Get Your Hands On This!

I was so fortunate last week to sit down with a group of five outstanding women in the wine industry to do an article for the next issue of CRUSH Magazine! I don't want to upstage the article now but will post the link and give more info when it is published.

I can tell you that one of the women was Amber Moshin of Moshin Vineyards. There will also be a feature on her and the vineyard in CRUSH. After our roundtable the men were allowed to crash the party, one of the them being Amber's husband Rick. His price of admittance, a bottle of Rose' that made us all squeal with delight.

What makes this Rose' so coveted is not only it's limited production but how it is produced. When the bins of Pinot Noir grapes are dumped onto the sorting table, there is a small amount of juice left behind. It was pressed from the grapes during transport from the vineyard, having very little contact with the skins. The juice is collected and fermented to make a lovely clean wine, with minimal tannins that critics, bloggers and fans rave about.

You may have to join the wine club to get it. You wont be disappointed, all of the Moshin Wines I tried were outstanding!

Gaga Vino

I know what you're thinking: "Lady Gaga is now producing wine?" The pop icon is many things and entrepreneur is certainly one, however, wine maker is not on her resume; at least not yet.

The California Rose' may look like Lady Gaga's blush but it's flavors are not near as flashy; quite simple actually. The first thing I got was a mouthful of raspberry followed by a little strawberry. Although full of fruit, the wine is dry. It went well with the salty cheeses on the tasting table at The Morgan House.

You should be able to find Gaga Rose' for under $15. It's a good value for sure. I know Lady Gaga likes red wine, I wonder what she has to say about Rose'.

(The Morgan House Restaurant, downtown Fort Myers FL, has wine and tapas tastings the third Tuesday of every month.)

Check This Guy Out! Andrew Allen

I know I typically write about food, wine and travel, however, I have to turn you on to Andrew Allen if you haven't heard about him yet. As an unsigned artist he made it big in Canada, booking his own shows knocking on doors of radio stations, doing concerts in living rooms, whatever it took.

With over a million hits on YouTube and a spot in the Top 100 on  iTunes, he finally got the attention of the folks at Epic and they signed him. Andrew stopped by 96-9 WINK FM today and played a few acoustic songs for us. He's the real deal! Talented, nice, gracious, I can't wait to see what happens with his career! "Loving You Tonight" is the first release in the U.S.

SOBE: Food, Wine & Thongs

The Food Network South Beach Food and Wine Festival in Miami is one of my favorite events to attend each year. Hosted by Southern Wine and Spirits of Florida, it has grown to be one of the premiere food and wine events in the country! There are actually dozens of events during the four day festival but the one that draws the biggest crowd is the Grand Tasting Village. Tents, stretching the length of a football field, line the beach. Underneath, a playground of food, cooking demos, famous chefs, wine, spirits and more.

You never know who you will run into. Over the years I've met almost all of the big guys, the food network stars. Kinda funny, this year I ran into Dennis Rodman of all people. Yes he is still alive and no he was not wearing a boa or make-up.

I drank some amazing wine, tried some delicious food and sampled lots of new products....too many to even begin to list here. Emerging from the tents on the beach with a nice buzz made the people watching on SOBE even better than usual. Of course there are topless women but I swear I saw a man with thong that looked  like a pasty! There's always someone with a snake or monkey or some exotic animal on their shoulder, drag queens, girls in bikinis and their boots with the fur, beautiful models on photo shoots, etc. A man on roller blades wearing nothing but knee pads and a thong made even the most jaded local bar tenders laugh out loud.

The tickets for the events of  the Food and Wine Festival have gotten quite pricey over the years and many sell out. The festival has raised some 12 million dollars for The Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. I'll see you on the beach next year!