Sequoia Grove Winemaker Dinner with Michael Trujillo at the Edge Steak and Bar

What is better than to sit at the end of a day and drink wine with friends, or substitute for friends. -James Joyce

We have been touting the Cabernet Sauvignon from Sequoia Grove for the last few years. Ever since Michael Trujillo took complete control of the winemaking in 2001, which is the year that Kobrand bought the winery and the quality here has gone up substantially ever since.  I can think of few wines that compare to Sequoia Grove at the $35 price point and we are honored to have Michael here to break bread with us at the Edge Steak and Bar.

This is the third year of the new program where instead of making a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon they are just making one Cabernet Sauvignon here, like the great chateau in Bordeaux. Well, they are also making a new wine called Cambium which we unveiled at our last dinner with Michael a year ago and this special wine is only made in great vintages and in very small amounts. This dinner costs less than the price of one bottle of this very exclusive wine, making this an incredible value especially when you consider that in addition the Cambium we are also serving a five course meal and four other wines!

Check out the listing of events posted through the end of the year at the Edge Steak + Bar, we will be here every other Tuesday night for a unique and different wine tasting event.

This venue has a lot of potential for our events with so many different spaces available at the hotel we will have a variety of different themed events as well as winemaker dinners coming up here in the very near future.

Chef Aaron Brooks has prepared a special five course tasting menu to accompany Sequoia Grove's wines and we have one of the brightest minds in California wine industry here to tell you about them. The fee for this event is $85 + Gratuity + Tax. For reservations call 954-523-9463.

Valet Service at the hotel is $9 for three hours.

Sequoia Grove Wine Dinner at the Edge Steak and Bar
with Winemaker/CEO Michael Trujillo
Thursday, January 17th
7:30pm

Passed appetizers

Chorizo and cheddar croquetas, romesco sauce

NV Domaine Carneros Rose Brut Sparkling Wine
Price: $36.00       Sale $31.68          Case $367

The Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé Cuvée de la Pompadour, celebrates the life and times of Madame de Pompadour (the great courtesan and mistress of Louis XV) who is credited with introducing Champagne to the court and was an influential tastemaker in the matters of art, architecture and philosophy–famous for her comment, “Champagne is the only wine a woman can drink and remain beautiful.”

Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé is a wine of great balance, emphasizing fruity and floral characteristics to a greater extent than evident in the Brut or Le Rêve. It is made strictly with artisan attention to quality, with sourcing exclusively from Carneros and the use of time-honored Champenoise methods of production. A blend of 58% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay, the Brut Rose is meant to be enjoyed at a fairly young age, when the fruity character is still predominant yet there is enough age to make the wine round and balanced.

The wine’s aroma has hints of wild strawberries and roses with notes of peach Although a pale pink in color, Brut Rosé is not sweeter than our other wines. It is a true Brut.

First Course

Hamachi, kumquat, fried olives, pickled jicama, Meyer lemon aioli

Sequoia Grove Chardonnay Napa 2009
Price: $27.00       Sale $23.76          Case $276

Light golden yellow in color with layers of sweet lemon curd, ripe and juicy pear, a hint of pineapple and a note of toasted pine nuts. Background notes of orange blossom and lightly toasted sourdough bread give additional depth. On the palate, the wine has a beautiful balance, starting out delicate and leading into a richer note of custard, then finishing delicately again, with a hint of red apple flavor.

These Chardonnay grapes come from Dijon and Wente clones grown in the renowned Carneros District in Napa Valley. We buy fruit from the Beckstoffer vineyard, the Haire vineyard, and the Ghisletta vineyard.

Second Course

Fire roasted duck breast, smoked Kielbasa, porcini and parmesan cream, herb gnocchi

Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon Napa 2009
Price: $35                             Sale $30.80          Case $357

Dark black in color, the nose gives aromas of fresh raspberries and ripe, red cherries with notes of vanilla and cocoa powder. Background notes come through over time of roasted coffee bean and a touch of pencil lead. The palate is smooth and rich with ripe, developed tannins giving the wine a full arc in the mouth and giving flavors of blackberry and a hint of smoky, sweet oak.

The grapes used to produce this wine are from the best appellations in Napa Valley from the best growers. A list of our growers include: Sequoia Grove estate vineyard, Tonella estate vineyard, Stagecoach, Morisoli, Lamoreaux, Beckstoffer George III, Cunat, Healy, Christian, and Madrigal.

Main Course

Creekstone farms beef filet, slow cooked short rib with burnt cocoa and winter spices, sweet potato, leafy vegetables

Sequoia Grove Cambium Napa 2008
Price: $117                          Sale $102.96       Case $1194

Dark red-black in color with an intense nose of fresh black cherries, sweet cedar and coffee mixed with dark and milk chocolate and a note of wet gravel. Background aromas of vanilla and cigar box interplay with a hint of cinnamon toast. The palate is full, rich, and round with flavors of fresh blackberry and sweet cherries and a bittersweet chocolate and cinnamon finish.

Each component is selected individually every vintage and only the very best of hundreds of lots are selected. For this vintage, the wine is made up of the following vineyards and varieties:  Stagecoach Vineyard (Atlas Peak): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot.  Lamoreaux Vineyard (Oak Knoll): Cabernet Sauvignon.  Sequoia Grove Vineyard (Rutherford): Cabernet Sauvignon. Morisoli Vineyard (Rutherford): Cabernet Sauvignon. Healy Vineyard (St. Helena): Cabernet Sauvignon

Dessert

Fig almond tart, tupelo honey ice cream, white chocolate mousse

Taylor Fladgate 20 Year Tawny Port
Price: $56.75       Sale $49.94          Case $579

Taylor’s blends its magnificent 20 year old tawny Ports from its extensive reserves of old cask aged Ports matured in the firm’s cool and tranquil cellars (known as  ‘lodges’) in Oporto on Portugal’s Atlantic coast.

In the 20 Year Old tawny, the fruit has mellowed further than in the 10 Year Old, and the spicy, nutty aromas of ageing are more powerful and intense.

Dinner is $85 + Tax + Gratuity, for reservations call 954-523-9463.

A bit about Sequoia Grove winery:

Founded in 1980 by the Allen family on the site of a 100-year-old farmhouse, Sequoia Grove is named for the circle of giant redwood trees that surround it, one of the last groves in the Napa Valley.

When Jim Allen first set eyes on the land that would become Sequoia Grove’s Estate Vineyard, Rutherford’s potential for Cabernet Sauvignon had yet to be realized. In 1979, the year Jim Allen bought the 24 acre plot, it was planted with a variety of grapes which he began pulling out and replanting with Cabernet Sauvignon. "In the early days, we were really pioneering with this variety, along with a few of our neighbors; we were just discovering the region as Cabernet land," remembers Steve Allen, who has served as Sequoia Grove’s vineyard manager since its beginning.

Sequoia Grove released its first wine in 1981 and the winery quickly became known throughout the world for its traditional, Old World approach to winemaking and over the years yielded award winning wines of depth and elegance. The Estate Bottling was selected America’s Best Cabernet Sauvignon on its first release in 1985, and several years later Sequoia Grove was selected winery of the year.

After more than two decades of family ownership by three generations of the Allen family, the winery was purchased by the company that marketed the wines in the United States Kobrand. The first thing that Kobrand did when they purchased Sequoia Grove in 2001 is to name Michael Trujillo, the winery’s longtime winemaker, now in total control of every aspect of production at the winery. While the deep respect for traditional European attitudes towards wine which has characterized Sequoia Grove’s winemaking philosophy from the beginning will continue, Michael’s leadership is reflected in quality leaps evidenced in the 2002 vintage onwards. "In my winemaking I strive for balance and varietal character to come through. I don’t get carried away with the big, high-alcohol wine trend that influences much of the industry today. I strive for richness and balance from start to finish. This is the way I make wine," says Michael of his winemaking philosophy, one he has been honing since he began his career in the wine industry in 1982, alongside Sequoia Grove winemaker and owner, Jim Allen.

Michael’s influence is felt most keenly in the grower relationships he has forged, enabling Sequoia Grove to source the best fruit Napa Valley has to offer. All purchased grapes are of AAA quality from growers known for producing the finest grapes within the Napa Valley: Gary Morisoli, Andy Beckstoffer, Garvey Family, Traina, and others. "I take a lot of pride in my relationships with growers," he says. "Many of them have even replanted according to our specifications, which is a huge commitment on their part. We are now sourcing only A+ Napa grapes."

In addition to these superb grapes we have our own. "Each harvest, the best fruit that comes into our winery is from our Estate Vineyard," says Michael. "We hand pick everything and only the grapes that are perfectly ripe. This requires multiple passes through the vineyard but guarantees every grape comes in perfectly balanced." Used to make the winery’s flagship Reserve wine, a Bordeaux blend, the Estate Vineyard remains the soul of Sequoia Grove. "These 24 acres are our blood line," explains Mike. "We focus on this vineyard as our way to make our mark. These grapes get the crème de la crème treatment from trellising, hang-time, hand-harvesting to the 12 additional months in bottle before release. We don’t cut any corners."

"Sequoia Grove has never put out an inferior product. But today, with superior grapes and our upgraded facility we are staged to make better wines and we are doing just that," says Michael, and the 2002 vintage bears witness. He has altered the blending, cut away some of the wines he felt were weaker and lowered production. The wines also benefit from the influx of capital in the production facility; higher quality fermenters, processing equipment, oak barrels and a new assistant winemaker, Molly Hill. Even the wine’s package was redesigned, to illustrate the brand’s reinvigoration.

In the style of his own much-coveted cult wine label, Karl Lawrence, which he launched with his partner in 1991, Michael is aiming for similar varietal expression and quality: "Everything that goes into Karl Lawrence - exceptional vineyard sourcing, value for price point - I’m bringing to Sequoia Grove."

The 2009 vintage is the seventh year after Michael Trujillo has had complete control of the show at Sequoia Grove and the wines now go from strength to strength and the Napa Cabernet Sauvignon has been on our "Best of List" 3 out of the 5 last years.