Monthly Archives: May 2016

The Abbey West Hollywood – 25 Years and Counting

Written by Allison Levine on
Food Cocktails

On May 25, 2016, The Abbey celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Long a mainstay bar in the heart of West Hollywood, The Abbey has received many awards and accolades over the years. They have been awarded:

  • Best Gay Bar in the World – Logo / MTV
  • Most Popular Nightlife Destination in Los Angeles – Zagat
  • Most Popular Bar in California – Foursquare / Buzzfeed
  • Most Popular Bar Drop off in the United States – Lyft
  • Most Popular Nightlife/Bar/Restaurant Destination in Los Angeles – Uber 
  • Best Gay Bar in Los Angeles – LA Weekly, LA Weekly Reader’s Choice, Time Out Los Angeles
  • Best Nightlife in Los Angeles – USA Today

In time for their 25th anniversary, The Abbey completed the biggest menu update in its history. Known for its flavored cocktails, they brought in mixologist Armando Conway (Pour Vous, La Descarga, Harvard and Stone, Hakkasan) to redo the menu.

Armando Conway

Now there are more than one hundred cocktails on the menu and each one is made with fresh herbs and produce and house-made juices and syrups. The cocktail menu at The Abbey has joined the craft cocktail world. The menu is broken into categories and I did my best to try one from almost each category when I was invited to check out the new menu. Read More +

One family, four estates: the Terra Moretti estates

Written by Allison Levine on
Wine

Vittorio Moretti started a winery for the sheer pleasure of it. A builder by trade, he did not come from the wine industry.

Vittorio Moretti

But wine was in the family. His grandfather would make wine the traditional way. Moretti decided that he wanted to make wine in a different way and went to France to study wine. He brought what he learned back to Franciacorta, where he saw great potential. “My story was born in passion. When I do something, I want to do it well,” Moretti declared during a visit to the U.S. during the Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri Tour. And, in 1977, Bellavista was born.

Bellavista Estate and Winery is a 190-hectare estate between Lake Iseo and Brescia Valley in Franciacorta. Franciacorta is 1,000 kilometers south of Champagne and is a warmer Alpine climate with varied soils. But, as Moretti explained, “I saw that Franciacorta had the potential to make great wine.”

Petra 2012 and Bellavista Meraviglioso Franciacorta

The estate is made up of more than 100 different vineyard parcels where chardonnay and pinot noir grapes are grown for the “metodo classico” sparkling wine.

Since the beginning, Bellavista has been considered one of the most renowned sparkling wine producers in the world.

Read the complete story in the Napa Valley Register.

ORNELLAIA Vendemmia d’Artista: Expressing Wine Through Art

Written by Allison Levine on
Lifestyle Wine

Wine collectors and art collectors converged for a night of elegance at the Ornellaia Vendemmia d’Artista at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. For the wine lovers out there, Ornellaia is known as one of the great Super Tuscan wines. But in addition to making exquisite Bordeaux-style wines, Ornellaia is also a patron of the arts.

Ornellaia Vendemmia d'Artista

With a passion for the arts, Ornellaia created the Vendemmia d’Artista with the goal to inspire and generate emotion. Beginning in 2009, with the 2006 vintage, contemporary artists of international renown from Italy, New York, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, Toronto and Basel have been selected to create a work of art and a series of limited edition labels that are inspired by a single word chosen by the winemaker to describe that vintage. Read More +

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Please the Palate is a boutique firm specializing in marketing, event planning and writing for the wine and spirits industry.