Cultivating adventurous tastes, for grapes

Marisa O’Neil

Those looking for a libation beyond traditional chardonnays and

merlots are sampling fruits from the vine at the Newport Beach Food

and Wine Festival this weekend.

The festival at the Balboa Bay Club and Resort wraps up this

morning with an 11 a.m. brunch featuring high-end Champagnes from

some of the world’s most prestigious makers.

But so far the most popular part of the festival, which started

Friday, was a pinot noir tasting, said Dieter Hissin, a director at

the resort. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the light, red wine

just so happens to be the same one lauded in the Oscar-winning movie

“Sideways.”

“We sold out a week ago,” Hissin said of the pinot tasting. “We

could have filled two [60-person] seminars.”

Whether it has anything to do with the movie, people seem to want

a little more adventure with their wines.

They’re looking for ABC: anything but chardonnay, Hissin said.

And they got it at the festival, now in its second year.

The festival started Friday with the pinot noir tasting, which

compared California wines with their European counterparts from the

Burgundy region. A seafood dinner, with wines to match, followed.

Saturday, the resort hosted a luncheon, featuring wines from the

Rhone region of France. Each of the five courses -- including

escargot, squab and lamb -- was served with a wine to compliment.

Matching the right kind of wine with food helps bring out the best

qualities in both, said Damon Ornowski, one of 60 master sommeliers

nationwide. The wrong pairing, he said, can leave a diner feeling

like he or she had a bad experience.

In general, he said, the sweeter the sauce on food, the sweeter

the wine should be. Food with heavy sauces can take a richer wine,

but drier, lighter wines pair better with lighter fare.

That means even a light, red wine, like a pinot noir, can go with

the right kind of fish dish. But amateur wine enthusiasts shouldn’t

be intimidated by wine, he said.

“People over analyze,” he said. “Just close your eyes and think

about the flavors. If you drink enough wine and eat enough food, you

can figure it out.”

Ornowski gave a presentation at a Saturday luncheon, focusing on

the wines from the Rhone region of France. The talk covered the

basics of wine geography and production to make it accessible to

everyone, he said.

Resort chef Josef Lageder, one of three who made the lunch, said

people at such wine tastings run the gamut in experience.

“Some are experts at them,” he said. “Some are adventurous and

want to learn.”

Temecula residents Chris and Leslie Pedersen, who attended the

lunch, aren’t exactly wine slouches. They live in an area known for

wine production, take trips to Napa, and consider themselves a little

more savvy than the average wine drinker.

But they were happy to have the chance to sample some new wines

from beyond the borders of California.

“After this, I’m liking the French wines,” Leslie Pedersen said

with a laugh, lifting her glass.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@ latimes.com.