Posts belonging to Category Gewurtztraminer

Genghis Cohen is one of those industry insider restaurants where IF you knew…you WOULD know…you were IN the midst of some highly seasoned dealmakers and Chinese food. In this case the music biz. We are celebrating the birthday of one of the biggest dealmakers from the height of a now vaporized industry who has recently expanded his wine interests almost as widely as his musical tastes [ed. not to  mention the acts he signed from Janet Jackson to Sheryl Crow to Blues Traveler].  Which is to say he called for Riesling and Gewurtztraminer to go with the spicy fare at GC. In addition to a very lively dinner Papa Fred sampled from the following bottles.
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The annual Turkey Bowl was a smashing success with the expected outcomes. The food was totally fab and the wine lineup was longer than a Herman Cain explanation. We could not get through all of the choices. Such was not the case Saturday night when the Trojans-Bruins “rivalry” game was gratefully buffered by a Riesling extravaganza hosted at Papa Fred’s Shack and “sommed” by Kris B. The Bruins – who have won 6 games – were limp as a Santa Margarita Soave, while the Rieslings gave a Trojan-inspired performance. (more…)

Somebody else is always getting married in Las Vegas. As good a reason as any to visit this forsaken cultural desert in a desert. There used to be two primary distractions in Vegas: gambling, aka gaming, and S-E-X. From a distance we observed that both industries are still alive and thriving. We could have used more distance at the poker table where we learned our game is more rusty than the Minnow on Gilligans Island. In fact, I channeled the doofus deck hand for hours as sharper minds ran roughshod over my pathetic attempts at winning hands. No matter. Once Internet poker is legal again I will be able to play at a table with similarly unskilled altacockers. (more…)

Not Napa or Sonoma or Paso or LA-proximate Santa Rita Hills. MENDOCINO’S Anderson Valley my frengs is the top wine country destination in the Golden State offering a look back in time at what used to be the norm everywhere. Forget the limos, the tasting palaces and the $40 tasting fees. Keep the superb dining experiences, some world class and great value wines, and the friendliest tasting rooms you may never have experienced or in the case of one old timer [ed. no brag just fact!] you believed were long gone…although they may be coming back. (more…)