By the Travel Paso Robles Alliance
This past weekend was amazing!! The San Luis Obispo County Visitor's and Conference Bureau hosted Sunset Magazine’s first-ever SAVOR the Central Coast, a four-day food and wine extravaganza. Food and wine enthusiasts from California, Washington and Oregon, and others from as far away as Texas, and Canada, converged on California's Central Coast to experience the bounty of our rapidly growing wine and culinary scene.
Through unique culinary and farm tours, chef demonstrations, and one-of-a-kind winemaker dinners, this event showcased the rich agricultural and aqua-cultural bounty located throughout the CA Central Coast, along with the talented chefs, winemakers, farmers and ranchers who have made Paso Robles and SLO County the burgeoning food and wine region it has become. Sunset Magazine’s expert food and wine editors, and celebrity chef Tyler Florence were on hand to enhance the “SAVOR” experience with special seminars and hosted tours--not to mention a book signing or two!
In the Central Coast Pavilion tent at the Main Event held at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, visitors had a chance to get to know the local tourism destinations all while tasting Western Wine Award-winning wines and savory bites prepared by local chefs. The tent was huge with a lighting and banner infrastrucure that was very impressive. The City of Pismo Beach built sand castles, Arroyo Grande handed out Merlot Chocolate Chip ice cream samples from Doc Burnstein’s, and Paso Robles held a blind wine tasting where event goers guessed the varietal to win. Super fun and educational for everyone! Right: Volunteer helps attendee guess the varietal at the Paso Robles booth in the Pavillion.
In the food and wine Marketplace at the main event, delectable Central Coast wines from over 130 wineries were served interspersed with small-bites from dozens of our most note-worthy local restaurants. Event goers toured the gorgeous two acre Kitchen Garden, strolled through the Farmers' Market tent and watched demonstration cooking classes, hung out at the beer garden and listened to live music, took scenic train rides that toured the historic Santa Margarita Ranch, and drove a brand new 2011 Volvo on the Volvo Test Track.AMAZING stuff. YUM! Left: Over a hundred flag topped tents lined the Marketplace where SLO County wine and food vendors shared their winemaking and culinary skills. Santa Lucia Mountains in background.
In cooperation with the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance and the City of Paso Robles, the Travel Paso Robles Alliance hosted the Paso Glow winemaker dinner, under the stars, in the charming downtown Paso Robles city park. Over 180 guests attended and experienced a six-course meal prepared by Paso Robles’ finest chefs that included a cheese course prepared by a local cheese proprietor. The food was paired tastefully with Paso Robles wines from over 25 local winemakers, each hosting a table of their own, including Stephan Asseo from L’Aventure and Ken Volk from Ken Volk Wines. The dinner was illuminated with stunning large white globes hanging from the park’s ancient oak trees, along with a little of nature's own glow: a beautiful lightning storm that lit up the sky! The lightning, tango dancers and a live band provided fantastic entertainment.
Fun was had by all. Stay tuned next week for the video interview of our ticket contest winners at Paso Glow!
Photos by Mental Marketing and Juice Marketing
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