By K.L. Riley

The Langham Hotel in Pasadena California is now hosting a monthly winemakers dinner. There couldn’t be a more perfect setting than this 5 diamond resort nestled in the outskirts of downtown Pasadena. Diamond chandeliers, marble floors, and impeccable service create an impressive backdrop for you to enjoy fine dining with fine wine personally catered to you. This particular event was the inaugural for wine dinners at the dining room in the Langham Hotel and the accuracy and timing of the service was equally as excitable as the food itself. The wine for this dinner provided by winemaker Byron Kosuge. Byron Kosuge is a native Californian, and studied English Literature as well as Viticulture and Enology and UC Davis. He was born and raised in the Central Valley of California. He began his winemaking career in 1985 with Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist Saintsbury. After 15 years at Saintsbury, he departed in 2001 to pursue his own label B. Kosuge Wines; Miura Vineyards, a brand owned by one time college roommate Emmanuel Kemiji M.S.; McIntyre Vineyards and Foghorn, both based in the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County; and Kingston Family Vineyards in Casablanca Chile. I found Bryon Kosuge to be an intelligent, logical, and verbose man who has a very distinct vision of wine and the winemaking process. He really wanted to take us into his world of wine making and thought it would be prudent to taste side by side comparisons of his Chilean wines and his California wines. Thus, educating us on the winemakers relationship to the cultivation and harvest of specific varietals in multiple regions. The menu consisted of a Sparkling wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah. The cuisine for the evening was the creation of Langham Hotel Chef Craig Strong. Chef Strong describes his cooking style as modern American cuisine with Mediterranean influences and French technique, based on classical training and prepared using contemporary styles and a mix of international products. Chef Strong loves the way food and wine play together and it was obvious that he concocted this meal specifically for the wine, each course was extremely delicate and savory yet not overpowering. The menu items included Crab Cakes, Venison, Guinea hen, lobster, seared ahi, and oysters. The people at the Langham Hotel take food, wine and hospitality very seriously and it was abundantly clear to me that this monthly event will soon be the talk of the town for foodies and cork dorks like myself. I also encourage all who attend this function to reserve a hotel room at the Langham for the evening in order to discourage drinking and driving. The rooms at the Langham are beautiful and it is a nice treat to yourself or to your significant other to stay at a hotel as prestigious as the Langham. The website for these events is http://www.thediningroom-langham.com There is no doubt in my mind that when your experience at the Langham is completed that you will find yourself making plans to revisit the hotel again for next months winemakers dinner and again after that. I found the evening to be glamorous, romantic, captivating, and educating and I assure you that you will feel the same.

Langham Pasadena/The Dining Room1401 South Oak Knoll Avenue Pasadena,, CA 91106 (626) 568-3900