California's First Premium Winery: Sonoma County Wine Country WINE TV
Historic Wineries of California: Buena Vista Winery
Buena Vista Winery is a winery located in Sonoma, California, United States. It is the oldest commercial winery in California. It was founded by Agoston Haraszthy in 1857.
wineoh.tv
The Golden State's deep history helps make it one of the world's richest wine regions and the past is certainly present at Buena Vista Winery. The Sonoma staple is a California Historic Landmark with a past dating back to the mid-1800's. In this video, Wine Oh TV's Monique Soltani takes us on a trip back in wine time and shows us how a changing of the guard has the winery looking at the past and preserving the future.
Beautiful California Wineries
One of the great secrets of California that hides behind the beautiful beaches, the big cities, and all the glamour that California is known for is the wineries. California wineries are incredible. They're perfect for weddings, fun for tours and the wine is pure and the best. Visit to learn more today!
Mitch Cosentino Discusses Cabernet Franc
Mitch has been making a 100% Cabernet Franc since 1985, perhaps longer than most, if not all producers, in the Napa Valley. Cabernet Franc ripens late and the key is to find the right location, color and ripeness and manage/eliminate the green, grassy attributes that Cab Franc can possess if picked too early.
Franciscan Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009 - Two Thumbs Up Wine
ThumbsUpWine.com: The Franciscan Napa Valley Chardonnay 2009 is for the fans of the true California big butter and oak style. And the finish just goes on and on in the right way. Certainly feels bigger and more expensive than the $15 average retail.
A tour of Thomas Keller's $10 million French Laundry remodel
(22 Mar 2017) A TOUR OF THOMAS KELLER'S $10 MILLION FRENCH LAUNDRY REMODEL
On a sunny morning in Napa Valley, America's most celebrated chef is reflecting on his career and the culinary empire that it spawned. Someday, he says, the dream is to return full-time to the place it all started, an old stone cottage known as the French Laundry.
At 61 years old, Thomas Keller entertains the thought of slowing down. Just not right now.
He's got new restaurant projects underway in Miami and at New York City's Hudson Yards. He recently flew to Hollywood for a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live. And he's happily nearing completion of a $10 million renovation at the French Laundry, the fine dining mecca he opened in 1994 that's still booked solid a month in advance.
Keller says he remade the restaurant to ensure it thrives for the next 20 years. Most of the changes are behind-the-scenes. There's a state-of-the-art 2,000-square-foot kitchen that reopened last month, a 16,000-bottle wine cellar, extensive solar paneling, a new office annex and 9,000 square feet of new landscape design. The renovation took more than two years and was not stress-free.
For weeks, I would wake up in the middle of the night and think, Oh my God, I ruined the French Laundry, said Keller, who holds three coveted Michelin stars for the restaurant, and another three for its New York counterpart Per Se, which he opened in 2004. Keller is the only American chef, past or present, with two sets of three-star Michelin restaurants. The French Laundry has twice topped the influential World's 50 Best Restaurants list, also unprecedented for an American chef.
On a tour of the new kitchen and the French Laundry's lush culinary garden, Keller is vocally enthusiastic about the upgrades. He is also gracious, and humble, when asked about his significance to the culinary world.
I don't wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and go, 'I'm looking at the greatest chef in America.' It very seldom comes up for me personally, he says. But when the issue is raised, he feels an enormous amount of responsibility, that burden of responsibility on my shoulders to make sure that I'm trying to exemplify what that chef would be like.
Keller is clearly mindful of his legacy, which is part of the inspiration for the French Laundry's remodel.
As a measure of his ambition, Keller compares it to the renovation at one of the world's great museums, the Louvre, and how I.M. Pei's 1989 addition of the glass pyramid added an element of timeless modernity to a historical site.
The Louvre was iconic. It was historic. Everybody knew it. And the French Laundry kind of represented that for me, said Keller, who even presented his architect with two pictures of the museum _ one pre-I.M. Pei and one after _ to capture the essence of his vision.
Keller teamed up with Snohetta, an architecture and design firm that spearheaded the recent three-year renovation of another museum, San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art. The restaurant stayed open during the construction, but the culinary staff relocated to a temporary kitchen built inside four shipping containers. Final touches on landscaping are wrapping up this summer.
To actually stand in the new kitchen is the ultimate reward. It's absolutely amazing, says 36-year-old chef de cuisine David Breeden.
The countertops were raised several inches from the standard height to avoid backaches. There's a ventilated ceiling that does away with the typical noisy overhead hoods. Now they're embedded in the ceiling with infared censors that gauge the appropriate speed, rather than whirring at high all day long.
The attention to detail is typical of Keller, says Breeden, who has worked for him at the French Laundry and Per Se for 12 years.
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive:
Inside chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry remodel
Celebrated chef Thomas Keller has just opened a state-of-the art new kitchen at his famed French Laundry after spending $10 million on an extensive renovation to the Napa Valley restaurant. (March 22)
Subscribe for more Breaking News:
Get updates and more Breaking News here:
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.
AP’s commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.
Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content - we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe:
Celebrity Chef Arrested for DUI
On Thursday, it was reported that Celebrity chef Michael Chiarello, who is best known for his Easy Entertaining show on the Food Network, has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and drug possession in Napa County. The California Highway Patrol said that Chiarello was arrested after his car was stopped a couple miles near the town of Yountville, where Chiarello has a restaurant named Bottega. A spokesman for the chef released a statement saying that Chiarello was embarrassed and apologizes to his family, friends and business colleagues, adding that the chef intends to fight misdemeanor charges.
This video was produced by YT Wochit Entertainment using
Inside chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry remodel
(22 Mar 2017) Inside chef Thomas Keller's French Laundry remodel
You can license this story through AP Archive:
Find out more about AP Archive: