The motto of Russian River Valley winemakers and brothers Jesse and Aaron Inman of Romililly is "Live. Laugh. Love." which is precisely what an evening of smart pairings of their wine, along with the wines of their uncle Joe Briggs of August Briggs Wines, is all about. On a recent trip to Los Angeles, the winemakers held a dinner at The Foundry on Melrose, to introduce diners and oenophiles to their small-batch selections as served alongside Chef Eric Greenspan's food. more ›

As California transplants, my family home up north has been a revolving door for visitors ever since we arrived in the Bay Area. While the constant influx of visitors can sometimes get a little tiring, it has had its benefits, primarily that my family has gotten to know NorCal's tourist destinations pretty well, particularly the Napa Valley and Sonoma County. For some reason I always seemed to miss out on wine tasting excursions when... more ›

Turns out that cheap buzz you've been getting from Trader Joe's staple swill might actually be a legitimate wine tasting experience: Charles Shaw Chardonnay has won the top prize at this year's California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition. This is great news for those of us who buy the stuff by the case - and although we may fondly recall many nights (and days) (and, um, softball games) spent chugging wine from a box,... more ›

On Friday, November 12, 2004, Los Angeles Times food writer and author Russ Parsons interviewed superchef Thomas Keller, owner of The French Laundry and Bouchon restaurants, as a supplement at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's latest art exhibit "From Renoir to Matisse: The Eye of Duncan Phillips." more ›