Jenn GarbeeSunday's Pinot Days festival in the Santa Monica Airport Hanger was teeming with local sommeliers comparing their sniff-and-swirl technique while Sideways fans crowded the Hitching Post table. That left plenty of room for the rest of us to check out the boutique wineries, including Bjornstad Cellars, WesMar in Sebastapol, and George of Sonoma — the latter owned and operated by a former Manhattan Beach bond trader, George Levkoff, who says a dinner at Joe's Restaurant in Venice featuring grilled tuna and a Willams Selyem Pinot convinced him to move to Sonoma to make Pinot Noir (must have been some tuna).
The local branch of the California Cheese and Butter Association (CCBA) was handing out snacks. Turns out cutting up wheels of cheese into small cubes on a rainy Sunday afternoon isn't exactly the most exciting volunteer opportunity, so CCBA board member Mac Moore begged his nieces, nephews and friends to help pass out the Emmentaler. “I even had to ask my son-in-law, a marine, to bring in some marines to hand out cheese.”
More photos of the event after the jump.
Big Table Farms' Pigs and Pinot; Credit: Jenn Garbee
La Rochelle Winery; Credit: Jenn Garbee
WesMar; Credit: Jenn Garbee
Robert Talbott: Cufflinks and Pinot Noir; Credit: Jenn Garbee
Wasn't It The California Cheese and Butter Association?; Credit: Jenn Garbee
Empty Bjornstads Waiting For A Ride Home; Credit: Jenn Garbee
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