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Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein authors new wine guide, Wines of South America

Wine expert and author Evan Goldstein has a brand new guidebook out, called the Wines of South America, currently available in stores and on Amazon.com

Evan Goldstein is a Master Sommelier, and President and Chief Education Officer of Full Circle Wine Solutions, Inc. in San Francisco. He is the author of Perfect Pairings: A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food and Daring Pairings: A Master Sommelier Matches Distinctive Wines with Recipes from His Favorite Chefs, both published by UC Press.

Q: Evan, how many books on wine have you authored so far?

Evan Goldstein: This is my third book with UC Press (the other two being ‘Perfect Pairings’ and ‘Daring Pairings’, two works on pairing wine with food) and I did a service book (now out of print) some years back

Q: South America is a gigantic continent, how long did it take you to research this book?

Evan Goldstein: Well, off and on, it was over a 7-8 year period but the specific book centric focus was onsite (e.g. in South America over 5-6 weeks in 2012/3 and, via a series of good friends/embedded emissaries, if you will, over a year and a half more. And my own research spanned over 2 years (2012-2013)

Q: How do you categorize the wines, by country or varietal?

Evan Goldstein: The book is organized, after the introductory chapters which cover off on continental history and a compendium of grapes found across the continent, by country with five core chapters- Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay and a compilation chapter covering off on Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela, This is followed by a series of chapters on subjects ranging from traveling in South American wine country, dining locally, and a series of recommended wines via a series of ‘top 10’ lists….

Q: What do you think is most important for the reader to take away from using this guide book?

Evan Goldstein: That South America is undervalued and underappreciated given its significance as a global wine producing continent (2^nd most impactful, as a continent, after Europe). Also, that there’s much more to South America than the good-value entries made by a small number of higher visibility producers. Chile and Argentina are in their defining 3.0’s, if you will, and Brazil and Uruguay have yet to get their real day in the sun, until now!

Q: You have photos and maps. Did you take the photos?

Evan Goldstein: The photos and maps were done by professionals (unlike me!) who have a keen sensibility about the regions they shot in. A big shout out to Matt Wilson, with five photos in the book, and whose work adorns the cover…the maps, serveral of which didn’t exist before this book, were all custom cartographed.

Q: What are some of your favorite South American wines?

Evan Goldstein: Ahh—for that you’ll need to refer to my ‘top 10’s on pages 265-272!

Q: Any pairings you suggest?

Evan Goldstein: Well, unlike my first two books with UC Press this one is not a specific paring book. That said, a few can’t misses—great beef (a staple of Argentina, Southern Brazil and Uruguay) with the robust reds of their respective countries (Malbec and Malbec blends (Argentina); Tannat and Tannat blends (Uruguay) and varied rich reds from across Brazil)—Peruvian takes of ceviche with Chilean Sauvignon Blancs, especially those from San Antonio and coastal Casablanca; traditional Argentinean empanadas (filled with meat, olives, raisins, and hard boiled eggs) with Torrontés (really); and any of the fried Brazilian pasteis (savory croquettes) served with, what else, Brazilian bubbly!

Chef Barb’s B Sweet rolls out Bread Pudding product line

Frozen bread pudding may not sound appealing to foodie purists, but to many people it sounds like manna from heaven. And frankly, it’s pretty darn good, especially Chef Barb’s B Sweet‘s new product line. That explains why it has just been picked up for retail in more than 250 Super Target stores nationwide.

The bread pudding comes in the same size containers as ice cream, and the flavors range from Fudge Brownie and Apple Pie to Cookies & Cream and Glazed Donut. In the TasteTV office, the Apple Pie was a big hit, and there was much discussion about how after we had heated it in the microwave, we should have gone ahead and added a big lump of ice cream on top.

The only drawback is that it really is best served hot, so if you don’t plan on consuming what you have on your plate right away, then save some for later (or give it to the drooling friend staring at your plate).

If you don’t know who Chef Barb is, here is a quick summary:

Barb Batiste founded Chef Barb’s B Sweet^© in 2010 as a way to bring back the homemade taste in food and desserts we all love. From her kitchen at home, to now her third commercial kitchen, she continues to remain true to her “handmade like grandma used to make” ways. Barb and her committed team strive to create new recipes with an old-fashioned twist every day.

Chef Barb’s B Sweet^© was named Best Dessert of CitySearch Los Angeles, has been a featured chef at the prestigious L.A. Food and Wine event for the past three years and was a featured chef at the Los Angeles Times’ The Taste.

Beyond desserts, Chef Barb’s B Sweet^© is a full-service catering company with clients that include Disney, Nike, Apple, E! Television, Sony, the cast and crew of Modern Family and NCIS and more. Chef Barb’s creations have been seen on TV shows like The Bachelorette, local and national news and prominent talk shows. Chef Barb’s B Sweet^© also has a fleet of mobile food trucks that cater daily to the local Southern California community. B Sweet™ is growing quickly, and the proof, as they say, “is in the pudding”!

More good news:

Chef Barb not only has her fleet of food trucks out in force, but has also just opened up their first brick and mortar store this past weekend in Los Angeles.

TV Spot Pick: Kelly Osbourne Unwinds at Home with Wheat Thins

The TV Spot (Commercial) Pick of the week is

“Kelly Osbourne Unwinds at Home with Wheat Thins”

The Sugar Lab’s 3D Sugar Printing System

INNOVATOR PROFILE: The Sugar Lab

Milestone

Winner of the 2014 Innovation Award by the TASTE AWARDS. Acquisition by 3D Systems. Press coverage in major media, as well as launch of Los Angeles studio space.

Founders or Inventors

Liz and Kyle von Hasseln, co-founders of The Sugar Lab.

Their background

Kyle and Liz both have backgrounds in molecular biology, but about 5 years ago they decided to transition to architecture, and graduated from SCI_arc with Masters of Architecture. SCI_arc makes it a point to embrace emerging technologies as design tools, and that institutional stance meant that they were exposed to a lot of cool technology during their time there, and were encouraged to use it in novel ways. Throughout graduate school both Kyle and Liz were fascinated by free form fabrication in general, and unorthodox 3D printing configurations and materials in particular. Their graduate thesis, although it had nothing to do with sugar, centered on the development of a novel fabrication system. Their shared curiosity for the range and utility of 3D printing definitely contributed to an interest in applying the technology to the genre of food.

Concept & Innovation

The Sugar Lab is a micro-design firm for 3D printed sugar. 3D printing transforms sugar into a structural, sculptural element that can interact with food on different terms. 3D printed sugar can be used to sweeten or to ornament, but it can also start to define the form of the food instead of the other way around, or even to support it structurally. For example, Kyle and Liz are very excited to be working right now with several talented cake artists at a well-known bakery in Hollywood. The goal is to design a four-tiered wedding cake with a 3D printed sugar cake-stand, plus 3D printed sugar-tiers supporting cake tiers. It will be a traditional cake silhouette in which sugar plays anything but a traditional role.

That’s an exciting part of 3D printing sugar — transforming sugar into a structural, sculptural medium that can start to define the form of the food instead of the other way around, and even to support it structurally.

Inspiration

It started about two years ago, when they were graduate students in architecture. Kyle and Liz were living in a tiny apartment in Echo Park (Los Angeles) with a correspondingly tiny outdoor kitchen. They didn’t have an oven, and when they realized that meant they couldn’t bake their friend Chelsea a cake for her birthday, it was decided to try to 3D print one instead. Eventually Kyle and Liz managed to print a simple cupcake topper that spelled out ‘Chelsea’ in cursive sugar. Chelsea loved it! After they graduated, they optimized the printing process and started The Sugar Lab.

Company URL http://www.the-sugar-lab.com/

EXCERPTED FROM THE SEPIA REPORT

TASTEABLE California Restaurant Award Winners Announced

TasteTV is pleased to announce the winners of the:

1st Annual Viewers Choice TASTEABLE CALIFORNIA Restaurant Awards.

The Restaurant Award Categories are for:

BEST CALIFORNIA CUISINE
BEST LATIN RESTAURANT
BEST PASTRY SHOP
BEST SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
BEST ITALIAN RESTAURANT
BEST PAN-ASIAN/CHINESE RESTAURANT
BEST SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT
BEST SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT
HONORARY: BEST IN SOCAL / VEGAS

The full list of winners can be seen HERE

Congratulations!!!!

The Lamb Jam adds a Summer Picnic Party to its Culinary Recipe

general’s residence, fort mason

Recently San Francisco hosted the 5th Annual Lamb Jam, a national event produced by the American Lamb Board. The event spotlighted a number of local restaurants and their signature lamb-based dishes for the enjoyment of lovers of the meat.

This year the Jam was also part of the Eat Drink SF food festival, which was just rebranded from the former title, “SF Chefs.”

Unlike in previous years, this time the Lamb Jam took place at a new venue, the General’s Residence at the Fort Mason Center. The views provided on this beautiful warm and sunny day created the atmosphere of a giant, lamb-infused picnic.

Another great aspect, aside from the food, wine, beer and cider, were the People’s Choice Awards, in which attendees voted on their top picks from the following participating restaurants: Bluestem Brasserie, Chino, Hog & Rocks, Pican, Scala’s Bistro, The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards, La Urbana, Thirsty Bear Brewing Co., Dosa, Gaspar, Bartlett Hall.

Overall we found almost all of the selections delicious, though some of the spicier ones tended to drown out the tasty flavor of lamb in exchange for tongue-burning heat.

Chef John Fink of the Whole Beast unveiled an experimental new lamb sausage product, which judging from how quickly they were eaten, and how many times we went back for “seconds”, it should do quite well.