Off Topic post — Grandparents as Parents

CLICK and VOTE on Facebook. Thanks!

She says:  This is so off topic – and yet so important.  Did you know that over 1 million children in California are being raised by their grandparents for any number of different reasons, death, ill-health, drugs, etc.   With a simple click of your mouse, you can assist the organization “Grandparents as Parents” in winning a new Toyota.

When I learned my friend Jennifer’s parents were raising her sister’s child, I was so surprised.  And then embarrassed that I didn’t know there are thousands of granparents providing the primary care for their grandchildren. Learn about 10 “something new”s every day.

Please take 30 seconds to join us and CLICK and VOTE for Grandparents as Parents to win a new Toyota for their organization! Thank you.

Sideways, the play? Yes! Sideways writer Rex Pickett transforms his story Sideways into a stage play!

Sidways the book and Sideways the movie become a stage play!

She says: I love movies… so convenient, so easy to watch over and over again. But I REALLY love a good play.  Remember the book and movie Sideways, the tale of two friends for an “end of bachelorhood” wine weekend? Now there’s a stage play. 4 sure!  Any trick I can find to get He to a live theater, I’m using it.

Apparently they are serving very fine Pinot Noir each evening in the proper stem ware, too. So, check it out!

I have a feeling I’ll be seeing this more than once.

Show times and theater location for Sideways the play:  http://www.ruskingrouptheatre.com/

Big thanks to our friends at The Daily Sip for this news! Click here and you can read their interview with writer Rex Pickett.

View From A Glass ~ Pinot Days, Los Angeles, CA

View from a glass at Pinot Days in Los Angeles.

Wine reviews coming up!

Check out a Pinot Days event in your area!

A view from Pinot Days. Yes, we confess, we are looking through wine colored glasses.

Wine Tasting on Television: “Vine Talk ” Talk Show

Wine Tasting on Television:  ”Vine Talk”

He says: We were intrigued by the concept of the tv show on PBS called “Vine Talk.”  

She says:  DVR in action, a few episodes in the cue and we’re  ready to sit down to learn, laugh, have some wine and have some fun.

She says:  We all have Gary Vaynerchuck to thank for boldy creating a new model for wine tasting and creating Wine Library TV.  His episodes are short, electric, smart, briefly educational, to the point and often really funny.  So, as happens, when people with more production savvy and access to stars decide they can do it to0 … and do it better – they make it a 1/2 hour show, add some stars, etc.    This is the part where you see me get confused, because sometimes when seasoned professionals create, they forget to include the magic.

He continues: Sadly, this show is plonk. First off, the format is weird. It’s hosted by Ray Isle, the executive wine editor of Food and Wine magazine.  Smart guy – nice voice.  He talks about the theme of that episode and gives you 20 seconds of background on the region or varietal.  So far, so good.  Ray then introduces a celebrity host (we saw Jennifer Coolidge and Stanley Tucci).  Our celebrity host introduces three additional celebs, two of whom you most likely have never heard of.

She says:   This is one place where we differ.  I actually enjoy being introduced to new people who I might like to know about. They’re accomplished in their respective fields and they might have additional, insight into wine tasting.  But, this is where HE’s former television producing skills come to the surface… get ready!

He continues:  Then a wine expert briefly introduces the six wines that will be tasted blindly, and then spends 10 seconds with a group of about 20 non-celebs (“the crowd”) who are tasting the same wines in a bar downstairs. Back upstairs, the celebs start tasting the wines.

Ray the host, excuses himself and disappears to who-knows-where.  (Are you confused yet?) The wine expert tries to focus the celebs on the the wine, but instead they talk about most everything else. It’s so boring – like you’re the fly on the wall of  a bad cocktail party. Then Ray pops in for a bit, before leaving again. (Where the hell is he going?)

Another oddity is that they have a waitress pass out each wine to the three celebrities but the wine expert pours the wine for him/herself and the host. Why can’t they pass out wines for 5 or pour for all five? Then for the moment of truth, they gather downstairs and reveal which wine the crowd liked best and which wine the celebs chose. And that’s it. You really don’t learn much about the wines and to sit through the celebrity chatter is painfully dull. Put a cork in it, I say.

She says:  I’ve never heard so little laughter while people are tasting wine.  I mean this could be really entertaining.  So I wonder, “What is it that could work here?”  Oh my god – I LOVE Stanley Tucci – he’s one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite human beings.   I would do just about anything to give him more screen time any day and then as an actress, I’d REALLY do ANYTHING to work with him.  You could “put a cork in it”, but I think there might be any number of ways to give the show more mmph, energy and make it relative to our lives.

First off – what’s with separating the “commoners” from the celebrities – that is hilariously bad manners and as we see,  bad TV.  There’s a reason no other talk show does that on TV.

This show treats the audience like they’re the problematic cousins or the groundlings from Elizabethan theater days. “We’re glad you’re here – could you wait in the basement?”  Oh dear.   I would keep the numbers of the audience small, but set it up so the audience can be in on the experience, possibly at cocktail tables but in the audience. To simulate a wine bar perhaps.   The audience would laugh at the guests jokes and clap and enjoy themselves and most importantly, take the pressure off of the hosts.

IMDB shows just one season, so no word on whether it’s been renewed.  That’s ok.  I want Stanley Tucci back to work with his real acting.

Vine Talk on IMDB

Picnic Wines – Which Wines Are People Choosing for Picnics?

HE says: How about a picnic, Boo Boo?   SHE says:  Of course!  
HE says:  Let’s see Wynton Marsallis at The Hollywood Bowl.
SHE says:   Ok!  (Note to dear reader: Getting TO the Hollywood Bowl? A nightmare.  Once you’re there, a night at The Hollywood Bowl?  Priceless.)

Every city has it’s outdoor music venues, places to picnic, to enjoy the summer, breathe clean air and be thankful   for good music and outdoor venues. In Los Angeles, the best of the best outdoor venues is The Hollywood Bowl.    While picnicing before Wynton Marsalis concert, SHE got snoopy and started asking the people at nearby tables what their “picnic wine” was for that night.  Here are a few of the picnic wines from the Hollywood Bowl picnic area on June 22.

This couple chose 2007 La Finca Tempranillo from Mendoza, Argentina.  (They were sweet enough to let us post their photo, too!)  If you’ve been reading for a while then you know how much we love the wines from Mendoza.   You can read all of our Mendoza Argentina wine notes here.    This video used to have some audio with it of them telling a little story – but the audio disappeared. (thanks Moviemaker) The story goes a friend brought the wine to their house for dinner the week before and since they liked it so much, they decided to drink it again!   Value priced at $3.99 at a Trader Joe’s near you.

Although we are rather organized when it comes to food and wine, we embarrassingly enough (ok, it was She – not He) forgot to bring the bottle opener.  (Seriously.)  Sweet picnic peeps at the table beside us had a good laugh and loaned us their corkscrew.  What were they drinking?
An interesting red wine called Red Diamond  and a 2009 Per Bacco Chardonnay, Edna Valley that one man commented was a very ”clean taste”.     Again we say “Thank you!”  to their generous loan of the cork screw.

On to another table (people are pretty happy to talk at The Hollywood Bowl) we meet some newlyweds and hear another great story – one morning this paricular couple woke up, got ready to go to the gym, and instead they went to the courthouse and got married.  Ok!  Hmmm… what shall we do today… go to the gym to workout? Or get married?  Gym for a workout  – or get married? Hmmmm… Can you believe it?  They decided to get a workout on their soul instead and got married.  Very funny story.  And very sweet people.  Here they are sharing their picnic wine with you – 2007 Arrowhead Chardonnay.

And what did He and She drink at Hollywood Bowl that night?  Rabbit Ridge 2009 Paso Robles Allure de Robles red wine.   It’s easy to choose a light white wine for summer picnic’s but if you’d like to try something a little different, we’re going to suggest you try a Zinfandel or a Pinot Noir.  A little more depth, but not so bold as to overpower your picnic food.  Happy summer picnic-ing to you!

If you enjoy our posts, please join the email list.  There’s an empty box in the right hand column and you’ll automatically receive our updates as they post.  Thanks!  If you prefer Facebook and Twitter, the links are to your right.

Total Wine Opens New Store in Redondo Beach, CA

She says:  Total Wine opened a new store in Redondo Beach, CA.   Have you heard of them yet?  Take a peek.  As you may have surmised from earlier posts, I’m a fan of very few big box stores. Unless they are fully staffed with knowledgeable, helpful people, I tend to get overwhelmed, lost, confused  and I can feel my soul being sucked out of my body as I wind down the maze of aisles and shelves.

He Said ~ She Said Wine Blog at Total Wine store opening.

Today I have a new perspective.  He and She attended the opening of Total Wine’s new store in Redondo Beach, CA.  Total Wine is a right-sized wine retailer, albeit in a big box store, but the owners (brothers David Trone and Robert Trone) are so completely committed to serving their communities, making wine accessible to everyone and have done such a great job hiring knowledgeable, helpful oriented employees – you end up loving them and the store.

Total Wine has made a major commitment to training their employees to make them the most knowledgeable wine sellers in the country along with choosing just the sweetest people.  Reasons I’ll be visiting the Total Wine store near me and reasons I encourage you to visit the one near you:

1) Weekly wine tastings in the store. The best way to enjoy wine is to keep tasting, keep learning and keep reading our blog!  Depending on which state you live in, the tastings are free or you pay just a small donation fee.  At special events you’ll be able to meet the wine-makers and the wine experts, so check it out.   http://bit.ly/TotalWineTastingEvents  

2) Passionate and thoroughly educated wine professionals to educate you and assist you with your purchases.

3) Opportunities for very inexpensive and more in-depth educational tastings for you and your friends in their on-site training room.  In case you haven’t noticed, wine tastings have become overpriced in the last few years with events costing you upwards of $50/per person and sometimes with inexperienced people pouring wine they know nothing about.   Enough of that nonsense, gather your friends and schedule some time at Total Wine.   http://bit.ly/TotalWineEduation

4) Staff recommendations on specific bottles of wine are right there on the shelves while you are shopping, so if you have more questions, you can talk to the person who recommended the wine and learn more.

Last night’s ribbon cutting ceremony was humorous, quick and generous to the community with a $10,000 donation to the Redondo Beach Library Foundation (Libraries are one of my personal favorite causes) so Total Wine is busy earning extra points in my book!

The requisite BIG SCISSORS were on the scene and that’s always fun.  The ribbon cutting   ceremony was followed by an in-store tasting of Caymus wines.  Nice.  They brought out the big guns on the first night.  Suhweet!  I’ll post tasting notes in just a few days.

Proper disclosure:  This is not a paid post. We were two of the first 100 people to visit, so we did receive Reidel wine tumblers as a gift like the other attendees, but as you know, we’re not the types to be swayed by gifts.

#Wine tasting at Pinot Days of Southern California Jan. 13, 14, 15

SHE SAYS: Well, here they come – more Pinot wine makers than you can even imagine serving up over 400 pinot wines.  I’m trying hard to imagine it, but I won’t have to imagine it on Saturday as I’ll be in the “thick” of it experiencing it.  The winemakers are unveiling their 2007 vintage and it is an acclaimed vintage.

Look at some of your options!

Thrs. Jan. 13 – The Winemakers “Table Hop” dinner
Thrs. Jan. 13 – Pinot 101 – at K&L  Wine Merchants in Hollywood (a free event)
Fri.  Jan. 14 – “Meet the Winemakers” Night at West Restaurant at Hotel Angeleno
Sat. Jan. 15 – The Pinot Days Grand Festival Public Tasting

..and then there is grilled cheese and wine (yum), VIP Tour and lots more.
See all of your Pinot Days options here:  http://bit.ly/PinotDays2011EventsList

With 125 producers of pinot noir, you’ll be able to sample up to 400 pinots (Who are we kidding?  No, you won’t – I mean no one can sample that many in one day and be able to make any distinctions – but you will try as many as you can.)

From the Russian River Valley to the Santa Lucia Highlands, Oregon to Carneros, Anderson Valley to the Sonoma Coast and to the Santa Rita Hills (one of our personal favorites.)  Taste the wines, talk with the wine makers and visit the specialty food purveyors who will be serving up the foods that pair well with pinot.

Leave a comment on the Barrysentials Facebook Page and get your discount code for the events!  See you there! http://facebook.com/HeSaidSheSaidWineBlog

New Years Tradition from Spain – Twelve Grapes As Midnight Strikes?

HE SAYS: LA Times reports that Paul Gasol, Lakers Number 16 says there is a Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes as midnight strikes.

SHE says: He took this awesome photo at Melville Winery, Lompoc, CA

“It brings you luck.”  That’s a lot better than black-eyed-peas.

SHE SAYS: So if I kiss you as you’re eating the grapes, are those my grapes or yours?

HE SAYS: How the tradition works is you put one grape in your mouth for each strike of the clock at midnight. So no, you can’t eat my grapes.  That would be like drinking my milkshake.  Don’t do that. You will have your own grapes.

Read about more New Years traditions from around the world.

Happy New Year!

New Years Breakfast – an easy French Holiday Breakfast

SHE SAYS: Winter holidays! Yeah!  A friend asked me the other day what my preferred winter holiday is and I must confess, I love them all and I probably embrace them all because I want to be able to say “Yes!” to every party… lol.   Hanukkah?  Great! Winter Solstice? Sure!  Christmas? Always!  Kwanzaa? I wanza!

For our Christmas Breakfast this year I chose to create a French Christmas Breakfast and it was a perfect breakfast.   Beautiful, tasty, super-simple and so much fun.  We are sharing the details so maybe you can recreate it for your New Year’s Brunch or any special Sunday brunch which might be fun with a French perspective.  Croissants, quiche, a copy of French newspaper Le Monde, French radio from iTunes, photos of Christmas in Paris and you’ll have a magical morning!

HE SAYS: Now, you know SHE doesn’t cook, right?  Her skills are cutting, placing, setting the table, and setting the mood.  If SHE’s in charge, it’s going to be super-simple.  No recipes here,  just stuff to buy in advance and set out the morning of your French Holiday Breakfast.   But take a look -  beautiful.

French Holiday Breakfast

SHE SAYS: Correct.  A trip to one or two stores and you should be ready to go!
Here are the details in a grocery store style list:
An assortment of French cheeses (We chose four that were new to us. May we suggest you try something new!)
French style salami – (salami soaked in wine)
Dried Apricots (or dried cranberries or both!)
Fresh cut fruit salad (we chose citrus, pineapple and blueberries)
Croissants (of couse!)
Baguette (partially baked – you finish baking it the morning of your breakfast)
Madelaines (savory Madelaines made with rosemary, but you can serve any type)
Nonettes (Small  orange flavored sponge cakes wtith a spot of orange preserves inside)
La Barquette (small cookies with dried apricot filling)
French Roast Coffee – (your favorite coffee brand is fine)
Quiche (pre-made from your favorite grocer) – just reheat the morning of your breakfast
Quince Paste (brought by a guest)
Chocolate gold coins sprinkled on the table – very fun!
Champagne or sparkling wine
If you have French food favorites that are different, like caviar and fois gras then add those.  We simply wanted a focus on cheese.  (HE says:  Cheeses for Jesus! – and SHE can only laugh.)

A few props and music to set the mood:

French Radio – Free on iTunes – Real French holiday music!  We tuned into Paris Chansons.
Le Monde – the French newspaper on the coffee table (1 day pre-order from a hotel or news stand)
Assortment of “Christmas in Paris” photos slide show playing on the big screen TV, via the laptop.
A few “fussy pillows” and Votive candles and remember at least one good picture of Papa Noel!

FIRST COURSE: Our cheese course.    A quick trip to a specialty cheese store and we found four new-to-us French

Four French cheeses, French style salami, dried apricots.

cheeses. Animals represented –  cow, goat, sheep – all three made a gift.  An assorment of soft, hard and semi-hard make nice options for everyone.  We found ours at The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, but you can also find a world of cheeses right at Trader Joe’s or your local Whole Foods Market along with intelligent foodies working behind the counter to help you taste and choose wisely.   Details on our cheese choices here: Barrysentials Cheeses for Jesus.

Label the cheeses with little tent cards you can cut out at home, and write out a few words of your own impressions of the taste of the cheese to enlighten your guests before they choose.  Place your thinly sliced French style salami on the corners of your cheese platter (we used a piece of slate), put your cheeses in the middle and sprinkle dried apricots around it all. You’ll want to set your cheese & salami out approximately 1 hour before your guests arrive.  These cheeses and salami will taste best at room temperature.

French Holiday Breakfast - Nonettes & Madelaines

NEXT: The forbidden white flour bakery products which you’ll add to your table for one day of guilt-free eating.  Croissants, French baguette, La Barouquette cookies, Madelaines and Nonettes.  Croissants purchased at the grocer’s bakery – re-heat in the oven, when you remove from the oven, place in  a basket and cover with clean kitchen towel so they stay warm.  Partially baked baguette – heat at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven then cut the bread into slices on an angle, place in a basket and again cover so it stays warm on the table.  La Barouquette’s and Nonettes – purchased at a nearby French Market – just take them out of the box and set on small  plates and set them at various places on the table.  Our Madelaines came freshly baked from one of our guests – if you don’t have a baking guest, you can purchase them at many grocery stores and bakeries.

Fruit Salad: Ours was super-simple.  Pineapple pieces, orange sections (cut by HE) and blueberries.  I poured a teaspoon of sparkling wine on mine for fun, but everyone else ate theirs plain.   Another combination of citrus (pink grapefruit, white grapefruit, naval oranges, mandarin oranges) can also make a perfect holiday fruit course. Toss in a few maraschino cherries or dried cranberries for splash of color.

Quiche: Make it easy on yourself, darlin’, you have way better things to do than spend hours in the kitchen.   Just purchase a quiche from your favorite breakfast restaurant, or your favorite grocer and re-heat it at home, then set on the table. You’ll look brilliant.   Your friends aren’t coming over to check out your cooking – they’re coming over to see you, laugh with you and have a good time as you prepare for a new year.

Champagne or Sparkling Wine:  Dom Perignon is always nice for New Year’s, yes it is, and Veuve Cliquot is a fantastic second, but for this casual French breakfast we chose French sparkling wine Trocadero. In addition, a guest brought a fantastic surprise French sparkling wine Charles LaFitte Rose Prestige – yes it’s pink! Inside the bottle and outside the bottle on the label.  Nice! Read a little more information on these two sparkling wines on this blog post.

There you have it!  If you plan your own French holiday breakfast, please post some pictures!  We wish you blessed holidays, Bonne année and Happy New Year!

 

 

 

Wine tasting at The Ritz in Laguna Beach, CA

SHE says:  In your wildest dreams, did you once dream up a place that would serve you Wine + Cheese + Chocolate?  Someone who knew what they were doing and would create a little den of exquisiteness where you could taste Wine + Cheese + Chocolate together? Put together by someone who really knows their wine, their cheese, their chocolate?

ENO Wine Cheese and Chocolate - or as I like to call it - "Heaven" at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Beach

Well, fear not my friends, The Ritz Hotel in Laguna Nigel (Laguna Beach) has been tapping into your foodie dreams and they have for you a wine bar that pairs Wine + Cheese + Chocolate – and that’s all that’s on the menu.  SERIOUSLY.   I almost passed out.   It’s ENO – Wine Cheese and Chocolate.

“Stop it!” I said.  “This is crazy!!  and “I LOVE it!”  Eno  was closed at the moment we were stopping by, but we will be back down there in a jiffy b/c I mean – really – how awesome is the concept?

Take a peek at ENO Wine Cheese and Chocolate menus -  http://bit.ly/ENOWineCheeseChocolate

There is a private room if you want to host your friends for a Wine Cheese Chocolate night – and can you expect a special event from HE and SHE and Barrysentiasl in 2011 at ENO at The Ritz in Laguna Beach?  Oh, I do dare say – most likely “YES!”  Let’s say ENO’s fabulous choices + some rare vintage California wines – if it sounds good to you – leave us a comment below and we’ll be sure you get an invitation.