Fillmore Vintner Raises a Toast to Enterprise’s Sophomore Year

Edouard Giessinger knew he was going to be a full-fledged winemaker when he opened his Fillmore winery last year. What he didn’t know was that he also was going to be a full-fledged wine educator.

But as he prepares to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Giessinger Winery, the UCLA professor has become used to the idea that teaching and interacting with his customers is an important element of his business.

“We don’t just do wine tasting, we do barrel tasting, we explain the whole process of wine, that this wine goes with this food--there’s a large educating process,” Giessinger said. “What has been most attractive to people is that I am here on the weekends with them. People find it fascinating when they deal with a winemaker.”

Giessinger, the winemaker in question, will spend Saturday and Sunday with his guests at a special anniversary party. Visitors will have an opportunity to sample several of the winery’s newest releases--its 1997 Chardonnay, a 1997 Semillon and its 1996 Zinfandel.

The celebration, he said, will be well-deserved, given that the first year went better than expected.

Giessinger said he’s looking forward to an even better sophomore year, a year that will begin, he hopes, with the placement of a sign on California 126 advertising the winery to passersby.

That sign, he said, could be in place as early as February if it gets Caltrans approval as expected.

“I think we can do much much better if we have a sign on the freeway,” he said. “Most of our business is from outside Fillmore. We are something in between--where people don’t have to drive from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara or Napa.”

In addition to building his clientele in Fillmore, Giessinger would like to spend a large part of his second year in the wine business establishing himself in the west end of the county. He said he is currently in negotiations to set up a micro-winery in the Pierano building on Main Street in Ventura.

And Giessinger said he also is negotiating a lease on a wine tasting room on lower State Street in Santa Barbara.

This weekend’s anniversary party will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 365 Santa Clara St. There will be music, art, hors d’oeuvres and a discount on wines. For information call 524-5000.

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Christmas cookies are still lying around the house, extra holiday pounds have yet to be shed, plenty of toy gifts are still operational. It hardly seems time to start thinking about other festive occasions.

But some Ventura County restaurants already are gearing up for Valentine’s Day.

This year Feb. 14 falls on a Saturday--a typically busy dining-out night--so especially large crowds of loving couples can be expected at area eateries.

Early reservations are something to consider. Over the next few weeks we’ll provide some suggestions for couples who would like to assure themselves a table:

Valentine’s Day is always a popular time at Cafe Bellissimo in Thousand Oaks, where the singing waiters and waitresses will be belting out romantic tunes for the occasion. A guitarist also will be on hand to provide the romantic serenades.

In addition to its usual menu, Bellissimo will serve special Valentine’s dinners for two. Though the menu is not finalized yet, last year steak and lobster were featured.

The restaurant is at 105 Brazil St. Call 379-3811 for reservations.