Paul Hobbs has left the building

The Marlboro Man of the wine world was here for one night only. On June 12^th, Paul Hobbs visited Palmetto Bluff to host “Home for Dinner”, an evening of home cooking paired with eight of Paul’s tremendous wines.

I will admit that I was a little intimidated at the thought of meeting Paul; after all he is a legend in my world. We were to spend at least an hour together in the car on the way back from the airport and it could have been awkwardly silent but thankfully he is down to earth and easy to talk to. You would have never known that he is the head of an empire and one of the most influential winemakers in the United States not to mention his projects in Chile, Argentina and Hungary.

We instantaneously hit it off at the airport and chatted our way through a few errands and throughout our journey to the resort. In anticipation of our time together I had a long list of questions that I was eager to ask him but our conversation never made its way to wine. We discussed politics, wealth, the Bohemian Club, corporate America etc. but never a mention of our one commonality. It was surprising and refreshing.

The evening started off in the garden of Marge and Norm Agin, our hosts for the evening, which was complete with a coy pond and miniature locomotives circling atop the pond.

The dinner began with Paul telling us about his childhood, the early part of his career and how the Paul Hobbs Winery began. As dinner started Guest Chef Kevin Gillespie of Woodfire Grill in Atlanta, GA eloquently explained his approach to the menu and his creations for the evening. Our Executive Chef Kirk Gilbert shed some light on his menu items and revealed the meaning behind his “Home for Dinner” menu item, “Spaghetti & Meatballs”.  

I think we made quite an impression on Paul and hopefully it convinced him that there are some serious food and wine lovers in the south and to visit Palmetto Bluff again soon.