{"id":4612,"date":"2015-01-04T08:12:24","date_gmt":"2015-01-04T16:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hootnannieblog.com\/?p=4612"},"modified":"2015-01-04T08:12:24","modified_gmt":"2015-01-04T16:12:24","slug":"restaurant-month-niner-wine-estates-chef-maegen-loring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threeadventure.com\/hootnannie\/2015\/01\/04\/restaurant-month-niner-wine-estates-chef-maegen-loring\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Month: Niner Wine Estates and Chef Maegen Loring"},"content":{"rendered":"

January is \u2018Restaurant Month<\/a>\u2019 here in San Luis Obispo County and thanks to Visit San Luis Obispo County<\/a> and the generosity of Niner Wine Estates<\/a> we were invited to go out and enjoy their prix-fixe menu.<\/p>\n

The prix-fixe menu:<\/p>\n

Salad of Roasted Cauliflower, Dates, Tangerine, and Celery \u2013 Paired with 2013 Estate Sauvignon Blanc<\/p>\n

House Made Toulouse Style Sausage, French Lentils, Herb Salad \u2013 Paired with 2012 Estate Reserve Grenache<\/p>\n

Walnut Panna Cotta, Pomegranate Reduction, Cocoa Nib Cookie \u2013 Paired with 2011 Estate Doce Nove<\/p>\n

Each dish was plated beautifully but more importantly, each dish was overflowing with flavor. We enjoyed all three but Annie\u2019s favorite was the Salad of Roasted Cauliflower while mine was the House Made Toulouse Style Sausage dish. We felt the wine paired with each dish was spot on. The Doce Nove with the Panna Cotta was heaven.<\/p>\n

As you know if you\u2019ve been reading any of our content over the last five years, great food is just one aspect of a great dining experience. Sure, it is certainly a crucial aspect but to have a great experience you must take into account other aspects like environment and customer service.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk environment, or ambiance. The property is beautiful. It\u2019s covered by vineyards and has more olive trees than I could take the time to count. All of this surrounds two beautiful stone buildings that you can\u2019t miss as you cruise along Highway 46 West.<\/p>\n

After you meander up the long driveway past the olive trees and vineyards you enter the larger of the two stone buildings. On the inside you are greeted with the same stone walls as you were on the outside. You enter a spacious tasting room and off to your left you will enter the restaurant. They have indoor and outdoor seating but the best part is that it can\u2019t really get overcrowded.<\/p>\n

The restaurant space is a nice size but definitely not huge so it makes for an intimate experience. Due to the weather being chilly they had a fire going in the fireplace and that does nothing bad add to the ambiance. The way the restaurant is positioned you are looking through big windows out on to the patio, beautiful landscaping, and the now famous, Heart Hill.<\/p>\n

So at this point I\u2019ve covered the food and the environment, now let\u2019s talk customer service. Upon arriving we were greeted by Andy Niner, son of the owners, and he led us to our seat and spent a good 10 to 15 minutes chatting with us. He was extremely kind, informative, and was actually quite interested in knowing about us\u2026which I thought was kind of refreshing. Our waitress, CJ, was awesome from start to finish and Chef Maegen Loring even took time out from making those amazing dishes to come and chat with us.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s recap: The food presentation was awesome and the food itself was delicious. The property is beautiful, well maintained, clean, and inviting. The customer service was superb. For Annie and I this is the trifecta of a great experience. You can have one or two of these things going for you but when you get all three, you may just be on to something special.<\/p>\n

Quick side note: Niner Wine Estates is SIP Certified which stands for Sustainability in Practice. Long story short, it means they have taken the time to go through a process to do the right thing for the earth, the vines, the wines, and the people. You will also see below that Andy mentions that they are LEED Certified Silver which you can read more about on their website.<\/p>\n

Below you will see some questions I posed to Andy Niner and his answers:<\/p>\n

Matt: How long have you been SIP Certified?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy: We source from three different wholly owned, estate vineyards each with a different SIP status:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Bootjack Ranch \u2013 148 acres planted – Geneseo District \u2013 SIP Certified as of the 2012 Vintage.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Heart Hill Vineyard \u2013 46 acres planted \u2013 Templeton Gap \u2013 SIP Certified as of the 2013 Vintage.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jespersen Ranch \u2013 78 acres planted \u2013 northwest corner of Edna Valley \u2013 not SIP certified yet, our goal is to have it Certified for the 2015 vintage.<\/p>\n

Another significant thing to note on the sustainability front is the fact that our entire campus is LEED Certified Silver.\u00a0\u00a0 Tough thing to get for buildings at our scale \u2013 long story short, we got it because we are very water and energy efficient.<\/p>\n

Matt: How long has the restaurant been open?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy: The restaurant has been formally open since August.<\/p>\n

Matt: How would you describe the food that Chef Maegen is doing there?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy: Restaurant Philosophy:\u00a0 there is a moment when you experience how an artfully selected wine can pair with a dish, and transform the way you view both.\u00a0\u00a0 At a visceral level there is a spark in the eye, big smile, perhaps laughter and ultimately an experience with other people that you\u2019ll always remember.\u00a0\u00a0 We want to be in the business of creating those moments on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Maegen\u2019s Food Philosophy:\u00a0 as a diehard Farmer\u2019s Market enthusiast, all menus are created with two goals: to utilize local and seasonal ingredients whenever possible, and to create pairings that accentuate the nuances and living characteristics found in wine.<\/p>\n

You can see the latest menu here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matt: Any other upcoming events or plans with Niner that you want to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Andy: Next event on the horizon is a seven course Valentine\u2019s Day dinner featuring aphrodisiacs!\u00a0\u00a0 A pretty amazing menu and a great way to experience Maegen\u2019s creativity and food philosophy first hand.\u00a0\u00a0 See the menu here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Andy also added, \u201cKeep your eyes peeled for expanded hours, pop-up dinners, cooking classes and other food & wine education events.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big thank you to Andy Niner, Katie Bruce, our waitress, CJ, and Chef Maegen Loring. We really appreciate the time you gave us and look forward to seeing you again.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Cincopa<\/div>\n