Images from West of the West Wine Event at Honda Center

The Inaugural West of the West Event Rocks Orange County

This past Friday I advertised the Orange County edition of the West of the West wine event at the Honda Center. This past Saturday I attended the event and tried a wide variety of Sonoma Coast Wines and food from Orange County’s top restaurants.  Overall the event was well attended and well organized. The folks from West Sonoma Coast Vinters, Orange Coast Magazine and Celebrity Cruises did a great job with the event. 

It was a hot afternoon, so we were fortunate to enjoys the wines of Sonoma Coast, which are heavy on Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. These two types of wines were perfect for the weather. 

Favorite Wineries

The event featured many family owned and lesser known wineries of the Sonoma Coast. I enjoyed all of the wines from the event; I did not have a single bad wine the entire day. Although I did have some favorite wines. Below are the wines that I would purchase by the case.

Celebrity Cruises Lounge

Celebrity Cruises hosted their own lounge and featured the wines of Hartford Winery. Who probably poured my favorite wine of the event. Here I am with my Wife Daniele doing a photo shoot at the Celebrity Cruises photo booth. 

Orange County Restaurants

Some of Orange County’s Best Restaurants and food purveyors were also on site. My favorite dish was  the Tostaditos with mole verde pork cheeks and avocado coconut milkshake from Carthay Circle at Disneyland California. 

The Som Challenge

The sommelier challenge offered some entertainment while we sipped on the Sonoma Coast wine. Sommeliers from local restaurants faced in a wine challenge to blindly determine which wines they were drinking. I was personally impressed by the skills of the Soms.