Category Archives: New Products

What I’ve Been Drinking of Late, Part 7

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A Brunello worth seeking out.
A Brunello worth seeking out.

Frescobaldi CastelGicondo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015

Transport yourself to Tuscany with a sip of Frescobaldi CastelGicondo Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2015, a big, bold, inky wine that lingers on the palate, giving you plenty of time to daydream any troubles away.

Made by a winery with more than 700 years in the business, this Italian beauty ($69) is made with Sangiovese grapes that have attained Italy’s highest classification.

With substantial tannins, this is a wine that will age gracefully. But if you’re like me, you’ll be impatient to uncork a bottle, as I admittedly was when I received a sample to try.

Blackberry, raspberry and evergreen are heady on the nose. On the palate, it’s rich with deep cherry, leather, earth, tobacco, and cinnamon.

Try it alongside roast leg of lamb, a steak smothered in fresh rosemary, bolognese pasta or beefy Italian meatballs.

Cheers: If you mindlessly reach for a Cabernet Sauvignon to pair typically with red meat, next time try Brunello instead. Find this wine at Wine.com and Total Wine & More.

WineSociety

Whether it’s because we’re all sheltering at home now or maybe social-distance picnicking in parks, canned wine sure seems to be having a moment.

One of the newest is WineSociety, founded by Angela Allison, who fell in love with the Napa Valley as she and her husband split their time between his tech work in San Francisco and their home in Cincinnati.

A trio of WineSociety's canned wines, which even comes with a plastic cap in case you can't finish the entire can.
A trio of WineSociety’s canned wines, which even comes with a plastic cap in case you can’t finish the entire can.

Made with California grapes, the wines come in 500ml cans, the equivalent of 2/3 of a bottle, making for two generous-sized glasses for two people.

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Three Things To Enliven Shelter In Place, Part 1

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“Food People Are The Best People”

There’s no denying that those in the food industry are struggling mightily during the pandemic. The new book, “Food People Are The Best People” (Acorn Press) spotlights how 129 renowned California food and beverage professionals are coping and what inspires them during this unprecedented time.

The book is by Oakland-based photographer and storyteller Kristen Loken, who also did the book, “This Is Oakland A Guide to the City’s Most Interesting Places” (Acorn), which published in 2014.

This new book features such local luminaries as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, Charlie Palmer of the Charlie Palmer Collective, David Kinch of Manresa, Jen Biesty of Shakewell, Michelle Polzine of 20th Century Cafe, and Susan Feniger of Border Grill. Along with a beautiful portrait shot, there is a short Q&A with each of the featured professionals.

Purchase the book here: A regular copy is $35, a signed copy is $50, and a copy of the book along with a chance to get your own porch portrait taken by Loken is $295.

Fifteen percent of all profits will be donated to No Kid Hungry.

Season 2 of “Tanya’s Table”

Following the success of her debut podcast series, Oakland chef Tanya Holland launches season 2 of “Tanya’s Table” on Jan. 19.

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New Products For the New Year

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Teriyaki Mochi Rice Nuggets
Teriyaki Mochi Rice Nuggets

Woodridge Snacks

After the avalanche of sweets this holiday season, it’s time for savory and salty instead, don’t you think?

Admittedly, I am always a sucker for Japanese rice crackers, so Woodridge Snacks’ Sticky Rice Chips are right up my alley. I had a chance to try some Woodridge Snacks samples, including the Sticky Rice Chips in Sriracha flavor ($2.99 for a 2.8-ounce bag).

Made with rice harvested from Thailand, these chips are light, airy, crisp and ever so chewy. The Sriracha flavor definitely has a hit of chili spice that starts out mellow and builds at the end. There’s 140 calories per 23 chips with 220mg sodium.

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What I’ve Been Drinking of Late, Part 6

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A longed-for toast to the end of 2020 with an always reliable J Vineards Cuvee.
A longed-for toast to the end of 2020 with an always reliable J Vineyards Cuvee.

J Vineyards Cuvee 20

Healdsburg’s J Vineyards has long made one of my favorite go-to sparkling wines.

Its new J Vineyards Cuvee 20 Brut NV ($38), of which I received a sample, is a total pleaser with yeasty, apple, and spice notes. Medium-bodied, it has a slight creaminess yet plenty of crisp acidity.

It would make magic alongside a cold seafood platter, a goat cheese salad with bitter greens, or even an egg salad croissant sandwich.

Cheers: This bubbly will ring in the New Year in style. Given the year we’ve had, you deserve to uncork a special bottle to mark the end of a supremely challenging 2020, and to toast to a hopefully much brighter and lighter 2021.

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier 2019

You don’t often see a Chenin Blanc and Viognier blend on the market. In fact, Pine Ridge Vineyards founder Gary Andrus first created this as an experiment in the 1990s.

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Baking Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies With My New Helper

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Baking Martha Stewart's Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies with The Tiny Chef.
Baking Martha Stewart’s Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies with The Tiny Chef.

Everyone needs a sous chef in their life, right?

Meet mine.

He may be small, but he’s big on heart. He sure knows his way around a kitchen, too. He’s even eaten at Alinea before I have! So jelly.

Yes, I’ve joined the cult of The Tiny Chef. If you’re not yet acquainted with this little culinary cutie who just loves to cook at his teeny stove with button-burners and quench his thirst from a sewing-thimble cup, then you are missing out. Press his tummy, and he even talks. How could I resist? I call him an early Christmas present to myself. Given this crazy year, I’m pretty sure I deserve him, too.

Chef has a sweet tooth just like me. So, of course, the first thing we had to make together were cookies.

He started leafing through a copy of the new “Martha Stewart’s Cookie Perfection” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy. He took his time pouring over the more than 100 recipes for treats such as “Chocolate Mint Wafers,” “Pumpkin Snickerdoodles,” “Iranian Rice Cookies,” and “Pink Lemonade Thumbprints.”

In the end, he settled on “Brown-Butter Crinkle Cookies.” I think it’s because he loves butter. I also think it’s because these cookies get especially pretty crinkly surfaces because the dough balls are first rolled in granulated sugar, then in confectioners’ sugar.

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