A jigger of rye, a pour of coffee liqueur — Stephen Shelton mixes it up at Los Gatos’ Lexington House, concocting a smoky libation called Cocktails & Cigarettes. He stirs, he pours and then, with a flourish, Shelton adds that final explosive touch, a few dashes of Workhorse Rye’s Coffee Rye bitters.
In today’s cocktail world, bitters are the “it” ingredient. It’s a trend so hot, craft bitters are even called out by name on cocktail menus.
Georges Duboeuf is a modest man. He is modest in stature and rather reserved, in an elegant, French way. He is extremely modest about his contributions to the international wine world, of which championing Beaujolais — the region and the wines — will be his legacy. He is also modest about his success with promoting Beaujolais Nouveau, even though it has become a an overhyped caricature of itself.
The first thing you notice when walking up to the new Bradley’s Fine Diner (BFD) is the large wrap around front porch, or veranda if, like me, you’re from the South. It’s a great place to start your experience at the latest eatery from the James Beard Award-winning chef Bradley Ogden. Sip a cocktail or have a spot of tea. Heaters make it cozy on cool California nights.
‘Tis the season and time for holiday gift recommendations. What to get the wine lover in your life? Not the same old same old. I’ve been looking all year for the coolest, most unique – and yes, stylish presents for you to give — and a few you might want to keep for yourself! Cheers and happy holidays. Chill Out. Forget chilling a whole bottle of wine, go by the glass. Keep the Napa Wine Chiller, a shiny silver sphere, aka “balls of steel” in the freezer until you’re ready to pour a glass or two of wine. Takes about 2 minutes or so to completely chill one glass of wine, and it works for at least two glasses. Does not hit your mouth when you sip. When you’re done, rinse, dry and refreeze. Tip: really only works with wide mouth glasses and bigger glasses that allow you to swirl even with…
When I’m not drinking wine, I’m obsessed with makeup, lotions and potions and of course, perfume. I’ve been a product junkie ever since I can remember, and my bathroom cabinets are overflowing with skin and hair care and all sorts of beauty products. This year I’ve tried and tested many a cream, and dabbed and spritzed all sorts of fragrances. I’ve come up with a list of my top 12 beauty products that really work — and make great holiday gifts to boot. 1. Beauty DNA. I’ve tried just about every beauty subscription out there. I usually end up with a pile of unwanted stuff. So I was skeptical about Beauty DNA’s claim to make a perfect match for you every month. I signed up for the $25 per month subscription. My first delivery was the SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF — a full size which sells for about $150. Then I…
I recently returned from two days at the Paso Garagiste Festival. This is the event’s fourth year, and it has grown leaps and bounds since I wrote about the inaugural event in 2011. That year, 44 wineries participated in a one-day event; now it is a four day event. This year 60 wineries alone poured on Saturday, November 8 at the Grand Tasting; another 19 wineries participated in The Opening Round on Friday night. In all told, 79 wineries pouring over 150 wines. The garagiste movement is strong.
Attendance that first year was nearly 700 people; this year more than 1,000 consumers attended. The event also moved from a quaint horse stable at Windfall Farms to the larger Paso Robles Fairgrounds. Perhaps not as elegant, but winemaker and lighting designer Bill Powell (who was also pouring his wines at Powell Mountain Wines) did a nice job of transforming a cavernous room into something cool.
2014 Award Winners Calling all independent, niche and artisan perfumers. Submissions for the 2015 Art and Olfaction Awards are now open. This new awards programs was launched last year by Saskia Wilson-Brown of the Institute for Art and Olfaction, to showcase the tremendous fragrant works of art crafted by small producers around the world. These noses work independently, are not funded by big perfume house conglomerates and are mostly self-funded, small businesses where everything is done by hand by the person creating the scents. If you’re at all familiar with the the fragrance industry, you might say that the Art and Olfaction Awards are akin to the movie industry’s Spirit Awards for indie films, as compared to the established Fifi awards (now called the Fragrance Foundation Awards), considered the Oscars of the perfume world. Winners receive a Golden Pear. It’s a unique symbol for an awards statue. Saskia says they came…
Where do wine country locals go in Napa Valley when they need a carb fix? The Model Bakery of course. For 30 years Model Bakery has been luring folks in for the mouthwatering pastries and bread. But the one item Model is known best for is their world famous English Muffin. People line up for the 1000+ muffins Model makes daily. I produced this story for the new TV show Kristy Downing Rocks Local Food where we reveal the secrets of creating these fluffy and airy one-of-a-kind English Muffin.
As the world gets ready to celebrate the arrival of the 2014 Beaujolais Nouveau, it’s a good time to turn the spotlight on this region’s wines, especially the complex, aromatic and fascinating wines of the Cru Beaujolais. These Cru wines are a revelation for anyone who is accustomed to drinking the super fresh, super fruity and super young Beaujolais Nouveau. After all Nouveau is a style unto itself, bottled only weeks after the grapes are harvested. While Nouveau’s roots are in a wine to celebrate the harvest, the Cru wines are what Beaujolais is all about. Moulin-à-Vent’s landmark windmill In June I joined a group of fellow journalists on a taste journey through five of the 10 Cru Beaujolais appellations. The producers we visited all make wine with the legendary Georges Duboeuf, who has done more to spread the world about high quality Beaujolais wine than any other producer from…
November in the wine world means time for Beaujolais Nouveau, with all the pomp and circumstance and celebration surrounding the release of this wine around the world. Legally it cannot be released until 12:01 am the third Thursday of November. That’s when you hear proclamations of “le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”— and millions of corks popping. This year the festivities take place on November 20, 2014. As a wine Beaujolais Nouveau is soft and fruity, very easy to drink. Yet critics deride the wine as being cheap and uninteresting. Well it is cheap inexpensive, usually selling for $10-$12 a bottle. It’s certainly not as complex as a red wine aged for one to two years in oak. Beaujolais Nouveau is a baby, made and released as a finished wine in only four to six weeks after harvest. That’s why in 2014 you’ll be drinking the 2014 vintage later this month. …