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Dec 8 - Winemaker's Dinner with Chuck OrtmanTuesday, November 29, 2005The Cypress Ridge Pavilion presents "A Winemaker's Dinner with Chuck Ortman" on December 8, 2005 at 6:30pm, featuring the elegant wines from The Ortman Family Vineyards. Chef Mike Foley will offer a delicious five course meal while Chuck Ortman pours four different wine varietals; chardonnay from the Edna Valley, Pinot Noir from the Santa Rita Hills, a Paso Robles Syrah and a special Cabernet Savignon from Napa Valley. To make reservations, please contact Alicia Collins at (805) 474-8329 or aliciacollins@cypressridge.com by Tuesday, December 6th. Cost is $65 per person (limited to 60 people). We look forward to seeing you! The Ortman Familiy Vineyards The Ortman style is a focus on fruit and structure. His handcrafted approach to winemaking remains a hallmark at the many places where has consulted. Chuck Ortman was one of the first California winemakers to explore the benefits of barrel fermentation of Chardonnay, a technique that eventually swept the California wine industry. By 1979, Chuck's wines had become synonymous with quality. His career took a turn toward California's Central Coast after he visited San Luis Obispo's Edna Valley that year. Impressed by the caliber of the fruit being grown in this emerging appellation, he and his wife Sue launched their own Charles Ortman label with a 1979 Chardonnay from Edna Valley. In 1984, the Charles Ortman label was renamed Meridian-a word that Sue identified both for Chuck's love of sailing and the larger meaning of “achievement of an ideal.” Four years later, Napa Valley's famed Beringer Vineyards made the Ortmans an irresistible offer-to acquire Meridian, base it on the Central Coast and retain Chuck as winemaker. Today, the Ortman Family Vineyards are owned and operated by his family. The annual production is 3,500 barrels which is guided by hand harvesting, integrity and a gentle handling of their grapes. Edna Valley Chardonnay Firepeak Vineyard in the marine-cooled climes of Edna Valley yields Chardonnay with an abundance of flavor and crisp acidity-both of which are essential to our vision for the varietal. A small contribution of fruit from Cat Canyon Vineyard in Santa Barbara County's Los Alamos Valley accentuates our Chardonnay with nuances of citrus and flint. Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir Fiddlestix Vineyard offers classic Santa Rita Hills character, with intense fruit, firm acidity and exquisite structure. Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard lies several miles northeast of Fiddlestix Vineyard, where it occupies a south-facing hillside that yields concentrated varietal flavors. Both sites offer the exceptional quality for which Santa Rita Hills is renowned, and ultimately bring synergistic elements to the wine. San Luis Obispo County Syrah Brave Oak Vineyard produces Syrah with mature black fruit flavors and silky tannins, both signatures of the vineyard's warm growing conditions in Paso Robles. Edna Ranch Vineyard, in the cooler environs of Edna Valley, brings a firm mid-palate structure with peppery accents. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Robert Craig and White Cottage vineyards are high-elevation, hillside sites that yield signature cassis and chocolate flavors, as well smooth, supple tannins. Sacrashe Vineyard, another hillside site in nearby Rutherford, brings accents of cedar, coffee and spice. For more information, visit: www.ortmanvineyards.com www.cypressridgepavilion.com |
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