Corazon Comedor Delicious Food & Wine Tasting Thurs. May 2nd

Our next wine tasting will be at one of our favorite Santa Barbara restaurants, Corazon Comedor. Everything is made fresh and full of flavor!

This Inside Wine SB Meetup will be different than our usual events which center on a winemaker. This will be a more social event, to see long-time members and meet new ones!

There's a lot of buzz about the wines from the Valley of Guadalupe in Northern Baja, not just among local oenophiles but in the New York Times, Vogue, Wine Enthusiast, Town & Country, and more. As Barron's reported, "vino Mexicano is not only becoming more popular, it’s also getting better. And what’s more thrilling still is that winemakers south of the border are bottling unexpected expressions of some of the world’s most well-known grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon. In Mexico’s west coast, Valle de Guadalupe (or Valle, as locals call it) has recently emerged as one of the most exciting up-and-coming wine destinations. Thanks to a climate that is somewhat similar to the Mediterranean, this picturesque valley some 90 minutes from San Diego, has been producing wine for centuries, but it wasn’t until the last couple of decades that the quality has markedly improved."

Wine Enthusiast points out: "few areas have leaped as significantly in quality over the last several years as Mexico. While its warm climate delivers full-bodied, fruit-forward wines with ease, producers are replacing power with balance, complexity and variety experimentation...The rise in quality is [due to] leading-edge technology in the wineries and vineyards, quality lab analyses, hiring experienced winemakers—and also that so many vineyards have decades of age, bringing complexity in a natural way."

To read the praise of Monte Xanic, remove the spaces in this link (Meetup masks external URLs, so I this is a work-around): https:/ /ww w.besoimports. com/press

Delicious appetizers at Corazon Comedor:

• housemade chips with beans and mole sauce
• chicken flauta with salad*
• 1/2 large quesadilla

They should be filling enough for a meal. If not, or if you want dessert or more drinks, you can order (and pay) our server directly. We will have the back room to ourselves!

Info on Chef Ramon Velasquez:
He grew up in Guadalajara, Mexico preparing traditional Mexican dishes with his mother and grandmother at a food stand in front of their modest home.

He immigrated to Santa Barbara in 1990, where he attended Santa Barbara High School. Working in a variety of; local restaurants exposed him to diverse food cultures, including Japanese cuisine. He became especially well known for his craft as the sushi chef at Arigato Sushi, then transitioning to the position of executive chef at Cielito.

In 2014, Ramon created Corazon Cocina, first as a pop-up, then in the Santa Barbara Public Market. By 2017, Ramon earned his second Foodie Award. He is the only chef to have won two Foodies, first at Cielito, then at Corazon Cocina.

Notably, Corazon Cocina is one of the three Santa Barbara restaurants to be awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2021.

In 2022, Ramon opened Corazon Cocina's little sibling, Little Heart Cafecito, later opening Corazon Comedor. Soon Alma Fonda Fina will open at 1024 De la Vina Street--stay tuned for news about this!

Wine menu:
Monte Xanic Sauvignon Blanc: Vineyard: Valle de Guadalupe

Winemaking: This iconic wine of our cellar is produced by taking constant care of the clusters in the vineyard and picking them at night in order to obtain the best possible freshness. Carefully selecting the grapes by hand ensures that only the highest quality clusters are pressed.

Tasting notes: In the nose it is frank, with high intensity and very expressive notes mostly from fresh citrus fruits such as grapefruit, guava, lychee, soursop, passion fruit and pineapple. Also, there is orange blossom and zesty lemongrass notes. The aromatic quality and persistence is excellent.

Monte Xanic Rosé: 100% Grenache

This vineyard was specifically cultivated to produce this rosé. It comes from our Valley of Ojos Negros.

Clean and bright, this Grenache Rosé has a Provence style. It is a wine with highly expressive aromatics. The fragrance is of ripe strawberries and cherries, a touch of grapefruit, roses and white flowers that enhance its personality. Fresh, full-flavored and long-lasting on the palate.

Monte Xanic Merlot: Vineyard:
The richness of the Ojos Negros Valley terroir allows us to produce an expressive, dense and elegant Merlot with great freshness. Delightful aromas of berries such as raspberry, ripe blueberry and dark cherry. It has a nice complement of sweet notes of vanilla, star anise and elegant oak. Herbal highlights of oregano and thyme complete the complexity. Velvety tannins and soft attack that bring balance, with a pleasant freshness and long finish.