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Inaugural Taste of the NFL – Los Angeles Rams Event

I have never been a big sports fan so I have never had a loyalty to a team. Sure, as a child, I was a big fan of the Dodgers, specifically Steve Garvey, and slept in my number 6 t-shirt every night. But when I went to college at UC Santa Barbara, we voted off our football team my freshman year in lieu of raising tuition. Then, when I returned to Los Angeles after college, we lost the LA Rams. Since 1994, Los Angeles did not have a national football team and I really did not care. But this year, the LA Rams returned to Los Angeles and there is something special about that. A city like Los Angeles should have a football team and it is nice to have the team return that I grew up with. With their first season underway, most of the players came out recently for the Inaugural Taste of the NFL – Los Angeles Rams event at the Globe Theater at Universal Studios Hollywood.

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Taste of the NFL is a national organization where the country's top chefs and the NFL's greatest players raise money in support of food banks across the United States. Taste of the NFL - Los Angeles Rams event was hosted by the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.With one in seven people in Los Angeles County experiencing food insecurity, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is fighting to end hunger in our community. Since 1973, they have been sourcing food and other products and distributing them to needy people through charitable agencies or directly through programs and have distributed more than 1 billion pounds of food.

17 October, 2016

Wine In The City: Carmel for the Weekend, Monterey, California

This post originally appeared in Wine Tourist Magazine. Whether looking for a romantic getaway or a weekend with friends, Carmel-by-the-Sea is that seaside town that offers charm, comfort and, of course,...

14 October, 2016

Changing the perception of New Zealand sauvignon blanc with Giesen Wines

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. If I were to say “New Zealand wine,” it is likely that the first thing you would think of is sauvignon blanc from Marlborough.

After all, sauvignon blanc is New Zealand’s most widely planted varietal. It makes up 72 percent of the wine production of New Zealand, according to the 2014 New Zealand Winegrowers’ Annual Report. There are more than 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres) planted to sauvignon blanc with more than 17,000 of those hectares in Marlborough.

If I were to then ask you how to describe New Zealand sauvignon blanc, I am sure some of the following descriptors come to mind – grassy, gooseberry, bell pepper, grapefruit, lime or even cat’s pee. New Zealand sauvignon blanc is recognizable in a glass by its pungent aromas and bold acidity on the palate.

But not all sauvignon blanc from New Zealand is one-dimensional and predictable. Giesen Wines is on a mission to change the dialogue of New Zealand sauvignon blanc and elevate the status.

Giesen Wines is a family brand owned by three German brothers, Theo, Alex and Marcel. They were first drawn to the cool climate of the South Island in New Zealand more than thirty years ago. They planted their first vineyard in 1981 and produced their first wine in 1984.

12 October, 2016