by Susanna Gaertner | Oct 25, 2022 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Normally not a fan of rosé, I was pleasantly surprised by the power of this Grenache rosé whose terracotta tint hints at its deeper flavor. Winemaker Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard feels that “Rhone varieties pushed into cooler California growing regions...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 13, 2021 | Food, Food blog
Recipes in this arena abound but you won’t find one that substitutes parsnip purée for half the ricotta! This ups the fiber while lending the cheese sauce a nutty heartiness.The parsnips will need to be cooked and mashed; adding fennel and caraway seeds to the...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jul 30, 2020 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
Salmon, sauerkraut, and fennel sounds like a weird if not downright disgusting combination but it’s my favorite new summer salad! Tinned salmon is both economical and healthy, loaded with the Omega 3 fatty acids that fish is famous for. Canned pink salmon...
by Susanna Gaertner | Feb 3, 2020 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
Pumpkin Bread Two recipes for this winter favorite, plus two uses for the opened pumpkin purée can! One is a bread, the other more like a cake…try them both. This one is more of a bread than a cake; the slices want to be buttered! The recipe calls for butter...
by Susanna Gaertner | Sep 3, 2019 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
In this heat, it’s time to round up some terrific salads, by which I mean hearty ones that are more than lettuce leaves with dressing. Pasta salads are of course a favorite but today I’m going to replace the pasta with couscous, according to Food.com, “a...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jul 18, 2019 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
A perennial favorite, this refreshing veggie/fruit salad is perfect for indoor and outdoor meals during the hottest days of summer. Jicama is a tuberous root packed with potassium, rich in fiber and vitamin C, its flavor a crunchy cross between an apple and a water...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jan 3, 2019 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
Trifecta of winter vegetables to keep you warm inside Hearty and healthy and perfect for the long cold spells ahead, this earthy, budget-friendly soup should satisfy just about everyone. Ingredient quantities are very loosely measured here…just how big is a...
by Susanna Gaertner | Feb 26, 2018 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog, Wine Reviews
At first glimpse of the bottle from this hitherto unknown to me Texan winery, I didn’t know exactly what to think, not to mention that “Texas Red Wine” did not sound promising. But you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. While I freely admit to not loving...
by Susanna Gaertner | Dec 12, 2017 | Travel, Travel blog
Earlier this year I spent several days in the historically rich capital of Jalisco, but I arrived in the middle of a national holiday, which brought a traffic tsunami that began taking its toll on the long, loud, dusty drive in from the airport to my hotel in...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jul 17, 2017 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
This six-ingredient dish will joosh up your carrots and is equally delicious hot or cold. Plus, you can use those carrots that have begun to lose their crispness, so this one is an all-around winner! Perfect as a warm side dish, equally delicious as a cold picnic...
by Susanna Gaertner | May 23, 2017 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Summer! The season of al fresco dining with grilled meats, pasta, potato salads, and all manner of BBQ. And, of course, chardonnay, the white wine of choice for so many Americans. A perennial favorite, chardonnay can be crisp and floral or buttery and brazen; it...
by Susanna Gaertner | May 14, 2017 | Food, Food blog
Flavor enhancement with spices rather than salt: these recipe hacks should allow you and your family to drastically reduce sodium intake while pleasing the taste buds with newer, sharper, spicier delights. Important thing—I know I’ve said this before—is to use...
by Susanna Gaertner | May 7, 2017 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
We’re always on the prowl for variations on the classic pasta primavera, that culinary catch-all for vegetables in sauces that marry well with pasta. I’ve developed this one for its speed of prep while presenting a complex flavor profile…it’s...
by Susanna Gaertner | Mar 5, 2017 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
As the child of frugal German immigrants, I ate a lot of meatloaf as a child, only we called it falscher Hase, literally, fake rabbit. After WWII, when meat rations were still in effect, German housewives would mix up whatever meaty scraps they had, add lots of...
by Susanna Gaertner | Feb 6, 2017 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
As defined by Rachel Ray, a stoup comes in somewhere between a soup and a stew in consistency…and that is what we have with this simple-to-assemble one pot wonder. For the vegetable you can use any leafy green or even a combination of several: kale is...
by Susanna Gaertner | Dec 18, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
You’ve probably never head of this amazing after-dinner drink, perfect for the conclusion of a heavy holiday repast! A digestif and a liqueur, Vecchio Amaro del Capo is sweeter than the former but sharper than the latter: Grand Marnier meets Fernet...
by Susanna Gaertner | Dec 4, 2016 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
Broccoli and cauliflower make fine bedfellows when covered with this exceptional sauce, which can also be used to spice up other vegetables ordinarily labeled bland or boring. Quantities do not need to be exact…start with what’s written here and...
by Susanna Gaertner | Sep 30, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog, Wine Reviews
Here’s a light and lovely red that has all the charm of a Beaujolais but is made right here in California. I admit that I knew nothing about this grape variety, which is also known as Napa Gamay or Napa Gamay 15. At its point of origin in the Longueduc-Rousillon...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jul 24, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
The “pro” in Prosecco might just mean that this reasonably priced Italian charmer is one to consider if Champagne—the real stuff—is not in your budget. If you like champagne but don’t appreciate the price tag, I’d like to suggest a high quality Prosecco....
by Susanna Gaertner | Jun 29, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Among the offerings at a recent Rhone tasting in SF, I found several bottles to share with readers, and I want to start with a red that’s geared to summer and that can be sipped alone or put beside food. This marvel of versatility and panache is the 2013 Seven...
by Susanna Gaertner | May 28, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Once again there was an embarrassment of riches among the many excellent Pinot Noir offerings at the May 2016 SLH Gala. Pinots from the Santa Lucia Highlands tend to be bigger and bolder than their Burgundian counterparts, darker and denser and milder in their...
by Susanna Gaertner | Apr 19, 2016 | Food, Food blog
Flavor enhancement with spices rather than salt: these recipe hacks should allow you and your family to drastically reduce sodium intake while pleasing the taste buds with newer, sharper, spicier delights. Important thing—I know I’ve said this before—is to use...
by Susanna Gaertner | Apr 12, 2016 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
This delicious cookie is just unusual enough to pique interest but not weird enough to offend traditional cookie lovers. Fennel, with its hint of anise and licorice flavors, brings a zesty flavor profile to an otherwise ordinary sugar cookie. It’s also a...
by Susanna Gaertner | Mar 24, 2016 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
For a last-minute entertainment emergency, you might have use for this fast yet fancy pasta. It will take you no more than 15 minutes to put this together! You can use any short-cut pasta but I like campanelle, or “little bells.” Other favorites are gemelli (twins),...
by Susanna Gaertner | Feb 28, 2016 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Egg-based dishes present a problem from a wine-pairing standpoint; Rieslings, even dry ones, are too citrus-forward and acid-edged, and any other white will overpower the delicate fluffy-flavored egg-cheese balance. So I’m happy to say that I’ve found a...
by Susanna Gaertner | Dec 23, 2015 | Food, Food blog, Recipes
Here’s another take on a seasonal favorite. This is more of a bread than a cake; the slices want to be buttered! This recipe calls for butter instead of oil and is delicately ginger flavored. I always add more ginger, or grate in a touch of fresh. Nuts add vital...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 10, 2015 | Food, Food blog
Here are some tips, tricks, and shortcuts that I have come across or invented in the course of my foodie journey, ones that I think readers may enjoy. While I make every effort to give credit where it is due, many of these ideas may have become so much a part of my...
by Susanna Gaertner | Aug 19, 2015 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Fifteen northern California wineries recently showcased their Rhône style wines for aficionados in—where else—Oakland! Syrah, Petite Sirah, Mourvèdre, Grenache, Carignane, Roussane, Counoise in red varietals and Viognier, the prime Rhône white, strutted their...
by Susanna Gaertner | Aug 12, 2015 | Food, Food blog
Lovers of hot chocolate and mocha should run, not walk, to Mutari Chocolate House & Factory, located in downtown Santa Cruz, CA. This is melted—molten better conveys the unctuousness—dark chocolate in a cup: no cocoa powder or lecithin. According to the...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jun 8, 2015 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Festive afternoon on May 16th at the Santa Lucia Highlands Gala held on the beautiful grounds of Mer Soleil Winery, where scores of wineries and food purveyors gave us the best of what they have to offer. Rebecca King’s superb cheeses enhanced the elegance of...
by Susanna Gaertner | Jun 4, 2015 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog, Wine Reviews
Here’s a rosé to rave about, and this from someone who is not normally a rosé fan. I don’t enjoy their slightly sweet, pinky-dinky quality…and then I found the 2014 Mourvedre Rosé from Tercero. Instead of the usual strawberry and/or melon...
by Susanna Gaertner | Mar 12, 2015 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Founded in 2003, the Grandes Pagos de España — great growths of Spain— honors single estate wines from its thirty premium member wineries. Many of them were on display at a recent tasting in San Francisco, at the Absinthe Brasserie & Bar, where the food...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 15, 2014 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Arriving in Santiago for the first time is thrilling: from the plane the Andes rear up but faintly, as though behind a scrim. You expect the curtain to rise any moment, then it does, and there is the city, cupped and tucked beneath the massive mountains. I would...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 14, 2014 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
photo courtesy Weingut Hans Wirsching So many wonderful wineries located in some of the most beautiful small villages in all of Germany: welcome to Franconia. Located about a two-hour train trip southeast of Frankfurt, Franconia is home to one of the world’s most...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 13, 2014 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
Text and photos ©2012 The Rhone valley came to the San Francisco mint on July 14th to celebrate Bastille Day and give aficionados a chance to savor some of these blended beauties. We found a lot to like! The SF Mint is a truly marvelous venue for a wine tasting:...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 13, 2014 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
©2010 Like many border areas in Europe, this precious parcel of wine-making heaven has been tossed between nations — here, Austria and Italy — and the wines reflect this double heritage. The Dolomites protect the vineyards from wind and allow the 300+ days of sunshine...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 10, 2014 | Wine & Spirits blog
Barossa. McLaren Vale. Coonawarra, Margaret River. Most U.S. wine consumers are familiar with these names for they are the Australian wine regions which export abundantly overseas: those chesty Chardonnays and heady reds from Western Australia and the old-...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 10, 2014 | Wine & Spirits blog
I recently went on a wine safari of Switzerland. This is the only way to define a voyage of discovery as filled with tantalizing tastes and sights as you might experience during a safari through the African veldt. Only here the exotic flora is rare grape...
by Susanna Gaertner | Nov 10, 2014 | Wine & Spirits, Wine & Spirits blog
text and photos © by Susanna Gaertner Our jumbo Airbus 340, on its recently inaugurated non-stop service from San Francisco to Zurich, with its exuberantly colorful markings is a novel sight. As I look down on it before departure, the man next to me wants to know...
