Category Archives: Wine

Sensational Sips, Part I

A pretty-in-pink gin.
A pretty-in-pink gin.

Malfy Gin Rosa

Have you ever spied a pink gin before? Me, either. At least not before receiving a sample bottle of Malfy Gin Rosa, an Italian gin that’s tinged a very pale pink from grapefruit.

Inspired by the Amalfi Coast, this gin gets a subtle citrus and bitter pith edge from Sicilian pink grapefruit, along with lemon. Juniper berries add characteristic pine and almost anise-like notes without veering into medicinal-tasting territory.

Just know, though, that because the color is so light, it won’t be visible once you add any kind of mixer.

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Dining at Nightbird

A riff on takoyaki, capped with uni and truffles, at Nightbird.
A riff on takoyaki, capped with uni and truffles, at Nightbird.

It’s elegant yet whimsical, with a name inspired by the chef-owner’s fondness for owls.

Kim Alter’s Nightbird celebrates eight years this year in San Francisco with an exciting development. Alter took over a space next door in late November, allowing the restaurant to expand its footprint. The new space will be used for private dinners, as well as occasional pop-ups by Nightbird’s pastry chef, vintage boutiques, and potentially even members of La Cocina’s food incubator.

It joins the restaurant’s other adjoining business, the Linden Room, a swank cocktail bar perfect for a pre- or post-dinner libation.

Last Saturday, my husband and I enjoyed the $195 tasting menu and $130 optional wine pairing. Alter added a few extra morsels on the house. The restaurant does include an automatic service charge, which is an increasingly common practice at many fine-dining restaurants. What’s out of the norm, though, is that it’s only 16 percent.

General Manager Ron Boyd and Chef Kim Alter.
General Manager Ron Boyd and Chef Kim Alter.

The minimalist, graceful dining room is compact and intimate. There’s a good number of staff, overseen by General Manager and Director of Hospitality Ron Boyd, that delivers an attentive yet unobtrusive service experience.

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Frances Mayes’ Tagliatelle with Duck Confit and Chestnuts

Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?
Would you believe this pasta dish came together in less than half an hour?

In Italy, some folks eat pasta not merely every day, but twice a day.

In Tuscany, construction workers will even stop work at lunch to cook up a bowl of plain spaghetti on-site with olive oil and Parmigiano.

So writes Frances Mayes in the introduction to her new cookbook, “Pasta Veloce” (Abrams, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Those are my kind of people. Because I love pasta — not just for its comforting taste, but its ease and versatility.

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Aperture — (E)State of the Art

The 2022 Aperture Chenin Blanc. (photo by Carolyn Jung)
The 2022 Aperture Chenin Blanc. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

At Aperture Estate in Healdsburg, discover art all around — from what’s in the bottle, to what’s adorning the walls, to where visitors sip these beautiful Bordeaux-style wines.

After all, winemaker and founder Jesse Katz is the son of famed photographer Andy Katz, whose photos have graced the album covers of the Doobie Brothers and Dan Fogelberg, and who has published 15 photo books.

Andy Katz’s work has brought him to more than 90 countries. And it was on many of those travels with his father, especially to France, that inspired Jesse Katz’s passion for wine-making.

The sleek building that houses the tasting room. (photo courtesy of Aperture Estate)
The sleek building that houses the tasting room. (Photo courtesy of Aperture Estate)

In fact, the winery takes its name from the aperture of a camera lens, which controls the amount of light that hits the camera sensor that affects the exposure of the image. In that vein, Jesse Katz likens what he does to “shedding light” on what Bordeaux varieties grown in its 120 acres of estate vineyards in cooler areas of Sonoma can be like.

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The Lamb Dish You Crave On A Cold Night

Lamb shoulder braised with tomatoes and garnished with bodacious burrata.
Lamb shoulder braised with tomatoes and garnished with bodacious burrata.

How can one possibly make low and slow-braised, fall-apart tender lamb any better?

Try topping it with a big ol’ ball of burrata, that’s how.

You’ve probably enjoyed many a meaty stew or ragu dolloped with creamy ricotta. But when you swap that out for voluptuous burrata whose luscious creamy center spills out to add dreamy, milky sweetness to anything it touches, you’ve just about attained nirvana.

“Braised Lamb with Burrata and Herb Oil” is that dish.

It’s from “Okanagan Eats” (Figure 1), of which I received a review copy. A collection of recipes from British Columbia’s Wine Country, it was written by Dawn Postnikoff, co-founder of Edible Vancouver Island; and Joanne Sasvari, a food writer and Canadian Wine Scholar.

Learn about this fertile region, which comprises three valleys, two river valleys, and the Okanagan Valley.

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