West End Bar & Kitchen in Del Mar sold out an 80-seat wine dinner featuring Napa Valley's Groth Vineyards & Winery. The Camino del Mar restaurant's next five-course pairing event is set for Thursday, Sept. 24.
Proprietor Sal Ercolano's restaurant drew a crowd that included 24 members of the American Institute of Wine and Food's San Diego chapter for the Groth dinner, The Coast News reported. Susan Buxbaum, the chapter's treasurer and a board member, confirmed the group's attendance to Coast News wine columnist Rico Cassoni.
Executive chef Carlos Ramirez built the five courses around Groth wines presented by the winery's West region sales manager, Eric Wooliever. Wooliever walked guests through Groth's history during the evening.
Dennis and Judy Groth purchased a 121-acre vineyard along Oakville Cross Road in Napa Valley in 1981. The winery's 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon became the first American wine to earn 100 points from critic Robert Parker, Cassoni wrote. Their daughter Suzanne Groth now leads the family winery as president and CEO.
Ramirez's menu opened with a winter citrus and goat cheese salad paired with the 2025 Sauvignon Blanc. A house-made Dungeness crab cake with citrus aioli followed, matched with the 2023 Estate Chardonnay from Groth's Hillview Estate in Oak Knoll.
The main courses stepped up in weight. A slow-braised heritage beef short rib over black truffle risotto came alongside the 2022 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. Then a grilled dry-aged rib-eye with roasted carrot and mascarpone-whipped potatoes met the 2022 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the iron-rich Conn Creek portion of Groth's Oakville Estate and aged 21 months in 100% new French oak. Cassoni called it the evening's standout pairing.
A dark chocolate lava cake with blackberry reduction closed the meal alongside the 2021 Oakcross Proprietary Red.
DAOU dinner set for Sept. 24
West End's next event features DAOU Vineyards on Thursday, Sept. 24. The five-course menu centers on herb-crusted Colorado lamb paired with DAOU's flagship Soul of a Lion Cabernet Sauvignon.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Dinner starts at 6 p.m. Tickets are $145 per person, including tax and gratuity. Reservations are available at westenddelmar.com.
