Michi Vino

Had the pleasure of attending my first Michi Vino over the weekend… Michi himself invited me as his special guest! What an honor :)
In case you don’t know what Michi Vino is, it’s an offshoot of the Campbell restaurant, where their catering company partners with a local winery to serve up the best sushi and vino in South Bay. Hence the name «Michi Vino». Although Michi’s restaurant is a bit small, the sushi is anything but. Plus, Mr. Shin and his crew LOVE doing over-​the-​top events… Just ask to see pics or check out the website to see what they’re up to on the weekends. We’re talking partnerships with Silicon Valley moguls and shoe sensations like Donald J Pilner. Def not small potatoes, or small tuna in this case :)
This particular Michi Vino brought us to Black Ridge Winery, up in the Los Gatos hills. I knew that there were wineries hidden around these parts, but am always a tad nervous to be driving around these meandering, narrow roads. It’s easy to take a wrong turn and end up careening down. Lucky for us, Black Ridge isn’t too far up and very easily identifiable with a big «BR» embossed gate. Once you enter the property, prepare to be amazed. What a view! I could see someone having a small wedding or birthday party here, with a few picnic tables, gardens and «guest house» event space right by each other. It would be a classy affair for sure!
Once the other guests arrived, Michi’s and Black Ridge brought their A-​game out to play. Appetizers, tastings and the sunset? And that was just the beginning. We were all seated at round tables with what appeared to be a million wine glasses. And if that was a preview of what was to come, everyone at the table was a little anxious. Excited, ’cause it was a Saturday night, but a little curious to know exactly how much wine we’d be drinking…
Lucky for us, it wasn’t overwhelming. 8-​courses of food *is* a lot, but it’s a tasting menu, so portions aren’t huge. Just enough. Wine pours were «just right», like in Goldilocks. My favorite course had to be the short ribs, which is a Michi’s family secret recipe. Also, it’s a little different from what they serve at the restaurant, which was nice to try. My favorite wine was Black Ridge’s Malbec, which was dark and jammy. It tasted more like a Syrah to me, but hey, what do I know? After about 3 hours of eating, drinking and meeting new friends, we left the winery stuffed and ready for some SNL action on the couch!
Tickets are purchased ahead of time, either for just the 8-​course dinner + wine or the dinner + wine + limo ride to the winery. At $ 100 per person, it is a bit pricey, but now knowing what you get, it’s not a bad deal at all. If you think about what you’d throw down on a nice dinner for yourself or you and a +1, seems par-​for-​the-​course in the area.
Plus, you get a unique experience that someone else plans for you. And you get to meet new people and hopefully get introduced to some vino that you’ve never tried before.
5-​stars to the Michi’s team, Black Ridge Winery and to my +1 for coming along on this winetastic adventure!