I once read that a famous singer said that the only wine he drank was Romanée Conti. Now, I have no idea if he meant the vineyard or the Domaine. And, there is a difference. One is the top-rated vineyard in Burgundy that produces only about 400 cases in an average year. Romanée Conti has produced great wines over a very long period of time and sells at a great premium to other Burgundies (currently about $3-5,000 a bottle for recent vintages).
Click here to read entire article »A few years ago, my friends and contributing editors, Edward Lazarus and John Brincko, and I, along with John’s wife, Debbie, and my wife, Laurie, decided to form a group dedicated to drinking old Burgundies from our cellars. We named the group The Old Burgundians, not because of our ages, but because of the old Burgundies that would be our focus.
Click here to read entire article »Following are my comments on a vertical tasting of La Tache, Monopole du Domaine de la Romanee Conti 1966-1988, which I organized in Vancouver on September 14th, 2010, as well as a handful of other DRC wines tasted several days before and after this event (all in September). With the exception of the La Tache 1987 (contributed by a participant at this event), all the wines were from my cellar.
Click here to read entire article »Richard Wing passed away On October 8, at age 89. Richard was a great chef and a great person. Self described as a “humble Chinese cook” that said a lot about the man. In fact, he was one of the greatest chefs of his time and his French style cuisine with a Chinese influence was truly unique. For over 40 years his Imperial Dynasty restaurant, located in the unlikely town of Hanford in California’s Central Valley mid-way between Bakersfield and Fresno, attracted diners from all over the world.
Click here to read entire article »Melisse, named for a lemon-scented herb from the Mediterranean, is a Michelin two-star and #1 from Zagat since 2003. Chef-owner, Josiah Citrin, is a self-taught culinary expert, offering the finest, freshest contemporary French/American cuisine, inspired by the seasons. Focusing on the best local farm fresh produce from the Santa Monica farmers market, Citrin offers a tasting menu, a vegetarian tasting menu, an a la carte menu, a carte blanche menu as well as daily specials and an impressive wine list offering rare, world-class wines. Beautifully presented, the dishes are little works of art. Melisse offers an exceptional dining experience, in a chic, dark, plush, elegant dining room, resembling a French country home, as well as two small rooms, Olivia and Augustin, for private entertaining.
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