Wine Spectator magazine has released it’s 2010 list of Grand Award winners, honoring restaurants around the globe for it’s extraordinary wine programs. This award, only given out to 75 restaurants around the world, was first established in 1981. Those that made the list in LA… Patina of course, along with Spago and Valentino. Other California restaurants include The WineSeller & Brasserie in San Diego, Addison in Del Mar, Marinus Restaurant in Carmel, The French Laundry, Michael Mina in San Fran with two (Michael Mina and RN74), Restaurant Gary Denko also in SF, and Restaurant 301 in Eureka.

In a runner up category, there were a several in LA that won the standard Wine Spectator Award of Excellence and Best of Awards. Taken into consideration are things like wine strengths, selection, and pricing. With over 70 restaurants winning the nod, some of them included Arnie Morton’s, Bouchon, Cafe Pierre, Chaya, Cut, Drago, XIV, Josie, Mar’sel, Nick & Stef’s, Terroni, and Water Grill. A searchable list can be found here or perused in the August edition of Wine Spectator.

In the print edition, it’s listed out with different color coding to indicate below normal, normal and expensive wine pricing. In some cases it also lists out what kinds of wine they specialize in and corkage prices too. But who wants to bring their own bottle with selections like these? Bookmark it, it’s a great resource for anyone who who loves wine and likes to dine at places with a good selection of vino to choose from.

On July 24th (1-5pm) Keith Saarloos and Dig Lounge are headed south to the OC, serving up 5 of Keith’s new releases, and pairing them with 4 delectable bite size cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes. Like Chocolate Blackberry Syrah, Strawberry Delight, Meyer Lemon Chardonnay and Chocolate Cheesecake.

You can win tickets to the event thanks to Greer’s OC. OC’s premier dining, fashion, and lifestyle blog, Greer’s OC tips you on hot new retail stores, great bargains, undiscovered dining spots and the latest products and services in Orange County. It’s a must have resource for those of you living down south.

It’s easy to do. Sign up for the Daily Dose of OC (sort of like a Daily Candy for the OC), then from Monday-Wednesday (July 19-21), check your in-box and click on the link in the Daily Dose to enter for a chance to win two tickets to the event, plus a bottle of Saarloos & Sons wine.

ENTER NOW!

There’s nothing I love more before a day of wine tasting (or the day after wine tasting) than a solid base of greasy spoon bacon, eggs, corned beef and hash. Every wine country destination has their own greasy spoon. You just have to go searching a little. Santa Barbara has the Cajun Kitchen, Napa has Soscol Cafe, and Paso Robles has Hoover’s Beef Palace.

Situated just south of Paso, right off the 101 in the farming community of Tempelton, Hoover’s is the kind of place you would expect to see deep in the heart of America’s cattle country. Not along side central California’s wine country. While diners enjoy satisfying diner favorites, trucks go in out through the back, headed to and from the slaughter house. You’re beef doesn’t get any fresher than this.

A palace of beef. This is a must stop for any breakfast loving meat eater.

On a Sunday morning, the place is busy but not overly packed, it’s easy to find a seat at the bar. The place is buzzing with sounds of chatting dinners, clanking dishes in the kitchen, and seasoned waitresses yelling out orders. Generations upon generations of local rancher and cowboy pictures line the walls in a sort of “Hall of Fame”. Local farmers and wine country visitors alike enjoy daily specials like fresh NY strip steak and eggs, biscuits and gravy, french toast with fresh boysenberries, thick smoked bacon, country fried steak, corned beef hash, and hand made sausage patty that covers half your plate.

It’s the perfect place to take in the countryside, soak up the wine, and dine cheaply with friends, families and locals. Just try not to think about the cows while chowing on your plate of corned beef, who are awaiting their doomed fate right out back.

Well seasoned corned beef, served on hash browns, eggs, and a side of perfectly seasoned pinto beans.

Thick cut smoked bacon and perfect cakes.

Beef doesn't get any fresher than this.

Saddle on up to the bar, have a cup of joe, and get to know the locals.

On July 24th (1-5pm) Keith Saarloos and Dig Lounge are headed south to the OC, serving up 5 of Keith’s new releases, and pairing them with 4 delectable bite size cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes. Like Chocolate Blackberry Syrah, Strawberry Delight, Meyer Lemon Chardonnay and Chocolate Cheesecake. No need to drive 100+ miles to Santa Barbara, we’re bringing the Los Olivos tasting room experience behind the orange curtain! Tickets are just $25 each or two for $40. Tickets are limited so buy now before this event sells out.

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW – CLICK HERE

Our first cupcake and wine pairing event was such a success we decided to offer up a special summer exclusive pairing event in the Astoria Penthouse at the brand new Central Park West development in Irvine. Enjoy the state of the art facilities, while you sip on wine, nosh on cupcakes, mingle with other wine lovers and take in the beautiful July afternoon in the two story Astoria Penthouse on the 14th floor.

Valet parking is available, and so is a helicopter pad if you’re so inclined. Bottles of wine will be available for purchase at the event. Your ticket includes 5 tastes and 4 cupcakes. Additional taste tickets will also be available for purchase at the event for $2 each.

The killer two story Astoria Penthouse at Central Park West in Irvine.

The tasting room at Saarloos. Wonderful wines and great wine makers.

Enjoy Cupcakes in the Saarloon & Sons tasting room.

Los Angeles native Victor Abascal got his start with grape growing in the hills of Culver City. But it’s Paso Robles where he’s perfected his passion for great wine. It’s a small operation at Vines on the Marycrest. Victor makes his wines with vintage and borrowed equipment (even water) and plain old hard work. But all his work shows in his palate pleasing, well balanced, food friendly wines. We caught up with Victor and his wife Jenni this past weekend up near Lake Naciemento in Paso Robles, where his modest winery and tasting room serves up delicious single vineyard, old vine zinfandel, tempranillo and Rhône varietals.

Dig Lounge: You’re our first wine maker for our Q&A series focusing on smaller production wineries. What do you think the line is for calling someone a “boutique” winery versus some of the larger labels?
Victor: Hi! I’d say that is 3000 cases. But don’t quote me…

DL: OK, we won’t. You’re obviously one of the little guys, what got you interested in wine making?
V: Well… Wine for one. I fell in love with drinking and learning about wine. Then I fell in love with making it. Then I fell in Love with my wife.

His modest tasting room/winery is an old almond processing warehouse.

All it takes is a grape press, some oak, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

Victor's 5 varietals planted on Carlotta's Vineyard, will be a very unique blend of 5 grapes including Tempranillo, Cinsault, Grenache, Cab Sav, and Carignane.

Victor tends to his young vines. In addition to the grapes mentioned above, he also grows Old Zin ( 52 years), Grenache, Mourvedre, Counoise, with plans for Petite Sirah, Barbera and Rousanne.

DL: Where does the name Vines on the Marycrest come from?
V: It’s where I planted my first grape vines in So. Cal. On the Marycrest Manor in Culver City. It’s a Catholic Woman’s Retirement Facility. The story is very long and funny. If one goes to our website, there is a video of me telling the whole story.

DL: I just drove by the Marycrest Manor the other day, what a coincidence. So you’re originally from LA, why did you choose Paso?
V: Proximity to culture and great dirt!

DL: Speaking of dirt, what are the biggest challenges in making wine?
V: Staying on top of things. My crazy life can really get in the way of that.

DL: What other winemakers of note are there in Paso? Who do you get your inspiration from?
V: Many of them. Tom Myers of Castoro. Matt Trevisan of Linne Calodo. Sherman Thacher of Thacher Winery. I love me some Cedarville Vineyards in Fair Play CA. as well.

DL: We love Fair Play, we’ll have to check out that next time we are visiting. Tell us about your wines.
V: Hopefully balanced, food friendly, and not too much ego.

DL: I think you’ve succeeded at all three. So what are your plans for the future at Vines on the Marycrest? Are you going to expand your wine offerings?
V: You bet. Especially to our wine club members. They get special, low production vino in their Wine Club shipments. I’m having a lot of fun making groovy stuff for them. As our Estate Vineyards come online in the near future, there will be lots of new and fun stuff coming for all.

DL: Your wine club is really a great value. We just joined! Final question, I know you love music. What are your top 5 Desert Island albums?
V: Wow! That’s a hard one. Let’s see…
Make it Happen: Smokey and the Miracles
The White Album: Beatles
The Las: The Las
Amorica: Black Crowes
Mutations: Beck.

That all would change tomorrow!

Continue the conversation with Vines on the Marycrest on Facebook and Twitter. Taste his wines at Venice Beach Wines, Air Conditioned Lounge, Corkbar and BottleRock!

As much as he hates to brag, many of his wines have won some sort of award.

Vines on the Marycrest
5076 Mustard Creek Road
Paso Robles, California 93446

The LA International Wine & Spirits Competition is the oldest running wine and spirits competition. In existence for 71 years (since the end of prohibition!), the event features over 3000 wines judged by 75 leading international wine experts from across the globe. From wines created by sports’ stars, to sweet wines, reds, whites, and international wines, everything is covered, along with a selection of spirits and olive oils.

The competition is also the foundation for the wine education program taking place at the upcoming LA County Fair. Where you’ll have a chance to taste all of these award winning wines. The fair began offering wine tasting in 1968, then opened a wine education center in 1998, complete with classes, tastings and displays of the award-winning wines. It’s our favorite stop at the LA County Fair. Keep reading to find out how you can win tickets along with a gift bag.

Judges sample over 3000 wines. This is the job I wouldn't mind having.

After 10,800 wine glasses, wines from 16 different countries, and judges tasting 100 wines every day for several days, the winners were announced. We were on hand to taste several of the gold medal winners, and weren’t disappointed. Favorites from the day included the Bordeaux best of show winners with the Château Montet 2008 and the Château Marac 2005. We also loved Armida Winery’s Poizin (Zin), which won best of show in the $14.99-$29.99 category and the Petite Sirah from Villa San Juliette in the $14.99 and under category.

Want to check out the wines for yourself and get a little gift bag filled with goodies like wine, booze, olive oil, and tickets to the fair along with wine vouchers for the tasting area? Simple comment on this story and tell us… What’s your favorite kind of wine or varietal to enjoy after a hard day at work? We like a smooth and jammy zin. It’s easy to pair with a burger or even some carne asada tacos. Deadline to enter is June 30th at midnight. One entry per person. One random winner will be drawn on or around July 1.

Here’s a glimpse at some of the top awards. For a full list of winners click here.

BEST OF SHOW – RED $14.99 AND UNDER
Villa San Juliette, Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, 2008

BEST OF SHOW – RED $15.00 – $29.99
Armida Winery, Zinfandel, Poizin, Sonoma County, California, 2008

BEST OF SHOW – RED $30.00 AND UP
Prime Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, Midoriya Hills Vineyard,
Napa Valley, 2007

BEST OF SHOW – WHITE $14.99 AND UNDER
Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery, Pinot Blanc, Birch Canoe,
Okanagan Valley VQA, 2008

BEST OF SHOW – WHITE $15.00 – $29.99
James Arthur Vineyards, Edelweiss, Nebraska, 2009

BEST OF SHOW – WHITE $30.00 AND UP
Chardonnay, Stuhlmuller Vineyard, Alexander Valley, 2008

BEST OF SHOW – BORDEAUX COMPETITION
Château Montet, Bordeaux Rouge AOC France, 2008

BEST OF SHOW – BORDEAUX SUPÉRIEUR COMPETITION
Château Marac, Pourquoi Pas Moi, Bordeaux Supérieur Rouge AOC France, 2005

The olive oil winners, there were a little over 500 entries.

Best of show Bordeaux selection, Château Montet.

Winner of the Bordeaux Supérieur best of class, Château Marac.

A selection of the best of class winners.

For fun, they did a blind varital tasting, we went six for six. Maybe we drink too much wine.

40 restaurants, countless chefs, (nearly) unlimited food, beer, wine, cooking demonstrations, silent auction, what more can you pack into a 3 hour period? That’s exactly what happened this past weekend in Culver City at Taste of the Nation. The premier food event that benefits Share our Strengths campaign to make sure no kid grows up hungry.

The well organized event featured some of the finest restaurants in Los Angeles. Akasha, Bistro LQ, Comme CA, Border Grill, Hatfield’s, Lucques, Mozza, Rivera, and the Foundry just to name a few. Some notable wineries in attendance were Star Lane, Zaza Mesa, La Fond, La Fenetre, Paul M Young, and Santa Barbara Winery. Beer for the day was provided by Stella with drinks from Pom, Pellegrino, and Intelligentsia.

But let’s get on to the food! Favorites included Brian Moyers’ shortrib tortelli “caramelles” with sweet corn, chantrelles and summer truffle from BLT steak. The FIG dog with bacon habenero marmalade, cheesy comte fondue and, of course, fritos. Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield’s had an amazing horseradish dusted braised short rib severed on succulent smoked potatoes. Susan Feniger’s Burmese melon salad was a nice reprise from meat in the late spring heat. Mina and Fretz’s braised Piedmontese beef cheeks from XIV were sensational. Somewhat surprised, Mozza brought a dessert, but this was the best panna cotta you’ve ever had. Grace/BLD’s grilled pork sliders were MIA by 3pm, and they had sadly already closed up shop.

KCRW’s Dan Wilcox provided the music for the afternoon, along with a cooking demo my Chef Michael Voltaggio, with his brand new TOTNLA tattoo. Both a silent and live auction took place, with items like hotel rooms, wine packages, private fitness training and a private party with the Ludo fried chicken truck bringing in even more money for Share our Strength. It’s a wonderful event, and I recommend checking it out. It’s one of the better planned food events I’ve attended. Full flickr photoset here. Here’s a small sampling of all that was tried. There were a few that we missed, but we just couldn’t sample any more.

Our first bite of the day is a huge FIG dog. Topped with bacon habanero marmalade, cheesy comte fondue and last but not least, fritos.

Braised artichoke with buretta cheese and jamon Iberico from Joe Miller. (Joe's/Bar Pintxo)

There has to be at least one miso black cod at every food event, Nobu brought his.

One of the better burger joints in LA, 25 Degrees' slider with bacon. Love that charred bun.

The ubiquitous chef with tattooed arms. Eva's charred beef with a grated radish. The beef was tasty, but the radish was funky and over powered the meat.

Gelato from Joel Gutman and Gail Silverton was the perfect Intermezzo.

Simple, elegent, and delicious. Rivera's tortillas flor de calabaza with indian butter.

The brasied beef cheek from XIV was flawless, cooked perfectly, amazing flavor. Really makes me want to finally check out XIV.

These 'caramelles' from BLT Steak were spectacular. Add that to the list to check out.

Michaelk Fiorelli of Mar'sel prepared a great bbq beef bahn mi with house pickled veggies and a chili aioli. Served alongside a California avocado salad.

One of the favorites from the day, Hatfield's short rib on smoked potatoes. I want more of this.

The panna cotta from Mozza melted in your mouth. This isn't the kind of dessert you want to share.

The BBQ pork buns with Wisconsin pleasant ridge cheese from Ford's Filling Station.

Chef Ben Ford's lamb sliders inspired me to make my own. The perfect summer dish.

People enjoy the food and music while they rest in the shade.

Upcoming events include Napa, Miami, Philly, Portland, and more. Check out a full list here. If you’d like to carry on the cause all year, contact any one of these fine organizations below to find out how you can help!

California Associate of Food Banks
California Food Policy Advocates
Center for Community & Family Services
Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homlessness
Los Angeles Regional Food Back
St Joseph Center

Rush hour may cause road rage for some, or cause others to grind their teeth in frustration, but for me, I think of cheap wine and small bites. So if you’re stuck Downtown or in Culver City during rush hour (4:30-7pm, Mon-Sat), take a break from the daily grind of the LA freeways and stop in for some cheap eats and drinks at BottleRock in Culver or Downtown.

Rush hour for some, wine hour for you and me.

Each location has a different menu, but feature specials like a savory tart for five dollars and a 3 cheese or charcuterie plate for eight at the Culver location. Or try the al pastor tacos and short rib sliders for five bucks at the Downtown location. Wines vary depending on availability, but run from $4-$6 and draft beers for $4. If the wines on the happy hour menu aren’t for you, they’ll open any one of the 800-1000 bottles of wine as long as you order two glasses. They also offer retail prices on all wine, so if you wanna to keep the party going all night long, you can take a bottle home.

Like something you tried? Take a retail priced bottle home with you.

Grilled cheese dippers with swiss, tomato chutney and a roasted tomato soup.

A personal favorite, the short rib sliders with candied shallots.

Al pastor tacos, braised pork shoulder with avocado, cilantro, and a house srirracha.

Brightly colored tuna tartare crostini topped with ahi, avocado espuma, kumquate vinnergette and lime.

Win tickets for you and a guest to attend Taste of the Tour food and wine festival! Taking place this Saturday, May 22 from 1-4pm, foodies, oenophiles, and cycling fans will unite at Malibu Family Wines vineyard estate for the Taste of the Tour event. Watch the Stage 7 time trials of the Amgen Tour of California, sample a delicious line up of food from Stone Fire Grill, Saddle Peak Lodge, Westlake Village Inn, Firenze Osteria, and more. Sip wines from the collection of Malibu Family Wines including the limited edition King of the Mountains Cuvee, the official wine of the Amgen tour. Chef Fabio Viviani from Firenze Osteria and star of Bravo’s Top Chef will also be on hand. Participate in the raffle in the 805 Living Lounge to benefit Amgen’s Breakaway from Cancer. Plus, check out bike demos, cycling gear and merchandise. Regular price tickets are $95 a couple.

In order to enter, simply retweet this story with @diglounge. You must retweet with @diglounge to be eligible. Any other tweets will be disqualified. One entry per person. Entries must be submitted by noon PST on Friday May 21.

More about King of the Mountain Cuvee:

Malibu Family Wines has produced a limited release wine bearing the official 2010 Amgen Tour of California mark from grapes grown along the Amgen Tour of California route next to the King of the Mountains line. This proprietary red is an exquisite blend of Bordeaux and Rhone varietals representing the finest of the Semler Estate 2008 vintage.

LA’s best wine festival is just around the corner (June 5-6) and Dig Lounge has an exclusive discount code for it’s readers. But the LA Wine Fest isn’t just for people who like wine. They’ll be over 150 wineries, food, spirits, and beer too. It’s the perfect way to spend a June afternoon. Taking place at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, participants for the weekend include the Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition 2009 Gold Medal winning wines, Ventura County Winery Association, Paso, Santa Barbara, Napa and Europe. Plus Karl Strauss Brewing Co., Pacific Edge Wine & Spirits, Boutique Sake and more. A full list can be perused here.

Special events (for an extra fee) taking place over the weekend are cheese tastings with the Cheese Impresario, a Bourbon Tasting with Knob Creek, Scotch Tasting, and a wine seminar with Mark Newman. Serving up food (at a small extra cost) to soak up the afternoon booze, Border Grill Truck, La Piazza, Lola’s Restaurant, Must Bar, Raleigh Grill, The Tasty Meat Truck and Tsunami Sushi. Get $10 off single day tickets using code MATT on checkout.