Sommelier Hosted Wine Dinner

We just love wine-dinners and this series is titled: Sipping through the Sierra where we pair owner-chef Victor's great menus with our favorite Sommelier, Nicole Darracq's, top selections from each of the Sierra Foothill regions is no different! Wines are available for post event purchase and favorites end up on our wine list.

Sipping El Dorado will be held on Sunday, March 22. Tickets are $64 per person with dinner, wines, tax and tip included. Stay & Play room rates from $89 per room (2-people) breakfast included. Our next menu will look something like this:

• Appetizer: Happy Hour Bruschetta (topping TBA)
• Salad: (omething springy and light with an olive oil & lemon dressing)
• Treat: Caviar on crackers, cream cheese with champagne
• Main: Surf & Turf with Lobster with a red and a white, maybe a dry pink
• Finish: Mixed Cheeses, apples, fig compote
  5-courses, 6 wines, and some uncommon treats!

History of the Sipping through the Sierras Wine Dinners:
We started the program for many reasons, one to add a new twist bringing local Sierra Foothills wines to Groveland and to help us expand our wine list with tested favorites. By hiring a sommelier we weren't tied to featuring only one winery, but several. We were also able to invite many wine makers to join us further enhancing the experience. Each event allowed guests to purchase wines at a discounted post-event price and we were able to determine which wines were hits. These made it to our regular wine list.

We started with Sipping Calaveras. Victor presented the menu to Nicole who tasted her way through Calaveras wines to pick the best of the region for pairing with our menu with an eye to value if there were equally delicious choices. We had a grand time and the pairings were all award winners.

• Sipping Calaveras Menu
  · Cheese fondue with fresh cut apples, crostini and vegetables paired with Vina Moda, Viognier (Best of the Foothills, California State Fair, 2008)
  · Salad of mixed greens, pear & sunflower seeds with a blue cheese dressing with Twisted Oak, Ruben’s Blend
  (90 points, Wine Enthusiast Magazine July 2008)
  · Petite plate of clams simmered in a red wine sauce with Hatcher, Barbera
  (Silver Medal at Calaveras County Fair, 2008)
  · Venison rack cutlet or filet mignon with plum onion marmalade, paired with Frog’s Tooth, Tempranillo (Double Gold, Calaveras County Fair, 2008)
  · Zabaglione dessert paired with Ironstone Symphony
  (Double Gold and Best of Show, Calaveras County Fair & Gold Medal, SF Chronicle Competition)

Sipping Through the Sierra continued with Sipping Amador. For this evening we began with mixes sausages and a fantastic old vine Zin and then presented three appetizers with one wine and explored how each course changes the taste of the wine. We followed this with our main course of three mixed grill items, Filet Mignon, Ostrich Fillet and Venison Rack served with three toppings, blue cheese butter, black cherry and porcini mushrooms and paired all with three wines. Very complex!

Sipping Amador Menu

• A selection of Sausages: Elk, Boar and Smoked Duck with Sobon, Old Vine Zinfandel
• Appetizer plate: Grilled Scallop, Ceviche and BruschettaRenwood, Viognier
• Mixed Grill: Potatoes, Vegetables and petite cuts of
  Fillet Mignon, blue cheese-butter topping
  Venison with a porcini mushroom sauce
  Ostrich filet & a black cherry-port reduction
  Vino Noceto, Sangiovese
  Bray Vineyard, Syrah
  Willow Creek, Obra Prima
  Semi-sweet Chocolate Tiramisu Sobon, White Port

The small print:
Single event price: $64
3-Series Season tickets: $177 (a $15 savings)
To qualify for the season tickets they must be paid in full
Cancellations must be made 7 days before the event for a full refund
If you cancel with shorter notice and we are able to resell your reservation, you will be refunded your ticket price less a $5 processing fee.
If are a season ticket holder and then have to cancel after participating in one or more of the wine-dinners, the discount will be forfeit.

Winter events at the Hotel Charlotte

Here's the scoop on a few of the happenings in the area and at the Charlotte this winter. If you can't make it to the Charlotte yourself, many of these events make a one of a kind holiday gift, give us a call and we will make a wonderful holiday gift basket for you!

Bird Watching in the Sierra Nevada Groveland's Christmas Bird Count on 12/27 Groveland has an active Chapter in the Centeral Sierra Audubon Society and has scheduled their annual Christmas Bird Count for December 27th. What a fantastic way to spend one of your Holiday days! Make us part of your plans. To reserve your spot, contact Bill Zachman. More info: www.HotelCharlotte.com/birds.html

Restaurant Specials: We are offering several fall-winter specials in the restaurant on Thursday and Sunday nights through the first week of January and some great holiday menus for the coming festive season. We hope you will join us for one or all of these! www.HotelCharlotte.com/restaurant.html

• Thursday Nights: Gift Certificate Redemption Night Valid through 1/1/2009Join us for dinner on Thursdays, use your gift certificates and we will apply 5% more to the value of your gift certificate. (No cash back when your giftcertificate is worth more than your dinner, bring extra people!)
  
• Sunday Nights: Courses of Course! & Clear the Cellar Night Valid through 1/4/2009We are offering a 3-course dinner of soup or house salad, a 5oz bacon wrapped filet mignon & homemade ice-cream, coffee or tea for $19.95. Add a bottle of wine from our select vintages from $15, (the price of a bottle of house wine and only while supplies last) We have a few great wines in small quantities to share so we can make room for new vintages. The list will change weekly.

Christmas Dinner: Since Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, we will be open for dinner, 5:30 to 8:30. Christmas Eve the restaurant is closed, leaving that night to our staff to enjoy their own families and hope to serve you and your families on Christmas night after all the festivities have wrapped up for the day. We will serve from our regular menu and regular prices with a couple of specials, perhaps something like lobster, king crab legs or venison rack.

New Year's Eve Menu: Consider joining us for the early seatings, starting from 5:30 pm on Wednesday, December 31st. Perfect for those who like the party, but not the late hour of Midnight. The menu choices are:
Lobster bisque or wilted spinach and blue cheese salad
Entrée choices:

• $39 Stuffed Guinea Hen with plum sauce
• $49 Filet Mignon with a port wine and Porcini mushroom sauce
• $49 Ostrich Filet (a tender red meat) with black cherry sauce
• $49 Petite Lobster tail with drawn butter
• $19 Add a lobster tail to any entrée for an extra $19.

Dessert: Napoleon
A Glass of Champagne with Dessert
Coffee, tea or iced tea included

Charlotte Winter Entertainment Schedule is coming together with the following dates already confirmed and more to come! All of these events qualify for our stay & play room rates of $89 per room, breakfast included for 2 people.

• Saturday, February 14th: Valentine's Dinner
• Sunday, February 22nd: Sipping Amador, a wine dinner with Nicole Darracq, our favorite Sommelier
• Sunday, March 1st: Chianti & Crab Feast, Caesar Salad, 1/2 Crab Chiappino, Garlic bread, 1/2 a bottle of Chianti & Tirimasu for dessert. $29 tax and tip included
• Sunday, March 8th, Cabaret with Dennis Brown & Friends, a whole new show
• Sunday, March 22nd: Sipping El Dorado, the last of the Sipping through the Sierra Series with Nicole
• Friday, March 27th: Pine Cone Players Gala Dinner-Theatre for the world Premier of Groveland's got Talent
• Sunday, April 5th, Cabaret with Dennis Brown & Friends, a reprise of the March show for those who were out of town for that date.

By the way, any of these events can be made into a perfect holiday gift package for everyone you know--Let us help! www.HotelCharlotte.com/gifts.html