Marty and Campbell Katz

Road Trip Part II

By: Gracee Arthur

Our scenic drive up the canyon from Malibu had finally brought us to our destination at the Cornell Winery and we were excited about the pleasure that awaited us.  My tasting companions, producer Marty Katz, his wife Campbell, and I entered the small charming wine shop, with its walls lined in art and admired the ambiance.  While we waited for our hostess to set up our places in the tasting room we browsed the fine wines from local vineyards such as Rosenthal, Mulholland Highway, and Stafford and examined the creative gift items on display.

Our hostess soon escorted us into the tasting room with its beautiful chandelier and we were seated at a large rustic table which we shared with a happy bachelorette party!  The waitress brought us a basket of delicious bread and the tasting began with a pleasant, crisp Pinot Gris from Rosenthal /Surfrider.  Our next wine was Chardonnay also by Rosenthal Newton Canyon which Marty liked quite a bit. Tim Skogstrom, our host, sent us a beautiful cured meat and cheese plate which was lavished with goodies like hand cut Sopressta Salami, and Prosciutto di Parma. The mahogany plank also contained 3 cheeses (varieties rotate) this night the cheeses were Danish Fontina, Gorgonzola (Italian Bleu) and Parmigian Reggiano (out of this world)!!  All accompanied by olive oil with a few drops of Balsamic to compliment the toast points made from rustic sour dough bread, and grapes.

Among the eight wines offered for tasting that night were a Syrah/Grenache Rose (Rom, Corral Canyon), a 2005 Merlot (Stafford, San Luis Obispo County) and a 2006 Syrah (Stafford, Santa Ynez Valley).
My favorites were the Pinot Noir and despite the “Sideways” jokes, the Merlot with a notes of pepper and licorice.

Our wine cards full of cryptic notes we left the celebrating bride to be, her friends and family and ambled next door to the “new” Old Place for our much anticipated dinner.  Road Trip Part III “The Old Place” a bit of history coming soon. Bon Appetite!

EwingSIR does not guarantee information contained in this blog, readers are encouraged not to rely solely on this information and to do their own independent research of facts contained herein. Blog information was obtained from independent sources that we do not endorse, and we do not investigate this information for accuracy.