Cafe Society: Heritage Square party opens wine tasting room
Ventura County’s newest winery tasting room — yes, there’s more than one — officially opened Thursday night with the snip of a blue satin Oxnard Chamber of Commerce ribbon.
After that, the vino flowed freely as George Gilpatrick and Faye Hawes of Rancho Ventavo Cellars stood behind a newly constructed bar in the former drawing room of the historic Scarlett House in Heritage Square, pouring samples of their 2005 Paso Robles merlot, 2006 Central Coast petite sirah and 2005 Santa Maria Valley pinot noir. The take-home, per-bottle price on the latter had been reduced to $24 in honor of the occasion, which was more than two years in the making.
A grinning Gilpatrick dressed for the party in a T-shirt printed with the words “Drinks Well with Others.” Hawes sparkled in a black tee studded with crystals in the shape of a glass of red wine.
Fellow Heritage Square tenant Michelle Kenney, owner and chef of La Dolce Vita, was so eager to have the winemaking couple as her neighbors that she pressed husband Greg Kenney into service as the builder of the aforementioned bar. And on Thursday, her restaurant kitchen was the source of the wine-pairing party foods, which included rosemary flatbread studded with red grapes and, for dessert, pound cake layered with blueberry cream cheese and ganache.
The partnership will continue: If you buy a bottle of wine at the tasting room and walk it over to La Dolce Vita, restaurant staff will waive the corkage fee. Conversely, if you spend $60 or more on your meal at the restaurant, you can skip paying the tasting fee at the winery. And when the Heritage Square summer concert series opens on June 12, you’ll be able to book a table for four on the Scarlett House porch, with wine, appetizers and music included in the $25-per-person price.
Regular tasting room hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. The tasting fee is $10, including the glass; return with the glass on a subsequent date and pay $5 (741 South A St., 483-8084).
You’ll also find Rancho Ventavo Cellars, fellow members of the Ventura County Winery Association and dozens of local chefs at the Casa Pacifica Angels Wine & Food Festival to take place 1 to 5 p.m. June 7 at CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo. For information and tickets, $75, click on http://www.cpwineandfoodfestival.com.
WHAT’S NEW?: As the former owner and chef at Sano Cafe in Port Hueneme, John Leo Wilson is no stranger to the region’s restaurant scene. He also has worked as a consultant at Ric’s Restaurant in Camarillo, before it switched its focus from fine dining to upscale sports bar.
Now he’s back, this time as the new owner and chef at Capriccio in Oxnard’s Centennial Plaza. To hear Wilson tell it, he is such a fan of the linguine pescatore and “simple elegance of the food” at the Capriccio restaurant in downtown Ventura that he leapt at the chance when its sister location went on the market. With linguine pescatore, chorizo-manchego pizza and portobello and roasted garlic risotto on the menu, the Oxnard Capriccio now serves lunch and dinner Mondays through Saturdays (221 W. Fifth St., 486-1100).
Meanwhile, back in Ventura, the Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill in the remodeled Fresh Choice building in the Pacific View mall parking lot will open to the public for lunch service at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The debut comes after several by-invitation “practice” services benefiting such charities as the Navy & Marine Corps Relief Society and Special Olympics of Ventura County (3449 E. Main St., 620-4500).
COOKING THE BOOKS: Originally scheduled for publication in April, the “Cafe Firenze Cookbook” featuring recipes by “Top Chef: New York” fan favorite Fabio Viviani is now headed for release on June 30. The delay hasn’t kept Moorpark resident Viviani from making the talk-show rounds, or from sharing his recipe for Italian Steak with Creamy Polenta with readers of People magazine. Check page 98 of the June 1 issue with Bristol Palin and baby Tripp on the cover.