Studio 707

Studio 707 on Sabbatical

2009-12-01T17:00:00Z

At the 2004 TED Conference Heidi Swanson introduced me to the brilliant Austrian-born designer Stefan Sagmeister. She was right to think that beginning with a shared interest in artist-environmentalist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Stefan and I would have a lot in common.

For me and apparently for himself, Stefan has proved a constant discovery process. For example, two years ago when I called to ask him to direct the design of a hotel project I was involved in, Stefan expressed his regret explaining that he was closing his design studio for a sabbatical. It’s best if you hear how this works directly from Stefan: http://is.gd/582Bh

Then, the coupe de gras arrived serendipitously last September as a birthday gift from Sally Schneider , the book Stefan wrote after his most recent sabbatical, “Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far.”

Somewhere in the midst of random inspirations from Stefan, I gave my longtime friend Carl Doumani a birthday gift of three-weeks in Spain during which I shared the wondrous art, architecture and food world I’d discovered in my long, rich relationship with the Ferrer Family of the Freixenet wine empire.

At Carl’s insistence, the trip included a pilgrimage to Ferran Adria’s El Bulli. Standing in Adria’s kitchen with him at 1 a.m. after a 21-course culinary adventure, we listened to his passionate description of revitalizing his creative alchemy by working only half the year and experimenting the other half.

Possessed as I was by the approach of both Adria and Sagmeister, I couldn’t bring myself to take the leap off the treadmill. That is, until late one afternoon in June 2009 when I received the telephone call that reframed everything instantly. “You have cancer,” said the voice on the other end of the line. By February I hope to be in remission and ready to begin my first sabbatical.

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Bocanova: The Birth of a Restaurant

2009-11-30T23:00:02Z

Bocanova, created by Michael Guthrie and Company Architects, inhabits a 6,500 sq. ft corner of an historical 1920’s ice warehouse in an ideal waterfront location; a space with tons of character as they say, which means both flaws and charm, an empty concrete shell with the beauty of the bygone industrial era it evoked. It became immediately clear that the rough grey texture and massive scale of the columns and ceiling would be something to highlight instead of hide. The columns became the divining rod and focus of the design.

Bocanova's Pan American kitchen provided a perfect palette for interior designer Andrea Wade of Michael Guthrie and Company. On her sojourn to South America the year before, Andrea was truly inspired by both the architecture and the food. The one thing that is quite prominent in South American arts and architecture is the embracing of simple forms in warm and vibrant palettes. Both new and old exist together in their interiors, combining indigenous with contemporary seamlessly. The conception of our core vision came to life quickly: a blend of old and new, traditional and innovative.

At Michael Guthrie & Company, function is always the first consideration when embarking on a project. So after the initial inspiration, a floorplan was designed that was ideal for both chef and guest. One of the main components is an almost market-stall counter that allows the kitchen to have an open interface the entire length of the dining room. Visual and physical divisions divide and define smaller more intimate areas without sacrificing the over-all feeling of spaciousness. The intent was to create several dining experiences that allow the guests to experience Bocanova in different ways on different occasions. There is counter dining where guests can watch and talk to the chefs, intimate two person booths, long communal tables and shaded outdoor seating over-looking the Jack London Marina to the Oakland Estuary beyond.

The simple shapes and palette evoke South American monastic spaces, both clean and rustic, with earthy warmth. The furnishings were selected to be comfort able and imbue the ambiance with a familial and convivial quality.

Whenever possible, the fabricators used at Bocanova were local and the furniture and fixtures were created using sustainable methods. Our wall plaster is a custom formula created by the Santa Rosa husband and wife team at Tobias Stucco. Details International in Napa sourced our reclaimed wood from local barns. The tables came from Wooden Duck in Berkeley and their bases were custom fabricated by Pearce Schmidt Construction in Emeryville, with the exception of the tall communal table in the bar area. The wonderful crew at Eclipse Design in Petaluma fabricated that concrete top and recycled wood base was created by Artefact in Sonoma. All of the custom steel. The wall tiles are from Heath Tile in Sausalito with the exception of the warm golden tiles at the cookline, which are a recycled product from Fireclay Tiles in San Jose. Our custom concrete counters, footrails, and sinks are from Concreteworks in Oakland. B&L Seating in San Francisco expertly crafted the banquettes. Magnolia Lane in South San Francisco to give our space warmth and human scale fabricated the draped column sconce shades. The rugs, although imported from India, are fair trade and made with natural dyes and were purchased from Emmett Eiland Oriental Rug Company, which has been doing business in Berkeley since 1969. Terra Nova Industries General Contractors of Walnut Creek built the restaurant.

The high level of involvement of the entire Bocanova team; owner to landlord to architect to builder resulted in the creation of a well-built, cost-effective and stunning space for Bocanova.

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Krupp Brothers’ Winemaker Rises to New Heights

2009-11-24T18:55:17Z

2009 marks Nigel Kinsman’s 15th vintage as a winemaker. For a 34 year-old who received his enology degree just six years ago, Kinsman’s logged more hours – with some of the most famous winemakers and wineries – than at first seems possible. He learned technical expertise alongside Peter Leske and got to the heart of organic and biodynamic farming at Cullen Winery.

Upon graduating, Kinsman hopped a plane to Chianti to work the 2003 harvest as a “poor struggling student winemaker.” Four planes and a train ride later, he was welcomed into Tolaini’s Tuscan cellars as the full-time winemaker. Because he didn’t speak a word of Italian, he learned to lead by example. And when Michel Rolland showed up as consulting winemaker, he learned the art of blending alongside the man he considers to possess one of the wine world’s most formidable palates.

No, Kinsman’s trajectory has been anything but traditional. It has, however, been 100% intentional, and it all began on the day he was almost fired from South Australia’s premier wine shop, Baily and Baily. At the time, Kinsman was studying classical music at the University of Adelaide, majoring in solo performance on the double bass.

The gig at Baily and Baily was meant to keep his wallet lightly padded, and he had little expectations of doing more than hauling cases of beer and stocking shelves, two things at which the six-foot two-inch Kinsman excelled. When the store manager told him they were going to have to let him go only six months into the position, the only question Nigel could ask was “How do I change your mind?”

The manager sent him home with three wines, three glasses and told him to turn in a report next shift. For twelve weeks, they repeated the exercise. “Suddenly I was fascinated with these unique regions, with new winemakers, with everything that went into the glass.” Nigel had fallen in love with wine, but he wasn’t initially convinced he could make a career out of it.
When he approached the head of the enology department about two years into his classical music degree, they weren’t convinced either. He had neither the sciences nor the science entry score to get into the department, which at the time was as competitive as the physiotherapy program.

Again, he asked, “What do I have to do to change your mind?” A faculty manager finally conceded that if he entered a straight science field and blitzed the class, he might have a chance. Nigel took a year off from his other classes, enrolled in Chemistry I and scored a 97 in the first year. The department allowed the transfer…”but it took a lot of pushing and shoving.”

When he wasn’t studying, Nigel spent his time at the wine shop honing his sensory skills and tasting every new wine he could get his hands on. “I will always maintain that people in wine retail get to taste a lot more wine than those who make it,” he says, and at his peak at Baily and Baily, Nigel was tasting some 300 wines a week.

After he transitioned into the enology program, Nigel left the wine shop and approached Nepenthe Winery winemaker Peter Leske. He told Leske he didn’t want to start his degree without any experience in the field. Leske brought him on for the 1997 harvest, and Nigel spent the hours of 6 pm to 4 am doing pump-overs and cleaning tanks and his daylight hours in the classroom. Hooked on the buzz of the physical labor, he stayed on at Nepenthe for five more harvests, all while studying. When he finished near top of his class every year, Kinsman credited the work with helping him see and engage in the entire winemaking process.

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After completing his degree he landed a job with Vanya Cullen’s Cullen Wines. “This winery pulled out all the stops to make famous Bordeaux-style wines. Organic and biodynamic farming, cluster and berry sorting, racking barrel to barrel – there’s nothing they wouldn’t do to make the best wine possible.”

Cullen was his true introduction to luxury winemaking, and at the end of his nine-month stint, he was offered a full-time position. “But I wanted overseas experience,” Kinsman says, so he accepted what he thought was going to be a grunt work position at Chianti’s Tolaini winery. He took the cheapest, and therefore longest, route to Italy, a 30-hour flight from Perth to Pisa with about a half dozen stops in between. He arrived in Pisa and boarded a train to Tuscany.

A man named Saverio met him at the station, bundled everything into his car, drove him about 15 miles east of Sienna to the winery and said, “Right, you better get your boots on. We’re sorting Merlot.”

“Where’s the winemaker?” Kinsman asked.
“You’re the winemaker,” Saverio replied.

Three months before, the owner had fired the winemaker. Since Nigel was due to arrive soon, he decided the young Australian would fill the now vacant spot just fine.

An exhausted Kinsman found himself standing alone before a crew of six Italian and 14 Albanian men. He didn’t speak Italian. The Italians didn’t speak English. And the Albanians spoke zero English and very poor Italian. Somehow, “We managed to communicate. I led by example. We wrote a lot down. After I got over the shock of not having a winemaker and our language barriers, I got by really well.”

Pier Luigi Tolaini arrived a few weeks into Kinsman’s stint, and in perfect English let the new winemaker know that he had hired Michel Rolland to consult in the winery. Nigel had never heard of the famous flying winemaker, but he quickly learned that he had a lot to learn from the man he now considers to have one of the best palates in the industry.

Rolland had only two clients in Italy, Ornelaia and Tolaini. And PierLuigi had the Ferraris. In other words, Kinsman got to spend a lot of time in the cellar with Rolland, “and that’s where I learned the art of blending.”

After his first experience in Chianti, Kinsman took a full-time position at Australia’s renowned Hayshed Hill, but he returned to Tolaini every season for harvest. It was the perfect split for Kinsman between work in his home country and overseas. After four years in the Margaret River, however, he was ready to push his comfort zone again, to learn new skills in a new land. Which is how he and his wife Shae Cooney, found themselves high in the eastern hills of Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill making wine for Krupp Brothers’ expansive portfolio. As immersed in the wine world as Kinsman, Cooney eagerly accepted the new assignment and new adventure.

Former internist and vineyard expert Jan Krupp had been looking for someone “with horsepower,” and he liked the young winemaker’s impressive and well-developed resume. Kinsman liked Krupp’s passion for excellence, a drive to make luxury wines that in many ways mirrored Vanya Cullen’s intensity. As Nigel says, “Jan gives us every resource to make the best wine possible. And with Jan’s knowledge of every single block of his 1,000-plus acre vineyard, they get farmed to an amazingly exact and high standard.” Nigel has long believed that wines are “grown not made.” Feeling the concept certainly evidenced itself in the fruit coming form the rocky Stagecoach, Krupp and Krupp Brothers Vineyards’ volcanic soil series, Kinsman started as assistant winenmaker in 2006. By the 2007 harvest, Krupp had taken the helm as director of winemaking.

Its fruit rivals the famous To Kalon Vineyard, and today, the Krupps’ low-yielding vines provide fruit for many of the Napa Valley’s most prestigious names, including Caymus, Paul Hobbs and Pahlmeyer. Kinsman, however, keeps a small percentage of the choicest parcels for the Krupp Brothers’ handcrafted private labels: Veraison, Black Bart and Krupp. Kinsman’s goal is always to make wines rich with old world complexity and new world suppleness.

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Bocanova's Bounty

2009-11-19T02:12:24Z

The celebration of Thanksgiving with roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie is uniquely American. However, the tradition of giving thanks and celebrating the bounty of harvest spans all cultures. In countries and cities around the globe, groups gather together in the form of festivals, family gatherings and celebrations to toast the fruits of their labors.

This week, Bocanova’s Pan American kitchen offered a dozen happy guests a delicious glimpse of winter holiday bounty specials. Featuring produce from All Star Organics, a few Bocanova harvest highlights were the Braised Shortribs with Argentine primitive pumpkin, Chicory Salad with pomegranate & cocoa nib vinaigrette, Sweet Potato & Chipotle Gratin and an organic Dickenson Pumpkin Pound Cake with Eggnog Ice Cream & Pecan Macaroons.

Executive Pastry Chef Paul Conte’s Pumpkin Poundcake stole the evening limelight. Perfect for baking, the Dickenson pumpkin made for a powdered sugar-dusted cake that was all sweetness and light – more ounce than pound. Partnered with a carrot reduction sauce and an egg nog ice cream that carried pleasantly little weight, it was the perfect conclusion to an evening rich with fresh, new flavor combinations and equally fresh new friendships.

Click here to view the Flickr Link of all the Harvest Images: http://is.gd/4TK2j

Sweet Potato & Chipotle Gratin Recipe
Bocanova Restaurant
Executive Chef, Rick Hackett

Amount:                      Ingredients:                                           Prep Notes:
5 ea                                Sweet Potatoes                                        Slice 1/8"
1 ½ Cups                         Heavy Cream
2 T                                  Garlic                                                      Minced
2 T                                  Chipotle Peppers in Adobe Sauce              Puree
To taste                           Salt                                                         Salt

Method:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 F
2.) Combine cream, garlic, chipotle and salt. The mixture should be slightly on the salty side as the potatoes have not been seasoned.
3.) Peel and thinly slice potatoes (1/8 Inch) and add directly to cream mixture.
4.) Layer potatoes into a gratin dish and pour cream mixture over. The cream should come slightly over the top of the potatoes
5.) Place gratin in a water bath. The water should come half way up the side of the gratin dish. This will prevent burning on the bottom.
6.) Bake at 350 F for about an hour. The potatoes should be tender and the top golden brown.
7.) Rest for 30 min allowing the gratin to set up. This will prevent the gratin from falling apart when cut.

Yields: 6 portions

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Krupp Choreographs Thousand-Acre Wine Grape Harvest, 95 Stagecoach Vineyard Designate Wines Will Benefit

2009-11-02T21:54:37Z

It takes a small village to harvest Stagecoach Vineyard

“If you have ever seen that scene in ‘Apocalypse Now’ where they are trying to establish a beach head camp so that they can surf, that is what harvest is like at Stagecoach Vineyard,” consulting winemaker Aaron Pott says of picking fruit at Krupp Brothers’ legendary Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill vineyard.

“The vineyard becomes a good size town replete with 50 or so 1970s era vans and an old Ken Kesey-esque school bus - all in various stages of decay – roaming the vineyard roads.”

While Pott jokes that Dr. Jan Krupp, former internist and founder of Stagecoach and Krupp Brothers, should just build a small village at Stagecoach with a company store, it is true that at harvest, the Krupp Brothers team is master of its own 1,000-plus acre domain. Jan moves across the vineyard radio in hand, shouting instructions to vineyard managers Esteban Llamas and viticulturist Jason Cole. The vineyard has its own trucking fleet to haul picks directly to their crush facility, and in any given season, Stagecoach has 120 full-time employees, with an additional 160 contracted on an as needed basis.

From a hawk’s eye view (of which there are several rare breeds on the mountain vineyard), harvest might appear to be chaos. After all, harvest workers are pulling in fruit for not one but 60 different wine producers in the valley. To put it another way, in 2008 there were over 95 wines with a Stagecoach Vineyard designate.

Krupp Brothers Winemaker Nigel Kinsman, however, says harvest may move at a frenzied pace but every step is controlled and choreographed. Up until the point where they deliver fruit to the wineries, Stagecoach Vineyard is self-sufficient. They may pick for more than 60 clients in a six week time period, but they handle all the picking. They schedule clients on a first come, first served basis. Sure, Paul Hobbs checks in frequently, but according to Nigel, even he confidently relinquishes control to the Stagecoach team.

Nigel believes that’s in large part due to Dr. Jan Krupp, the vineyard’s most passionate advocate. “Jan knows every clone and where every clone is planted. How many vineyard owners do you know who could literally know every inch of their 700-acre vineyard?” Nigel says.

Vineyard Manager, Esteban Llamas, worked alongside Jan to plant every single row. Viticulturist, Jason Cole, possesses incredible farming acumen and with both of their expertise come picking time, the vineyard is in prime form. For the past two months, Jason and Nigel have been setting the stage with aggressive crop thinning. Because last year’s crop load was so light, Nigel was ready for the vines’ 2009 balancing act. “We were expecting the vines to respond by producing more fruit, so our guys have worked hard all year to maintain the appropriate levels.”

They’ve also taken pains to thin fruit and position the shoots to ensure clusters are evenly spaced and receiving equal shares of light. Nigel says you have to be an active advocate to grow such premium fruit. By the time harvest rolls around, Nigel is intimate with every single block going into Krupp Brothers’ wines; he sources fruit from every part of the vineyard, he knows every soil subset, and once crush is upon them, Nigel walks the vineyard every single day.

As for the pick dates? Nigel says they’re not here to be raisin farmers. He looks at resolution and tannin profile in order to judge harvest times. Once he sees ripe tannins with moderate sugar levels, the Krupps’ own grapes get top picking priority. Nigel doesn’t see this as a conflict; he feels the crews give the entire vineyard impeccable attention. Every client gets top quality fruit, but this is first come, first served after all. And Jan Krupp was here first.

Enjoy a few photos from this years harvest:
Krupp Brothers winemaking 2009
Krupp Brothers winemaker Nigel Kinsman and consulting winemaker Aaron Pott test out the fermenting wine.
October 2009- Photos by Ashley Teplin
http://is.gd/4IElW

Stagecoach Vineyard Harvest 2009
Krupp Brothers winemaker Nigel Kinsman in the vineyards for the last pick of harvest.
October 2009- Photos by Ashley Teplin
http://is.gd/4IELG

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Krupp Brothers & Stagecoach Vineyard Cut Legendary Path Across the Napa Valley

2009-10-01T15:51:22Z

When Jan and Bart Krupp began the search for a name for their Stagecoach Vineyard label of wine, they sought a moniker that reflected the wild yet elegant structure profile of the Rhone-varietal wines coming from Stagecoach Vineyard’s 560 planted acres on Atlas Peak. That Black Bart also captured the unique history of their frontier mountain vineyard, only served to add another poetic layer to a vineyard and winery property already rich with Napa Valley lore.

The infamous Black Bart of the late 1800s robbed dozens of Wells Fargo stagecoaches crossing over mountain roads, including the stagecoach passes that once stretched across the Krupp Brothers’ present-day Stagecoach Vineyard. Born Charles Boles, the San Francisco businessman became known as a gentleman bandit, a sophisticated gray-haired outlaw with impeccable posture, fine manners, tailored dress and a partiality for leaving poetry at the scene of his crimes.

While the Black Bart label brandishes this inimitable spirit of the sophisticated rogue, Jan and Bart Krupp determined early on that the Black Bart portfolio of wines would cut its own legendary path across the California frontier and the globe. And since the day Jan Krupp purchased his first 41 acres up in the mountain desert known as Atlas Peak, the brothers have overcome some rather fantastic obstacles to become the protagonists in their own almost epic story. The Stagecoach Vineyard and Krupp Brothers tale – of carving a road into a mountain desert, of hiring a water witch to find the water geologists could not, of removing 1 billion tons of SUV-sized boulders before planting could begin – has become as compelling as the wines’ namesake, as visitors to the Krupp brothers’ beautiful 700-plus acre vineyard properties can attest.

From the beginning, Jan Krupp saw beyond the looming hardships to the potential beneath the rock and chaparral. And he saw the stunning beauty of the mountain, of the fragrant purple blossoms of rare native plants, and the views of the Napa Valley floor below and the San Francisco Bay beyond. Rising 900 feet above sea level and climbing to nearly 1,700, Jan quickly realized these eastern hills were ideally suited for rarely planted Rhone grapes like syrah, viognier and marsanne.

In fact, the diverse meso-climates and soil conditions found at Stagecoach Vineyard are distinctively suited for over 13 different grape varieties. Currently, the Black Bart portfolio consists of the Black Bart Syrah, which is co-fermented with a touch of Viognier to add floral aromas and silky texture; Black Bart Marsanne; and Black Bart’s Bride, a blend of marsanne, viognier and chardonnay named after the bandit’s mysterious amour. In select years, winemaker Nigel Kinsman also makes a Black Bart Syrah Rose and Syrah Port.

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Wines to Match the Bocanova Spirit

2009-09-24T21:05:48Z

EXCITING WINES AT BOCANOVA MATCH THE DIVERSITY AND VERVE OF THE RESTAURANT'S PAN-AMERICAN KITCHEN

Look for the best from South America, the Iberian Peninsula, and the West Coast on the list at this exciting new Oakland establishment

Oakland, Calif., September 24, 2009-- Wine buyer David Fetcho employed a deceptively simple philosophy in constructing the wine program for Bocanova, the "Pan-American kitchen" just opened by Rick Hackett and Meredith Melville on the newly revivified Jack London Square in Oakland: present wines that will delight the diner by offering an exciting range of accompaniments to the meal.

"There will be no generic-tasting wines on the Bocanova wine list!" promises Fetcho. Focusing on Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, California, Oregon, and Washington, he has chosen as many wines as possible from small, passionate producers, many of whom use sustainable, organic, or biodynamic practices. “These are wines that are true to their varietal sources, to their terroir, and to the committed vision of the winemakers,” Fetcho says.

Though such noble grape varieties as Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Syrah make their appearance on the Bocanova roster, along with classics like Spain's Tempranillo and Garnacha and Argentina's Malbec and Torrontes, Fetcho is also eager to introduce restaurant customers to the finest vintages made from such lesser-known but superb cultivars as Verdejo, Godello, Mencia, Manto Negro, Tannat, Baga, and Touriga Nacional.

Among the unusual treasures on Bocanova's opening wine list are Andrew Rich Rousanne from Oregon's Columbia Valley, Los Bermejos Rosé from the Canary Islands, a deeply structured red version of Txakolina (the Basque specialty almost always seen in white form), several hard-to-find reds produced in Portugal's Alentejo region, and Bodegas El Porvenir de los Andes Tannat from the mile-high Cafayate Valley in Argentina.

David Fetcho, a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has spent the past three decades here in California and abroad “tasting, studying, consulting with winemakers and importers, and just paying very close attention,” in order to develop a palate that Bocanova creator Rick Hackett calls one of the best he's ever encountered. “The wines I select are ones that teach me things,” says Fetcho. “They're like good poetry, touching you in ways that are beyond mere description. Even the Bible says that wine is a gift given ‘to gladden the people’s hearts.’ My primary duty as Bocanova’s sommelier is to make sure that every wine I present—from the least expensive wine by the glass to the rare gems at the top of the list—lives up to that standard." # # #

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From Desert Mountainscape to Iconic Vineyard

2009-09-09T17:12:22Z

Krupp Brothers Transform a Desert Mountainscape into a Napa Valley Vineyard Icon

When Dr. Jan Krupp purchased a 41-acre property high in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, he had no idea how many odds were stacked against him. A Bay Area internist with a green thumb and a hunger for the joy he once felt working his uncle’s Virginia farm, Krupp ignored the warning signs “presenting” on his barren acreage and paid attention instead to the property’s unplumbed potential.

It was 1991, six years before the breakout vintage of Napa Valley Cabernet on Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill’s eastern mountain slopes – the year that launched Maya and David Arthur into the cult wine world. Jan had a desert mountain landscape on Atlas Peak and Pritchard Hill with no power, no known water sources and no legal right of access, yet all he could see was the potential buried beneath boulders and chaparral. It was more than just a feeling; Krupp had been immersed in garage winemaking long enough to know the shallow red volcanic soils of these south-facing slopes rising into and over the fogline were ideal for growing intense berries rich with mineral and mountain flavors.

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To carve the snaking road up to their vineyard, the brothers went through months of red tape – and 135 legal documents – in order to obtain access rights. The road itself took a month to build. Once the road was in place and the water was flowing, the pair lit their sticks of dynamite, cleared the boulders (some the size of SUVs) and began planting. They also began diligently replanting native riparian vegetation, and almost from the “get-go,” Jan and Bart committed themselves to restoring and maintaining their rare mountain ecosystem.

Four years, an additional 750-acres and 500,000 tons of cleared rocks later, the brothers have carved three of Napa Valley’s most sought after vineyards into what was once considered a barren wilderness: the original 1-acre Krupp Vineyard, the 48-acre Krupp Brothers Vineyard and the now iconic 1108-acre Stagecoach Vineyard. The Krupp brothers began planting 100 acres a year, and currently, total acreage under vine is 560, with another 85 being developed. In 1999, Jan Krupp put his first wine, Veraison Cabernet Sauvignon into bottle, and with it Krupp Brothers winery was officially born.

Today, the Krupps’ low-yielding vines provide fruit for many of the Napa Valley’s biggest names, including Caymus, Paul Hobbs and Pahlmeyer. And according to Wine Spectator’s James Laube, as winemakers clamor for the Krupps’ supple grapes, these sites are providing more and more competition to iconic vineyards like Napa Valley’s famous To Kalon. Winemaker Nigel Kinsman and Consulting Winemaker Aaron Pott say that’s because the three vineyards’ mountain climate – lower temperatures during the day and a less dramatic fluctuation between day and evening – along with their Aiken Series soils are pitch perfect for growing grapes that reach full phenolic maturity without overripe sugar levels.

In Bordeaux, Pott says, the biggest struggle for winemakers is that grapes reach phenolic maturity before it reaches sugar maturity, producing wines that are either out of balance or a harvest ruined by rain and rot. On the Napa Valley floor, the challenge is reaching phenolic maturity without ripening the grapes to sugar levels beyond those that – again – create balanced wines. The Krupps’ three vineyards, and most specifically Stagecoach, strike the perfect compromise between the two worlds, which allows winemakers to produce Bordeaux-inspired blends that Pott calls big, rich and supple.

A UC-Davis grad with a Masters in Viticulture from the Universite de Bourgogne in Dijon, Pott is considered among Napa Valley’s winemaking elite. After honing his cellar skills under the famous Michel Rolland, Kinsman, too, is among the up-and-coming class of winemakers who staunchly believe wines are “grown not made.” Choosing a small percentage of select fruit from all three vineyards, the duo works together to create Krupp Brothers’ hand-crafted private labels: Veraison, Black Bart and Krupp. Their goal is always to make wines with balance, longevity and complexity while also possessing density, extraction and textured tannins. Or, as Pott and Kinsman say, they make wines with one foot planted in the old world and another firmly rooted in the new.

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Tibetan Lamas Create Mandalas in Grace Cathedral

2009-08-31T18:53:14Z

Bay Area Unites to Raise Awareness and Funds for Tools for Peace™

Mandala represents the complete qualities of enlightened mind. Mandalas can be two-dimensional, such as a painting or a sand mandala, or they can be more intricately represented in three-dimensions. The Tools For Peace curriculum uses the blueprint of the Tibetan Shi-tro Mandala, a symbolic representation of peaceful existence that can help us conceptualize harmony within our world and ourselves.

San Francisco, Aug.31, 2009—For one week in September (Sept. 21–25) four Tibetan lamas and selected students will work daily in the quiet and peace of the north transept of Grace Cathedral creating traditional and community sand mandalas, side by side. In this extraordinary setting and by this unique artistic and spiritual endeavor, participants hope to build awareness for Tools for Peace, a program founded by the venerable Lama Chodak Gyasto Nubpa.

Tools for Peace programs provide participants with the support they need to actively incorporate compassion, peace, and well-being into their daily lives, communities, and our world. Tools for Schools empowers students by teaching them how to cultivate compassion through motivation, mindfulness, meditation.
]]> All week long these monks and students from who are participating in the Tools for Schools program will work together on the installation of the sand mandalas. One of the monks, Lama Thogme, a master mandala artist, has trained many of the monks of the Nyingma and Kagyu lineages in Nepal in the art of mandala making.

On Sept. 26, Grace Cathedral and Tools for Peace will host a fundraising dinner for Tools for Schools and the cathedral. A simple, elegant dinner created by Acre Gourmet and Alice Waters will showcase local food artisans and purveyors, including Cowgirl Creamery and Full Belly Farms. The meal is preceded by a sparkling-wine reception, beginning at 6 p.m., and private performance by k.d. lang.

The public can view the mandalas Sept. 21–25 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For a guided or group tour contact Grace Cathedral at 415-749-6320. The mandalas will be ceremoniously dissolved on Sept. 27 as a part of Grace Cathedral’s 11 a.m. Choral Eucharist.

Tools for Peace Fact Sheet: http://is.gd/2JQVc
Media Page: www.studio-707.com/news/ToolsforPeace_media.php
Flickr Photo Page: http://is.gd/1L1qj
Tools for Peace: www.toolsforpeace.org
Grace Cathedral: www.gracecathedral.org

San Francisco, Event Ticket Information:

Free to view the creation and dissolution of the sand mandalas.
$75 for the reception, program, and concert on Saturday. (www.cityboxoffice.com or 415-392-4400)
$250 for the reception, program, concert and dinner on Saturday (rebeccan@gracecathedral.org, or 415-749-6355)

Tools for Peace- Media Contact:
Ashley Teplin, Studio-707
Tel: 707-258-1699 / ashley@studio-707.com

Grace Cathedral- Media Contact:
Heidi K. Zuhl
Tel: 415-749-6364 / heidiz@gracecatherdral.org

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Jack London Revival Starts with Bocanova

2009-08-25T00:56:32Z

Jack London Square's Exciting New Dining Scene
Kicks Off with the Pan-American Restaurant, Bocanova

The Oakland waterfront has been a bustling commercial hub for more than a 150 years—the Transcontinental Railroad ended at the city's Long Wharf terminal, and Oakland later grew into one of the largest shipping ports on the West Coast—it still is, but today there is a growing vibrant life, focused around historic Jack London Square.

The Square, named for the celebrated author ("The Call of the Wild", "The Sea-Wolf") who spent much of his boyhood here in the late 19th century, is in the midst of a $350 million renovation by Ellis Partners. They will bring 100,000 square feet of new Class A office and retail space, a 72,000-square-foot public market modeled after San Francisco's Ferry Plaza, and a community of exciting new restaurants.

The first of these to open will be Bocanova, with its unique "Pan-American kitchen" created by Rick Hackett, executive chef at San Francisco's popular MarketBar, and his wife and front-of-the-house partner, Meredith Melville. Bringing new life to in a 1926-vintage ice warehouse, Bocanova is opening on September 1 and will feature dishes inspired by the cuisines of South, Central, and North America, showcasing their Mediterranean roots and featuring great Northern California raw ingredients, many of them sourced from small sustainable farms. Specialties might include fried Petrale Sole tacos, Yucatan seafood stew, slow-roasted heirloom beans with chorizo, Sea of Cortez scallops with Brazilian curry sauce, organic rotisserie chicken with guajillo chile & banana salsa, and Argentinean-style steaks from the grill. Ceviches and crudos will come from the extensive raw bar, and a one-of-a-kind selection of unusual but menu-appropriate wines from the Americas and beyond will be featured.

Noted Bay Area architect Michael Guthrie (Bix, Myth, Zinnia) has employed recycled and sustainably harvested materials, including wood, stone, glass, tile & textiles to bring warmth and verve to the stunning Bocanova space, with its soaring ceilings, magnificent concrete columns, and floor-to-ceiling south- and west-facing windows providing unparalleled views.

Other participants in what will soon become Jack London Square's flourishing culinary scene include Daniel Patterson (Coi) and Lauren Kiino (Delfina), whose Bracina will highlight "rustic-refined California cuisine". Richard Corbo, formerly of Ducca in San Francisco, will start his own pizzeria project called Pizzeria Zanna Bianca, and it will follow in the footsteps of the Bay Area's ubiquitous rustic Italian pizzerias/eateries. Meg Ray of the acclaimed Miette Patisserie plans to open a retail shop and baking school.

“Having lived all over the Bay Area, Meredith and I bought a house in Oakland five years ago," says Hackett, "Oakland is to San Francisco what Brooklyn was to Manhattan— we're proud to be a part of this exciting and diverse city.”

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Rib-Roaring Competition with Napa Winemakers

2009-08-17T19:49:38Z

NAPA’S BOUNTY HUNTER SPONSORS A DOWNTOWN NAPA BARBECUE EXTRAVAGANZA
A Napa Valley Winemaker’s Rib Eatin’ Competition tops the bill at Blues, Brews & BBQ

Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ is hosting a Winemaker’s Rib Eatin’ Contest at the Blues, Brews & BBQ event on Saturday, August 29, 2009 in downtown Napa. Ten highly regarded Napa Valley winemakers will compete for the title of ‘Bounty Hunter Top Rib Eater’ by devouring as many of the Bounty Hunter’s St. Louis Cut Ribs as they can. The friendly contest will begin at 3PM. The winemakers will have 10 minutes to compete for the rib championship honors. Learn more about the event at http://napadowntown.com/bbandbbq.html

The wine world’s star-studded rib eatin’ contestants are: Andy Beckstoffer, Owner, Beckstoffer Vineyards; Brian Brown, Winemaker, Round Pond / Emmerson Brown; Marco DiGiulio, Winemaker, Girard; Mike Drash, Winemaker, Luna Vineyards; Glenn Hugo, Winemaker, Hugo Family Cellars; Marbue Marke, Winemaker, Caldwell Vineyard; Kevin Mills, Winemaker, Trinitas Cellars; Tim Milos, Winemaker, Bounty Hunter Rare Wine & Provisions; Zeke Neeley, Winemaker, Trefethen Vineyards; and Matthew Rorick, Winemaker, Elizabeth Spencer / Forlorn Hope.

Bounty Hunter is the exclusive wine sponsor of the Blues, Brews & BBQ event and will be pouring many of their own wines. Streamside and Broken Spur, two of the nine Bounty Hunter brands, will be available by the glass all day long. The contest’s St. Louis Cut Ribs are slow-smoked for five hours in the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ’s own Southern Pride smoker.

]]> Blues, Brews & BBQ is being held from 1PM to 6PM in downtown Napa on Saturday, August 29 and is free for the public. An abundance of barbeque fare and twenty different microbrews at the biergarten will line First Street in downtown Napa. San Francisco radio station KFOG 104.5 FM will be presenting music on one of three stages featuring blues music from the likes of Rene Solis & Lucky 13, Ron Thompson, Sista Monica, Gary Smith and Tia Carroll.

Housed in the historic Semorile Building on the Napa River just off Main Street, the Bounty Hunter Wine Bar & Smokin’ BBQ welcomes wine country visitors and locals into eclectic western comfort. The Wine Bar also headquarters their award-winning wine catalog, which features Best-of-the-Best wines alongside “steals and deals,” which represent extraordinary values. Voted “Best Wine Bar in Napa Valley” and “Best Wine Bar in the Bay Area” five years running, the wine shop, wine bar and restaurant feature an extensive wine list, a variety of tasting flights, artisan beers on tap and a full lunch and dinner menu. Open Sunday through Thursday, 11AM to 10PM, Friday and Saturday, 11AM to Midnight. 975 First St., Napa, CA 94559. (707) 226-3976. www.BountyHunterWineBar.com

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Mouths Have Changed

2009-08-03T19:25:54Z

BOCANOVA PAN-AMERICAN KITCHEN CELEBRATES LATIN FLAVORS
WITH LOCAL INGREDIENTS AND A MEDITERRANEAN FLAIR
At His Vibrant New Restaurant in Oakland's Revitalized Jack London Square, Chef Rick Hackett Pays Tribute to a Vivid and Diverse World of Cuisine

Oakland, Calif., August 3, 2009--Is this a great hemisphere or what? Mexico and Central and South America gave the world a wealth of wonderful foodstuffs, including such essentials as potatoes, tomatoes, corn, chocolate and vanilla, sweet peppers and spicy chiles, and a whole hill of beans, from black to lima to pinto to white. The great melting pot of North America, in return, added its own indigenous products and an encyclopedia of imported ingredients to the mix, and turned the culinary traditions and abilities of scores of vibrant immigrant cultures loose on the resulting cornucopia.

Bocanova, the vibrant new Pan-American restaurant opening September 1 on Oakland's revitalized Jack London Square, draws on all these culinary riches, celebrating the ingredients and cuisines of Latin America and their intimate connection with their Old World counterparts, expressed through the culinary bounty of Northern California.

Rick Hackett, Bocanova's classically trained executive chef and co-owner, combines a long commitment to sustainably grown organic raw materials with impeccable California–Mediterranean credentials as a veteran of Chez Panisse, Postrio, Bay Wolf, Oliveto, and MarketBar, among other places. The idea behind Pan-American cuisine, he says, is to blend the complimentary culinary currents of Europe and the Americas in a delicious new way.

"The introduction of New World foods helped shape what we think of today as traditional Mediterranean cuisine," he points out. "At the same time, cooking in the Americas was obviously changed tremendously by Old World ingredients—foods as basic as beef and lamb, wheat, olives, and wine grapes—and by the techniques and cooking culture that went along with them. Pan-American cooking brings a whole lot of exciting regional flavors and nuances to the table, but many of the dishes are still rooted in the Mediterranean profile."

He christened his new place Bocanova, which means "new mouth", Hackett adds, because "In the gastronomically rich Bay Area, mouths have changed. We're open to new flavors and experiences. I'm not trying to duplicate traditional dishes or experiences. What we choose to call Pan-American cuisine has evolved from a conversation between ingredients and cultures, with the old meeting the new, the familiar meeting the unfamiliar.

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Bocanova's setting is no less exciting than its food: It occupies a restored 1920s-vintage icehouse with unparalleled waterfront views in a prime location on historic Jack London Square. A vibrant multi-use complex just down the road from Berkeley and a short 20-minute drive from downtown San Francisco across the Bay Bridge or 25-minute cruise from the city's Ferry Building, the Square has become a living symbol of Oakland's revival, and the site of a burgeoning community of hot new restaurants. Opening early spring 2010, on the plaza in front of Bocanova, is a 70,000-square-foot two-level food market, modeled after San Francisco's Ferry Plaza Market and the Granville Island Market in Vancouver.

Meredith Melville—Hackett's wife and herself a veteran of Bay Wolf and Chez Panisse, and the former owner-operator of Enrico's in North Beach—will preside over the stunning 6,500-square-foot Bocanova dining room, with its soaring ceilings, magnificent concrete columns, and warm elements of wood, metal, tile, vividly hued carpets, artisanal surfaces, and found objects. Under her direction, Bocanova supports the local art scene with an on-going rotation of local art exhibits and special events.

Bocanova boasts an extensive wine list spotlighting the Americas, Spain, and Portugal, with a wide variety of offerings at reasonable prices, chosen specifically to pair with the food. Bartenders concoct a range of inventive Pan-American cocktails, many based on fresh-squeezed fruit juices, and special care is lavished on the service of coffee, tea and Mexican hot chocolate.

"More than anything," says Rick Hackett, "we want Bocanova to be an Oakland restaurant that reflects the diversity and creativity of its community, while serving some of the best food around."

To download a PDF of the Fact Sheet on Bocanova: http://is.gd/20WfE

To view photos of the Pan-American cuisine and the Opening Team: http://is.gd/20Weo]]>

Krupp Brothers at Stagecoach Vineyard Fires up the Grill With Inaugural Atlas Peak Excursion and Barbecue

2009-07-24T17:46:56Z

When the winemaker's an Aussie musician who's honed his cellar skills with Michel Rolland (among others), the vintner is a doctor with a serious green thumb and the chef is a hunter/angler/gardener/former line cook who cures his own wild boar and has a James Beard Award nomination under his belt, well, everything just tastes better.

The unparalleled vineyard views surrounding Stagecoach Vineyard’s uncovered pavilion don’t hurt either.

July 19, 2009 ushered in Krupp Brothers Winery's inaugural summer barbecue. It was an intimate yet casual gathering of Krupp Brothers wine club members and some of the valley's most esteemed wine and food professionals. While Honest-Food blogger and chef Hank Shaw added thick vine cuttings from Krupp Brothers' own Stagecoach Vineyard to the grill, guests from as far away as Austin, Texas nibbled on smoked shad rillettes topped with herring caviar (a pun only the true angler could appreciate, as shad also belongs to the herring family) and sipped on a beautifully chilled Rhone-inspired wine from the Krupp Brothers Black Bart label, called "The Bride." An aromatic blend of marsanne and viognier, winemaker Nigel Kinsman added a hit of vhardonnay to increase acidity and lighten the texture in this straw-colored white wine. One of Krupp Brothers' many unsung gems, “The Bride” is a honeysuckle and orange zest scented wine little understood outside the wine geek crowd - that is, until it's tasted, as was evidenced by the day’s thirsty crowd. Every bottle cracked was instantly, and happily, drained.

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Owned by former internist Jan Krupp nearly 700-acres of planted vines at Stagecoach Vineyard has already achieved rock star status among cult Napa Valley names like Caymus, Plumpjack, Palmaz and Realm. While over 20 producers source everything from cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay to syrah, malbec and tempranillo from this rocky mountain site, it has only been in the last few years that Krupp's own labels - Krupp Brothers, Black Bart and Veraison - have started to make the same waves as its grapes.

Jan Krupp has walked many miles (and harvested many vines) since he bought his first 41 acres in Atlas Peak's eastern hills in 1991. The doctor with two green thumbs and an insatiable hunger to create fine wine has, in less than two decades, literally moved a billion pounds of rock and carved out one of the most extraordinary vineyards in what was once considered a scrubby, barren desert frontier. He’s also worked diligently to replant hundreds of native California plants and dedicated himself to maintaining the wild mountain ecosystem encompassing his vineyards. The richly textured reds and whites in Krupp Brothers' threefold portfolio are wines to get to know sooner rather than later.

To view photos on Flickr from the inaugural vineyard excursion: http://is.gd/1HUn7
To purchase Krupp Brothers wines, visit: http://is.gd/1HVPf
To learn more about the upcoming Vineyard Excursion and Barbecues contact concierge Amber Lanier at amber@kruppbrothers.com

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Get Fresh and Fishy at Bounty Hunter

2009-07-10T18:07:08Z

There's a fish special every day for lunch and dinner at Bounty Hunter fresh from Oxbow Market's Kanaloa Seafood Market. We recommend the 07 Streamside Sauvignon Blanc as an accompaniment.

Located at 975 First Street, near Main, in downtown Napa, Bounty Hunter serves lunch and dinner 7 days a week. The Wine Bar opens every day at 11 a.m., serving food all day through 10 p.m. The restaurant, wine bar and retail shop stocks 400 carefully selected wines of the world for consumption on premise or to be purchased and taken away. Some 40 wines are offered in flights and by the glass from the restaurant wine list. To see more of the Daily Specials and other menu and wine details, visit: www.bountyhunterwinebar.com

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10 Minutes, $10Pony Express Ride

2009-06-12T18:32:29Z

Locals Only Licensed to Ride Pony Express
A California driver’s license affirming Napa County residency is a ticket to ride the “Pony Express,” at the Bounty Hunter Smokin’ BBQ this season. General Manager Will Wright announced this week that his $10 lunch will be served within 10 minutes after orders are placed at Bounty Hunter’s sidewalk or indoor tables through the Spring and Summer months. For those who just can’t leave their work place or mid-day meetings, takeout orders are encouraged.

True to Bounty Hunter’s Western persona, Will has dubbed his lunch special the “Pony Express,” and serves it in the downtown eatery’s trademark lavish portions. Locals may choose from an array of tasty options including a pulled pork sandwich, a luscious Reuben and Shredded BBQ Chicken, among other nifty nibbles and an array of sides that range from grilled seasonal vegetables to potato salad and coleslaw.

Naturally, every plate includes Guss’ Half Sour Pickles from New York, and Bounty Hunter’s selection of three homemade barbecue sauces. A couple of those details that have earned Bounty Hunter Mark Pope’s carefully honed wine bar and restaurant Award - Winning status Each Pony Express lunch arrives with the diner's choice of non-alcoholic drinks including iced tea, lemonade, ginger ale and root beer. So generous are the portions that those with modest appetites may be content to share their order with a friend.

Located at 975 First Street, near Main, in downtown Napa, Bounty Hunter serves lunch 7 days a week. The Pony Express offer is available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The wine bar opens every day at 11 a.m., serving food all day through 10 p.m. The restaurant, wine bar and retail shop stocks 400 carefully selected wines of the world for consumption on premise or to be purchased and taken away. Some 40 wines are offered in flights and by the glass from the restaurant wine list. To see more of the Pony Express and other menu and wine details, visit: www.bountyhunterwinebar.com

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