Recently, I wrote an article about restaurant corkage policies, and reader Cathy Martin raised an issue that I did not address. Her comment related to: if restaurants were reasonable in their wine pricing, corkage would not be necessary. I understand what she is saying, even though from my own perspective I’m not sure how much…
During one of the last warm days in October we took a beautiful drive through a long winding road that led us to a new winery about 30 minutes from our home in Newhall. The exterior of the winery was decorated with an expansive fountain framed by an equally expansive view of vines on three…
Once again almost a dozen merchants along Town Center Drive and the Patios of the Westfield Valencia Mall played host, with the help of dozens of volunteers, donated wine and purveyors of fine food, to The Wine Affair: Sip, Stroll & Savor the Sounds. Guests had four hours to complete their loop tour and be…
As summer’s warmth gives way to the glorious colors of fall, I know that this in my last beach trip for the year. Overlooking the sandy beaches of Durres, the sunset was no less striking. From the veranda of our bungalow, my friend and fellow sommelier, Kalina Novac, and I enjoyed an assortment of fresh…
Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) Los Angeles Sherry Yard Hosts Colleagues Duff Goldman, Donald Wressell, Alice Medrich, Evan Kleiman, Carlos Enriquez, Marcel Vigneron, Jet Tila, Ricardo Zarate, Roy Choi, Josiah Citrin A new sweet extravaganza is coming to town for dessert lovers, GETTING OUR JUST DESSERTS, at The International Culinary School at The Art…
Have you reached the age that when you see young parents, you come to find, that they are not as young as you thought? Over dinner I couldn’t help but notice the exuberant sticky-faced toddler in the booth next to ours. As he turned completely around to communicate to us, albeit in his own one-year…
During our last meeting of Grape of the Night (GOTN) in September 2012 the group tasted and learned about a wine called Gamay Beaujolais. One of the points that I commented on was about a different fermentation process used in the Gamay region of France called carbonic fermentation. This process creates wines that have fruity…
In Time for the Holidays, Roger Room Now on Location with Signature Drinks and Full Bar Service, Available for Off Site Entertaining for 50 – 2000 Guests WHO: THE ROGER ROOM, West Hollywood WHAT: THE ROGER ROOM, Los Angeles’ award winning mixology bar, announces the arrival of Roger Room Cocktail Catering and Bar Service…
The San Francisco International Wine Competition was held in June of this year at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Over 4,000 wines were tasted, and medals were awarded as follows: 202 Double Gold Medals. 363 Gold Medals. 1,358 Silver Medals. 1,613 Bronze Medals. While any medal would indicate that the wine is of high quality,…
How to begin? I’d have to say that after going to a few single malt scotch tastings, and holding a few in my home, I was still not prepared for WhiskyLive LA. I could only compare it to the grandest of wine tastings. It was that large in scope, that impressive in range and that…