2. March 2009 by Azat.

AOC - http://www.aocwinebar.com/

Monday, February 23 was a special wine flight night at AOC

Flight: Santa Barbara and Santa Rita hills
Bites:
*etude goat’s milk cheese and picolo cow’s milk cheese from Petaluma, California
*little gem lettuces with avocado, tangelo, radish and green goddess
*shrimp with smoked tomato butter and cornbread

We ordered the blood orange salad with hamachi, wild mushrooms, pork belly, black rice with squid, curry cauliflower, albacore, fingerling potatoes and the famous bacon wrapped dates. We had a both special flights from the special menu.

The blood orange salad with the hamachi was my favorite, followed close with the curry cauliflower.  The wild mushroom dish was excellent.  I did not try the pork belly but my 2 friends loved it.  The black rice and squid was loved by all around the table - it was exquisitely rich (not overly so), garlicky, tangy and delicious. I recommended the bacon wrapped dates to my friends as I have heard about them alot.  The bates are filled with parm cheese and wrapped in bacon and they got 2 thumbs up from friends.  We had a wonderful experience at AOC.

This is a GREAT restaurant where you get to try different food because of the small bites.  Its a bit pricey but the food is very good.

Albacore

Shrimp

Beat Salad

Squash

Naked Chef Jaime Oliver was at a table across from us.

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2. March 2009 by Azat.

Just got an interesting email from Mollydooker.  As you know I love Mollydooker wine.  Especially Two Left Feet, The Boxer and Carnival of Love

They have a new wine coming out called Sip it Forward.  Here is the email
G’day Azat,Things have been flat out here at the winery with the incredible response to our ‘Please Help us find a Wine Name’ email. Sparky and I are very appreciative of your fantastic input and suggestions. In the final count we had 2000 names suggested, and as they were all great ideas, it was extremely difficult to choose just one.
After much “discussion” we are excited to announce the name that we have chosen to embody the charity wine… ‘SIP IT FORWARD’.
A huge CONGRATULATIONS goes to Ian Muncy from Miamisburg, Ohio for submitting a name which we think encapsulates the purpose of this wine; being able to bless others around us. When I first read the name, I couldn’t stop thinking that as we drink and share this wine, how we could also be helping others in the world… not just the kids in Cambodia, but perhaps someone nearby, a local charity or something that each of us is passionate about. I think that the idea of paying forward our blessings excites and empowers all of us.

Want to Order Sip it Forward?
Several people have mentioned that they would like to purchase the wine when it is released. All you have to do is reply to this email or contact us at righthand@mollydookerwines.com with the subject line “Sip it Forward Waiting List” to ensure you get the first chance to purchase this wine when its released later this year. (The wine will be $25 per bottle or $300 per case and will only be available on our website. All proceeds will benefit Transform Cambodia).

Want to Get Involved?
How’s this for exciting. One of the other wine names suggested was “Blend a Hand” and while it wasn’t selected as the name of the wine, we thought that it would be awesome to use this name for our 2009 events. We have decided that this Fall we will host a series of Blend a Hand - blending seminars where we would love for you to help us blend the 2008 Sip It Forward. We hope you can join us for this exciting, interactive and creative part of what we do to blend WOW wines. We will be posting updates to our online Travel Schedule (www.mollydookerwines.com  /Find Us/Event Schedule) in the coming months, so make sure to check back to find an event near your home town. You can also email us anytime and as a Mollydooker Mate, we’ll make sure you get an invitation.

So now we’ve chosen the name, the next fun task will be designing the label!! We can’t wait to share it with you!

With Love,
Sarah Marquis,
On behalf of Sparky, Luke, Holly and the whole Mollydooker Team

Contact our ‘Right Hands’ - AKA Customer Service:(888)MDSHIRAZ (888) 637.4472

Mollydooker Wines USA: 1325 Imola Avenue #324, Napa, CA 94559

Mollydooker Wines: 8/938 South Road Edwardstown South Australia 5039

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