WINE

This story originally appeared in ATOD Magazine. You might be shoveling your driveway right now or sitting by a warm fire sipping hot chocolate and dreaming about a far-off destination so we decided to do a little recon. Where did we end up? Athens, Greece and now is the perfect time to visit. Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. It was also at the heart of Ancient Greece and is home to the Acropolis and a slew of 5th-century BC landmarks. Whether you are a history buff or heading off to an island, Athens is a routine stop during any trip to Greece. So. we wanted to give you plenty of reasons to go in winter and spring rather than wait for summer (when everyone else is there and the weather is hot and sticky!) The late winter/early spring months have average temperatures in the mid to high 50s°F and sees less rain and more sun than other winter months. In other words … ideal.

WHERE TO STAY

09 March, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
The Shenandoah Valley sits between two mountain ranges, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Allegheny Mountains.
Tucked in a valley, it does not have close proximity to urban centers as its neighboring wine regions (Middleburg AVA has Washington, D.C., and Monticello AVA has Charlottesville). What the Shenandoah Valley has is the town of Winchester to the north, which is the apple capital of the country, and the small town of Staunton to the south, a charming place.
In addition, the Shenandoah Valley is located at a higher elevation and gets less rain compared to the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains and other wine areas in Virginia. It is a statistically drier and cooler area, and perhaps it is the most ideal place to be making wine in Virginia.
07 March, 2017
One of the events that I look forward to each year is World of Pinot Noir which takes place at the beginning of March at the Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara. Wineries from throughout California, as well as other domestic locations, such as Oregon, and international regions, come together for a weekend of seminars, tastings and dinners focused on pinot noir. The 17th Annual World of Pinot Noir took place this weekend (March 3-4) and I flew back from the east coast and drove straight up to Santa Barbara in order to arrive in time. Each year I attend different seminars and this year was no different. This year, I attended the seminar and lunch series which included two vertical tastings of Grand Cru Vineyards from Louis Latour in Burgundy. We tasted 1999, 2002, 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2014 vintages of Romanée St Vivant les Quatre Journaux Domaine Latour AND Château Corton Grancey. After this flight, we shifted to the Sonoma Coast and did a vertical of the Hirsch San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir 2011-2014, as well as a horizontal of 2014 Estate Pinot Noirs [Hirsch West Ridge Estate Pinot Noir 2014; Hirsch East Ridge Estate Pinot Noir 2014; Hirsch Raschen Estate Pinot Noir 2014; Hirsch Block 8 Estate Pinot Noir 2014]. Both flights had delicious wines in them because, after all, they were all pinot noirs from Burgundy and the Sonoma Coast. I loved many of the Latour wines, especially the 1999 Château Corton Grancey and the 2005 Romanée St Vivant les Quatre Journaux Domaine Latour and recognize what a unique opportunity it was to taste those wines. But, the one wine that stood out above them all and is the Please The Palate Pick of the Week, is the Hirsch San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir 2011 (average price $64.00).
04 March, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. The famous Blue Ridge Mountains have been written about in songs. These mountains are the first major eastern line of the Appalachian Mountains, running from north to south though Virginia. Along the east side of the Blue Ridge in central Virginia are the historic homes of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and James Madison Monticello. And Monticello, named after Jefferson’s famed estate, is one of the seven established AVA’s in Virginia.
Lined along the eastern side of the of the mountains is home to a large percentage of the wineries in Virginia, which is more than 200. As winery owner David Pollak best explained, with a mix of humor and seriousness, “It is no more challenging than anywhere else to make wine here, except that we have frost, humidity and hurricanes.”
But with high elevations, sloped vineyards and good wind flow, if the winter is not too treacherous, this is as good area to make wine as anywhere else. And my host, Brian Yost of The Virginia Grape, a resource to all things Virginia wine, took me out to show me this.
02 March, 2017
When you think Koreatown, you probably think about Korean food, especially Korean bbq as that is what dominates the neighborhood. But, Koreatown is a diverse neighborhood and quickly becoming the hot spot for craft cocktails and nightlife. And now there is Here's Looking At You, Koreatown's newest restaurant that is taking a look us - its neighborhood, its guests and Southern California. Here's Looking At You is owned by Lien Ta and business partner Chef Jonathan Whitener. A charming, casual restaurant, Chef Whitener features a menu of tasty fusion food that represents the diversity of Southern California. The food is creative, flavorful and delicious and the vibe of the restaurant is casual, friendly and inviting. The first thing to greet you when you walk into the restaurant that sits on the corner of 6th Street and Oxford Street (just east of Western) is a pair of African oryx heads that sit just above the host stand. They will be here looking at you!
28 February, 2017
Viognier, the white grape that originated in the south of France, was named Virginia's official state grape in 2011. Perhaps it was because both start with the letter "v". Regardless, there is a lot of the highly aromatic viognier grown in Virginia. This week I traveled to the east coast for a few events. I arrived a few days early so that I could head to Charlottesville, Virginia to stay with friends and explore the wines of the Monticello region. From the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the Shenandoah Valley, my guide, The Virginia Grape, demonstrated the diversity and the quality of the wines in the area. I tasted some delicious sparkling wines, white wines (viognier, albarino, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot gris) and red wines (cabernet franc, petit verdot, cabernet sauvignon) but the wine that stood out this week and pleased my palate was..... Pollak Vineyards 2015 Viognier, Monticello, Virginia
25 February, 2017
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
What do wine and radicchio have in common?

Lucio Gomiero. Gomiero is the owner and winemaker of Vignalta, called the queen of the Colli Euganei in Northern Italy. And Gomiero was once considered the king of radicchio, the bitter leaf that originates from Italy.

Gomiero studied architecture at the University of Venice but was bitten by the winemaking bug. Inspired by the wines of Bordeaux, he purchased land in 1980.

At the time, Colli Euganei was a little unknown region, the Euganean or Ventian hills that sit above the Venetian plain, and are of geological origin. Volcanic action 30 million years ago pushed the sea floor up, creating steep hills rising to 600 meters above sea level, with loose soils of crumbling lava and thick vegetation, perfect for red wines.

23 February, 2017
Curtis Stone opened the twenty-five seat Maude Restaurant in January of 2014. I was able to get my first reservation for March 2014 which featured artichokes. It was ten delicious courses in which artichoke was integrated into each dish, sometimes featured, other times less obvious. The experience was so unique and special that I was hooked. I went six times in 2014. Then in 2015, I went twelve times, every single month that year and was declared a Maude Superfan. In 2016, I went ten times, choosing to skip November and December when black and white truffles were featured (I had to give my credit card a rest). Each month the featured seasonal ingredient changes and no ingredient is repeated with the exception of white and black truffles. The ingredients I have enjoyed so far are: 2014: Artichokes, Rhubarb, Morels, Berries, Pear, Winter Squash 2015: Pomegranate, Parsnip, Fennel, Asparagus, Almonds, Avocado, Chili, Fig, Passion Fruit, Apple, White Truffle, Black Truffle 2016: Carrots, Potato, Pistachio, Radish, Garlic, Cherries, Zucchini, Plums, Grapes, Chicories Here we are in 2017 and it is time for a new year of Maude meals. With the Maude team taking a much needed break, they started mid-January, offering the first menu for January and February. The theme for January/February is lime. I am known at the restaurant for taking photos of each dish and trying to carefully write down each ingredient, even though they give us a menu at the end of the meal. So, I decided that this year I would share the meal each month, really as a way to remember all of the amazing flavors of the dinner.
21 February, 2017
One of my favorite neighborhood restaurants is not in my neighborhood. It is across the city but that will never stop me from going back to Kali.....again and again! Kali is the baby of Chef Kevin Meehan and Wine Director Drew Langley. Chef Meehan worked at Citrine and Patina Restaurant Group before launching his underground passion project Kali Dining. Langley worked as Wine Director at Providence for a decade. He and Meehan had met years prior while together at Bastide and Citrine. With a shared passion for fine dining hospitality, Meehan serves a menu of contemporary California cuisine paired with Langley's creative and concise international wine list in a casual, neighborhood restaurant. The menu at Kali consists of locally sourced seasonal ingredients. While elements of the dishes change seasonally, there are a handful of my favorite dishes that I can find when I am there. Kali offers a five-course tasting menu option for $65 ($95 with wine pairing). But if you are with a group of people, I suggest ordering a la carte. While the menu is not a share-plate menu, with four people you can order a handful of first course selections to share and then select a a few second course selections off of the menu and then share them to get a taste of all of the different flavors.
17 February, 2017
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