Feel Good Foods @ Vine Hill
The visually delightful, all-organic catering group founded by Heidi Schlecht and Amy Linstrom (who also operate the inviting River Cafe) continues to fuel some of our best parties. Platters lavish with edible flowers, opulent proteas, and other eye-candy adorned the...
Tasting Notes: Cumbre 2005 Raffaelli Pinot Noir
Big enough for lamb, restrained enough for mahi mahi — this is one serious contender for terroir-defining Santa Cruz Mountains appellation pinot noir. After an initial wave of cola and spice, primarily cloves, this sumptuous wine offers a dark finish that goes into...
Choice Bites
A girl's gotta eat, right? And in this region, that can be a delicious prospect. Over at River Cafe - I do love that place - I drifted into an altered state over a brilliant "salad" of quinoa, that soft, fluffy, Inca grain. The pale yellow quinoa was tossed with...
Burgundy to Burn For
Comparison shopping can be sweet. In order to better understand California pinot noirs - and specifically those made in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation - it is sometimes necessary to cave in and purchase, taste and sigh over a pinot noir made in France. Here's...
Biodynamic Muscat Ca’ del Solo
What a delightful creation, this vivacious 2007 Muscat from Bonny Doon Vineyard's Ca'del Solo estate. Cultivated according to the exacting standards of biodynamic agriculture since 2004, this spare, rugged vineyard has produced a luscious new wine that is full of...
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.