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.

A Legoland Adventure: So much family fun

Written by Allison Levine on July 25, 2019

Travel Lifestyle

Taking my nephew to Legoland was one of the most memorable of weekends. Watching the joy and excitement in him as he saw his favorite Ninjago characters come to life was priceless. Legoland was a 6-year-old’s fantasy world come true and I wrote about our trip in the Napa Valley Register, which I share here. If you are looking for a fun family activity, make sure Legoland is on your list!

Legoland California, located in Carlsbad, on the north side of San Diego County, just turned 20 years old.

While Legoland may be 20, its biggest fans are between 4 and 10 years old. So, when I went down to Legoland to celebrate its birthday, I had to bring two of Lego’s biggest fans, my 5 3/4-year-old nephew Harrison and his friend, Thomas.

We arrived in the evening, just around bedtime. But when we pulled up to the Legoland Castle Hotel, which opened last year and sits next to the Legoland entrance, bedtime was put on hold.

The 250-room hotel looks like a Lego castle and inside the lobby, a child’s fantasy came to life. A large Lego pit sits in the center of the lobby and there is also a slide. While the adults stood in a long line to check in, the children were running, playing and exploring.

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.