Join Bottle Rocket and Wine Shoe for their first wine tasting event of 2012. The event will be held at Bottle Rocket in Castleberry Hill for a tasting of select wines from The Wine Shoe. Led by Wine Shoe owner, Nora Wiley, the tasting will be held on Monday, January 30 at 7 pm. Bottle Rocket will be making a unique selection of small bites to pair with the wines. I’ll be in attendance signing copies of my book, Food Lovers’ Atlanta.

Who: Wine Lovers and Foodies
What: Wine Tasting with select varietals from The Wine Shoe + Food Lovers’ Atlanta book signing
Where: Bottle Rocket, Castleberry Hill, 180 Walker Street, Atlanta, GA 30313
When: Monday, January 30, 7pm,
Cost: Wines are free to taste, specially priced appetizers available.

Drop by on January 30 to taste carefully selected wines of different varietals. It is it a treat to have Nora Wiley guide the tasting as her wine classes are wildly popular. No Bottle Rocket event would be complete without our delicious bites. There isn’t a menu, but know the bites will be crafted to pair expertly with the wines samples.

My book, will be available for purchase for $15 (cash only). It maps out the best restaurants in Atlanta from mom and pop, hole in the wall places to fancy five star restaurants. I’ve scoured the city to find the best restaurants on any budget, in any neighborhood, encompassing all the terrific cuisines we have at our disposal. It is a terrific resource for those visiting Atlanta on business or pleasure or for Atlanta residents who want to get out and explore the city but aren’t sure where to start.

There are also features like:

* Nightly Specials at different restaurants
* Insider tips for many restaurants that only regulars are privy to
* Food festivals and culinary events
* Atlanta chefs that have appeared on Top Chef
* Recipes from popular Atlanta Restaurants

Here’s what some other folks had to say about the book:

The Atlanta Journal Constitution: “Keep it in the glove compartment when you want something more detailed than a Zagat Survey..” Read More
Examiner.com
Gilt City “The latest gourmet bible covers everything from haute cuisine to food trucks and, with its convenient carrying size, makes finding a good meal easy..”Read More at Gilt City
Roswell Patch

I’ve eaten at the Capital Grille before and always have been impressed. With locations around the country (I believe they have 43), it is a restaurant you know you can walk into in any city and be treated with amazing service and have a damn fine steak too. So, when I was invited to the preview the Generous Pour Wine Event, I was thrilled? Terrific food, service and I get to be one of the first to sample some unique wines? You don’t have to twist my arm.

The Generous Pour Wine event offers guests the chance to taste nine varietals ranging from bubbly to full-bodied reds to a Port. These wines are selected by Master Sommelier, George Miliotes – Twitter @TheWineExpert – Tweet him, he’ll tweet you back! He even hosted a live webcast during the tasting where we were able to tweet to him and ask questions.

Ample servings of nine rare and limited vintage varietals – all for just $25 per person (with dinner entree purchase) from July 12 through September 4. The collection includes wines from all over – Spain, California, Australia and Italy. So no region is excluded. I loved that I was able to try wines that would normally be out of price range like the Freemark Abbey, Cabernet Bosche, 2003 which if I’m not mistaken is about $250 a bottle. The other thing I appreciated is that everyone at the Capital Grille is friendly and helpful and not snooty at all even if you don’t know much about wine.

I’m not usually a fan of white wine and Chardonnay is my least favorite but I’m so thrilled that I tried the Chateau St. Jean, Belle Terre, 2008. This wine was fruity and citrusy, with not a hint of oak that is typical of Chardonnays. It is my new favorite white. My favorite of the reds and the clear winner that night was the Chalk Hill Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma 2006. It paired nicely with my Kona Sirloin. I’d have put a picture of it below, but let’s just say the camera didn’t love it as much as I did.

Guests may sample all nine wines or they may choose to have multiple tastings of one or more of their favorites from The Generous Pour – their server will guide them through the experience, suggesting pairings for each course ordered and providing each person with a summary of tasting notes. The restaurant will also prepare custom wine flights upon request, for those guests interested in comparing and contrasting The Generous Pour selections.

The Generous Pour Wine Event Highlights from this summer’s collection of choice whites and reds are:

· Tarima Hill Monastrell, 2009 – Making its U.S. debut at The Capital Grille this summer, this spectacular varietal is setting a new standard for Spanish medium-bodied red wine.

· Chalk Hill Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 – Named for the volcanic chalk under the vineyard’s hillside surface, which gives a delightfully unique quality to the wine’s flavor, this rich, dense wine is one of Sonoma Valley’s best.

· Marquis de la Tour, NV – This sparkling “bubbly” hails from a vineyard in France’s Loire Valley, which has been producing excellence since 1885.

· Conte Brandolini Vistorta Merlot, 2006 – Harvested from 100-year-old vines in a small vineyard in Northeast Italy, this merlot epitomizes powerful elegance.

Don’t forget the Generous Pour Wine event at The Capital Grille ends on September 4, so you have just over a month to take advantage.

255 East Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
The Capital Grille Website

• Pickled Georgia Peach Salad arugula, pecans,
  goat cheese and pecan vinaigrette

• Summer Ceviche Georgia shrimp, Roma tomatoes and cucumbers
  …Chilled Roasted Tomato Soup housemade corn crackers

• Seared Sea Scallops Romesco-style pan sauce,
  Georgia peanuts and okra

You’ll also linger with a tasting of light, perfect-for-summer wines:
Crios Torrontes | Paul Hobbs Crossbarn Chard
Vietti Arneis | Stephen Vincent Crimson
Janasse Cotes du Rhone
Educated Guess Cabernet Sauvignon
Paul Mathews TNT Pinot Noir
Byron Chardonnay | Chehalem Inox Chard
Eroica | Hangtime Arroyo Pinot Noir
Le Cengle | Montevina Barbera
Nopa Vinho Verde | Cims de Porerra

The price is only $30/person including tax and gratuity! Sounds like a deal to me! Space is limited, so get your tickets today http://tinyurl.com/sckvlin?gerlearn.

South City Kitchen Vinings
1675 Cumberland Parkway SE
Smyrna, Georgia

Taste of Atlanta had its Ninth year and I just attended for the first time. One of the biggest food festivals in the Southeast, it is well-attended by foodies and not-so-much foodies alike. There were over 80 restaurants that participated in this two day event on October 23rd and 24th. Weather this time of year can be dicey – warm with low humidity or the first cold spell of the season can hit. Luckily the weather could not have been more perfect, which meant peak attendance both days.

Had I been a bit smarter, I’d have planned my visit a bit better than I did. Instead of walking around scoping out the goods, I should have consulted my guidebook and mapped out a strategy. Sad to say I missed out on Empire State South, The Sound Table and Grindhouse Killer Burgers. But at least I know better planning for next year. Thanks to the folks at 360 Media for media passes. You guys rock!

I’d always wanted to try NOON Mitdtown but never made it there. Luckily for me, they had the two menu items I’d been lusting after – The Stack and Homemade Meatloaf Sandwich. And, oh yes, were they worth the wait. Food Porn (The Stack from NOON Midtown – Biscuit with fried chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese and sausage gravy):

Celeb Sightings – Anthony Bourdain and The Sheik from Sheik Burritos and Kabobs:

While there’s no argument that I stuffed my face, and noshed on some delightful goodies, I know I didn’t get to take in nearly as much as I would have liked to. Yes, even I can only eat so much. However, some of the highlights for me were:

• Pork Tostada from Salt Factory

• The Stack from Noon Midtown

• Everything from Bhojanic

• Short Ribs from Dogwood

• Sweet Potato Pancakes from Highland Bakery

In addition to food tastings, there were VIP tastings tents (beer, wine and exclusive tastings) as well as a new event called Inside the Food where well-known Atlanta chefs give a one hour demo in their area of expertise. I snuck in the VIP tasting tent a bit early on Sunday and was lucky to get some time alone with Reid from Hop City Brewery. This dude knows his beer! He gave me and Glen our own private beer tasting. W00T!

We drank so much beer, that there’s no way we could sip on any wine.  It was blazing hot in the tents anyway, which didn’t really lend itself to sipping on any red wine. But they had a few takers.

Hugh Acheson (Empire State South), Joe Truex (Watershed), and Jason Paolini (Holeman & Finch) were just a couple of the chefs doing demos on the Inside the Food Studio cooking demos. These demos are limited to 50 guests and I was lucky enough to attend Holeman & Finch’s event and learn the secret to the Best Burger in America according the Food Network.

Jason brought some preformed patties and said it is pretty much just a mixture of ground and chuck, although he wouldn’t share the exact ratio. He did they say Holeman & Finch grinds their own meat for their much sought after 10 o’clock burger, but if you don’t have your own meat grinder (and seriously, who does?) you can get some good meat from a butcher. They use red onions, kraft american cheese and house made pickles. They serve their burgers up with house made ketchup and mustard. Oh yeah, they bake their own bread too. I was sitting next to the manger of their bakery, who told me there’s a lot o’ butter in those buns. My first Holeman & Finch burger ever was just as juicy and delicious as I had anticipated. What a great wrap up to the Taste of Atlanta!

Two suggestions for next year:

1. Restaurants I know we are in the south, but could you please come up with something other than Shrimp and Grits?
2. VIP tents were hot as blazes. Can we not have these next year?

Registration begins at 1 and registration is at Soho. Buy tickets in advance as they are only $5 and get there early as parking will be extremely limited.

Saturday, April 10th (Tour 1PM – 7PM)
Registration from 1PM – 6PM @ Soho 4300 Paces Ferry Rd 30339
Cover:  $5 Advance, $10 Door
Portion of proceeds benefits Small Dog Rescue.

Participating Restaurants:
Social Vinings
Vinings Inn
Garrison’s
Soho
Noche

For more information including sample menus click here.