From the department of “ubi maior minor cessat”… Above: When ever Alice (foreground), Tracie P, and me get together, we always manage to cause trouble (just ask Alice; she’ll tell you!). A few months ago, I was approached by one of the top wine distributors in California, Amy Atwood, who asked me if Sotto in […]
“Mt. Etna speaks through Frank Cornelissen.” —Alice Feiring, author of Naked Wine and The Battle for Wine and Love: How I Saved the World from Parkerization “Naturalness is the road, not its end.” —Frank Cornelissen It’s official: I’ll be hosting a dinner for Etna winemaker Frank Cornelissen at Sotto in Los Angeles on Sunday November […]
The “Oblong Table” series that we’ve been doing with Lou at Sotto has been so popular and so much fun that we’ve decided to do one more before fall. Tuesday, August 14, Lou and I will be leading a guided tasting of some of our favorite Natural wines from Southern Italy (including the Fatalone, white […]
Chefs Zach and Steve treated me to their testa last night at Sotto in Los Angeles. I’ll be back again tonight, working the floor and chatting with guests about wine. Our event with Lou is sold out but he’ll be at the restaurant as well. Please drop by and say hello and have a glass […]
Tracie P and I cried the day that Lou (above) announced the closing of Lou on Vine earlier this year. Lou will be joining me (again) on Thursday, July 26 for tasting and conversation at Sotto where I curate the wine list (and Tracie P will be there, too). Here are the details. It should […]
If you follow along here, Lou Amdur (above) needs no introduction. He’s one of the most beloved and respected professionals working in the wine world today. After closing Lou, his now legendary Natural wine bar in Los Angeles, he’s been taking time off to travel and do research before opening Lou 2.0. He’s currently visiting […]
Above: the excellent selection at Vino Carta in San Diego isn’t exclusively natural. It mingles the classic and iconic of European wine with the more crunchy stuff. A trip to southern California has been a real stroll down memory lane. It has made for remembrances not of a time before the time we live in […]
Paolo Cantele and I will be pouring his family’s wines tonight at Vinology in Houston from 6-8 p.m. Please come out and taste with us! It felt like the world of groovy wine had descended on Texas this week. That was the scene on Wednesday, above, at the Rootstock portfolio tasting preview at Light Years, […]
Above: an image from Oliviero Toscani’s 1989 United Colors of Benetton campaign (via the Benetton corporate website). Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a nationally observed holiday in the U.S. The commemoration has different meanings for different people. For me personally, it’s a day to reflect on love and hate, mercy and accountability, healing […]
Above: the new Lou, the amazing Lou Amdur’s newly opened wine shop in Los Feliz (Los Angeles). Yesterday, I braved two hours in grid-lock traffic to get from the westside of Los Angeles to Los Feliz to see Lou Amdur’s new wine shop. It’s getting tougher to get around in LA these days but I […]
Do Bianchi 