MAY 4 at 5pm
DOES SBC PINOT NOIR stand up to BURGUNDY?
YOU BE THE JUDGE.
A blind tasting of four high-end Burgundies against four of Santa Barbara’s most iconic Pinot Noirs.
Half of the wines will be current vintages, and the other half one to two decades old.
Participants will rate the wines, scorecards tallied, and winners will be announced.
Hosted by sommeliers Raj Parr, Bonnie Graves, and Gabe Georis.
$75 PER PERSON
POST-EVENT DINNER
Pico will be offering a special post-tasting dinner and wine-pairing flight for Throw-Down participants.
Choose any item from our menu and have wines paired with each course for only $6 per half-glass
or $12 per glass. Or order a bottle from our extensive wine list at a 25% discount.
ABOUT THE PANEL
Raj Parr
Rajat ("Raj") Parr is an Indian-American sommelier turned winemaker, who oversaw the wine program of the Michael Mina restaurant group before starting his own wineries in Oregon and the Central Coast of California. Sandhi is his label of purchased grapes while Lompoc, Domaine de la Cote, and Evening Land all are productions from his and Sashi Moorman's (his business partner) vineyards. He produces Pinot Noir and Chardonnay exclusively, biodynamically and organically. His winemaking philosophy is based on little to no manipulation of the final product by never inoculating nor over-ripening.
Bonnie Graves
Bonnie Graves is the founder, president and voice of Girl Meets Grape, a wine and lifestyle agency based in Los Angeles and launched in 2005. Bonnie was born in Salt Lake City and raised on the Jersey shore, both areas known for many things if not the vineyards. She graduated from Harvard magna cum laude before she could legally drink. She collects weird rocks and old maps. She speaks a pile of fancy languages. She wound up a sommelier. Bonnie worked in restaurants for 15 years before paroling herself to marry the cute guy who is now the father of her two cute kids – life works like that. Momma needs wine and a whole lotta latte.
Follow her @girlmeetsgrape and visit girlmeetsgrape.com
Gabe Georis
Gabe Georis opened his first restaurant at age 31, a tapas-style restaurant modeled after the places he frequented while living in San Sebastian, Spain. But his wine and restaurant experience started at a much earlier age, when he was put in charge of the award-winning wine list at the restaurant owned by his father and uncle, Casanova, in his early 20’s. Gabe has a reputation for having a great palate, and an honest, no-frills attitude towards wine tasting. He currently lives in Carmel with his wife and two children, and owns and operates his new restaurant, Pescadero.
Remy Giannico
A native to Santa Barbara, and raised in Argentina. Remy formerly dedicated his time to the equestrian sport of Polo, in 2013 while studying Geography at UC Santa Barbara acquired a passion for wine thorough a tenor at the Brander Vineyard working closely with the family. In 2015 he completed his certification through the court of Master Sommeliers and was awarded the Walter Clore Scholarship for highest score, along with a scholarship to take the Advanced Course. Currently, Remy is the central coast sales representative for Skurnik Wines West a fine wine importer and distributor.