Marcus Garcia – Striking The Perfect Chord! Part II

Hubert Keller, a native of France’s breathtaking, eastern-Alsace region, caught the attention of some of the country’s finest chefs at just sixteen. Towering, innovative culinary artisans like Paul Haeberlin, Gaston Lenôtre, Paul Bocuse and Roger Vergé recognized his promise early on, training him in their kitchens and nurturing his talent. When chef Keller and wife Chantal moved to San Francisco in 1982 to open […]

Marcus Garcia – Striking The Perfect Chord!

Hubert Keller, a native of France’s breathtaking, eastern-Alsace region, caught the attention of some of the country’s finest chefs at just sixteen. Towering, innovative culinary artisans like Paul Haeberlin, Gaston Lenôtre, Paul Bocuse and Roger Vergé recognized his promise early on, training him in their kitchens and nurturing his talent. When chef Keller and wife Chantal moved to San Francisco in 1982 to open 500 Sutter restaurant at the behest of Roger Vergé, their love for […]

John Lancaster – Destem, Decant, Deliver! Part II

In full view of Treasure Island, the city’s eastern waterfront and the imposing, battleship-grey bay bridge lies the Auddifred building – a 19th-century jewel of San Francisco’s illustrious past and home to one of the city’s (and nation’s) most beloved and enduring dining destinations. Launched in 1993 by master chef Nancy Oakes and renowned designer […]

Evan Goldstein – Square Roots, Full Circle – Take Two!

The spectrum of  wine personalities in the United States encompasses some of the most passionate and deeply knowledgeable individuals to be found in any profession. From compelling wine writers to high-profile sommeliers,  from visionary importers to devoted wine cellar advisors, from tireless brand ambassadors to wholesale agents and to those who provide the tools and messaging for […]

Evan Goldstein – Square Roots, Full Circle

The spectrum of  wine personalities in the United States encompasses some of the most passionate and deeply knowledgeable individuals to be found in any profession. From compelling wine writers to high-profile sommeliers,  from visionary importers to devoted wine cellar advisors, from tireless brand ambassadors to wholesale agents, to those who provide the tools and messaging for […]

One Closing Thought

As we bid farewell to this, the thirteenth annum of the 21st century there are memories to cherish, actions to regret, a need to reflect and much to learn from doing just that. When Descartes said, “Je pense, donc je suis” – I think, therefore I am – he advanced what is for many, a metaphysical […]

Wait, Just Wait

Like all Made-in-the-USA endeavors, when modern, California wines flamboyantly swaggered onto the global stage in the last half of the twentieth century they did so with bravado. Brash, full-bodied reds dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon alongside richly-textured, lavishly-sexy, oak-driven whites crafted from golden Chardonnay  have resoundingly defined the “new world” style for the last half of the century. Today, […]

Christian Moueix – A Tale of Two Terroirs – Encore!

It is quite possible that, more than any other profession, the wine industry, whose faithful emissaries passionately extoll the virtues of the irresistibly engaging, historical footprint of the vine that speaks to the essence of the human spirit and its relationship to the natural world, is disproportionately layered with eminent storytellers whose tales have often been […]

It takes a Forest!

From childhood, our imaginations are repeatedly stirred by captivating tales of noble forest-dwellers the likes of Robin Hood interspersed with fantastical worlds inhabited by gnomes, fairies, trolls, wolves and the like. As we grow, the forest enchants us through the infinite expanse of places it challenges our minds to explore and discover. Whether scaling one […]

The (Golden) State of Pinot Gris!

Alsace, and its eastern neighbor Germany, harvest many classic grape varieties that have left an indelible mark on many of the planet’s other great wine regions. And so it is, along one of the more rugged and majestic landscapes to be found in the world, where great stands of gigantic, ancient redwoods hug the spectacular […]