September 23, 2025 – While the 49ers were managing to eek out a victory over the Cardinals last Sunday, 17 chefs were cooking up an amazing lineup of dishes a few miles away at The Glass House in San Jose.
Star Chefs is an annual fundraiser for Momentum for Health, an organization that has been providing mental health services for Santa Clara residents for over 65 years, and is one of the most highly anticipated events for its supporters. For three hours they get to feast on the creativity of a dozen or so top local chefs, and they get to vote on their favorites. After, there’s a fun live auction, with mostly wine and food related chef dinners, international culinary trips and the like.
In short, it’s a culinary connoisseur’s heaven.
This year, with 17 food and beverage combinations to sample, it was hard work, but the kind of work I relish, especially when there are some amazing wines to enjoy. And if they paired well with the dish with which they were being served, all the better.
Our local Monterey Bay area wineries did themselves proud.
2023 Ser Sparkling Riesling from Wirz Vineyard, served with beef tartare gochugang in a teensy waffle cone from Eos & Nyx (San Jose) – a perfect savory, creamy bite, made more perfect by the creamy but bright sparkling wine crafted by Nicole Walsh.
2024 Joyce Albarino from Arroyo Seco, a sassy palate cleansing wine served with a mini salmon poke crispy taco with Asian slaw, created by chef Trent Lidgey of One Fish Raw Bar and Dos Pescados – a two-bite snack perfect for poolside book-reading or watching the kids whack each other with foam noodles.
2023 Common Thread Brut Rosé, Central Coast, a delightfully refreshing sparkler of Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay made by local winemaker, David Baird, and poured by Curtis Cooke of The Champagne Bar at Tasting House Los Gatos. This fruit-tinged yet drivingly satisfying sparkler with Champagne-level complexity, was paired with chef Ross Hanson of Oak & Rye’s Gruyère stuffed arancini with celery root puree and Calabrian chile aioli. This combo was so good, it was in my top 4, and was declared the Chef’s Choice Winner.
2023 Eye Candy Pinot Noir, San Benito County, poured by a rep from Better Beverage Company, who told me it was primarily sourced from Eden Rift Vineyard, in San Benito County. It was in the nouveau style, fresh and fruit forward with very little oak, and danced lithely with the rich mushroom and truffle cheese tart served up by chef Anthony Secviar of Protégé (Palo Alto). This dish was named Judge’s Choice. (It wasn’t in my top 4, as I thought the wine needed a bit more oomph to stand up to the dish.)
2023 Madson Wines Gamay Noir, Central Coast, poured by the lovely Abbey Chrystal, whose dress matched the label far better than the overly spicy Bywater gumbo matched the wine. Although the wine was bright and brambly, and could handle a fair bit of spice, that extra dark gumbo with spicy andouille sausage was a bridge too far.
2012 Doctor’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Lucia Highlands, custom-made for the Plumed Horse by winemaker, Bill Brosseau of Testarossa Winery, poured out of magnums by Plumed Horse and showing its age nicely. From a low-acid drought year, it has developed a warm coziness that was a bit lost on the ponderous beef and mushroom tart that really needed a big fat Cab.
2021 Mount Eden Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains, a barrel-fermented lemony arrow of precision that hit a bullseye with the two-part tomato carpaccio dish served up by chef Alex Whiteman of Goodtime Bar (new in San Jose), topped with both a foamy tomato espuma and sweet tomato sorbet made by Chef Julian Silvera of Tasting House. This dish was my summer snapshot pick of the day, as those TomCat Farms tomatoes sprinkled with queen sesame and topped with pickled shimeji mushrooms and gochugaru was something I could eat until the tomatoes have left the building.
The People’s Choice was Jackie’s Place, a soul food restaurant in San Jose that absolutely slayed it last year also. They won for their spicy smoked beef brisket and pepper jack cheese Soul Roll served in a fried wonton wrapper, along with a fried chicken version that contained mac ‘n cheese and collard greens, drizzled with sweet potato glaze. These were served with Old Hillside Bourbon Whiskey sweet tea, made very sweet to beat the heat.
About the author
Laura Ness is a longtime wine journalist, columnist and judge who contributes regularly to Edible Monterey Bay, Spirited, WineOh.Tv, Los Gatos Magazine and Wine Industry Network, and a variety of consumer publications. Her passion is telling stories about the intriguing characters who inhabit the fascinating world of wine and food.
