Calmére’s 100acre estate offers San Pablo Bay views

explained, the views from the 100acre estate are stunning, spanning across San Pablo Bay.

Next, guests strolled a winding path to the dinner, housed in a former tractor barn turned into an expansive event space. Estate chef Nicolas Montanez had spent several days testing dishes while working closely with Fowler.

“Chef and I negotiated for food and wine pairings,” Fowler said. “We did a lot of tastings to see how flavors shift. Stylistically, I make wine to go with food, so my acids are naturally going to be a little bit higher. The goal is to have food enhance the wine and viceversa, with neither one overpowering the other.”

Montanez began by serving pan seared tuna with chioggia beets, miso glaze and bull’s blood microgreens alongside plush, cocoadark cherry 2016 Pinot Noir 667 ($90). Then he sent out tender roasted Sonoma duck breast with cherry gastrique, baby turnips and ruby yam puree complemented by a 2016 FiftyFifty of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot ($110).

The entrée was Painted Hills braised beef short ribs with truffled Yukon gold potatoes and wild mushroom ragout paired with 2013 Cabernet Franc Reserve ($175), while dessert wrapped up with local artisan cheeses, pomegranate jelly and baked dark chocolate bar alongside a 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve ($160).

As the hour grew later, judges may have been thinking about how, in the morning, they would rise early to once again start tasting hundreds of wines. But they lingered, chatted, and clinked more glasses.

That was no surprise to Dan Gaffey, director of marketing for Peju and Calmére.

“We call the vibe Carneros casual,” he said. “It’s less fast paced down here, serene and you want to just hang out and enjoy.”