Chef Chris New has the only gadget in Santa Clarita that was the winner of the Food Network’s Award for Tasty Technology: The “Anti-Griddle” quickly freezes sauces and purees into solid, unique forms — or freezes just the outer surfaces while maintaining a creamy center. It’s the perfect accompaniment for a modern chef that prides…
Now and then I actually write about wine. Well, take that back, I go to a blind Syrah tasting, hosted by my friends in the Santa Clarita Vintners and Grower’s Association, ask them to take down notes and send them to me. So this really is a wine review column, but not just from a…
Slated for May 4, Taste of the Town helps support the Child & Family Center. Picture this: Dozens of local restaurants and caterers offering delectable dishes for you to leisurely feast upon. There’s a large array of wine and beer purveyors eager to pour their finest selections. Distinctive entertainment by platinum recording artist Mark LeVang…
Simply Wine Festival http://simplywinefest.com/ What started as a dream fairly quickly turned into an amazing reality. Martha Peretz and her team at Great Festivals Incorporated should be congratulating themselves for putting on a practically perfect extravaganza, the Simply Wine Festival, especially considering it was their inaugural event. Start with the venue itself, the Four Seasons…
A few years back Ed and I were stopped right in front of Backwoods Inn by the SCV sheriffs in one of those mandatory drunk-driving checks. I was scared, not because we had drunk too much, but because police in general make me nervous. (Another thing to blame on my mom—the very first hippie of…
Family Winemakers of California http://familywinemakers.org (FWC) is an organization dedicated to preserving the diversity of California wine and supporting family owned wineries. Anyone who produces wine commercially or who grows wine grapes can join, although membership is dominated by wineries with an annual production of less than 5,000 cases. These small wineries also get a…
I’ve been thinking about POP Champagne bar in Pasadena for a few months because…well…we don’t have a Champagne bar in Santa Clarita yet. With dozens of Champagnes, by the flight, glass and bottle, also doing the same for sparkling wines, fortified wines, pink wines, vintage champagnes and regular wines…I figured that I would get over…
Second Annual Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival http://www.sierrapelonavintners.com/ Do you know what an AVA is? It is the abbreviation for “American Viticultural Area”, which is an officially designated wine grape-growing region in the United States. Creation of a new AVA has to be approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the…
An interesting thing that happens at large wine events: camaraderie grows as wines are consumed, people tend to become chattier and want to share their discoveries of the day. So instead of just keeping track of what I was digging at the Family Winemakers Pasadena tasting, I listened to the buzz coming from Santa Clarita…
Last week a much-needed rain storm pummeled Santa Clarita, but the day of the much-anticipated Opolo Wine Pairing Dinner at Salt Creek Valencia, it was a beautiful day. And the patio at Salt Creek screams out for events! Perfect for a group of, I don’t know, maybe 60, to mingle, hear a speaker, have their…
