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Showing posts from November, 2011

Enoteca 100 2011

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I never used to love Italian food as much, until I started loving Italian wine. That love affair with vino drove me to explore and appreciate Italian cuisine, which in turn nudged me to explore even more of Italy's wine regions and varieties. No other place has helped open my eyes to all that more so than one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area - Donato Enoteca . Not only do they serve great food and wine all year around, they also feature some of my favorite winemaker dinners. And once a year, Donato Enoteca throw their annual Enoteca 100 Italian wine extravaganza. This year, it's on December 3. I documented this event in the past -- highly recommended for sheer joy of living! Taste 100+ fine Italian Wines & Donato's Creations The WINE: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello, Franciacorta, Amarone, Valle d'Aosta, Piemonte, Alto Adige, Veneto, Friuli, Toscana, Sicilia and Sardegna, Festive Sparkling wines from all across Italy! The FOOD: Prosciutto, Speck

Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of 2011

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Third year in a row I attended Wine & Spirits Top 100 Wineries of the Year event, and it always strikes me in one peculiar way -- if you want to know which profession all the pretty ladies go into, look no further - wine trade clearly. Not sure if this attracts me to the wine or distracts me from it... But W&S Top 100 has got to be the best looking assembly of well-dressed, super-friendly female professionals in the Bay Area! Now, as far as wine, a lot of tasty treats await one here, accompanied by mouth-watering bites from the best eateries from around the Bay. This is where I confirm my perennial faves, and open my buds up to new ones. This time around, I really enjoyed Diamond Creek - one of the oldest and best regarded wineries in Napa (since 1968) focusing exclusively on Cabernet Sauvignon, with the delightfully sprightly founder-owner Boots Brounstein (see in the photo below). I had tried their cabs once or twice before, and I was impressed with almost an old-wo