Lifestyle

This story originally appeared in California Winery Advisor. Urban Wine Tasting Napa, Sonoma, Santa Ynez Valley, what these places have in common is that they are wine regions. What they also have in common is that they are in close proximity to cities – Napa and Sonoma to San Francisco and Santa Ynez to Santa Barbara. While a trip to wine country is always welcome, these days you do not have to leave the city to go wine tasting. Both San Francisco and Santa Barbara offer urban wine tasting experiences, featuring the wines of the neighboring wine regions but with the convenience of being in the city. SANTA BARBARA Santa Barbara Wine Country is forty-five minutes north of the city of Santa Barbara. With Los Olivos, Solvang and the Lompoc Wine Ghetto, as well as all the estate wineries, there is plenty of wine tasting to be done in the area. But over the past few years, many of the wineries have been opening wine tasting rooms in downtown Santa Barbara, also known as “the American Riviera”. While there are no vineyards downtown, the proximity to the Pacific Ocean is appealing. With a unique range of tasting rooms in the city of Santa Barbara, your entire visit can be focused on wine or can be interspersed between eating, shopping and hanging at the beach.
13 January, 2017

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

Portuguese wine production dates to ancient civilization but it is a rather unfamiliar region for wine drinkers in the United States. You may know of Port or Madeira or even Vinho Verde. But have you heard of Alentejo, Dao or Tejo? Meet Ayesha Trump (no relation) of Douro Vino Selections who is on a mission to bring artisanal wines from across Portugal to the United States.

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Ayesha never thought she would be taking people on a journey into Portugal’s geography, cuisine and history through its wines. Born in Mexico, she was working as an oil consultant and traveling for work. While in Spain for work, she decided to take a vacation weekend to Portugal. On a warm summer night, she found a tiny restaurant in Lisbon where the owner gave her a mini-master class on the wines of Portugal. This amazing experience embodied Portugal and Ayesha fell in love. As she explained, “I fell in love with the entire package, the food, the wines, the culture.” She emptied personal contents from her suitcase to fit a few bottles of wine in to bring home.

11 January, 2017

Downtown Santa Barbara was not a city I was very familiar with despite its proximity to Los Angeles. Typical weekend trips usually consisted of bypassing the...

09 January, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
Describing wine is not the easiest thing to do. When you are starting out, when asked to describe what you smell, you might say that you “just smell wine.”
But as you taste more, study more and hone your palate, you may start to describe sauvignon blanc as “citrusy with notes of lemon, lime and green grass” or pinot noir as “earthy with aromas of dried cherry and mushroom.”
How do we learn to describe wines like this? And once we can describe wines, how do we begin to understand how to pair wine with food? At the Paradise Ridge tasting room in Kenwood, sensory experiences with herbs or chocolates highlight the chemistry and fundamentals behind food and wine pairing. annette-mcdonnell-and-the-sensory-experiences-at-paradise-ridge-winery-kenwood-tasting-room-2
Tasting Room Manager Annette McDonnell joined the Paradise Ridge family in 2008. McDonnell was raised in Sonoma and has worked in the culinary world at Park Avenue Catering under Sonoma County Chef Bruce Riezenman and in catering with Café Lolo. At Paradise Ridge, she has been able to combine her passion for food, wine and hospitality to create a unique way to educate people about wine and food pairing.
06 January, 2017
A brick facade along Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood is what you are looking for. From the outside, it is a non-descript building. But step inside and this former dance studio has been converted into an art gallery and secret supper club. You have entered INTRO. INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table is a place where friends, artists and others come together to celebrate food and art and music. INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table is created by Grammy Award winning sound engineer Manny Marroquin, General Manager Rob “Rob C” Ciancimino and Executive Chef Paul Shoemaker. Manny Marroquin owns Larrabee Studios just next door. And just on the other side of the dance studio, he is building a restaurant with a state of the art music system connected to the studio. They took over the dance studio and converted it to an office. But while waiting to open the restaurant, Chef Paul was getting antsy. Chef Paul has worked at Alan Ducasse, French Laundry, Providence and Water Grill, as well as Savory, Firefly, and Joe Pytka’s Bastide, where he earned himself a Michelin star. He was eager to start cooking again. While awaiting the new restaurant, one day Rob C found Chef Paul outside cooking on a homemade grill and when asked what he was doing, Chef Paul responded, "You have to eat; I have to cook." So Rob C and Manny took their office space, with its linoleum floors and dance bars, and gutted and painted the space. They repurposed wood found under the linoleum tiles and built a large long wooden table. They built a kitchen for the chef. They put art on the walls and INTRO Art Gallery & Chef's Table was born.
16 December, 2016
Thrillist is one of the most irreverant guides of where to eat and drink and where to go in cities across the U.S. In addition, they are a great source for telling us about fun events around town, from festivals to concerts and beyond. But this past weekend, they hosted their own food festival called Fest of the Best in LA. During a weekend afternoon, thirteen hand-picked restaurants were showcased for a few hundred Thrillist food-enthusiasts. thrillist-fest-of-the-best-la-1 Thrillist selected restaurants that have been ranked by Thrillist for some of the city's best food. That is right, some of Los Angeles' best bites! Here is a recap of what was tasted!
12 December, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
When I first began studying wine, I remember reading that the French called the trio of wine, bread and cheese the “holy trinity.” I cannot disagree. However, throw in a spa treatment and life is perfect!
What wine, bread and cheese have in common, other than being delicious, are that they are all products of fermentation. But then how does the spa fit in? Well, it fits because it also includes fermentation. If this sounds good to you, then head down the scenic Bohemian Highway to Freestone, Sonoma’s first historic district. Freestone’s population is only 32 but it is home to the “fermentation corner” with includes a winery, bakery, cheese store and spa. joseph-phelps-freestone-4
07 December, 2016

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. Rich Frank, former president of Disney Studios and owner of Napa Valley-based Frank Family Vineyards, can add...

28 November, 2016
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