Dawn Solomon and the Cabo Wine Club held a wine dinner with Santiago Lopez, the winemaker and son of the owners of Solar Fortun Winery in Francisco Varco in the Guadalupe Valley in northern Baja. The vineyard was started in 2007, with the first harvest in 2010. The vines for the vineyard all came from the French Mercier Nursery in the Napa Valley. Santiago received a degree in wine making from the University of California, Davis. As Solar Fortun started to release wines commercially in 2012, they began to win awards.

Santiago Lopez worked with the chef at Kauil to match their wines with the four courses of the dinner. The first course was Asian Tuna Tartar paired with 2021 Rose Mourvedre. The second course was Tamarindo pork ribs paired with 2019 Mourvedre. The third course Lamb in Adobo sauce over mashed potatoes paired with 2015 Noble Cru. The fourth course was a Chicken enchilada smothered in their famous mole sauce paired ith 2019 Petite Verdot. We also enjoyed a churro with vanilla ice cream for dessert.

One of the great things about the wine dinners organized by Dawn Solomon is the opportunity to speak with wine makers, learn more about the wines and experience different restaurants in Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. This was our first time to visit Kauil, which is located on Calle Miguel Hidalgo just a block and a half from the Tesoro Hotel and across the street from La Dolce. The restaurant has three different rooms, providing a perfect venue for a private event of this type.