!~San Diego Wine Fanatics~!

$95.00
Sunday, March 1, 2026 PST
Villa Portofino Clubhouse Tierrasanta
10690 Escobar Drive
San Diego, CA 92124
Pinot Around the World explores the rich diversity of global Pinot Noir, showcasing distinctive flavors from renowned vineyards and unique wine regions. Experience a curated journey through the complexities of this celebrated varietal. The wine tastings will be complemented with mouth watering small plates created by Top Professional Chefs.

## An event for discriminating wine lovers

Pinot Noir and Burgundy Red Wines are called the most subtle of wines – aromas of berries and floral notes, flavors of dark berries and earth, light to medium bodied, usually with low tannins. Most Pinots are elegant rather than powerful. Pinot Noir grapes are thin-skinned and are considered difficult to grow well.
Despite the challenges of producing fine Pinot, it has continually increased in fame and sales since the 2004 movie “Sideways.” Pinot Around the World is a fundraiser for the “Cooking With Chefs” program of the Chefs de Cuisine Education Foundation. Our professional chefs hold in-person, after school healthy cooking classes for students in neighborhoods that have some of the highest incidences of childhood diabetes and childhood obesity in San Diego County.
Pinot Around the World proudly presents The Wine and The Food
Chef Javier Rubio (former head chef at the Bonita Country Club and known throughout the region for unsurpassed Paella mastery) has recently introduced an uncompromising line of gourmet empanadas that headline the culinary portion our Pinot extravaganza along with tantalizing offerings by outstanding local chefs featured below.
Feast on the Ropa Vieja Empanada with shredded slow-cooked short rib seasoned with garlic onion and bell peppers. Feel the warmth of the Potato Adobado Empanada with dried chilies and onion and garlic dressed with extra virgin olive oil. Taste the silky luxury of the Spinach and Artichoke Empanada with white wine and expertly seasoned with asiago cheese, garlic and onion. For the fish lover in us all, a new take on the classic Bacalao Empanada with salted cod is lovingly hydrated and slow cooked with Sauvignon Blanc, sofrito and Spanish olives. All are accompanied by a tantalizing array of sauces.
First Tasting: An aged Pinot Gris from Willamette Valley in Oregon will be presented as an entry to the tasting with a masterful charcuterie presentation by Chef Ricardo Santana

• Duck Pond Pinot Gris 25th Anniversary Oregon 2017

Second Tasting: The Southern Hemisphere offers a top Pinot from Chile, an elusive New Zealand Pinot and a delightful Tasmanian Pinot from vineyards likely closest to the South Pole enhanced by an uplifting Spanish gazpacho by Chef Mary Trimmins

• Santa Rita Secret Reserve Pinot Noir D. O. Leyda Chile 2022
• Escarpment Pinot Noir Martinborough North Island New Zealand 2020
• Maison L’Envoye Pinot Noir Tasmania Coal River Valley 2017

Third Tasting: Moving to the Northern Hemisphere and the cool climate of German river valleys, we taste and evaluate two Pinots from Germany, bought directly from the importers and, hopefully, aged to perfection with a choice of Empanada

• Schneider Weiler Spatburgunder Trocken Unfiltered Baden 2016
• Heitlinger Pinot Meunier Baden 2016

Finally, a perfect Pinot comparison: An Oregon Pinot from the Willamette Valley with a 94 rating from Wine Enthusiast Magazine offered alongside a Premier Cru Burgundy with a choice of empanada

• Lenne Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Oregon 2022
• Joseph Drouhin Maranges Premier Cru Burgundy Beaune France 2022

Playful dessert wines come with soft luscious clouds of Belgian Chocolate Brownies with Walnuts, and Decadent Lemon Bars sculpted by Chef Paul de Puyt
Many of the wines presented and discussed are from the cellar of Brad Bruce, wine judge, educator and member of the Board of Directors of the Chefs de Cuisine Education Foundation.
Chefs de Cuisine Education Foundation is 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, FEIN 91-2152672.
Donations are tax deductible.