Blog Archives - Page 109 of 154

Peter Mondavi chats about Napa favorite Krug Winery opening Trattoria Cucina di Rosa

Napa Valley continues to innovate and delight with new openings and offerings. Peter Mondavi Jr. and Napa Valley celebrity chef, Richard Haake, join TasteTV in discussing the Mondavi Family’s newest venture, Cucina di Rosa Italian trattoria.

Opened as part of the Charles Krug Winery Hospitality Center, the Cucina di Rosa’s realization was the final element of a $9.5 million restoration and beautification of the Redwood Cellar Building designed by noted architect Howard Backen. The Cucina menu was designed by Haake, and offers a variety of rustic panini sandwiches, antipasti, salads as well as traditional Italian snack items designed to pair beautifully with Charles Krug’s estate wines.

Named in honor of the winery’s matriarch Rosa Mondavi, and launched to commemorate the 100^th birthday of her son, Peter, the Cucina brings the renovation of the historic winery and property full circle.

Peter Mondavi Jr.

TasteTV: The Mondavi family has a history of winemaking for several generations. How does everyone keep track of the various ventures and brands? (like Krug)

Peter Mondavi Jr: “Wine is our passion and we enjoy being directly involved in all of our brands and ventures. As a family, we’ve been involved in wine over the past 70 years. Charles Krug, like our other brands, is built on a foundation of family values, hard work and European winemaking tradition.”

TasteTV: Why did you decide to open the Trattoria at the Charles Krug Winery Hospitality Center?

Peter Mondavi Jr: “Cucina di Rosa is an extension of our family heritage and our winemaking philosophy that wine and food are inseparable. My grandmother Rosa Mondavi loved cooking and taking care of people so the Cucina pays homage to her.”

TasteTV: How many visitors do you expect to start enjoying the Cucina?

Peter Mondavi Jr: “We hope the Cucina will draw many new visitors to our stunning, newly renovated Redwood Cellar designed by architect Howard Backen. We don’t know of another winery that offers this kind of culinary experience directly in the Tasting Room. Guests can enjoy a flight of Charles Krug limited-release wines at our Tasting Bar, followed by delicious rustic panini, antipasti or salad designed to pair beautifully with Charles Krug’s estate wines.”

TasteTV: Most restaurants in wine country are sourced locally. Tell us, are the menu and ingredients influenced by local California cuisine, or is it more influenced by Italian restaurants?

Chef Richard Haake: “Simply put, the menu and ingredients are influenced by the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) Garden planted on the Charles Krug estate and the Italian traditions established by Rosa Mondavi who also tended a significant garden on the estate.”

TasteTV: What are some of your favorite dishes at the Trattoria?

Peter Mondavi Jr: “I love the panini and am enjoying working my way through the vast selection, paired with Charles Krug wines, and topped off with a freshly roasted espresso.”

TasteTV: Any suggested food & wine pairings at the Trattoria?

Chef Richard Haake: “The Giardino Panino, which combines grilled and marinated estate-grown vegetables from the CIA Garden with Meyer lemon and herb goat cheese, pairs perfectly with the Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc. The brightness of the goat cheese brings out the wine’s citrus and tropical flavors. Another great pairing is the Toscano Panino paired with Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon. The combination of roasted top sirloin steak, balsamic onions and Cambozola blue cheese are the perfect complement to Charles Krug’s rich, layered Cabernet.”

TasteTV: You are initially only open on weekends. Is this the plan going forward?

Chef Richard Haake: “We would like to be open on additional days, but we’re starting with Fridays and weekends until we get the word out and build a following. We encourage everyone to come and visit us and look forward to extending our hours as soon as possible.”

TasteTV: Several tasting rooms have opened over the last few years in the Sonoma Plaza square. Do you think that this represents a trend for having in-town tasting rooms, and not just tasting rooms at wineries?

Peter Mondavi Jr: “I believe the best way to experience wine country is by visiting a winery. Charles Krug is the oldest winery in Napa Valley, and there is no better way to experience the history and beauty of this region than by spending time at a winery such as ours. It’s truly the ultimate wine country experience.”

Biliner Mineral Water from the Bohemian Czech Republic

Thirst is a natural desire in humans, and thirst for refreshing water is the most natural of all. In places where there are regular droughts, such as in the State of California, that thirst turns many people to bottled water.

One of the newest entrants in the bottled water market is actually one of the oldest. Biliner Mineral Water’s spring source was discovered in 1664 on the noble Lobkowicz estates in royal Bilina in the Northern Bohemia region of what is today the Czech Republic. Balneologists flocked to Bilina, drafting extensive reports about the water’s healing and medicinal powers.

Some of these health benefits are linked to a high concentration of minerals (5000 PPM). The water is bottled as it flows from its source and contains sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron, as well as anions of chloride, sulfate and bicarbonate.

Our tasters tried the “Premium Mineral Water” and concluded that for many Americans it might be an acquired taste. The flavor is a bit reminiscent of the slightly salty taste of carbonated Perrier, however because the Premium is not carbonated the experience is not exactly the same.

The tasters however found the “Royal Class Spring Water,” the higher priced of the two selections, to be very tasty and quite competitive with others currently available. TasteTV gives it a “Highly Recommend.”

Biliner is now available in several locations throughout the United States and North America, including San Francisco, San Jose, Florida, etc. For more information go to www.biliner.com, www.facebook.com/biliner

FLARES App answers the Big Question – Where are You? – without Texting

“Where are you?” is one of the oldest questions since the telephone was invented (think about it… not much of a question before the telephone since you were standing right in front of them). But nowadays, sometimes you want and need to know quickly, and without a lot of drama or texting.

Enters, “Flares.” Flares is a new mobile messaging service that enables you to shoot visual signals to your friends and family to let them know exactly where you are – when it matters to them the most. The signal works just like a real flare! Flares are accessible for 60 minutes after sending and viewable for up to 40 seconds before expiring from the recipient’s phone

Use them to indicate a meeting spot, let everyone know you’re running late, pester a sibling to get a move on, coordinate drop-off and pick-up locations… Flares can be used anytime you need to quickly send a signal that you care.

Q: Is this only for adults, would it work for families on vacation or shopping?

FLARES: Flares was designed to be a universal mobile messaging protocol based on visual cues- particularly when texting is less effective or not as safe. Today, one can try to explain to their other family members where they are at a ski resort or shopping mall, for example, or simply shoot a flare to all of them as a group in less than one second.

You can update friends and family that you’re stuck in traffic without the unsafe distraction of texting while driving. Flares isn’t just easier than texting, it’s much safer as well.

Q: What is the code base for the app (language)

FLARES: Flares was written in Objective C for iOS 7.0+ mobile devices (iPhone and iPad). The Android version is currently in development and scheduled for an October release.

Q: How long did it take to develop?

FLARES: 5 months.

Q: Do you do all of the development in-house?

FLARES: Server-side development and technical architecture is built and maintained in-house. Client-side iOS engineering was completed by a contact-team based in China with specific expertise in interactive UI experiences. Moving forward, client-side engineering will also be conducted by a FlareWorks in-house team.

Q: What kind of privacy setting options are available?

FLARES: Core privacy is built into the concept of Flares which features a custom-designed, double-trigger, expiry technology. Location flare maps are available for a limited viewing time (40 seconds) before disappearing. Also, if a Flare is not viewed within 1 hour, the flare data (personal location information) will also automatically disappear.

Q: Was there any external funding for the project?

FLARES: To date, Flares has received a small tranche of angel funding from prominent investors based in San Francisco, Seattle and New York City. The company is currently raising a venture seed round of funding.

Q: Is the app also the entire company’s current product line?

FLARES: Yes, Flares is the flagship product developed and published by FlareWorks, Inc.

Q: What’s next?

FLARES: Our short-term focus is on perfecting the current user experience surrounding the use of location flares. This visual device is a communication technique that is less about “where you are” and more about “what where you are communicates to those with whom you share a context”- family, friends and work associates for example.

Ultimately, a flare is a signal that can mean anything the user intends-

Did you pick up the kids?

Did my daughter arrive safely at JFK?

I’m going to be 10 minutes late., etc.

We’ll then propagate the Flares experience across all major smartphone platforms, then open up the service on a global, localized basis.

Version 2.0+ of Flares will incorporate other signal types including customizable flares, photo/video flares, audio flares and note-based flares (for context setting).

SEE THE VIDEO

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.

TNT Cosmetics expands into Retail Outlets

View of guests inside Dylan Keith Salon

TNT Cosmetics is going from online-only to an actual physical presence in a retail space. In this case, it’s at the Dylan Keith Salon in Burbank, California.

To celebrate this expansion, TNT hosted a red carpet celebrity event at the Salon in July. “Dylan Keith Salon is a gorgeous space and a clientele that matches our own demographic,” says Tasha Castagna. “There isn’t a better venue for us to partner with for our first retail outlet, or a better place to host an event!”

Makeup artist Robert Hensley and Hair stylist Ruzanna Kirakosyan touch up actress Danielle Inks on the Red Carpet.

Celebs who attended included Valarie Pettiford (Jumping the Broom, True Blood, Tony Award Nominee), Scott Baio (Arrested Development, See Dad Run), Galadriel Stineman (True Blood), recording artist Vano Kimmel, Veronica Alicino (Alvin and The Chipmunks, HOP), director Tobias Daniels (Black Velvet), Jillian Clare (Kitchen, Alien Abduction), recordign artist Acacia Brinley (lead singer WATERCOLORS), Celeste Thorson (How I Met Your Mother), Lela Brown (America’s Got Talent finalist), Gabriella Hillan (Children of the Dead), Sophia Strauss (Cooties, Bukowski), Paris Smith (Nickelodeon’s Every Witch Way), recording artist Lundon Knighten (featured in Cosmopolitan’s March 2014 issue), model Nadia Dawn, and Jennifer Jolliff (New Series Callbacks).

Owners of TNT Cosmetics – Hoyt and Tasha Castagna

Dylan Keith Salon, named for salon owner Kristin Best’s late son, is a full-service salon, offering hair, nail and skin services. Best’s resume includes studio work, celebrity clientele and is noted for her dedication to customer service. TNT will fill the void left by the discontinuation of Dylan Keith’s signature line of cosmetics.

TNT Cosmetics is a full line of all-natural mineral cosmetics. Products in the line include mineral powder foundations, blushes, shadows, lip paints and nail colors. TNT will be placing a selection of their best selling items with the salon, rotating seasonal colors throughout the year.

Lots and lots of shadows!

A guest having makeup done at the launch event.

Photography by Renee Appell Photography

NEW IDEAS FOR A NEW WORLD