Last year in late November, I had the very fortunate opportunity to attend the 2010 Inductee Luncheon for the
Vintners Hall of Fame at
The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone in
St. Helena. CIA Greystone is the premiere college for the culinary arts, with the main campus at
Hyde Park, New York. They also have additional campuses in
San Antonio, Texas and in the imposing former Christian Brothers
stone building in
St. Helena, California. It is here at Greystone that they have converted the old winery Barrel Room into a an impressive showcase of the many men and women that have shaped the wine industry in America.
One recent bright evening in San Francisco, The Lady and I had the opportunity to head below the border, as in below the Equator…to
Argentina! A new wine label is set to drop on our half of the Earth called
Espiritu de Argentina. Combining the efforts of the US-based
Cecchetti Racke,
Espiritu de Chile and Argentine winery
Bodega Monte Real, it will feature a full line of affordable and Argentine wines. Lady and I met in front of the resto Destino, where we would have the lucky opportunity of getting a sneak peak at these quaffable wines paired with a one-time 7 course small plates meal, all courtesy of
Balzac Communications.
Last April Fool's day, I received what seemed to be a nicely written, yet rather surprisingly nifty wine event invite in my inbox asking if I'd like to meet with Laurent Sauvage, winemaker for the leading family of wines from the
Languedoc in the South of
France,
Robert Skalli Wines. We were to meet with Laurent at
CAV, the outstanding wine bar and restaurant along Market in the
Opera District of San Francisco (and part-owned by none other than
Doug Cook (
Twitter), founder of
Able Grape).
It's that awesome time again when the Wine 2.0 (Twitter) folks gear up and take over San Francisco! Wine 2.0 San Francisco Expo is taking place on Thursday April 2nd and if it's anything like the past events...it's going to be a killer wine shindig!
Corkage fees have been controversial for as long as they have been around. I admit, I have been distressed numerous times in the past at having to pay a corkage fee on wine that I already own. It's similar to the feeling I get when I have a fee to withdraw my own money from a bank! Yet, with friends all over the food and wine industry, I also get a lot of great perspectives on the topic.
