San Diego Wine-Paralelo Wine Dinner at Romesco with Noted Guest Sommelier

A very special Paralelo Wine Dinner hosted by Gourmet Magazine featured Chef Javier Plascencia at his restaurant Romesco with Special Guest Sommelier
Pedro Poncellis, Jr.

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Reception 
Passed Hors d’oeuvres
L A Cetto Champbrulet Sparkling Wine

First Course
San Quintin "Bule Tomato" (Mexican Pear Tomato) and Buffalo Mozzarella in "Carta Fata" (special Italian parchment like paper used to steam dishes) Perfumed with Valle de Guadalupe Cold Press Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Fennel Pollen

Second Course
Baja California Green Bouillabaisse Cappuccino, Sea Urchin Aioli, Salicornia Sea Salt Biscotti

Third Course
Caramelized Garra De Leon Scallop, Fava Bean-Epazote Petite Tamal, Preserved Lemon Pico De Gallo

Fourth Course
Sous Vide Cooked Veal Short Rib, Veal Cheek Cacao Canneloni, Ensamble Dos Veal Reduction, 4 Hour Braised Celery "Two Ways"

Fifth Course
Mexican Style Marzipan Stuffed Confit Figs, Garbanzo Ice Cream, Mezcal -Piloncillo Syrup, Pepita Crisp
Mayan Chocolate Spiced Truffles

Complemented with wines from Hugo d’Acosta’s Paralelo Winery

Paralelo is a boutique winery established by Hugo d’Acosta, the father of Mexican winemaking and founder of the cult status Casa de Piedra. In the ’80s, d’Acosta spent three years studying viticulture and oenology in France and Italy, then a year working at Chappellet Vineyards in Napa, before bringing his knowledge home to Mexico. After 12 years as winemaker and then director of Santo Thomas (established in 1888), he left to start his own winery, Casa de Piedra. The new Paralelo vineyards, which include mature Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Merlot, and Petite Sirah grapes, give the winemaker a lot more variables to play with. So does the terrain, which ranges from bright, orange-red clay soil to tan, sandy earth to rocky ground high on a hill. Paralelo was featured in a Baja wine article in Food & Wine Magazine October 2007. Paralelo's first releases, a pair of wines called Ensamble use Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes grown in parallel in two distinct areas of the vineyards. Paralelo will release 2,500 cases initially.

2005 Paralelo Ensamble Colina BA I
With a hint of Zinfandel, this wine made from hillside-grown fruit is bright and bold, with definite notes of fig, blackberry and cherry, firm tannins and a long finish.

2005 Paralelo Ensamble Arenal BA II
With Barbera added to the blend, this wine made from grapes grown in sandy soil shows a light fruit character with notes of cherry and strawberry, a hint of spice and a soft finish.

2007 Emblema Sauvignon Blanc

Ensamble, the debut wine from Paralelo, refers to the winemaker’s process of mixing different base wines together to create a collage of flavors and textures in the final blend. The two Ensamble wines share a base of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with a small amount of Petite Syrah -- with a couple of other grapes used to round out the blends. Tasting them together is like meeting siblings and noticing that although they have distinct personalities, they share a family resemblance.
(excerpt credit to AIWF Member Maria Hunt in an article she wrote for The San Diego Union Tribune)

Noted Guest Sommelier
PEDRO PONCELLIS, JR.

Pedro Poncellis, Jr. is the second generation of professional sommeliers in his family. He studied at the University of Tepeyac in Mexico City and is currently studying to obtain his master sommelier title by the Court of Master Sommeliers. In 2000 he received Mexico’s best sommelier award and represented Mexico in the world sommelier contest in Montreal. In his 14 year career he has worked in prestigious restaurants in Mexico City including the Alfredo di Roma, the University Club, and El Lago restaurant.

He also regularly contributes to several newspapers and food and wine magazines such El Norte, Reforma, Estilo Gourmet, and Gula. Mr. Poncellis is now director of his own company named Cepage, and specializes in the promotion and culture of wine through tastings, seminars, travel, symposiums, trainings, and sales. He distributes Mariatinto, a red wine from the Guadalupe Valley he made with well known chefs Richard Sandoval, Guillermo Gonzales and Humberto Falon.

CHEF JAVIER PLASCENCIA

Chef Javier Plascencia was born and raised in Tijauna, Mexico. He studied in the culinary program at San Diego Mesa College, took classes at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, and worked at several U.S. restaurant and hotel chains before returning home. Javier owns and operates Villa Saverios, Café Saverios, and Casa Plasencia in Tijuana, Mexico and Romesco Baja Med Bistro in Bonita, California. He also oversees four branches of Giuseppis opened by his father in 1967. It is said to be the first pizzeria in Baja. Romesco received a Silver Fork award by San Diego Home and Garden magazine, and Villa Saverios recently received the prestigious Five Star Diamond award, being the only Tijuana restaurant with this award.

Javier is a Founder and  President of the Baja California Chefs Association, which organizes important food and wine related events and promotes the cuisine of Baja California around the globe. Javier is also the Director and Founder of the First Farmers Market project planned for 2008 in Tijuana. Among many of Javier's further distinctions are being invited  by the Governor of Baja California to cook for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on his first official visit to Baja and being the first Guest Mexican Chef at Avenues of Art & Design in West Hollywood, CA with Chefs David  Myers, Wolfgang Puck, and David LeFevre. Javier's recipes have been published in many national publications. He along with Villa Saverios and  Romesco were featured in Colman Andrew's March 2007 Gourmet Magazine article: "Next Mex - On the Left Coast, the most exciting new food is being served south of the border and tastes of the best of the Mediterranean... But sometimes what is actually put on the table in front of us in Mexico itself confounds our expectations, a fact that is perhaps nowhere demonstrated more vividly, or closer to home, than by the 'Baja Med' cooking of northern Baja California - food based on the excellent raw materials of the region but owing more to the culinary traditions of Italy, Spain, Provence, and sometimes the eastern Mediterranean than to the cocina mexicana of our imaginations."

A particular point of  interest for Javier is "to promote the gastronomical richness of Mexico, and the quality of our local wines, products and organic produce, both locally and internationally, by integrating Mexican cooking techniques into every dish we serve."

PARKING-in shopping plaza.

DRESS-casual