Last month I spent a few days in Santa Rosa, California judging wine for the 2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair. Each year vintners from the Sonoma County AVA compete to win medals for their efforts. This year there were over 1000 entries. (You can see the winners at www.harvestfair.org ) For two days we arrived at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds where we donned a white lab coat, and sat before "flights" of wines. Each panel of 5 judges was responsible for judging over 100 wines each day. My panel judged a number of varietals including Zinfandels over $35 that included the wine that would eventually be named the Sweepstakes Winning Red Wine: 2009 Wilson Winery Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley-Sawyer Vineyard. Bold, lush, elegant and well balanced. If you can find it-buy it!

We spit by day but sip by night and the Harvest Fair Judges Dinner this year was at the beautiful Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards in the Carneros region of Sonoma County. It was my first visit to this winery but won't be my last.

Gloria Ferrer is known for its sparkling wines (and several were big winners in the Harvest Fair competition) and at this dinner, each course was paired with a bubbly. I was in heaven. I adore sparkling wine and always feel bad that many people think the only time to drink it is at a wedding or new Years Eve. What a waste of wine! Fortunately the folks at Gloria Ferrer know that sparkling wine is the perfect pair with food. There is that lovely balance of acidity for crispness and awakening the taste buds, and fruit for sumptuous mouth feel and satisfaction and those bubbles. Giggles in a glass!

The winery is a blend of Spanish style and Sonoma elegance and sits above the vineyards. A wrap around vista terrace offers spectacular views of the mountains, trees and vineyards below.

Dinner this night was created and served by Chef Steve Rose of The Vineyards Inn Spanish Bar and Grill in nearby Kenwood. Chef Steve is ALL about organic, local and biodynamic growing, cooking and living. In addition to the restaurant, he and his wife own a lovely Bed and Breakfast called Casa Verde (green house!)

In between courses I had an energizing conversation with the Chef who has been practicing what he preaches in the Sonoma area for decades. His restaurant was voted the "greenest in the Bay Area" and is now certified organic and biodynamic.

Chef Steve's family came to California from Pamplona, Spain in the late 1800's so his cuisine is the real deal. The produce is all organic and grown in the Vineyard Inn gardens. The fish are all line caught. And Chef Steve cans and freezes throughout the year so he can serve his customers fresh tasty food year round.

"Having a Bloody Mary with homemade tomato juice is the best!" he says.

The meal he created for our judges dinner was simple, fresh and out of this world delicious. And the wines from Gloria Ferrer elegant and approachable.

Appetizers were served on the wrap around deck of the winery providing a breath taking view and Chef Steve was prepping the meal outdoors as well, which got our taste buds salivating. I started with a bruschetta topped with fresh roasted garlic and organic tomatoes with a glass of the 2004 Royal Cuvee. This smooth creamy bubbly has lovely notes of lemon and vanilla.

First course was a freshly tossed salad made from greens that were hand picked just a few hours before the dinner and tossed with a subtle basil vinaigrette. The wine with this, another sparkling, the rich full 25th Anniversary Cuvee with notes of grilled bread and subtle citrus.

The main course was Paella Valenciana perfectly paired with a Gloria Ferrer classic, the 2000 Carneros Cuvee, a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that was yeasty, full bodied with a lush lemon creme finish. It was perfect with the paella with its chunks of fork tender seabass, mussels, clams and melt in your mouth calamari plus lamb chorizo in a saffron studded rice and organic Sofrito sauce. All items were local and organic. The red wine paired with the Paella was a winner as well. 2007 Pinot Noir with nice notes of truffle and juicy flavors of raspberry, cherry with a smooth finish.

Dessert was Zucchini Cake baked with chocolate that gave the tender moist cake a hint of cocoa. Paired with this was the unusual and hard to find Gloria Ferrer sparkling dessert wine called Va de Vi.

Va Va VOOM for the meal! And the wines. If you are visiting the area be sure to stop by the winery to see the glorious views and taste the award winning wines. www.gloriaferrer.com and make an effort to stop and dine at the Vineyards Inn Spanish Bar and Grill in Kenwood.