Please The Palate |

First and Oak – A Hidden Gem in Solvang

Solvang, in the Santa Ynez Valley, is a kitschy town known for its Danish-style architecture and aebelskivers. But a few blocks off the main street is the charming and romantic boutique Mirabelle Inn.

Just inside the hotel is First & Oak Restaurant, an elegant and intimate restaurant that offers personalized service and creative cuisine. The Mirabelle Inn restaurant was established in 1993 but in July of 2015, father and son team Bernard and Jonathan Rosenson purchased the property and remodeled it.

Running First & Oak is Executive Chef Steven Snook who worked for Chef Gordon Ramsey for 10 years. Originally from England, Chef Snook came to the U.S. in 2009 and worked at Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel in New York City, Kenwood Inn and Spa and Salish Lodge & Spa before joining First & Oak.

13 March, 2018

Please The Palate Pick of the Week: Kunin Wines

This past week, the wine world lost a dear friend. Seth Kunin was a talented winemaker, loving husband and father and friend to us all. His unexpected and untimely death has been a shock to everyone. Death is not easy for anyone and it is a sad time but it is also a time to celebrate him, remember his life and drink his wines. That is why this week the Please The Palate Pick of the Week is every wine made by Seth Kunin.

I first met Seth more than 15 years ago. He was the winemaker at Westerly Vineyards and also had his own label, Kunin Wines, in Santa Barbara. I was in the process of leaning about wine as I was also recovering from the dot-com world. Running a wine education business, I would take groups up to Santa Barbara for the day and we always stopped to see Seth. He would meet us at Central Coast Wine Services where he made his wine and would tour us through the facility.

04 November, 2017

Tara Gomez, a Native American winemaker

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register (October 23, 2015) Tara Gomez fell in love with the aromas of wine the first time she stepped into a winery as a child.

Growing up in the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Gomez was raised in the heart of wine country. With a scholarship from her tribe, she studied enology at California State University, Fresno and was one of two women who graduated in 1998. She went to work as an enologist at Fess Parker Winery before moving to Paso Robles to be the enologist and lab manager at J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines for nine years. She then moved to Spain for two years where she learned traditional styles and studied winemaking in the Pyrenees.

28 October, 2015