information are available at californiawinefestival.com