WINE

With only two days in Lisbon, my friend and I were looking to pack in as much as we could. She emailed me asking if one of our activities might be to have dinner at Belcanto, a two-star Michelin restaurant. The 2019 Michelin Stars had just been announced and Portugal has twenty-six Michelin starred restaurants, twenty which have one star and six which have two stars. Belcanto had yet again received two stars. I knew it might be a bit of a splurge but I could not say no. Of course, the challenge would be getting a reservation. We were only two weeks away from going on our trip and the website only had an email address on it. I reached out to a friend of mine in Lisbon who works for the elegant Palacio Estoril Hotel and thought he might be able to find their phone number and call from the same time zone. The next day, I had an email from him telling me that the restaurant was completely booked BUT he was able to get us a seat at the Chef's Table. We would experience a tasting menu with wine pairing. We immediately booked the reservation. Belcanto is owned by celebrity chef José Avillez. Avillez has worked with gastronomic superstars Ferran Adria, Eric Frechon and Alain Ducasse, as well as received his first Michelin star at Taveres, Lisbon's oldest and grandest restaurant. Avillez took over Belcanto in 2012. An award-winning restaurant since 1958, Belcanto had been a late night gathering place for artists and opera patrons who frequented the nearby St. Charles theater, as well as a “gentleman’s club” where dancing girls performed on a small stage. Avillez renovated it into a subtle and sophisticated intimate restaurant with only 36 seats.
08 December, 2018
Fifty years is a long time for a winery in California so that is quite an achievement for Fezter Vineyards. In addition to longevity, Fetzer Vineyards has been a leader in sustainability and protecting the environment from the beginning. They have been cultivating change since 1968 and continue to, as I wrote about in the Napa Valley Register.

Fetzer Vineyards is celebrating their 50th anniversary. Owned by Chilean company Viña Concha y Toro since 2011 and one of the largest wine companies in the United States, one might think that they have achieved their pinnacle after five decades.

But, Fetzer Vineyards has been ahead of the game from the beginning. And as they celebrate 50 years, they look forward to the future with a lot of innovations.

06 December, 2018
How old do you think the youngest winemaker is? What if I say 10 years old?  That is right!  Meet 10-year-old Cruz Bilbro who is a  who is 10 and he just raised ALOT of money for charity! And, if you want to help him raise more money, mark December 9, 2018 on your calendar and read my story from the Napa Valley Register below. Winemaker Cruz Bilbro is the fifth generation in his family to make wine. But what sets him apart from other multi-generational winemakers is that he is only 10 years old. When Cruz asked to make wine, Jake agreed but said he would make it for him, and his goal was not to profit from his son. Cruz selected Grenache from the property and went out with the crew to pick grapes. He worked the forklift, measured the brix and temperatures and did all of the punch-downs. Jake guided his son along each stage, explaining his options, but each and every decision was made by Cruz.
04 December, 2018
Some people like museums, others architecture, for me it is food. And what better way to get to know a city and its people than through its food. Every time I travel internationally, I take at least one day to do a local food tour. While in Porto, Portugal this past week, that was no exception. But, I loved my tour so much I went on a second one the next day with the same company. And that is why Taste Porto is the Please The Palate pick of the week. Located in the Northwest of Portugal, Porto is the second largest city in Portugal with a population of approximately 214,000 people. Famous for is Port wines, Porto was a forgotten second city of Europe. However, in the past few years, Porto has exploded and is a popular tourist destination. Knowing I was going to be in Porto for a couple days, I immediately googled "food tours Porto" to see what would come up. One of the first companies to pop-up was Taste Porto, offering local walking food tours with passionate local guides. Taste Porto was started by three friends, two natives from Porto and an American, who wanted to share their love for Porto and the cuisine of Porto.
01 December, 2018
We must all take care of the communities that we live in. We should live sustainable lives. We should do good in our lives. These are challenges that we can undertake as individuals and as businesses and one business doing that is Long Meadow Ranch in Napa Valley. You can read about the family-owned business that does all of things in my recent column in the Napa Valley Register, and republished below.

On Main Street in St. Helena is Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch. From a coffee in the morning to a tasting in the afternoon to a dinner at night, it’s a one-stop shop. And with it comes sustainability and health, supporting the community and doing good.

29 November, 2018
There is something beautiful about watching paella being cooked over an open fire in a large open pan. This image was magnified this past week where at least a dozen different paellas were being made for the Berryessa Gap Paella Cook-Off, the Please The Palate pick of the week. Berryessa Gap is a winery based in Winters, in Yolo County, California, located 30 miles from Sacramento and 60 miles from San Francisco. Owned by the Martinez family who originates from Spain, they celebrate their Spanish heritage each year with the annual Paella Cookoff and Dinner. This year marked the 11th annual event and more than a dozen local chefs came out to make paellas, many from their own family's recipes.
17 November, 2018
It is not uncommon to hear about wineries in Napa who have started to explore other wine regions, such as Paso Robles and Santa Barbara, which are more affordable and offer different soils and micro-climates. But Fess Parker Winery in Santa Ynez Valley is reversing that. With a 30-year history in Santa Barbara Wine Country and a portfolio that includes Burgundian and Rhone varieties, as well as sparkling wine, Fess Parker has now expanded to Napa Valley with their label Addendum, which you can read about in my column in the Napa Valley Register.

Fess Parker Winery is a third-generation winery in the Santa Ynez Valley. Fess Parker, an American film and television actor best known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone in the 1950s and 1960s, purchased a 714-acre ranch in 1988 with the idea to run cattle, grow a few acres of grapes and one day establish a small winery. He envisioned it as a family business to hand down through the generations.

15 November, 2018
November is here and that means Thanksgiving is around the corner. Looking for the perfect wine to enjoy with your Thanksgiving meal? Try a Beaujolais. Not a Beaujolais Nouveau but one from one of the Crus of Beaujolais, which I wrote about in my recent column in the Napa Valley Register and you can read here.
Have you been waiting for November to drink Beaujolais? I hope not!

Beaujolais is so much more than the Beaujolais Nouveau released each November, just after harvest and just in time for Thanksgiving dinner. But if you have been waiting for November to drink Beaujolais, it is time to get serious about Beaujolais.

There are different styles of Beaujolais that will satisfy all palates, styles and desires. And Beaujolais prices are affordable. So, when you cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a bottle of Burgundy, a bottle of Beaujolais will satisfy.

Beaujolais is located immediately south of Burgundy. While it is sometimes considered a part of Burgundy, it is not. Unlike Burgundy, which grows Pinot Noir, the grape of Beaujolais is Gamay. Gamay is not the shallow one-dimensional grape you might think it is but rather a grape that will charm and has the power to seduce.

13 November, 2018
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