Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/61075
FESTIVALS Where Crustaceans Meet CALIFORNIA'S MENDOCINO COUNTY GETS CRABBY Cuvées And The Winners Are . . . Author Glen Putman was on a panel of six judges in a blind tasting of 48 wines and 11 crab cakes. The public chose their favorites at the Saturday cook-off and tasting. Professional Choice – Crab Cakes First Place: Assaggiare Mendocino – Chef Julia Conway Second Place: Come to Your Senses – Chef Kerri Barnett Third Place: Mendo Bistro Chef – Nicholas Petti People's Choice – Crab Cakes First Place: Harvest Market – Chef Margaret Fox Second Place: Come to Your Senses – Chef Kerri Barnett Chef Kerri Barnett's crab cakes took second place in the "Professional Choice Award." I Chef Nicholas Petti of Mendo Bistro. f the savvy locals and eager visitors to California's northerly Mendocino County began to skitter sideways in late January, it's understandable. Blame the human crab-like shuffl e on the thousands of pounds of succulent fresh Dungeness crab that hungry revelers packed away over a week-long feast during the Mendocino County 2012 Crab & Wine Days festival. Every January for the past 13 years, Mendocino County residents and tuned-in tourists kick off the season by celebrating locally fresh-caught Dungeness crab and award-winning wines from "America's Greenest Wine Region." It's a festival that satiates the taste buds of foodies and enophiles alike. To me, there is no sweeter sound than the popping of corks and the cracking of fresh crab! From gourmet crab dinners, to a family-style cioppino feed, to the ever popu- lar Crab Cake Cook-Off featuring local Mendocino chefs, this event has been named one of the Top 10 Seafood and Wine Festivals in the U.S. by Coastal Living magazine. This year, local wineries, including Husch, Roederer Estate, Parducci, Navarro, Milano, Handley and dozens more, served up favorite vintages at winemaker dinners and tastings throughout the county and also at the offi cial wine tasting competition held with the crab cake cook-off. Visitors enjoyed dinners, demonstrations, events and lodging specials over the course of the week, with most of the proceeds benefi tting the Mendocino Coast Clinics, a local non-profi t health center in Fort Bragg. The dates for the 2013 Festival are Friday, January 25 through Sunday, February 3. www.visitmendocino.com —Glen Putman 32 / the tasting panel / april 2012 Third Place: Little River Inn – Chef Marc Dym Professional Choice – Wine First Place: McNab Ridge 2010 Sauvignon Blanc Second Place: Maple Creek 2009 Artevino Chardonnay Third Place: Navarro 2010 Pinot Gris People's Choice – Favorite Winery (multiple varietal pours) First Place: Toulouse Vineyards Second Place: Maple Creek Winery Third Place: Simaine Cellars The winning crab cake from Chef Julia Conway, Assaggiare, Mendocino. PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT MENDOCINO COUNTY PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT MENDOCINO COUNTY PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT MENDOCINO COUNTY PHOTO COURTESY OF VISIT MENDOCINO COUNTY