WINE

I have very mixed feelings about my experience at Night + Market in Venice. I have read and heard great reviews. After all, chef and owner Kris Yenbamroong was a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation in the Rising Star Chef category and the James Beard Foundation's Best New Chef West award. Los Angeles's Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Jonathan Gold praised the restaurant and named it 24th best restaurant on the 101 list. Arriving at the Venice location, I knew the space would have a hipster vibe. It was packed, lively and energetic. The decor has a playful cheesiness to it with pink strands and colored lights hanging down in front of the windows, neon lights and posters all around. 
23 July, 2019
Last November on a trip to Sonoma County, I visited Rodney Strong Vineyards in Alexander Valley. Touring the property with winemaker Justin Seidenfeld, we stopped by a The Boneyard, an area of the winery that had once been a storage area for founder Rod Strong's items, including his old piano. Justin was telling me that he had converted this space into a state-of-the-art winery for his newest project, Rowen Wine Company. This week the wines were launched and Rowen Wine Company is the Please The Palate Pick of the Week. Rodney Strong Vineyards was established in 1959 by dancer Rod Strong and purchased by the Klein family in 1989. They own 12 estate vineyards in Sonoma Country. In 2002, Rodney Strong Vineyards signed a long-term lease for the Cooley ranch, a 20,000 acre property north of Dry Creek Valley. Actually, 16,000 acres sit inside Sonoma County and 4,000 of the acres are in Mendocino. The Rodney Strong Vineyards team spent seven years studying microclimates, charting elevations and digging 200 test pits in order to determine the best spots to plant vineyard blocks. By 2010-2011, they selected 200 acres that sit on top of metamorphic, iron-rich greenstone and volcanic soils and began planting.They planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Syrah and Viognier, which is inter-planted with the Syrah.
20 July, 2019
There is no need to wait for a special occasion to enjoy a glass of bubbles. Sparkling wine should be drunk everyday, especially Domaine Carneros, inspired by France but a true reflection of Carneros. With a range of sparkling wines, there is one for every day or every occasion. I had the pleasure to meet with sparkling winemakers Zak Miller and wrote about it in the Napa Valley Register, which you can read here. Domaine Carneros is an unmistakable landmark in Napa Valley. Sitting between Napa and Sonoma in Carneros, the magnificent chateau at Domaine Carneros sits on a hill overlooking Highway 12.
While the winery is modeled after the Chateau de la Marquetterie in Epernay and inspired by its French legacy, Domaine Carneros is a pure reflection of the Carneros terroir.
Established in 1987, Claude Taittinger of Champagne Taittinger selected a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, Napa Valley. From its beginning, Domaine Carneros has been a sparkling wine house and a worthy counterpoint to its French sibling.
18 July, 2019
I first met Steve Beckmen of Beckmen Vineyards almost 20 years ago. He was one of the first people I heard speak about biodynamic farming. Twenty years later, we sat down and tasted his wines. The maturity of the vineyards and the passion of Steve come through in the balance and complexity of the wines and you can read my story that I wrote in the Napa Valley Register below her. When I first started in the wine business almost 20 years ago, I would take consumers on day trips from Los Angeles to the Santa Barbara wine country for a day of tasting and education. We would visit different wineries and the winemakers would meet with our group to share their stories.
11 July, 2019
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