March 23, 2004 - La Tour to Host Winemaker Dinner with Williams Selyem Winery April 8 at the 14th Annual Taste of Vail

Vail, CO – At 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 8, 2004, Vail’s La Tour Restaurant & Bar is hosting what promises to be a spectacular winemaker dinner during the 14th Annual Taste of Vail, when this contemporary French American restaurant "where the chef’s go to eat" teams up with Williams Selyem Winery out of Healdsburg, California, known for its world-famous Pinot Noir.

"Ever since Williams Selyem won California’s Winery of the Year, they have taken on a cult wine following with their Pinot Noir, counted among the best in the world by wine critics everywhere," said Paul Ferzacca, executive chef/owner of La Tour. "Our winemaker dinner will be the Colorado debut for Williams Selyem Winery since until now it has only been available in California restaurants or through direct purchase from the winery."

Williams Selyem Winery is one of a handful in the country that sells its wines direct to consumers, with the balance available only in fine dining restaurants. Just this month, the winery agreed to make its wines available to limited restaurants in Colorado, with La Tour being the first. The winery limits its wine production to 10,000 cases per year.

"This wine has such a cult following, they have a backlog of more than 1,400 people waiting to get on The List in order to buy Williams Selyem’s wines direct," Ferzacca explained. "Most of those people will be waiting well over a year from now before they get on The List, which represents 8,000 people willing to pay top dollar for these incredible wines. This gives some perspective to the cult status Williams Selyem enjoys, and why our dinner with them is going to be such a treat."

While Pinot Noir is the signature varietal Williams Selyem Winery is known for, its Chardonnay over the years has received ratings as high as 94-97 from Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate, a rating usually given to "extraordinary" and "great" wines.

Bob Cabral, the winemaker at Williams Selyem, will be in attendance to talk about each of his wines served during the dinner at La Tour on April 8.

La Tour is located in the heart of Vail Village. The cost per person for the winemaker dinner is $150, which includes all taxes and gratuity. Reservations can be made by calling La Tour at 970-476-4403 and asking for winemaker dinner reservations or send email to info@latour-vail.com

Chef Paul Ferzacca has designed a three-course menu followed by dessert – all paired with acclaimed Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Muscat Canelli wines from Williams Selyem.

Menu and Wine Pairing:
• Fresh grilled sardines: carpaccio of blood orange, LMR Prato Lungo EVOO, Fleur de sel
v 2001 Williams Selyem "Heintz Vineyard" Chardonnay
• Grilled wild boar chop & el pastor braised fresh "bacon": ramps & radishes
v 2002 Williams Selyem Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
• "Duck & Date Wellington": caramelized turnips, natural jus
v 2001 Williams Selyem "Flax Vineyard" Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
• Meyer lemon crème fraise pane cotta: blueberry compote
v 2000 Williams Selyem "Windsor Oaks Vineyard" Russian River Valley, Late Harvest Muscat Canelli

About La Tour
La Tour is an award-winning contemporary French American restaurant located in the heart of the Vail Village. Executive chef and owner of La Tour, Paul Ferzacca, delights customers daily with his mouth-watering cuisine, which continually receives rave reviews from the culinary press. Chef Ferzacca, an honoree of the James Beard House in New York, has upgraded La Tour’s menu and has established a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list. La Tour has been voted by Vail Daily readers: "Best French Restaurant in Vail Valley," "Best Food – Regardless of Price" and "Most Amazing Restaurant Service." For more information go to www.latour-vail.com.

About Williams Selyem Winery
For over two decades, Williams Selyem Winery has been dedicated to producing ultra-premium handcrafted Pinot Noir and other varietals in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. For more information, go to www.williamsselyem.com.

About the Taste of Vail
In its 14th year, the Taste of Vail is the nation’s premier spring food and wine festival, held at several venues throughout North America’s #1 ski resort. During the annual four-day event upwards of 5,000 people are able to "taste the Vail Valley lifestyle" which showcases Vail’s world-famous resort village set against dramatic mountain vistas. Participants at the Taste of Vail experience the Vail Valley’s world-class restaurants, fine wine poured by winemakers and winery owners from top wineries around the globe, along with interactive seminars, Margarita mix-off, auction and dance, après ski tasting and the popular mountaintop picnic sensory extravaganza at the top of Vail Mountain. Proceeds from the Taste of Vail benefit Vail Valley charities. For more information go to www.tasteofvail.com

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