The Wine Country way to do chicken Mark and Allie Ketcham, proprietors of Ketcham Estate Winery in California’s Russian River Valley shared this easy chicken recipe with us. It’s a family recipe, one created by Allie. She was inspired by one of her favorite restaurant dishes, the Chicken Paillard at Bistro Ralph, a beloved Healdsburg […]
This gift giving season has wine country on my mind As I think about holiday gifting for the 2019 season, I am evacuated from my home in Healdsburg and just hoping and praying that all returns to normal soon. And although my intention was to simply give you a list of stocking stuffers and so […]
Why a Sonoma-themed wine salon? For those not familiar with Sonoma County, it is a glorious wine region sandwiched between the Napa Valley and the Pacific Ocean. Sounds like a dreamy place, right? It is. But unlike the wine country of Napa, Sonoma County is an expansive, diverse agricultural region with multiple microclimates and micro-cultures. […]
A crumb cake recipe from the strawberry capital of Southern California by Barbara Barrielle Are these strawberries from Oxnard?” Asked the 12 year old as he dug into the strawberry crumb cake in Malibu in Mother’s Day. “Yes, they are. They were fresh picked this morning,” I responded. “Good, because the best strawberries are from […]
Pinot Noir lovers unite In my recent story on the World of Pinot Noir event held every spring in Santa Barbara, I explained why Pinot Noir events are in a league of their own. It’s about the people. Pinot lovers are passionate people on a quest for knowledge about the grape. Also, they’re a sharing […]
Enter the World of Pinot Noir The first weekend of March is always World of Pinot Noir (www.wopn.com) now held at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Bacara just north of Santa Barbara in Goleta. Here a weekend pass will set Pinot lovers back $1250 plus fees. And that doesn’t include lodging at either the host property, Bacara, […]
Holiday Gift Guide 2018 Part 1 As the West Coast suffers under the scourge of massive wildfires, once again some of our top holiday ideas are suggestions for gifts that give back to fire victims in many different ways…and some are just playful and unique ideas for the loved ones in your life…and those others […]
Gift Guide 2018 Part 2 This second part of our 2018 Gift Guide features some unique gifts for the wine lover on your list. We’ve dug deep to find some of the California Wine Country’s undiscovered gems but we’ve made sure to add in a few perennial favorites guaranteed to light up any wine lover’s […]
This Sonoma County version of the classic, Greek cucumber salad is my pick for an accompaniment to a meal of garlicky lamb and Pinot Noir. The base of a Tzatziki recipe is the aphrodisiac of cucumber. You may think cucumber is just a crunchy, water-packed fruit of summer. (And yes, cucumber is actually a fruit, […]
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