Please The Palate January 2020 Winter Newsletter

Written by Allison Levine on January 7, 2020

Travel Lifestyle Food Cocktails Wine

Happy New Year!!! Welcome to 2020! We have officially started a new decade. It really is hard to believe that another year has passed.

As I look back on 2019, I am thankful for such a full year! 2019 marked the 8th anniversary of Please The Palate. I spent 91 days traveling to Austin, Houston, Dallas, Boston, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Paso Robles, Pebble Beach, New York, New Jersey, and Oregon and also spent three weeks in Italy, traveling through Campania, as well as to Rome, Milan, Vercelli and Asti. I organized and promoted more than 27 events around the country for a variety of clients including Dao Wines, the Brotherhood of Port, Wines of Setubal, Catalan Wines, Albeisa Association, Seven % Solution, Effervescence and more. I interviewed 60 winemakers and winery owners for the Wine Soundtrack podcast. I wrote 187 articles which appeared in the Napa Valley Register, California Winery Advisor, BIN Magazine, Daily Ovation and the Please The Palate blog. And, I returned as a wine judge at the Central Coast Wine Competition.

In addition to interviewing winemakers for Wine Podcast, I was honored to be invited to be a guest on two podcasts: Hit The Bottle Podcast in which I spoke about event planning tips and Money Matters Top Tips Podcast in which I shared the story of my journey.

Phew! 2019 was an exhausting year but I am ready for 2020 and hope that it is even better. On deck for 2020 so far is more travel, more events, more writing, and more podcasts. And, I will be a wine judge at two more wine competitions! The McMinnville Food & Wine Classic Wine Competition, part of the 27th annual charity fundraiser for St James Elementary School, will take place in McMinnville, Oregon in January. The San Diego International Wine Competition will take place in San Diego in April.

Wishing everyone a wonderful, healthy, happy and successful 2020! May this be the start of an amazing decade!

Read the full Please The Palate January 2020 Winter Newsletter.

Please the Palate October 2019 Newsletter

Written by Allison Levine on October 3, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food Cocktails Wine

And..WOOSH….just like that, summer is over! Whatever kept you busy this season, I hope you had a fantastic summer. As Please The Palate celebrated its 8th anniversary, I continued on at lightening speed. The summer months were filled with travel….first to Sonoma to visit winemakers and interview them for the Wine Soundtrack podcast. Then it was off to Oregon for almost two weeks, starting off with more interviews for Wine Soundtrack and then a three day deep dive into the region with the Wine Writers Educational Tour. As soon as I came home, I was off to Dallas to attend TEXSOM for the first time. Immediately following the great seminars at TEXSOM, I was off to Italy for three weeks. My time in Italy included exploring Campagna (Sorrento, Capril, Amalfi Coast, Naples), tasting wine in Asti and visiting friends in Milano, Roma and Vercelli, the town where I used to live. After coming home from Italy, I took one more trip….a weekend getaway to Santa Ynez Valley to close out the summer. This summer provided lots of great content for stories and the podcast!

Heading into the fall season, event season is picking up. I am looking forward to traveling with two regions in Portugal, first to Houston and Austin with Wines of Setubal and then to New Jersey, New York, Boston and Houston for Dao Wines.

As the weather starts to charge, the holidays will soon be here. Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season filled with lots of great wine, food and friends that will please the palate.

Read the full Please The Palate October 2019 Newsletter.

Please The Palate Summer 2019 Newsletter

Written by Allison Levine on July 9, 2019

Travel Lifestyle Food Cocktails Wine

Happy Summer 2019! I hope you had a wonderful, long 4th of July weekend. This summer (specifically June 8th), marks the 8th anniversary of Please The Palate. It is really hard to believe how quickly time has flown. It has been a lot of hard work but also a lot of fun building Please The Palate. When I first launched my business, the idea was to continue planning wine events as I had been doing. I also thought I would start a blog to share my experiences. Never could I have imagined that I would have a weekly wine column in the Napa Valley Register (since 2015) and regularly contribute to other media outlets, such as California Wine Advisory. I also never thought I would host a podcast but have been doing that for the past year for Wine Soundtrack. It has been amazing to watch Please The Palate grow and to be open to opportunities along the way. And, I could not do it without the support of friends and readers such as yourself. Thank you!

Upcoming Events

Drink 728 on 7/28
Spend an afternoon in Santa Barbara enjoying the wines of Fiddlehead Cellars paired with food from the SoHo Restaurant. The Fiddlestix Vineyard sits at mile maker 728 and on July 28, we celebrate! Taste Fiddlestix Vineyard, featuring verticals + horizontals of
728, Lollapalooza, Burtie Baby. Doyle Pinot Noir and more!

Date: Sunday, July 28
Time: 12-4 pm
Address: SoHo,1221 State St #205
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

General Admission Ticket: $100
Designated Driver Ticket: $50
General Admission Couples Price: $180 (for 2 tickets)
Wine Club Member Tickets: $85

Purchase your tickets here.

Read the full Please The Palate July 2019 Newsletter.