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Monthly Archives: August 2016

At the table with Vino Nobile

Written by Allison Levine on August 31, 2016
Travel Lifestyle Food Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

I am writing my column this week from Montepulciano, where I just finished being a judge at A Tavola con il Vino.

It is August and a typical time for vacation, especially for Italians who seem to vacate their homes in August. But not in Montepulciano. Here we are at the end of August, and it has been a week celebrating community, history, culture, food and, most importantly, wine.

Montepulciano is an historic medieval and Renaissance hill town in southern Tuscany, in the province of Siena. The town is on top of a limestone ridge that is 1,985 feet high and overlooks surrounding vineyards of predominantly sangiovese. There are approximately 5,000 people who live in the old town of Montepulciano on the hill and more like 15,000 inhabitants in the entire region of Montepulciano.

Overlooking Montepulciano

Within the old part of Montepulciano, the streets are made up of eight contrade, a district, or ward in an Italian city. These districts were set up in the Middle Ages for military purposes but today they are areas of civic pride for those that live in them.

Read More +

Tagged A Tavola con il Vino, food, food and wine pairing, Gattavecchi 2013 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Italy, Montepulciano, Napa Valley Register, sangiovese, Travel, Tuscany, Vino Nobile, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Wine

Five Places To Eat and One Place to Drink in Napa

Written by Allison Levine on August 29, 2016
Food Wine

If you are heading to Napa, you might think of making Yountville or St. Helena your base. Not only are there wineries nearby but, at the end of the day, there are lots of restaurants to chose from that are an easy walk from a hotel. But, now you should consider making Downtown Napa you home base. What was once seen as a town to pass through, Downtown Napa has experienced a revival. There are blocks and blocks of restaurants, tasting rooms and shops, as well as a beautiful riverfront to stroll along.

In Downtown Napa you can explore a world of cuisines. Here are five restaurants to eat at, and one place to drink.

Miminashi
821 Coombs St
Napa, CA 94559

An Izakaya serving authentic Japanese cuisine, Minimnashi is Napa’s newest restaurant. From noodles to yakatori, there are a lot of small plates to share. In addition,there are vegetarian options for the non-meat eaters. For the more adventurous eater, there is heart, base of heart, base of beef tongue and tip of beef tongue yakitori. For dessert, enjoy the soft serve ice cream in Japanese flavors such as buckwheat, lemon verbena, milk and peach leaf with whiskey butterscotch or miso caramel on top. Read More +

Tagged Cadet Wine and Beer Bar, Downtown Napa, food, La Taberna, Miminashi, Napa, Oenotri, restaurant, Tarla Mediterranean Bar & Grill, Wine, wine country restaurants, Zuzu

Top 11 Sonoma Wine Tasting Finds

Written by Allison Levine on August 26, 2016
Travel Lifestyle Wine

When visiting Sonoma, where does one get started wine tasting? As a region, Sonoma County encompasses more than fifty miles from Carneros in the south to Cloverdale in the north. It is home to seventeen American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Some are well-known such as Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley, to name a few, and others are lesser known such as Moon Mountain, Fort-Ross Seaview and Green Valley. Sonoma is home to the state of California’s oldest commercial winery, Buena Vista, as well as the oldest continuously operating family winery, Gundlach Bundschu. And, there are more than 425 wineries on almost 60,000 acres. That means there are a lot decisions to be made before you start a Sonoma wine tasting adventure.

Unlike Sonoma’s neighbor to the east, Napa, where there are wineries located off of the main highway, many of the wineries in Sonoma are spread throughout the valley. So where do you begin? It is easier to find some of the bigger known wineries in the county, but seeking out small and medium sized boutique wineries is what I prefer to do. Here are eleven Sonoma wine tasting finds that are worth a visit throughout the valley.

1) Schug Carneros Estate (www.schugwinery.com)

2) Sojourn Cellars (www.sojourncellars.com)

3) Pangloss Cellars (www.panglosscellars.com)

4) Auteur Wines (https://www.auteurwines.com)

5) Three Sticks Wines (www.threestickswines.com)

6) Kamen Estate Wines (www.kamenwines.com)

7) B Wise (www.bwisevineyards.com)

8) Inman Family Wines (www.inmanfamilywines.com)

9) Two Shepherds (www.twoshepherds.com)

10) MacRostie Winery and Vineyard (www.macrostiewinery.com)

11) Jordan Winery (www.jordanwinery.com)

Read the complete story in California Winery Advisor.

Tagged Auteur Wines, B Wise, California Winery Advisor, Inman Family Wines, Jordan Winery, Kamen Estate Wines, MacRostie Winery and Vineyard, Pangloss Cellars, Schug Carneros Estate, Sojourn Cellars, Sonoma, Three Sticks Wines, Two Shepherds, Wine, wine tasting, wine travel
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