Rotary Wine Pairing Dinner – A fantastical evening of wine, food and friendship

Participants at the sold out Rotary Wine Pairing Dinner were not disappointed by the wine, the food or the fun atmosphere created at the old Moose Lodge on the corner of F and Curry streets.

After checking in, each person was sent to their assigned seat to get their first glass of wine, Eberle 2021 Reserve Chardonnay. This gave everyone a chance to mix and mingle, look at the 33 items on the silent auction table and purchase opportunity tickets for the incredible quilt specifically designed for the event by Cathy Criger.

A piano performance by the very talented Eliza Lytle entertained the crowd and continued during the appetizers, which consisted of tasty seared scallops with golden kiwi, plus butter grilled pita with Portuguese sausage and sage derby cheese served with an Eberle Côtes-du-Rôbles Rouge. The buzzing amongst the diners was a great reflection of how delicious both the scallops and the wine were together. Our chef, Mano Lujan, of Red House BBQ fame, was very explicit on why he chose to make each dish with each specific wine. There is certainly an extraordinary chemistry to creating dishes that bring out the elements of a wine and Mano has mastered the art of food pairing.

Nothing was rushed. Plenty of time was given between courses for people to visit with friends at other tables and make auction bids or participate in a game of chance with a 50/50 card pull or to guess the number of coins in a large jar.

The event is a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club, who uses the funds for many projects in our own community, including supporting two youth groups called Interact. One group at Tehachapi High School and the other at Valley Oaks Charter School. Rotary is active with 12 Days of Christmas (which provides boxes of food to seniors and families), Breakfast with Santa, SayYES (a positive seminar for youth), kindergarten book donations to promote literacy, scholarships for graduating high school seniors, supporting a sewing project and other organizations like The Salvation Army with coats for kids and a back-to-school drive. Rotary also plans an afternoon tea for seniors to socialize and a fashion show.

Dinner went on to include a salad of winter radicchio, Fuji apple vinaigrette, pumpkin spice goat cheese, dried persimmons with seared pancetta, toasted pine nuts and Korean pear with an Eberle Côtes-du-Rôbles Rosé ... a fantastic treat for the taste buds. The main course was curry braised beef short ribs, served with a mixture of garlic butter and sauteed oyster mushrooms, dried figs and barley served with an Eberle Cabernet Sauvignon. We finished the gourmet feast with a 2019 Eberle Port for dessert and a pistachio ricotta cake with spiced dark chocolate and mulberries.

Everyone left with the most satisfied feeling after a dining experience beyond the usual here in Tehachapi, as well as a fantastic introduction to a winery that is celebrating 44 years in Paso Robles. The owner, Gary Eberle, has been a Rotarian himself for over 50 years and the hospitality at Eberle Winery is top rate.

For more information about joining Rotary, please call Tim Trujillo at (661) 821-0086.

Join us for other events from Rotary in the future.