Chocolove
Another one of my addictions - Chocolove's 55% cocoa-rich dark chocolate bar laced with a secondary layer of bitterness in the form of orange peel. This beautiful indulgence ($2.99) is consistently bittersweet all the way through, from intense-yet-accessible start, to...
Another Thing about Avanti
Think of the Manet painting - the Barmaid at the Follies Bergere - as you consider this view of Katie Cater, sommelier and oenophile at Ristorante Avanti. With Cater's guidance, I chose a soft, ripe Fuentespina Ribera del Duero 2001 to accompany a recent dinner of...
Wine of the Week
Take a careful look at this label. Memorize it. Now go out and find one just like it and bring it home. This is your new best friend, oenologically-speaking. It is Bonny Doon Vineyards' 2004 Syrah Le Pousseur, loaded with meaty tones of spice, cassis, some indefinable...
Getting Doon
Vitiphiliacs and Bonny Doon Vineyards wine club members gathered at the winery last Saturday, for a dinner of rustic elegance wrapped around some sensational wines. Convened by BD founder Randall Grahm, the dinner helped to introduce the latest oenologic from the...
Hot Tomatoes!
Amish Gold, Amish Paste, Ananas Noir, Aunt Ruby's German Green, Aunt Ruby's Cherry, Azoychka, Barad's Yellow, Basinga, Berkeley Tie Dye, Big Beef, Big Rainbow, Big White Pink Stripe, Black Cherry, Black Ethiopian, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Black Plum, Black Prince,...
Inside the Flame
A book of sensory adventure: The rituals, passions and discoveries of an engaged life.