08/12 CHRIS TARANTO, PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY ALLIANCE, MICHAEL CHIARELLO

CHRIS TARANTO - PASO ROBLES WINE COUNTRY ALLIANCE  

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is a cooperative marketing alliance made up of Paso Robles Wine Country wineries, vineyards and related businesses. The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance is a 501c6 nonprofit organization operated under the guidance of a nine-member board of directors.

Harvest Wine Weekend  October 18 - 20, 2013
Harvest is the most colorful time of year in Paso Robles Wine Country and those in the know have long since discovered the experience that can be had while visiting wine country at its height of activity. Held the third weekend in October, wineries celebrate the beginning of the vintage by inviting you into their individual events that are as diverse as the wineries themselves. Please visit the Harvest Wine Weekend page for more information.


MICHAEL CHIARELLO - ACCLAIMED WINNING CHEF    

Michael Chiarello is an award-winning chef and owner of the critically acclaimed Bottega restaurant in Napa Valley, who made his mark by combining the traditions of his Southern Italian roots with the distinctive hallmarks of the Napa Valley lifestyle. From his earliest childhood memories – created around his mother’s California kitchen with his extended Italian family – Michael Chiarello knew he wanted to be a chef. Decades later, Chiarello has accomplished his dream, and much more.

In the time since he graduated from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, he has garnered accolades and awards as a chef, vintner, specialty food pioneer, philanthropist, author, and television host. Throughout his achievements, Michael’s core values are always apparent: Showcasing seasonal, sustainable products, and supporting the artisan purveyors who produce them while inspiring friends and family to gather around the table and create meaningful memories of their own. Chiarello’s passion for the community created by food is freely shared with his fans, restaurant guests, television viewers and wine loving friends alike.

Michael was named the Chef of the Year from Food & Wine Magazine in 1985, just three years after graduating from the CIA. He later received the CIA’s Chef of the Year Award in 1995, and was again acknowledged by the CIA in 2011 with their Alumni of the Year award. His books have received awards and nominations from both IACP and the James Beard Foundation. And his innovations with California olive oil in the mid-90’s earned his olive oil business, Consorzio Flavored Oils, the Best Product Line Award at the International Fancy Food Show. After turning his love of sustainable products to his own vineyards in 1999, he created Chiarello Family Vineyards, and his small-production wines are consistently high-scoring and well-regarded. And since 2000, Chiarello has been the tastemaker behind the Napa Style retail line of artisanal foods, kitchen and home.

He has been on television for a decade as the host of his own shows on PBS, Food Network, Fine Living, and Cooking Channel. His Emmy Award® -winning show Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello., began in 2003 and still airs daily. In 2009, he appeared on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, winning second place and over $25,000 for charity. He has appeared numerous times as judge on Bravo’s Top Chef and Top Chef Masters. In Fall 2011, he appears on the Next Iron Chef on Food Network. A popular celebrity guest chef, Chiarello appears on frequently on NBC’s The Today Show, CBS’s The Early Show, Regis & Kelly, and The View.  Based in the Napa Valley, Michael lives among his vineyards with his wife and children.