Justin Wine Dinner at Sebastiani's

Thursday, August 3, 2011

Sebastiani's in Huntington Beach hosted a Justin Wine dinner tonight. They had one last week but it sold out immediately so they decided to add another. This dinner was 90% sold out. Big following for Justin Wines. The dinner was $75 so it was a good but compared to some of the other restaurants that are having a Justin Wine dinner at $125. The food at Sebastiani's is decent and a few times darn good.  But they are not consistent in their quality. I do not frequent them too much because of that.

We walked in and the room was set up with high "bistro" tables with high stools. I found it a big turnoff. I want to dine not nibble in a bar.  This I cannot do and neither could Toby. They did bring in a normal table for us and a few other people.

We started off with a 2010 Sauvignon Blanc.  A little to acidic for me. I had to end up taking a Prevacid so I could continue dinner. I found the Duckhorn Sau Blanc last night was far more to my liking. The dish we were served was a Salmon Ripiene. Cooked  Salmon rolls filled with goat cheese, chives and asparagus. Had a Sau Blanc reduction and served on a bed of spinach leaves.This was good. I could have stopped there and had dessert. I will say that the portions here at Sebastiani's are always good size.

Second course was Duck Ravioli with a Porcini mushroom and Pancetta sauce. This was the best dish of the night. Had nice earthy flavors. Sauce was very good. Unfortunately they served it with a 2009 Justin Cabernet Sauvignon. Doesn't anyone ever taste the wine with the food before making a menu ???? It was such a clash. At least in my mind and Toby's. Others in the room were raving. I sometimes wonder if people really know what they are tasting or are so enamored with the wines that they think the winery can do no wrong. I saved my wine and after finishing my Ravioli I drank the wine. The wine was so so to me. I did not feel it was ready to drink. It needed a few more years of aging. It also lacked something in its makeup. I have had so many other Cabs that were far superior to this one and better priced.

Main course was a grilled fillet in a peppercorn sauce.  Not choice meat but you could cut it. It did not have a lot of flavor so the sauce helped a lot. It came with seasoned vegetables. The wine was a 2008 Justin Justification which is mostly Cab Franc. Much more to my liking.

Dessert was Vanilla Bean ice cream with fresh strawberries drizzled with chocolate grenache. A good ending to a meal. The Raviolis and dessert would have been enough for me. A glass of 2008 Justin Obtuse was served. Again I waited until I finished my dessert before having the Obtuse. I just do not care for sweet with sweet. It's overkill.

I took a lot of my steak and vegetables home. Far too much food for me.  The wines were OK. But I am not a cult follower of Justin. They made their mark years ago with the Iccosoles and have been riding those coattails lately. Overpriced for what they are but if you are a big fan of Justin you would have been gushing like the others in the room. To those people that winery can do no wrong.

It took us over 45 minutes to finally get our check. We asked twice for it. We were the last ones to pay up. One person was handling all the transactions. So once in awhile I need to go back to Sebastiani's to remind me of why I do not frequent this establishment to often.  Not overly bad but not the greatest also. Was it worth $75 - NO. They got that price because of the overpriced wines. But is better than paying $125 and getting almost the same quality.