Just two weeks ago, after four and a half years working as the sales manager for Dark Star Imports in New York City (and 10 years living there!), I relocated to sunny Los Angeles to beef up business on the West Coast. Having grown up in the Bay Area, it feels good to get back to my roots. Although it has been a quick, action-packed two weeks, my experience so far has been awesome. On Thursday night, Joe and I hosted a wine dinner at Shutters on the Beach, in Santa Monica where they are pouring our wines exclusively at their restaurant, Coast, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. This is an extremely rare occurrence in the wine business, and, as far as I know, has never happened before. I couldn’t have asked for a more ideal location. Gregory Day, the General Manager of the hotel, approached me with this idea a few months ago and I was ecstatic: all I had to do was get Lidia and Joe Bastianich to agree to come for a visit! As Joe mentioned the night of the wine dinner, “All I have to do is show up, stay in this beautiful hotel for a few nights, and you will pour my wines?! How could I say no?” The food and ambiance was amazing, and paired perfectly with our wines. Chef Michael Reardon created an all seafood menu, which was an ideal match with all white wines. My personal favorite was the halibut crudo with compressed watermelon and opal basil, the first course, which he paired with our Bastianich Sauvignon “B.” It was an unbelievably refreshing way to start off the night!
So we decided, from now on, we are only going to host wine dinners at venues that have sand and a view of the ocean. Next stop: Malibu!
Huddling before the press arrived: Gregory Day, Joe Bastianich, Caroline Salz, Peter Neptune
Guests enjoying a glass of Flor prosecco before dinner.
Joe Bastianich walked around to the tables and described each wine....
Flor Prosecco, Bastianich Sauvignon "B", Bastianich Vespa Bianco, Bastianich Ribolla "Adriatico"
Grilled Orata with Salsa Verde and Fork Crushed Potatoes, paired with Bastianich Vespa Bianco.
-Caroline Salz,
Dark Star Imports
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