As summer switches into gear, backyard gardens look big and lush.  Produce is just starting to ripen:  a tomato here, a zucchini there, a handful of sugar snap peas today, bulbous spring onions tomorrow.  Backyard produce has not commenced bountiful delivery yet and with the sporadic harvest of this or that, all that remains sitting […]

  Why yes!  Even though it is late May and most of the United States this very week is heating up to encourage an early arrival of hot summer days, I do say “Cabernet” . . .  I just say “Cabernet Franc” with unbridled enthusiasm.   Hot weather screams for crisp white wines, the icy […]

  This week’s article admittedly was done on a lark.   A few weeks ago I was up early on a Sunday morning and had nothing pressing ahead on the day’s agenda.  With the luxury of a rare lazy Sunday morning at home and delightful warm weather outdoors, the back deck was simply too inviting to […]

    Tempranillo is that wonderful Spanish red wine grape that invokes images of rustic cuisine, tapas and sun-soaked Spanish country-side.  The grape uniquely originates in Spain and has seen introduction and increased popularity in the United States.  It is a pleasant departure from the readily available Bordeaux and Rhone varietals found throughout Napa Valley. […]

  Over the course of the past three years, I have made a concentrated effort to pair wines largely from family-owned wineries in Napa Valley with quality cuisine that is casually manageable in the home kitchen.  This is the heartbeat of the culture of California cuisine and California wine.  The two go hand in hand, […]