For wine travelers, great wine and dining experiences are often a partnership. That partnership may be dependant on great palettes, pairings, or simply an appreciation for the sensory experience. Nearly any wine traveler will appreciate stepping into hisory at the new Mattei's Tavern located in Los Olivos, just off Highway 154.

Mattei's Tavern partner and chef, Robbie Wilson, may be among the very best in the culinary world, but you would not know it with his humble approach, demeanor, and complete lack of pretense. I had the opportunity to sit down with Chef Robbie and discuss things that ...

Chef Michael Voltaggio was one of the many celebrity chefs at Sunset Magazines' Savor the Central Coast. Savor CC for short, is an annual food, wine, and cooking event held in September at Santa Margarita Ranch in Paso Robles. (More event details) 

It really is so much more, with four days of events, winemaker seminars, gardening demonstrations, live music, cooking demos from celebrity chefs, cookbook signings, and all loaded with wineries/breweries/restaurants from all over the central coast. 

The best analogy just might be a real life experience from the pages of Sunset Magazine, or maybe just a Disneyland ...

(Recently shared in my wine segment on air (1590 News-Talk) with the Tom & Sandy show)  (Riverbench mentioned on air, but not listed below) 

Visiting wine country in Santa Barbara County and Edna Valley, California, may fulfill wine tasting dreams for any wine fan. One can drive up the sun-filled coast in a convertible or at least lower the windows a bit. Not only is there great diversity in regions and wine, but the Central Coast has some of the most picturesque wineries. While hitting the wine trail can be so much fun, planning the trip can be almost as exciting ...

Have you ever wanted to blend your own bottle of wine? Blending my own wine is something I have thought a lot about over the years, Pinot Noir in-particular. Wine blending has been a frequent topic between my wife and I, to the point that despite being untested or proven, my wife believes I could blend well. I on the other hand am not so sure.

While attending the Wine Bloggers Conference in Oregon last August, I was honored to receive an invitation to join about 25 others by our very gracious hosts, Maria, and Rob Stuart of R.Stuart ...

This years Wine Bloggers Conference or #wbc12, will be held in Portland Oregon this coming August 15-19th. Those you of joining the #wbc12 have most likely already reviewed the agenda, and for me that would amount to a few dozen times. Throughout this past year I have been privileged to participate in a handful of events that all have ties to this years #wbc12 agenda. In a sense, I feel like I've gotten micro portions of wbc. While each of these tiny pieces have been lots of fun, I expect so much more when in Portland. 

I live near ...