Farmstead Cheeses and Wines: Jeff’s Blog

Wine Dinner Fran Kysela Oct 21
Wine Dinner with Fran Kysela
October 21 @ The Bay Wolf
We’re proud to announce our first wine dinner of the Fall, featuring one of the wine world’s great personalities and palates - Fran Kysela, the mind behind Kysela Père et Fils, a world class wine importer (and the importer [...]

Sometimes I lead a charmed life. I was invited to have lunch today with another of my wine heroes -Terry Theise - at one of my favorite restaurants, The Wood Tavern. I had expected the usual sort of Wine Lunch - 15-20 folks, a boatload of wines, and little face time. When [...]

If you had told me that I was going to spend 24 hours on a cramped bus in order to taste wines for two hours and have a dinner with a charming winemaking family, I’d have thought you were nutso, but I did, and I don’t.
The next morning, we met at 7AM for the 12 [...]

We traveled back from the Estancia tired but happy, and arrived at the hotel a little after dark (we’re in the height of winter, and have about 10 hours of daylight - from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.). After a wee siesta, some of us gathered in the hotel and wandered around in search [...]

South Africa - Day Two
We packed into our bus - with trusty Mario at the wheel- to go visit Walker Bay, a beautiful spot on the coast, and the home of Hamilton Russell, maker of South Africa’s most elegant Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.
We took a non-direct route to Walker Bay, over the ridge [...]

Last Summer, we scored a reservation at the famed St John Gastro-pub in London. St. John is famous for it’s old time British fare, what they call nose to tail eating.
According to its chef-owner Fergus Henderson, St, John is where “chefs, foodies, food writers and cooks on sabbatical, traveling [...]

On my Spanish wine tasting trip (aka The Jorgé Ordoñez Death March) in March, we were privileged to eat many typical dishes. One particular standout was Gazpacho Manchego, a mixed game stew with tomatoes and cumin, served on a type of savory flatbread, communal style.
On our way to the restaurant, I [...]

There I was, in the private dining room at Spruce, a hot new San Francisco restaurant, sampling the wines of Betts and Scholl with Richard Betts (no, not the ex-lead guitarist of the Allman Brothers, the sommelier at The Little Nell in Aspen, surrounded by sommeliers from every hot restaurant in The City.
I felt [...]

We’re proud to announce a very, very special event - a wine dinner at one of the Bay Area’s hottest new restaurants, Wood Tavern, featuring Pinot Noirs and other wines from New Zealand, courtesy of Swirl Wine Brokers, and hosted by New Zealand wine mavens Penny Loving and Ashley Boeyen.
This very limited [...]