THE CROWD:A midsummer night’s wine tasting at Le Quai

Tucked away on a quiet artery in the cannery district of Newport Beach is an intimate restaurant called Le Quai. The French-to-English translation simply means “the dock.”

On Wednesday evening, proprietors Dennis and Chris Overstreet opened their little “dock” on the bay to the Newport crowd for what they called a “Midsummer Night’s Wine Tasting.”

If there is such a thing as the quintessential Newport Beach social setting, this was surely it. The Overstreets have taken this corner of bay front paradise and transformed it into an ultrasophisticated yet relaxed environment that stirs the senses.

Upon entering the restaurant, you pass by a floor-to-ceiling wall of private wine lockers containing the liquid gold belonging to regular local clients who frequent the hideaway to toast the good life.

Dennis Overstreet is, after all, one of the world’s leading wine experts. His bigger-than-life personality and knowledge of the history of wines has made him famous in the courts of European royalty as well as serving the Hollywood elite from his home base in Beverly Hills as proprietor of the Wine Merchant.

Passing by the wine lockers and down a narrow corridor, a very small stainless steel state-of-the-art kitchen is bustling with a very young and talented culinary staff. There are actually more people in the kitchen than there is square footage to accommodate them. The chef and his crew are shoulder to shoulder working feverishly to concoct another special summer evening by the bay for the awaiting clientele.

Within a few more steps you have gone from the inside to the outside, as Le Quai is, in fact, nothing more than a dock with a glass-domed roof bordered by vibrant orange canvas awnings to protect guests from the elements. The late-afternoon setting sun filters through the glass ceiling as a breeze off the bay stirs the draping orange curtains in a sultry motion that is in concert with jazz music coming from somewhere.

Chris and Dennis have removed all the dining tables and instead have placed long banquet tables the length of the dock down the center of the space covering them in white linen cloths to the floor. Dozens of crystal wine glasses are lined up on the tables much like lines of boats in the harbor just outside the restaurant. The wait staff of beautiful young women and handsome young men is placing an array of hors d’oeuvres.

In a corner of Le Quai, Dennis is decanting bottles of red wine into an enormous crystal container. Winemaker and special guest of the evening, Stephanie Wilcox of Grapevine Vintners, joins Dennis preparing the setting for the arriving guests. Wilcox has brought an assortment of wines, including David Arthur, Babcock, Beaux Freres, Hitching Post, Miner, Melville, Patz & Hall Hyde, Plumpjack, Talley and more. .

The crowd begins to arrive, and within minutes Le Quai is buzzing with some 100 wine lovers sampling and sharing stories of the day. Courtney Campbell from Travel + Leisure Magazine is among the guests. Lido Isle’s Mary and Cesar Cappellini visit with friends including Anne and John Wortmann, Steve and Andrea Johnson, Bob Iger, and man about town Richard Hall, with not one but two beautiful brunettes: Hillary Millard and January Olds — one on each arm. Also in the crowd were Chuck Allen, Gloria Clark, Janet Cornell, Tom Cuccia, Scott Duncan, David Elliott, and Kristyn and Sarah Fleming. Bret Reed, Jeff Ruben, and Newport celeb bachelor Scott Sarkisian, aka Sarko, held court in another corner of Le Quai.

The wine tasting began with the pouring of Cade (Plumpjack) Savignon Blanc followed by a chardonnay from Patz & Hall Hyde Vineyards, then Plumpjack Merlot and La Cupole from Tuscany paired extremely well with the carpaccio appetizers.

The most popular taste of the evening was the 2004 Chateau Mouton Rothschild. Overstreet is famous for his vast selection of Bordeaux, and Le Quai has become well known to those in search of both Bordeaux and Burgundies.

The crowd dined on a selection of fresh fish, roast lamb, New York filet mignon, crab cakes, lobster ravioli and Overstreet’s signature risotto.