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Wine Vault & Bistro: 11th Annual Cass Winemaker Dinner #1 With Ted Plemons

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    Sun, July 22, 2018 (5:00 PM - 8:00 PM)

Wine Vault & Bistro
3731-A India Street
San Diego, CA 92103
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Cost: $69.50 + tax and gratuity

For the eleventh year in a row, Wine Vault & Bistro is pleased to announce a 5-course wine dinner featuring Cass Winery from Paso Robles. Cass makes premium quality, limited production wines, focusing primarily on Rhone varietals. Winery co-owner Ted Plemons will be down from Paso Robles to personally host this dinner.

As we did last year for this dinner, we’re featuring an Asian-inspired menu. Did you know that Asian foods typically pair exceptionally well with Rhone varietals? While Asian flavors can sometimes overpower delicate or high acid wines, and while tannic wines can sometimes clash with the robust flavors of Asian food, Rhone-style wines (both whites and reds) typically pair well because their fruitiness and lack of dominate oak influence make the perfect foil for Asian foods. So we designed this 100% Asian inspired menu to pair with these wines which we are confident you're going to absolutely love. We even went "old school" for dessert and are serving Trader Vic's Scorpion Cocktail (still found in nearly every San Francisco Chinese restaurant) for the finale with some mango pots de crème and coconut macaroons. Yum!

We hope you'll be able to join us for what will surely be a fun evening of tasting great wines paired with great food. Wine notes and bottle prices are at the end of this announcement if you're interested. Here's the line-up:

NOTE: Due to the complexity of this menu we regret that we will be unable to accommodate vegetarian requests.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fresh Thai Seafood Spring Rolls | Sweet Ginger + Sriracha Dipping Sauce | Toasted Garlic
2017 Cass Viognier (5 oz. pour)

Asian Five Spice Chicken Skewers | Scalded Scallion + Ginger Sesame Oil | Emerald Rice
2015 Cass Grenache (5 oz. pour)

Char Siu Pork Tenderloin | Stir-Fry Asian Vegetables | Roasted Garlic Manchurian Gravy
2014 Cass "Rockin' One" Red Rhône Blend (3 oz. pour)

Char-Grilled Skirt Steak | Lo-Mein Noodles | Shoyu Glazed Shiitake | Charred Young Bok Choy
2015 Cass "Vintage Ted" Red Blend (3 oz. pour)

Mango Pots de Crème | Coconut Macaroons
Scorpion Cocktail (3 oz. pour)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
RSVP ~ (619) 295-3939
Please make your reservations directly with Wine Vault & Bistro at 619-295-3939. We're very good about returning calls promptly, so please leave a message with the best time to return your call if you get the dreaded voice mail.

COST
Cost for the complete dinner including all five courses and all four wines and the cocktail is $69.50 per person. Sales tax and an 18% gratuity will be added to the cost of all dinners. Due to limited seating, CREDIT CARD RESERVATIONS ARE AN ABSOLUTE MUST. We accept Visa and MasterCard only.

SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS
Due to the complexity of this menu we regret that we will be unable to accommodate vegetarian requests. If you have any other special dietary needs, please let us know when you RSVP, not when you arrive. We will do our best to accommodate special dietary needs if we can and if given advance notice. Please be aware that last minute menu aberration requests without advance notice will be impossible for us to accommodate.

CANCELLATION POLICY
You may cancel your reservation up to 72 hours in advance without penalty. NO REFUNDS WILL BE ISSUED WITH LESS THAN 72-HOUR NOTICE unless we are able to replace your cancellation at the last minute. (See below for groups over 4 people.)

LARGE GROUPS (OVER 4)
If you want to come with a group of friends, please make one reservation for your entire party so we can reserve a block of seats for you ... however, in the interest of fairness to others, we reserve the right to limit the number of people on a single reservation at our discretion. The cancellation period for canceling the ENTIRE reservation without penalty is doubled from the standard 72 hours (see above) to 144 hours (6 days). If you need to cancel only 1 or 2 people, the standard 72-hour notice still applies.

WHEN
The bar will open at 4:15 for a pre-dinner reception with Ted until 5:00. Dinner will then begin promptly at 5:00, but we HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend that you arrive well before then to better your chances of getting a closer parking space and to beat the last minute rush.

WHERE
Wine Vault & Bistro is located in the heart of San Diego between Little Italy and Old Town at 3731-A India Street on the upper terrace. Follow the black handrail from the sidewalk up the stairs to our front door.

PARKING
Valet parking is available for $8.00. The drop-off point is two doors south of our entrance in front of Shakespeare Pub at the corner of India and Winder. On-street parking is also usually available within a 3-block radius. Remember that it’s OK to park in yellow commercial zones on Sunday and that meters are also not enforced. You can also park in the lot behind Shakespeare Pub two doors down, but do not park in El Indio's lot unless you want your car towed! If you can’t find parking next to the restaurant, there’s always LOTS OF PARKING on San Diego Avenue and the adjacent side streets just past the Chevron station across Washington Street. So please don't drive yourself crazy endlessly going around in circles waiting to pounce on that perfect spot when there's TONS OF PARKING less than three blocks away!

WINE QUANTITIES
We'll be pouring 3-5 ounce tasting portions of wine (see the line-up above) plus a three ounce cocktail totaling 19 ounces, or the equivalent of well over three-quarters of a bottle of wine per person. Pour buckets are provided for designated drivers.

WINE SALES
Although some wines may be in limited quantities, all wines poured at this dinner will be available for purchase at the restaurant until sold out. We reserve the right to limit sales of any rare or allocated wines at our discretion.

WINE NOTES & BOTTLE PRICES
2017 Cass Viognier ~ $18
(Paso Robles) winemaker's Notes: Aromatic, fruit forward and fresh acidity. A nose of plump apricot, golden apple, spiced pineapple and honeysuckle. The palate brings forth ripe nectarine, pressed peach, coconut custard and gingerbread. Great as an apertif, or pair with summer salads, grilled fish, or spicy Asian cuisine.

2015 Cass Grenache ~ $20
(Paso Robles) Winemaker's Notes: Aromatic and fruit driven, the nose showcases elements of stewed strawberry, beet juice, tomato stem and gentle undertones of pink peppercorn. The palate is polished with refined acidity and soft tannin. Savory accents weave amongst flavors of ripe raspberry and black cherry leading to a layered finish framed with nuances of bramble berry, cotton candy and dried rose.

2014 Cass "Rockin' One" Red Rhône Blend ~ $28
(Paso Robles) Winemaker's Notes: A harmonious blend of 42% Grenache, 37% Mourvèdre,16% Syrah and 5% Petite Sirah displays nuances of stewed boysenberries, dried raspberry, pipe tobacco, clove and orange zest. A balanced core provides the foundation for plum preserves, fresh olallieberry, tart cranberry and vanilla candy to dance across the palate. Complex, layered flavors glide atop soft, integrated tannins and bright acidity highlighting notes of dusted cranberry, black licorice, freshly cut spearmint and a ghost of jasmine incense.

2015 Cass "Vintage Ted" Red Blend ~ $42
(Paso Robles) Winemaker's Notes: An original, hand crafted blend featuring select barrels of Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Mourvèdre (25%) and Petit Verdot (5%). Vintage Ted welcomes you with intoxicating aromas of mulberry, black cherry, cigar box, and cassis liquor. Elements of pipe tobacco, wild raspberry and dusted violet play well with essence of plum compote and smoked vanilla. Savory cocoa and fresh milled coffee give way to a lasting, memorable finish. 400 cases produced.

Scorpion Cocktail
According to cocktail legend, the Scorpion had its beginnings in the '30s in a little bar in Honolulu called The Hut, where some unnamed barkeep poured rum, citrus, orgeat syrup, and brandy over ice, garnished it with an orange, and dubbed it the “Scorpion.” Vic Bergeron (of Trader Vic's fame) picked up the recipe a decade or so later at his bar in Oakland, tweaked it a bunch, multiplied it by about four, and created the Scorpion Bowl, a large-format cocktail still served in Tiki bars and Chinese restaurants around the world. One of the beautiful things about a Scorpion is that no one can agree exactly on how to make it. Vic himself changed his recipe constantly, eventually publishing at least three versions of the drink. We experimented with many versions and finally, after much research came up with our own version. Ours contains light and dark rum, cognac, freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice and orgeat (almond) syrup.

THE FINE PRINT
Due to fluctuations of supply, we reserve the right to make substitutions of equal or greater value in case any of the wines or foods become unavailable. Please, ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY NO ONE UNDER THE AGE OF 21 ... even if your babysitter flakes out on you at the last minute!

Hope to see you here. Buon appetito and cheers!

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  • Event
  • wine
  • Wine Vault & Bistro
  • San Diego
  • Things to do in San Diego, CA
  • Western Wine & Food Events
  • San Diego Wine & Food Events

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