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.

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.

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.

Learn About Wine is returning to the Grove with their Summer wine tasting series, Summer Taste. This first event, taking place on May 12 (7-9pm) will feature sustainable, organic, and biodynamic wine and beer along with bites from the Farm of Beverly Hills. Dan Wilcox from KCRW will be providing the nights music, along with a silent auction to benefit Power to the People. The price is $59 advanced, or $30 for members. Participating wineries and breweries include Alma Rosa, Ambyth Estate, Aum Cellars, Coquelicot, Demetria, Frog’s Leap, Grgich Hills, Halter Ranch, Lone Madrone, Pomar Junction, Eel River Brewing Co., and Stone Brewing Co. Get your tickets here.

The newest kid on the Ventura County wine trail block, Four Brix Winery, is nearly ready for prime time. The winery, started by 6 friends all with the love of wine, started wine making as a hobby, then finally decided to share their wines inspired by France, Italy, Spain and California with their friends and family. The name Four Brix comes from the four wine regions they are inspired by and brix (pronounced bricks) being the measurement of how much sugar is in the grape. Their wines have already generated some buzz in the area.

Starting May 2 at The Wineyard in Thousand Oaks, sample their Super Tuscan wines along with Zeductive (Zin and Syrah blend) and their white Rhone style wine called Smitten. Prices to take home the wine will range from about $22 to $40. Other upcoming events include a meet the winemaker night on May 20th at The Wineyard and a coming out party on April 24th at Lost Canyons Golf Club (limited tickets available).

From the website:

Scosso, our Super-Tuscan style is made from Sangiovese grown in Westside Paso Robles. The Sangiovese is combined with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to complete this silky smooth wine.

Zeductive is a blend of Zinfandel & Petite Sirah. OurZinfandel is harvested from Paso Robles and is combined with the Petite Sirah from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma.

Smitten, a white Rhone-style made with Viognier from Tres Pinos has been married with the Marsanne from Lake San Antonio.

KnightNgale Vineyard in Paso Robles; site of their Syrah and Zinfandel grapes.

Four Brix Zeductive, Scosso and Rhondezvous.

Wine makers Steve and Lora Simonsgaard, Gary and Karen Stewart, and Tracy and James Noonan.

Enjoy some vino and nibbles at City Sip LA this Wednesday March 31, for a benefit to help raise money for the Downtown Women’s Center. Enjoy two glasses of wine and light hors d’oeuvres at this great wine bar, while helping out this wonderful charity. Your donation of $25 pays for the evening. Silent auction items at the event include four (4) Baseline Box Seats to a regular season Dodger home game or a cooking class at Chez Cherie with a signed copy of the I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook. Get your tickets here.

The Downtown Women’s Center provides permanent housing and a drop in Center offering food and supportive services for homeless women and women living in poverty in Downtown Los Angeles.

Just in time for these warm spring nights, LA’s only winery, San Antonio Winery has released their latest wine, Bodega de San Antonio. Their Tradicional and Blanco wines are semi-sweet festive wines with bursts of fresh orange, lemon and lime characteristics, with bright acidity. These refreshing sangrias are naturally fermented and enhanced by natural fruits. Pop open a bottle add some fresh citrus wedges and pour over ice and you have yourself an instant party when friends arrive for a weekend BBQ. Pick some up at the winery next time your in their tasting room, open every day till 7pm.

Not everyone has time to drive up to Santa Barbara for a day of tasting. So Dig Lounge is bringing the tasting room experience to Downtown LA! Join owner and winemaker Keith Saarloos of Saarloos & Sons Winery on April 10th from 1-5pm, as he takes you on a unique tasting experience right here in Downtown Los Angeles.

Taste 4 of Keith’s new releases – Daughters (Chardonnay), SoLo (Syrah), 194six: moon (Cab/Syrah), and brothers (Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc) – and pair them with delectable cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes like Chocolate Blackberry Syrah, Strawberry Delight, Meyer Lemon Chardonnay and Chocolate Cheesecake. Tickets are limited so buy now before this event sells out. Only $15 for Dig Lounge readers! Use code “DIGLA” for $5 off.

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW – CLICK HERE (SOLD OUT!)

Come downtown and enjoy the state of the art Met Lofts, while you sip on wine, nosh on cupcakes, mingle with other wine lovers and take in the beautiful April afternoon under the Downtown Los Angeles skyline. Come anytime between 1-5 pm.

No host valet parking is available in front of the building through Rivera Restaurant. Alternatively, there is a parking garage on the corner of Hope and 11th or limited street parking available. Met Lofts is at 1050 S Flower St., Los Angeles, CA 90015.

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

Enjoy Cupcakes in the Saarloon & Sons tasting room.

On Monday march 22, 40 Napa Valley Vintners will join LearnAboutWine, Takami Sushi and Elevate for a night of fun and energetic wine tasting. Elevate DJ’s will provide the soundtrack for a great night of liquid entertainment and small bites will be made available from Takami Sushi for a small additional fee. The event space is on the Penthouse floor of this impressive downtown location – with a 180 degree view of the entire downtown landscape. It’s gonna be a beautiful night, this is a perfect location to taste and enjoy the huge selection of premium Napa Valley Wines. Wineries include Reynolds Family Winery, Napa Cellars, VinRoc Wine Caves, Honig Vineyard & Winery and more.

This event is only $35 using the code “DIG” at checkout!
Buy your tickets now before this great event sells out.

Participating Wineries:

Antica Napa Valley – Antinori Family Wine Estate
Ashe Family Vineyards
Barlow Vineyards
Bennett Lane
Boeschen Vineyards
Bourassa Vineyards
Ceja Vineyards
Coup De Foudre Winery
Cuvaison Estate Wines
Dutch Henry Winery
Ehlers Estate
Emblem Wines
Fantesca Estate & Winery
Hestan Vineyards
Honig Vineyard & Winery
Long Meadow Ranch Winery
Madonna Estate
Pine Ridge Vineyards
Renteria Wines
Reynolds Family Winery
Rombauer Vineyards
Schramsberg Vineyards
Signorello Estate
Spring Mountain Vineyard
St. Supery Vineyards & Winery
Staglin Family Vineyard
The GRADE Cellars
Three Clicks Wines
Tournesol
VinRoc Wine Caves
William Hill Estate Winery
ZD Wines

Ventura County is slowly becoming a a wine country destination for wine lovers all over Southern California. It’s wineries range from an antique winery on a working 2,000 acre cattle ranch complete with a relaxing picnic area, to a state-of-the-art wine making facilities. With 10 different wineries (and more coming) on the Ventura County Wine Trail, it’s a great way to enjoy a relaxing day of wine tasting, fine dining and shopping in places like Ojai and Camarillo.

It’s a very different experience than tasting in Temecula or Santa Barbara. The roads aren’t lined with grape vines and the wineries aren’t exactly lined up along side each other either. But it’s still a fun day and a beautiful drive up the 101.

Cantara Cellars

We stop in first at Cantara Cellars. Owner Chris Brown was there to great us, the first customers of the day. The unassuming tasting room, located in an office park just off the highway, is welcoming and friendly. Chris explains that her and her husband first started making wines in their garage from their family’s grapes sourced from Lodi. She took us around the back so we could get a look at their facility and even gave us a taste of their 2008 futures right out of the barrel. Their wines end up being the best of the day, but I think tasting out of a barrel does it for me every time. They have a 2008 bottling event on March 20-21 at the winery and it’ll be a great event and fun time to check them out. Favorite wines: Cantara 2007 Zinfandel and Tempranillo.

Old Creek Ranch Winery

Chris from Cantara recommend Old Creek Ranch Winery for our next stop. We had a picnic basket full of cheese and charcuterie and needed a place to fill our stomachs with something other than wine. After a 20 min drive up the highway, and a literal river crossing, we arrived at the picturesque winery. The best way I can describe their wines are old world style, as the winery focuses on wines of Southern France, Spain, and Italy. At one point they grew all their own grapes, but like most wineries in this area, they now out source their grape buying now from places like Lodi, Napa, and Santa Barbara County. It’s the perfect place for a picnic, you can buy wine by the glass as you sit and overlook a small field of grape vines and the rolling hills of Ojai. Favorite Wine: Old Creek 2008 Grenache.

Casa Barranca

Casa Barranca is located in the quaint historic downtown area of Ojai. A hip tasting room and gift shop, it’s located amongst a row of ice cream shops, boutique clothing stores, book stores and art galleries. Another maker of old world wines, they practice organic wine making and even consider some of their wines vegan. I guess winemakers employ the use of animal product in the making of their wines, who knew. It’s a great place to stop in after walking the street and enjoying the historic shopping district. Favorite wine: 2007 Pinot Noir – Santa Rita Hills.

Rancho Ventavo Cellars

Located in downtown Oxnard, the Rancho Ventavo tasting room is situated in one of Oxnard’s oldest homes, The Scarlett House, built in 1902. Winemaker George Gilpatrick and his wife can often be found working the tasting room on weekends. Friendly and endearing, you feel a certain warmth and comfortableness in this craftsman style home, saved from demolition and placed amongst the other historic homes of Heritage Square. Their wines range from the old world style to California varietals. Favorite wine: 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Camarillo Custom Crush

Camarillo Custom Crush is unique in several ways. Their tasting room for one is located in a large wine making warehouse, and is just a table, surrounded by 3 white walls and a glass door. Secondly, they make wine for just about anybody who has the will and means. You can make as little as a single barrel full of wine or as much as 100 or more. Every weekend they feature different wines from their large library of labels, which means you can go nearly every weekend and not get the same wine twice. They are located just steps from the Oxnard train station so getting there is as easy as hopping on the Metro. Favorite wines: 2008 Symphony Of Wines Tempranillo and 2008 Milan Vineyards Duet.

There are a few other wineries in the area on the wine trail that we can’t wait to get back out and try. Of course there is Herzog, you most definitely have seen there bottles on the shelf at Ralphs or Bev Mo. Then there is newcomer Magnavino Cellars, Bella Victorian, and finally the Malibu wineries; Malibu Family Wines and Rosenthal. It’s an up and coming wine making area for sure. If you like old world style wines and exploring the unique flavors and styles of boutique wine makers then the Ventura County Wine Trail is for you.

See more photos on the Dig Lounge flickr pool.

Ventura County Wine Trail, click to enlarge.