WINE

When most people think wine country, the first thing that comes to mind is Napa Valley. Located North of San Francisco, Napa is home to some of California’s best wineries. With miles of vineyards everywhere you look, it’s hard to escape wine country without indulging in a few bottles of wine. Rolling hills, spas, boutique hotels, farmer’s markets, and eclectic antique stores surround Napa. But it wouldn’t be a rightful visit without tasting some local wineries first! Schramberg Estate (1400 Schramsberg Road, Calistoga, CA 94515) Visiting this next winery is like experiencing a piece of Napa history. Nestled away in the hills of Diamond Mountain, the Schramsberg estate is known to be the first hillside winery of the Napa Valley. Founded in 1862, this winery in home to 218 acres and is a registered historical landmark. The wide spread acres are made up of the Victorian house, the winery, a barn and even include caves. Schramsberg’s history goes beyond its old grounds and family ties. After the Blanc de Blancs was used for President Nixon’s 1972 “Toast to Peace”, the Schramsberg sparkling wines have been used at official State functions by every U.S. Presidential administration since.  Open daily from 10am-4:30pm. Reservations recommended for tours through the caves.
20 August, 2013
One of my favorite weekend getaways is to Sonoma. Making Healdsburg the home base, it is centrally located between the Dry Creek Valley (known for Zinfandel) and the Russian River Valley (known for Pinot Noir). With two days in the area, spend a day in each valley, but if you have more time, it's even better!  Here are some of my favorite wineries to visit: Russian River Valley  Arista Winery  7015 Westside Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448 If you are looking for a divine Russan River Valley Pinot Noir, then look no further than Arista Winery. Founded by the McWilliams family in 2002, they have dedicated themselves to working with local growers and practice sustainable farming. Beyond amazing wines, the vineyard boasts beautiful Japanese water gardens, mountain and vineyard vistas and a traditional tasting room. The tranquil environment is perfect for picnics, gatherings and intimate tastings. Hours: Mon-Sun 11am-5pm     
19 August, 2013
As the 11th Annual Tales of the Cocktail took place this past July, it was my 5th journey to one of the world's largest cocktail festivals. Bringing together industry professionals and cocktail enthusiasts from around the world, Tales of the Cocktail is made up of hundreds of events including seminars, tastings, Spirited Dinners, cocktail competitions and parties. There are so many things to do and it's impossible to do everything. Even when trying to pick and chose carefully, schedules fill up fast and no matter how hard we try, we still were running from event to event.  Here are the highlights from our 2013 trip. Day 1: The Perfect Respite by Perfect Purée of Napa Valley - What a perfect way to start the day - with Perfect Puree smoothies, hangover helpers, antioxidant nibbles and massages. We were relaxed and at peace, ready to face the day.   Auchentoshan Whisky & Whiskers - From breakfast, we were whisked away on a Pedi Cab to Aidan Gill for Men for an Auchentoshan dram, a cocktail and a hand massage. Going from one massage to another was definitely a treat but the best part were the Auchie Highballs with Auchentoshan Classic, cucumber soda and RX Auchie bitters.
12 August, 2013
Every day is a good day to drink Fiddlehead ‘728’ Pinot Noir, but it was especially fun to drink it on 7/28/13 when Fiddlehead Winery hosted a National Virtual Toast to celebrate their wine. We headed up to Lompoc for the day where they hosted a party in their tasting room in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto. IMG_20130728_195244 20130728_150118 At the party, we tasted through six vintages of Fiddlehead '728' Pinot Noir from the Fiddlestix Vineyard, plus a few other treats.
07 August, 2013
Charles Krug winery is not only the oldest winery in Napa (established in 1861) but it has been owned by the Mondavi family since 1943. Since then, four generations of Mondavi’s have run the winery. In fact, presently there are three generations still working the day-to-day, including Peter Mondavi Sr. who is turning 99 years old on November 8. To this day, Peter Sr goes to work every day (including Saturdays), walking up two flights of stairs to his office.  He works a full day, with a long lunch break, and even learned how to use Facebook recently! With his motto of “a glass of Cabernet a day”, perhaps we should all heed his advice! And what’s better than a glass of Charles Krug wine. Peter Mondavi Jr.
07 August, 2013
Set in Downtown LA, the Los Angeles Food & Wine Festival (August 22-25, 2013) is a four-day epicurean event showcasing the finest in food and drink culture throughout Los Angeles and culinary personalities from throughout the country.  As we get ready for the third annual event, a preview event was held at Duff’s Cakemix on Melrose Avenue where press and bloggers were invited, along with chefs, to decorate cakes and mingle with some of the participating chefs. As a preview for LA Food and Wine, this event was a great reason to finally go inside Duff’s Cakemix Bakery and DIY cake shop, which I have been wanting to check out. Duff's Cakemix We arrived and were greeted with wine and grilled cheese sandwiches by Chef Eric Greenspan (Owner of The Foundry on Melrose and The Roof on Wilshire), who will soon be opening his much-anticipated Greenspan's Grilled Cheese. Lucky us, we enjoyed Greenspan’s 2008 Grilled Cheese Invitational Gold winning “The Champ” – grilled taleggio cheese and short rib sandwich served on raisin-walnut bread with an apricot caper puree. Yum! Yum!
05 August, 2013
Unconventional. Whimsical. Intense. Fruit Forward. Exuberance. These are all great words to describe the wines of Mollydooker from McLaren Vale in Southern Australia, where they "make wines that make people go 'WOW'!" 9233698673_3a72dd2398 Mollydooker, which is an Aussie slang term for a left-hander, is owned by left-handed husband and wife winemaking team Sarah and Sparky Marquis. Their wines are fruit-forward, high-alcohol wines and to really appreciate them is to know their story and to meet the exuberant owners, which I got to do recently when Sarah was in Los Angeles to host a lunch at BOA Steakhouse.
10 July, 2013
Seminar 4: Prosciutto di Parma and the Wines of Emilia Romagna In every region in Italy, there are specialty food products as well as the wines produced.  So of course the ideal way to taste wines is paired with one of these local products.  For the most recent wine seminar from the North American Sommelier Association, the wines of Emilia Romagna were paired with Prosciutto di Parma. Yum! Emilia Romagna is known for Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Ducati and Bugatti; it is home to the world’s oldest university in Bologna and is the cultural and political link between the North and the South.  Emilia Romagna is also known for Parmigiano Reggiano, Balsamic Vinegar from Modena, Prosciutto di Parma and Lambrusco. 9156522724_4832a7c93f  
19 June, 2013
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