On June 23, 2012, Sacramento will be treated to the Sacramento Chef Challenge, an annual fundraiser for people with developmental disabilities that features an "Iron Chef" style cooking battle, Cake War competition, gourmet food sampling, beer and wine tasting, live music and more! For $25 a piece, guests are treated to a culinary extravaganza beginning with fair from local restaurants, wineries and breweries including The Couch Sports Lounge, Two Rivers Cider, Terra d’Oro Winery and Morgan’s Restaurant. The first of two competitions will pit three professional chefs in a head to head battle for culinary glory. Chef Challengers will have three hours to prepare and sample an original menu

Persimmons & Honey Saturday, November 12, 2011 10:00 am – 2:00 pm This holiday season, we’ll be sharing samples from our neighbors - Otow Orchards, Rickey Ranch and Source Tapas Otow Orchard is renowned for their Japanese art of hoshigaki -- hoshi means dried and gaki is from kaki, the Japanese word for persimmon. Each October, their persimmons are hand-peeled, strung onto a rack, and massaged every 3 to 5 days for several weeks. The result is a moist, sugary, comforting delicacy. The 165-acres off Cavitt Stallman is home to Rickey Ranch. There are acres of vineyards, fruit trees, pumpkins, gourds, a large garden, and best of all honey bees! They will be bringing their locally produced

The city’s planning commission will decide whether to OK a permit for alcohol to a proposed bottle shop and tap room planned for a shopping center near the intersection of Howe Avenue and Fair Oaks Boulevard Thursday night. Capitol Beer and Tap Room is a potential business set to take an empty space at 2222 Fair Oaks Blvd. put together by business partners Ken Hotchkiss and Patti Aguierre. “It’s going to be kind of a high-end craft beer tasting room and bottle shop,” Hotchkiss said Wednesday. If given the go-ahead by the Planning Commission, the business could open as early as December, and Aguierre said she plans to participate in Beer Week, in late February. About 20 beers will be on

John Kerr was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. At the age of eighteen months he was diagnosed with the neuromuscular disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy. This is a rare form of Muscular Dystrophy that attacks the motor neurons in the spinal cord and directly affects the functionality of his muscles. Never able to sit up independently or crawl, John received his first electric wheelchair on his fifth birthday. This newfound independence buoyed John into a life that was no different than that of his peers. With a diagnosis like Muscular Dystrophy, you may think that John has not lived a normal life, but he has lived a very normal life. Growing up he was fully involved with his fri

If you didn't get your ticket early, you missed out. Raley Field was the setting for Infuze Marketing's Wine in the Park wine tasting, featuring a selection of wines from surrounding area wineries, appetizers and a seat to watch the ballgame. The sold-out event took place in the VIP tented section off the third base line before the Sacramento River Cats and the Tucson Padres started the first of a four-game series at home. Participating wineries included Sierra Knolls Vineyard & Winery, Abundance Vineyards, Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery, Watts Winery and Mount Aukum Winery. The event was sponsored by Top Speed Data Communications, Porter | Scott Attorneys and the UC Davis Health

What better backdrop for enjoying a selection of exquisite French cheeses than Bastille Day?  This past Wednesday a group of about thirty received an education in the history of French cheesemaking from 'C'est le Cheese' and were able to sample some of that country's best cheese offerings. All classes are held at The L Street Lofts, and the evening began in a great space on the third floor, which featured large glass windows looking out over L Street.  The 'students' were able to get to know one another while enjoying a bubbly beverage that tied into the theme of the class. Being poured at this 'French Lesson' was a French sparkling white wine from Limoux, which is located in southern Fra

Wine industry analyst Jon Fredrickson speaking at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium last week at the Sacramento Convention Center, said California wine shipments were down 1.6 percent. The largest disparity in sales included international exports in which 3.2 million fewer cases were shipped overseas. While Fredrickson argued that the decrease in California wine exports is due to the economy, his data and theories were being disputed only 50 miles away. The El Dorado Winery Association held its annual Bring out the Barrel event Saturday and Sunday to packed cellars and enthusiastic wine lovers. “We learned something and had great wine,” said Glenda Lumsden of Placerville, Calif. Along w

To truly understand what makes wine great, it helps if one knows how it is made. The process of creating wine involves more than just the type of grape, the soil and if it is meant for a bottle, jug or box. And although all of these variables factor into the final product, the character of a wine is determined during the aging process, while stored in barrels. Usually the public isn’t provided the opportunity to witness what makes great wine, and more importantly, to sample it before it hits the wine list at The Firehouse Restaurant or the shelf at Trader Joe’s. Not anymore.  For the third consecutive year, over 20 El Dorado County wineries will open their cellars for Bring out the Barre

In Northern California, vineyards, wineries and the wines they produce are a main stay of our economy. One of the elements of creating a successful wine is creating enthusiastic wine tasters who can appreciate all that goes into making wine. Wine tasting is fast becoming one of the "Great American" past times for those in the world famous California wine producing areas. Whether you live here or are just passing through, taking a day to just get away from everything and visiting a winery or two will do wonders for your five senses and the soul. Whenever I would go wine tasting I would always feel inadequate next to someone who appeared to be a true wine connoisseur. The holding of the g