A Peek Inside the Tournament of Roses Float Building Frenzy

The folks at the San Antonio Winery distribute the line of Stella Rosa semi-sweet sparkling wines, and this year Stella Rosa is unveiling its first-ever float at Wednesday's 125th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade. To celebrate the float, Stella Rosa threw a party on Saturday in Irwindale, next to the float-building warehouse. The cool part: We got a tour, and got to see the craziness up close as volunteers worked around the clock to get flowers, seeds and other plant life glued to the floats (per Tournament of Roses custom).

Besides Stella Rosa, floats under construction at the Irwindale warehouse include Dole, Kaiser Permanente, MiracleGro, SeaWorld, the City of Torrance and more. There's a sense of community at the site, as plenty of movement in and out of the building as volunteers shuffle in and out. Food vendors are even outside to feed hungry volunteers. I'm sure things will even get more crazy leading up to Tuesday night as the floats prepare for a late-night slow ride to Pasadena.


Buckets of flowers


Entrance to the float warehouse


Transformer float


Hopefully this duck is more tolerant than some of the other ones we know


The Sea World float, under construction.


The MiracleGro float volunteers work on butterflies


Camels!


Hard at work on the Kaiser Permanente float


Monkeys!


Fish!


Seahorse!


Chick!


Under construction.


Rows and rows of flowers.


Now that's an unfortunate sight.


Tucked in a corner, the float that will carry the Tournament of Roses royal court looks simple now, but on New Year's Day is will be covered with roses (naturally).


Working on a float


It's the first float for Stella Rosa, which is using the theme "Stellabrate Good Times." The Stella Rosa float will feature dancers plus KC and the Sunshine Band performing on top. Nearly 300,000 flowers will cover the float, which comes with a hydraulic top (so it can be lowered while going under overpasses).



This year's 125th parade includes 91 participants, 46 of which are floats. The parade kicks off on New Year's Day at 8 a.m.

Sunday Outdoors at the San Antonio Winery

As we mentioned last week, downtown's San Antonio Winery -- one of our fave spots -- held an outdoor event pairing their wines, along with some microbrews, with BBQ. We couldn't resist.



The BBQ chicken won the day, while I also particularly enjoyed San Antonio's Maddalena zinfandel. A few more shots:

Booze and BBQ at the San Antonio Winery

One of our fave downtown landmarks, the San Antonio Winery, is pairing wines and barbecue this weekend for its latest Sunday afternoon event.

"Big Bold Wines and BBQ" will pair wine and artisan beers with appetizers and tri-tip, among other foods. Event takes place on Sept. 19 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; cost is $38.

San Antonio Winery
737 Lamar Street, downtown Los Angeles

A Taste of Italy in Downtown L.A.

One of our favorite L.A. attractions, downtown's San Antonio Winery, celebrates its final "Food and Wine Festival" of the year with a Taste of Italy. Event takes place this Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the winery (737 Lamar Street in downtown Los Angeles).

Here's the menu:

Piedmont: Foccacia al formaggio with grana cheese, smoked mozzarella, olives and herbs; Wine: Renzo Castella, Dolcetto d’Alba 2007

Veneto: Grilled radicchio salad with mushrooms, pancetta and balsamic roasted garlic dressing; Wine: Ruggeri, Prosecco Gold Label

Umbria: Antipasto of Umbrian smoked dried meats, mushrooms, cipolline, artichoke hearts and olives; Wine: Armaldo Caprai, Grecante 2007

Lombardia: La Michetta Milanesa, traditional Alpine mini sandwiches with salami, prosciutto cotto, Fontina and pepperoncini; Wine: La Montecchia, Godimondo Cabernet Franc, 2007

Liguria : Grilled seafood pescatore kebabs – sea bass, eggplant, tomatoes and bell peppers with Maddalena’s special basil lemon dipping sauce; Wine: Luzano Verdicchio de Castello di Jesi, 2008

Alto-Adige: Grilled polenta with Porcini mushrooms; Wine: La Boatina Pinot Grigio, 2008

Emiglia Romagna: Beef ragu a la Bolognese, parmeggiano cheese, pane rustico al aglio; Wine: San Antonio , Boutique Lambruscio

Toscana: Pizza Florentina with fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, prosciutto, basil and olives; Wine: Fattoria di Petroio, Chianti Classico, 2007

Sardinia : Stefano’s naturally raised lamb kebabs with spicy rosemary-lemon olive sauce; Wine: San Felice , Il Grigio, Chianti Classico, 2007

Sicily : Chicken Marsala with sautéed mushrooms and Marsala wine sauce; Wine: Capanna, Rosso di Moltalcino, 2006

Tix are $50. More info here: (323) 330- 8771. The cost of the event is $50.00 per person.

Staycationing At The San Antonio Winery

Downtown's 90-year-old San Antonio Winery has been celebrating the food and wine of several global regions this summer, holding monthly themed festivals. In July, the San Antonio offered up a "Taste of Italy," and this past weekend we attended the winery's "Taste of the Americas."

The event included tastings of several Mexican, Chilean and Argentine wines, along with Mexican, Cuban, Peruvian, Brazilian, Chilean, Bolivian, Argentine and San Salvadoran bites. Dancers, meanwhile, presented some live entertainment. A few pics:









The tastings included San Antonio Winery's own Maddalena Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. From Mexico, Guadalupe Valley's L.A. Cetto wines included Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Nebbiolo. From Chile, Tres Pinos Viognier -- which San Antonio Winery has started bottling exclusively for Trader Joe's -- was offered, along with Miguel Torres "Santa Digna" Cabernet Sauvignon. And from Argentina, the event included a Malbec and Tempranillo from Mendoza's Correntina.

San Antonio Winery is serving up one more food and wine festival event in September: The "Taste of the Mediterranean," on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. (I won't be able to make it -- that's the night of the Emmys. But you go suck down some wine for me.)

90 Years of Downtown's San Antonio Winery

One of our favorite L.A. landmarks, the San Antonio Winery, celebrated its 90th birthday on Sunday with a harvest festival benefitting Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.



We headed over there toward the tailend but were still made to feel at home, checking out the cuisine and tasting several wines. Apparently we missed the dancing and other entertainment.



The Riboli family first opened the winery in 1917 and continue to produce a wide variety under the Maddalena, San Simeon, Aliento del Sol and Riboli Family Vineyard labels (using grapes from estate vineyards in Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Monterey). I particularly liked the 2004 San Simeon Syrah (with grapes from their Monterey vineyard).



Maddalena Restaurant provided the food, including Italian Meatballs and Grilled Sausages, German Potatoes with Smoked Bacon, Vegetarian Lasagna, Polenta Casserole
and a delicious Black Angus Meatloaf. Good stuff. Happy 90th to one of Los Angeles' oldest continuously operating family businesses.

Check out our past posts on the San Antonio here.

San Antonio Winery: 90 Years and Counting

Wine barrels in the San Antonio storage facility

Steve Riboli has been doing some research, but so far has come up empty. How many L.A.-based mom-and-pop businesses, he wonders, have operated continuously under the same family for 90 years?

So far, Riboli knows of only one -- his own, downtown's San Antonio Winery. Founded in 1917 by Riboli's great-uncle, Santo Cambianica, the San Antonio (named after Cambianica's patron saint) will celebrate its 90th anniversary next year.

It's a distinction the Riboli family wears as a badge of honor. The San Antonio Winery managed to weather prohibition (keeping busy by supplying sacramental wine to the Catholic Church) and survive the changing make up of Los Angeles -- where vineyards eventually disappeared, taking the city's once bustling wineries along with it.


San Antonio's wine tasting room

As many as 50 wineries once operated in Los Angeles, but San Antonio is the last remaining one. It's one of my favorite Los Angeles points of interest -- so much so that I included the winery as a stop on my 2003 Mike's Birthday Race. (Racers stopped at the San Antonio tasting room, above, and were required to complete a tasting before receiving their next clue.)

Mmmm... vats of wine!

I remember hearing from several race participants later, shocked to learn that Los Angeles is actually home to a working, vibrant winery. (The grapes are now grown up north, including Paso Robles, Napa and Monterey.) Even now, it's one of L.A.'s best kept secrets. But Steve and family are looking to change that -- which is how we ended up with an invite a few weeks ago to check out the place.

Located east of Downtown, the San Antonio Winery is a sprawling complex featuring a wine tasting room, the bustling Maddalena Restaurant and its wine production and distribution outfit. It's also a popular spot for parties, wedding receptions and meetings... and the Riboli family continues to expand those areas to grab even more business, particularly during the holiday season.

Inside the Maddalena Restaurant, with Steve Riboli and mother Maddalena

It's truly a family enterprise: They're both in their 80s, but Steve's father, Stefano, is still an active part of the enterprise, while his mother, Maddalena, can be found on most days at the restaurant (named after her) that she launched in the mid-70s. (Above, that's Steve, with Maddalena, at the restaurant.) The fourth generation of Ribolis are now involved, as Steve's nephew, Anthony, is a winemaker as well (one of the winery's four).


San Antonio has moved beyond its traditional table wines and has won countless recognition for its upscale labels, including Riboli Family Vineyard, San Simeon and Maddalena.



In honor of its 90th anniversary, the winery has also created the "San Antonio Heritage" label, which "celebrates the traditional 'field blends' of Santo Cambianica and Stefano Riboli." According to the Ribolis, field blends -- in which many grape varieties were planted in the same vineyard -- were popular up through the first half of the 20th century. The San Antonio blend includes Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Grenache and others.

Winemaker Arnaud Debons offers up a taste from one of the wine barrels

While there, Steve gave us a tour of the San Antonio facilities, giving us a peak behind the scenes at where the wine is stored and aged.

While dining at the Maddalena Restaurant, Steve also discussed the unusual harvest season this year. Because of the unusually warm weather, the grape harvest was delayed by a month. (When we met in late November, the winery was just finishing the year's harvest.) While he hesitated to blame global warning, he did warn that a few more years of such unusual weather could really impact the process.

Food at the Maddalena

San Antonio Winery will hold its next "Wine 101" wine tasting seminar on Jan. 20 and 21. Wines to be sampled include Turnbull Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Napa Valley, Grgich Hills Fume Blanc 2005 Napa Valley, San Simeon Chardonnay 2003 Monterey County, San Felice Il Grigio Chianti Classico Riserva 2001 Tuscany, Sterling Vineyards Merlot 2002 Napa Valley, San Simeon Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Paso Robles, Opolo Vineyards Mountain Zinfandel 2005 Paso Robles, and Maddalena Vineyard Muscat Canelli 2005 Paso Robles. Food will also be served; cost is $60.00 per person.

San Antonio Winery, 737 Lamar St., Los Angeles (323.223.1401)