For this Grape of the Night gathering the selected varietal was Meritage or Claret. Since we sampled French Bordeaux wines at our October GOTN, I thought that it would be interesting to venture to the New World as a comparison. It was interesting there were no labels that had the name Claret all were Meritage….
Let’s see…. Did ya take my advice this year to SEEK, FIND, BUY, & ENJOY,(or CELLAR) ANY of these wines?!?!? : ) NV Gruet Cellars Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Wine New Mexico!!! 04 Domain Wachau “Terassen Federspiel” Niederösterreich Wachau AUT Gruner Veltliner! 10 Margerum Wine Co “Happy Canyon” SB County CA Sauv Blanc!!! 09 Terredora…
Corkage Update The Baltimore Business Journal came out with an article about the upcoming corkage debate (“MD Wine Connoisseurs Want Another Pop at Repealing Corkage Law,” October 28) last Friday. The article profiled Cristin Dadant, co-owner of Clementine Restaurant, who asked the rhetorical question, “Why tie my hands even more to make my business accessible…
Winemakers in Happy Canyon (Santa Ynez Valley) celebrate a stellar harvest and hope to attract consumer and industry attention during a tough year for better-known AVAs While heavy rains late in the harvest season have raised eyebrows and concern about the outcome of the 2011 vintage in some of Northern California’s wine regions, the Golden…
Marche Bacchus – French Bistro Cafe (This is part 2, part 1 ran on 11/12. The original, lent to us by the author Rick Fraga, appeared originally on his website: http://www.gatewaytowine.com/marche-bacchus-a-divine-place-to-dine) As we stepped towards the dining area we were warmly greeted and guided to our table, which was next to the Lake, looking out…
I’m of the opinion that Thanksgiving, more so than even 4th of July, is OUR National Holiday Event that bests defines the unique nature of the American Experience. A few other countries (i.e. Canada) may have national holidays to give thanks, BUT I am not convinced that in those countries Thanksgiving is for them what…
FOUR‐DAY EPICUREAN EXTRAVAGANZA IN THE LEGENDARY NAPA VALLEY NET PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND AT THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA AT GREYSTONE Tickets for Flavor! Napa Valley are on sale, offering up a stellar lineup of chefs, vintners and sommeliers presiding over dinners, seminars and tastings throughout the inaugural four‐day festival, being held November 17–20,…
It’s that time of year again peeps, Halloween decorations are up and holiday shopping has begun. I’m here to tell you the best way to shop – while drinking! It begins with a beautiful venue, about a dozen pages of wines to sample that all can later be ordered at discounted prices. And, to make…
Last Thursday, at Waterloo & City in Culver City, I attempted to sample as many double gold wine and spirit winners I could in about an hour. The time constraint is because I don’t want to deal with the traffic home, and for now, these events occur at lunch and not at the time I…
Back in 2008, we were visiting with Fulton and Dink Mather of David Fulton Winery in Napa [producers of some of the best Petite Sirah on the planet!] when Karen mentioned she works in Pasadena. The Mathers mentioned that the owners of one of our favorite restaurants in Pasadena – Bistro 45, also owned a…