Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
PHOTO: CHANDLER MOORE Master Sommelier Chuck Furuya (left), of D.K. Restaurants with THE TASTING PANEL's Anthony Dias Blue in Hawaii. Looking Back, Looking Forward! HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TASTING PANEL'S 2012 DOUBLE GOLD TOUR T he 2012 edition of our annual Double Gold Tour, featuring Double Gold medal-winners from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and San Francisco International Wine Competition, included some familiar stops and a couple of new ports of call. We presented the award-winning wines and spirits to trade buyers coast to coast in 13 of the country's top markets, at some of the nation's hottest venues: Phoenix, at the Arizona Biltmore; Las Vegas, at Julian Serrano at ARIA; San Francisco, at Hotel Nikko (which also hosts the Competitions); Los Angeles, at Duplex on Third; Orange County, at The Crosby in Santa Ana; Chicago, at Cyrano's Farm Kitchen; Washington, DC, at Poste Moderne Brasserie; New York, at Beacon Restaurant; Miami, at The Dutch at the W Hotel; Dallas, at Komali; Portland, at The Cleaners at Ace Hotel; Seattle, at Liberty; and Hawaii, at Morimoto at The Modern Honolulu. Consumers also got a taste of the Double Gold winners as the Tour set up shop at The Biltmore Arizona Wine & Spirits Festival throughout four days of events featuring this year's winners. We also set some records. A total of 54 wines and 22 spirits signed up to participate in various cities, making this 148 / the tasting panel / january 2013 our biggest group to date. San Francisco hosted the largest tasting, with 49 wines and 22 spirits participating. The Tour visited two new markets in 2012: Dallas and Honolulu. The tasting in Dallas was at the stylish Komali Restaurant. Chef and owner Abraham Salum gave us a big Lone Star welcome as guests enjoyed Komali's popular Tex-Mex cuisine and sampled 17 Double Gold–winning spirits and 35 Double Gold–winning wines. Our inaugural Texas stop was a smashing success and we look forward to returning to Dallas on this year's tour! We inished the tour in Honolulu. The tasting was held on a breezy terrace at the beautiful Morimoto restaurant in The Modern Honolulu. A very appreciative and enthusiastic trade turnout sampled 13 Double Gold-winning spirits and 25 Double Gold-winning wines while nibbling on Morimoto's exquisite sushi and inger foods. Afterwards we asked ourselves, "Why did we wait so long to have a tasting here?" We most deinitely will be saying "Aloha" to Honolulu again in 2013. Entries are being accepted now through March 1 for the 2013 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, which will take place March 21–24.