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We just attended a fabulous winemakers dinner on Aug. 25th, at Restaurant James Randall, in downtown Los Gatos. We have wanted to try this restaurant ever since it opened and now we had a great excuse. I actually heard about the dinner on twitter and so I made a reservation.

The restaurant is in a charming house turned restaurant and is nicely decorated and well proportioned inside.

I liked the fact that they had set up tables for groups of six so that each of us could sit at a table with one of the winemakers.

The noise level was high but not any louder than you would expect at an event of this kind. I noticed they had made efforts to reduce noise with sound deflectors on the ceiling and I must say it was working pretty well.

Through the course of the dinner, we met the restaurant owner, Brenda Hammond and her son the Chef, Ross Hanson. They were very personable, friendly and charming. You can follow Brenda on twitter at @bheeezy to hear more about her restaurant and upcoming events.

I am convinced that we were sitting at the “fun” table. We had the winemaker from Poetic Cellars, Katy Lovell and we also had Laura Ness, the wine marketing maven who helped to put the event together and her husband Greg (or was it Steve?), and their friend Bruce, who kept us all laughing with his Jack Nicholson impersonations, was priceless.

The food and wine pairings:

2007 Poetic Cellars Chardonnay
Chestnut Hill Vineyard
Prawn Risotto with Watercress Puree
Winemaker Katy Lovell

2008 Big Basin vineyards “Aura” Syrah Rose’
Spinach and Arugula Salad with
Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese and Strawberry Vinaigrette
Winemaker Bradley Brown

2005 Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir –
Pancetta Stuffed Figs with Fromage Blanc
Winemaker, Ed Muns

2005 Generosa Veranda Vineyard Pinot Noir
Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with Roasted Tomates
Laura Ness represented Winemaker Chris Gemignani

2006 Stefania Martin Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon
Grilled Rack of Lamb
With Mashed Potatoes and Succotash
Winemaker, Stefania Romero

Rich, Dark Chocolate cake and Coffee (actually more wine)

The food was fabulous, the wines excellent and the new friends priceless. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, highly recommend the wines and the restaurant and will definitely go back again.