Wine dates: Martin Ray, Family Winemakers, Barbaresco vs Barolo

Here are a few upcoming wine events to put on your calendar:

The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar in Tustin will host a winemaker dinner featuring the wines of Martin Ray on Thursday, March 14. The four-course dinner prepared by chef Yvon Goetz includes heirloom tomato gazpacho paired with the 2012 Napa Sauvignon Blanc, yellowfin tuna and lump crabmeat napoleon with the 2010 Santa Cruz Chardonnay, wild Loch Duart salmon with French green lentils and the 2010 Santa Cruz Pinot Noir, and for dessert, chocolate amaretto frivolite with almond brittle and the 2008 Diamond Mountain Zinfandel Port. The cost is $99 per person, excluding tax and gratuity. Call (714) 258-7600 for reservations; [email protected].

As of today, there are still some tickets left for the 2013 Annual Family Winemakers of California Southern California tasting at the Del Mar Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall on Saturday, March 9. The tickets are for the Reserve area on Saturday only, when 25 winemakers will pour wines that retail from $75 to $150 in the iSip lounge. They’ll go for $100 and include entry to the trade segment from 1 to 3 p.m., two hours before the official opening to the public. General admission tickets that day are $60. To purchase tickets, visit fwcconsumertickets.eventbrite.com.

The Wine Hotel is presenting a Barbaresco vs Barolo dinner on March 18 at a private room in Terroni. There will be six wine flights and five dinner courses for $240 per person, with tax, tip and valet included. It’s a chance to taste some remarkable examples of mature Barbaresco and Barolo. The first flight, for example, pits the 1985 Ceretto “Faset” Barbaresco against 1989 Gaja “Sori Tilden,” while Flight Three includes four Barbarescos -- 2005 Roagna “Asili,” 2006 Marchesi di Gresy “Martinenga,” 2008 De Forville and 2004 Sori Paitin “Vecchie Vigne.” The Barolos begin with Flight Four and 1974 Cordero di Montezmolo “Enrico VI” and 1990 Brovia “Monprivato.” Call The Wine Hotel to reserve your seats. (323) 937-9463.

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