Few people have experienced what it takes to plan a great wine dinner. Dawn Solomon of the Baja Vine Club has been planning these types of events for almost 20 years – the last seven in Los Cabos. With special relationships with many of the boutique wineries in Valle de Guadalupe, Dawn has access to some great wines. I was invited to attend the planning session at La Tuna Restaurant and Bar in San Jose del Cabo across from the G20 Convention Center and Tienda 17 on Blvd Forjadores.

Dawn brought a number of different wines and being familiar with the menu suggested a number of dishes that might work with these wines. However, she wants to make sure that the wine enhances the experience with the food. Meeting with Chef Judith Paz, Jeovanna Mendoza, one of the owners and Jorge Mendizabal, a manager, Dawn wanted their opinions and suggestions of the pairing between each of the wines and a number of different dishes. Chef Judith prepared a number of sample dishes and the group discussed which of wines was the best in terms of enhancing the flavor of the food. With each dish, the wine was tasted first, then the food and then the wine again. This provided each of the participants the opportunity to see how the wine changed the food or the food changed the wine.

Dawn had brought a sauvignon blanc, a rose, grenache, a syrah and a cabernet sauvignon to taste with the foods. The chef prepared a grapefruit salad, a tuna ceviche, shrimp with five different sauces, shrimp Govenor taco with both flour and corn tortillas and skirt steak tacos with both flour and corn tortillas. Additional dishes were prepared after the first round of tasting.  Each appropriate pairing was tried and discussed resulting in a number of changes and ultimately the decision on the four-course menu for the wine pairing dinner at La Tuna Restaurant and Bar at 6:30 pm on Wednesday May 27th.

The final menu agreed upon by the group was:

First Course: Cabrilla Ceviche with ramekins for the table of mango and pineapple paired with Gigi Sauvignon Blanc from Hacienda Guadalupe. The cabrilla ceviche was found to be a much better pairing than the tuna ceviche to the wine.

Second Course: Grapefruit Salad paired with Mouvedre Rose.

Third Course: A single Shrimp Govenor Taco with flour tortilla paired with the Solar Fortune Syrah.

Fourth Course: Sliced skirt steak with plain mashed potatoes on the side paired with the Pescador de Corazones Cabernet Sauvignon. The skirt steak taco was replaced simply with the skirt steak, which paired extremely well with the cabernet sauvignon.

Baja Vine Club wine pairing dinners are a taste and educational experience. Dawn introduces each of the wines, the attendees taste the wine and then is almost immediately served the food course to taste the food and then once again taste the wine. The group discusses the quality of the pairing and the effect of the wine and food on the taste of each.

La Tuna Restaurant and Bar does an excellent job of setting up an area for the wine pairing dinner in the restaurant, serving high-quality food and helping to ensure that the evening proceeds as planned.

To make a reservation for this even or learn more about Dawn Solomon and The Baja Vine Club visit their website at https://www.dawnsinsidersguide.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bajavineclub. You can contact Dawn Solomon on WhatsApp at +1 510-206-1779