Searching for the finest nectars to pair with our favorite Music to Your Mouth nibbles is a process that we revel in.

Sommelier Jason Carlen swirls and sips his way through a litany of libations until he finds the perfect balance of wines, liquors and beers to satisfy any palate. It is draining work but someone has to do it. As his research concludes, Jason has unveiled the liquid lineup for this year's event.

Part deux of day two started with a to-go sandwich in the small town of Occidental. We then traveled to the coast to dine where the Russian River meets the Pacific Ocean which was breathtaking. My picture cannot capture the beauty but attention still must be paid. 

After lunch we traveled through the twists and turns of the Sonoma Coast roads and above the cloud line to Hirsch Vineyards. The saying "as the crow flies" has never meant more to me; a five minute flight easily equals an hour drive. On a side note, as the crow flies, was the most commonly spoken phrase on our trip. It is a common descriptor of distance in California and appropriately so because you can see for miles but nothing is that easy for those of us traveling by foot or car. 

 At Hirsch we were greeted by David Hirsch who founded and planted the vineyard in 1980 to premium pinot noir. His background was in clothing sales but you would never know that today because there is no doubt that he is a farmer. David attributes the multiple terroirs of his vineyards to the grinding and gradual movement of the North American and Pacific Plates and the San Andreas Fault which lies beneath the vineyards. Each vineyard block has a different soil content which adds a very distinctive quality to the wines. The soils are a mixture of sandstone, heavy clay, sandy loam and clay loam that are scattered with a panoply of rocks varying in origin from igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary shale. The Hirsch website is a great source of information about their terroir and the Sonoma Coast.

We proceeded to the barrel room and tasted from fourteen different barrels of pinot noir. The 2008 vintage was smoky due to the fires in California. The barrels flavors ranged from smoked bacon to the beautiful clean fruit of a Chambolle Musigny. After tasting I selected four different blends based on the barrels we tasted. I wanted to create a wine that was predominately bright gorgeous fruit but still had a little of that vintage specific smoke. I have a feeling that regardless of my choice the wine still would have been kickin' good due to the quality of their juice. After tasting through all of the blends the one that appealed to me most was a blend of two barrels. There was a sweetness to the fruit, a silky-sexy texture and a little earthy smoke on the finish. After blending and bottling there will be fifty cases of Palmetto Bluff's first pinot noir called "Legacy".

A special thanks to David, Jasmine and Tess at Hirsch.

Today starts the second event of the 2010 Wine Dinner Series. This weekend we will celebrate the Lowcountry's culinary heritage with David Adelsheim of Adelsheim Vineyard.

When I moved to the south almost three years ago it wasn't for the heritage or the food. I didn't know there was more to it than biscuits and gravy and okra. The only thing that I had ever really eaten was frozen fried okra and some grits that my New England Grandmother attempted to appease my Southern Step-Grandfather. But after listening to my boss wax poetically on the wonders of Southern food, for a long time I might add, I eventually started to listen and realized that there was a whole world of food here and some fantastic stories to tell. Pair all of that heritage of food with a rip roaring glass of wine and presto, I found a whole new way of looking at the South.

As Sommelier, and the "Wine Geek Party Planner" of Palmetto Bluff,  I work to devise new and innovative ways to intoxicate our guests. Between the planning and execution of our year-long wine dinner series and week-long food festival my glass and plate are always full - I'm creating new and innovative ways for you to experience the tastes, sights and sounds of epicurean world.

My blog entries will be a fun look at my world through the often hazy lens of my wine glass.