Please The Palate October 2017 Newsletter

Written by Allison Levine on October 17, 2017

Travel Lifestyle Food Cocktails Wine

Summer has passed and here we are in the fall of 2017. Another year is flying by! At Please The Palate we are going nonstop with events and writing. I continue to enjoy writing a weekly column for the Napa Valley Register, as well as contribute regularly to California Winery Advisor, ATOD Magazine and Wine Industry Advisor I also recently became a contributor at Drizly.com. And of course, there is always the Please The Palate blog.

As we enter the final quarter of the year, it is also the end of monthly dining outings to Curtis Stone’s Maude Restaurant. Since 2014, Maude has offered a monthly tasting menu featuring one seasonal ingredient. It has been a quest of mine to eat there (almost) every month and I enjoyed 37 meals out of 46! After four years, Maude is changing their format and will no longer change the menu every month. I am sad that they are changing but am eagerly anticipating the announcement of what they plan to do next.

One thing I am looking forward over the coming months is a long-awaited culinary trip to Cuba! Follow along on Instagram!

Upcoming Events

Pioneers of Santa Barbara County
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Solvang Veterens Hall, Solvang, CA

The Pioneers of Santa Barbara County will be kicking off its’ inaugural tasting on Saturday, November, 11 2017 at the Solvang Veterans Hall. This focused tasting will feature 20 plus wineries (Foxen, Au Bon Climat, and Sanford, just to name a few) that have shaped the wine industry of Santa Barbara County. Taste not only the tried and true, but some of the newer projects of these pioneering winemakers. The event will be from 2-5pm with a champagne VIP after-party, offering participants the opportunity to mingle with winemakers and sip some palate-cleansing bubbles. Tickets for the tasting are $45 at the door or $38 in advance. Tickets for the VIP champagne after-party are $35. For more information and tickets, visit pioneersofsantabarbaracounty.com.

2018 Zinfandel Experience
Thursday, January 18 – Saturday, January 20, 2018
San Francisco, CA

Dine, Learn, Enjoy and Taste with legends and emerging rock stars of Zinfandel. ZinEX is a three-day wine and culinary extravaganza attracting wine lovers from around the world. Experience the classic character of Zinfandel at four extraordinary events featuring a diverse selection of wines and styles. The weekend includes a Welcome Reception, Farm-to-Table dinner, Flights seminar, Winemakers Auction & Dinner, and Grand Tasting. ZinEX 2018 features access to winemaker celebrities at three impressive venues, showcasing the talents of winemakers, chefs, and artisanal food purveyors. For more information, visit www.zinfandel.org.

Read the full October 2017 Newsletter.

The rieslings of the Mosel

Written by Allison Levine on October 4, 2017

Travel Wine

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

Last week, I wrote about the dry riesling found in Nahe, Germany and the fact that 90 percent of German wine is dry. But fruity, sweet wines do still exist in Germany, specifically produced in the Mosel, Nahe and Rhinegau regions.

When we talk about “sweet” wine in Germany, we are not talking about overly sweet, cloying wines. We are talking about wines of finesse. These are wines with fragrance, fruity acidity and a mineral undertone. We are talking about riesling, considered the king of wine grapes in Germany. Of all the white wine grapes, riesling grapes produce the most intense and flavorful wines.

Unlike the dry riesling which is categorized under the VDP (“Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter”) system, the sweeter wines are classified under the traditional Pradikatswein. The levels of sweetness will vary and are dependent on when the grapes are picked. There is trocken (dry), kabinett (off-dry), spatlese (late harvest), auslese (select harvest), beerenauslese (berry select harvest) and trockenbeerenauslese (“dry berry select harvest”).

To differentiate between these different styles, it was best described to me by a winemaker who likened these styles to bananas. Kabinett is described as the perfectly yellow banana whereas spatlese is a banana with brown spots. Auslese is the banana that is almost entirely brown and trockenbeerenauslese is a dehydrated, concentrated banana.

Visit Napa In Style – Jet To Wine Country

Written by Allison Levine on September 14, 2017

Travel Lifestyle Wine

This story originally appeared in California Winery Advisor.

Head to Wine Country in Style with JetSuiteX

Who hasn’t dreamed of living a life of luxury? Have you ever pictured yourself hopping on your private plane when you want to go wine tasting for the day or weekend? Well, it may not be a private plane but check out JetSuiteX, “everyone’s private jet”.

JetSuiteX is a public charter airline but in many ways, you will feel like you are flying private. JetSuiteX is a fleet of 30-seat regional jets that offer all of the comforts of private air travel but at commercial fares. Getting to Napa or Sonoma has never been easier or more enjoyable. Doesn’t that sound good?

Let’s start with the airport. No longer do you need to get to the airport one or two hours in advance and then wait in line for security. JetSuiteX flies out of private jet terminals at small airports, such as Burbank, Concord, and Las Vegas. Seasonally, they also fly in and out of Mammoth and Bozeman in Montana. You can arrive 30 minutes before your flight and do not have to wait in long security lines, take off your shoes or unpack your bags. JetSuiteX is about convenience and comfort. Read More +