WINE

Summer is officially over and fall is underway. School is back in session and we await the change of season. That is, everywhere but California. Here is Los Angeles, it is still over 90 degrees and sometimes that makes it hard to get into a work frame of mind. So why not head to Viviane Restaurant in the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills for an afternoon. If enjoying breakfast or lunch outdoors with a view of the pool is not incentive enough, perhaps the new extended happy hour menu will be. Happy Hour at Viviane Restaurant Welcome fall with Chef Michel Hung's daily happy hour menu. Every day (all seven in the week), happy hour is offered from 2:30pm - 7:30pm. So whether you have the luxury of having your afternoons free, are looking for somewhere to go after work or want to relax with friends during the weekend, Viviane is the answer. viviane-restaurant-at-hotel-avalon-1
19 September, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
They say that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” That is exactly what Alex’s Lemonade Stand does, both literally and figuratively, raising money with the goal of ending childhood cancer. la-loves-alexs-lemonade-stand-1
Alex’s Lemonade Stand was created in 2000 by then-4-year-old Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004).
Alex was a neuroblastoma patient who decided to help raise money to help other children with cancer and held a charity lemonade stand in front of her home. In just one day, she raised $2,000, which she gave to her doctors. By the time she passed away in 2004, at the age of 8, she had raised, with the help of others, more than $1 million.
More than 10 years later, Alex’s Lemonade Stand has raised more than $127 million with the money going to funding more than 650 cutting-edge research projects, creating a travel program to help support families of children receiving treatment and developing resources to help people everywhere affected by childhood cancer.
One of the events created to raise money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade. Inspired by The Great Chefs Event in Philadelphia that has been benefiting Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for more than a decade, James Beard winner Suzanne Goin, Caroline Styne (Lucques, AOC, Tavern) and David Lentz (The Hungry Cat) brought the event to their home city of Los Angeles in 2009.
To date, the Los Angeles event has raised more than $3.2 million to fund childhood cancer research. And, on Saturday, Sept. 10, the seventh annual L.A. Loves Alex’s Lemonade took place at UCLA’s Royce Quad
16 September, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.

In the Northern Hemisphere, harvest is well underway. In many places, the grapes have already been picked and pressed, and the juice is fermenting. As the wine is being made, what happens to the skins?

In most cases, it is used as compost and in some cases it is turned into grappa. But there are so many other uses for grapes and skins as I recently experienced during my stay at the Kinsterna Hotel and Spa in Greece.

Kinsterna Hotel & Spa

Kinsterna Hotel and Spa is located in Monemvasia in the region of Laconia in the south of the Peloponnese. The hotel, a fortified manor that dates to the 12th century, sits on a hillside covered with olive trees and vineyards.

view of the vineyards and olive trees

14 September, 2016
FIG Restaurant has been serving up California Cuisine inside the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica for years. But some changes have taken place and now there is the NEW FIG Restaurant. Fig at Fairmont The space is still the same and the covered patio is flush with natural light. The decor now has a warmer feel to it with hanging plants adding life to the space. And there is a wood burning oven that has been added that you can see when you first walk into the restaurant. Fig at Fairmont Fig at Fairmont At the helm of the new FIG Restaurant is the personable Chef Yousef Ghalaini. A native of Lebanon, Chef Ghalaini grew up in his grandfather's bakery where he first learned the art of the wood-burning oven. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and worked in Napa, Florida, Connecticut and New York before coming to FIG Restaurant at The Fairmont Miramar. At FIG Restaurant, Chef Ghalaini works with local farmers and fresh California ingredients to create his Mediterranean inspired menu that integrates the warm spices and legumes of Lebanese cuisine. 
12 September, 2016
A few months ago, I was driving from Sonoma to Monterey when a friend called to see if I wanted to join him and some friends for dinner in San Francisco. He mentioned that it was a hard-to-get reservation and they had someone drop out last minute. I took a detour on my drive and went into the city to have dinner at Al's Place. Sadly, I came down with a 24-hour bug that same night and could not eat a single bite. I sat there at dinner, wishing but unable to eat and missing out on what Bon Appetit Magzine called "the country's best new restaurant" and a 2016 recipient of One Michelin Star. Al's Place Months later, on another trip to San Francisco, my friend was able to get a reservation so that I could actually try the food. Al's Place is located in the Mission and is a simple, but bright, space with approximately 50 seats and an open kitchen in the back. The staff is young, friendly and very knowledgeable, both about the food and the wine. Al's Place
09 September, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. Last year, I attended a seminar featuring wines from Lodi. A region historically known for mass production of large brands and higher alcohol wines, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of wines I tasted. From old vine carignane and zinfandel grapes to Spanish, Rhone and Italian varieties, I was introduced to quality wines from Lodi and wrote a column titled “Rethinking Lodi.”
When the Wine Bloggers Conference announced that the ninth annual conference would take place in Lodi, I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know the region a little bit more. Lodi, with 110,000 acres of wine grapes that make up 24 percent of the annual crop of California, is home to 750 grape growers. These grape growers are all family business, most having been growing grapes for three, four and five generations. For many years, they sold their grapes to areas such as Napa. But in the 1990s, some of the growers started making wines. Today, there are 80 wineries in Lodi.
One of these multi-generational family wineries is Van Ruiten Family Vineyards. I had the pleasure of visiting them during one of the nights of the Wine Bloggers Conference. Van Ruiten Family
07 September, 2016
This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register.
Sake is Japan’s best known libation. But outside of Japan, this mysterious beverage is not as well understood. For me, sake is a subject for which I have only basic knowledge.
I, like most people, was introduced to warm sake at Japanese restaurants and have even been known to do a “sake bomb” (a shot of sake dropped into a pint of beer) from time to time, long ago. But when I worked for an importer selling wine over a decade ago, I was introduced to the beauty and nuance of sake. Kampai - Sake
An age-old staple of Japanese culture and cuisine, sake is made from rice. There are more than 70 different sake brewing rice types, and sake is categorized by how much each grain of sake brewing rice is polished or milled. KAMPAI_Harper_koji-making
But sake continues to be a subject about which we know very little. While I was “bitten by the wine bug” and spend my time as a student of wine, there are others who have been “bitten by the sake bug.” Three of these people are profiled in a new documentary titled “Kampai! For the Love of Sake,” which has opened in theaters and is available on-demand.
06 September, 2016

This story originally appeared in the Napa Valley Register. I am writing my column this week from Montepulciano, where I just finished being a judge at...

31 August, 2016
If you are heading to Napa, you might think of making Yountville or St. Helena your base. Not only are there wineries nearby but, at the end of the day, there are lots of restaurants to chose from that are an easy walk from a hotel. But, now you should consider making Downtown Napa you home base. What was once seen as a town to pass through, Downtown Napa has experienced a revival. There are blocks and blocks of restaurants, tasting rooms and shops, as well as a beautiful riverfront to stroll along. In Downtown Napa you can explore a world of cuisines. Here are five restaurants to eat at, and one place to drink. Miminashi 821 Coombs St Napa, CA 94559 An Izakaya serving authentic Japanese cuisine, Minimnashi is Napa's newest restaurant. From noodles to yakatori, there are a lot of small plates to share. In addition,there are vegetarian options for the non-meat eaters. For the more adventurous eater, there is heart, base of heart, base of beef tongue and tip of beef tongue yakitori. For dessert, enjoy the soft serve ice cream in Japanese flavors such as buckwheat, lemon verbena, milk and peach leaf with whiskey butterscotch or miso caramel on top.
29 August, 2016

When visiting Sonoma, where does one get started wine tasting? As a region, Sonoma County encompasses more than fifty miles from Carneros in the south...

26 August, 2016
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