A holiday gift guide for the champagne lover in your life. Whether you're a lover of bubbly or of all wine you'll be sure to find the perfect gift for any wino on your list!
10 Things We Learned At The 2018 Pebble Beach Food & Wine
The 2018 Pebble Beach Food and Wine has come and gone and we are SO sad. We had so much fun tasting and nibbling on all the food and wine sent from heaven under one giant white tent. If you are a lover of food, or wine, or both like us, we highly recommend attending. It is seriously so amazing!
We learned so many new things during the weekend, we wanted to put together a list of 10 things we learned at this year's event.
Here they are:
1. The Year of Foie Gras - We are calling this years event "The Year of Foie Gras" because so many of the chefs under the big tent on Saturday and Sunday were serving up delicious bites of foie gras. Eve has always adored Foie gras but Ivy, on the other hand, tends to steer away from these dishes because of the earthy liver taste. This year Ivy couldnt help but fall in love with Foie gras though. This year's chefs foie gras dishes all had such distinct tastes- some were fresh like Hudson Valley's brown butter foie gras crumble & strawberry...or the English pea panna cotta with spring vegetables, Meyer lemon and foie gras by Chef Blom. Foie gras can be made in so many ways it really can be delightful to all pallets!
Hudson Valley's brown butter crumble & strawberry foie gras
English pea panna cotta with spring vegetables, meyer lemon and foie gras by Chef Blom
2. Eat Your Invasives - Chef Lofaro had one of our favorite dishes of the weekend. Why? Because it was delicious, the presentation was beautiful, and the concept behind it was so awesome. Lafaro had made his dish out of kiawe bean flour and strawberry and guava plants which are all invasive plants in his home state of Hawaii. He decided to use these invasives for good - eating! As he removes the plants from the landscape, he uses it to create this delicious dish. No waste for the bettering of the ecosystem. SO COOL!
Eat Your Invasives! kiawe, walawf, and white bread poke by Chef Lofaro
3. Time For Vegas - We were invited to the Venetian Hotel happy hour on Saturday evening. This event was held at the fire pits at the Inn at Spanish Bay. The happy hour included a few signature cocktails that were tasty and unique and Chef Lorena Garcia was serving up delicious tacos! Ivy has only been to Vegas overnight on her way back from college and Eve has NEVER been! From what The Venetian did with this event, we know where we're headed next! Vegas Baby! We're planning to go to Vegas in the next several months to get the FULL Vegas experience!
4. There really is no substitute for bubbles - This year we were lucky to catch up with our "spirit sommelier" Kim Beto and attend his Sunday Bubbles Seminar, which is similar to the Big Bottle Bubbles seminar we attended in 2016. If you love champagne like us, you MUST attend this seminar. At 10 am on a Sunday you are greeted with a tasting flight of 9 different champagnes/sparkling wines to taste along with your new best friends (the five champagne experts on the panel).
This year our favorite quotes from the seminar were:
Magnums are the perfect size for two if only one is drinking.
Drink Champagne right out of the bottle! "great on buses when you don't have glasses" - Kim Beto
Sabering party "If you haven't had one you're not living" - Kim Beto
England is the new "up and coming" producer of sparkling wines. Two of the nine wines we tasted were from Jolly Old England and we were shocked at how delicious they were! We honestly didn't think good wine could come from such a wet, mild climate. Boy, were we wrong!
Us with "spirit sommelier" Kim Beto at Sunday Bubbles
5. Good bread and butter is one of life's greatest simple pleasures - We are always down to eat fresh bread and homemade butter, but it's not something you are expecting to eat at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine. A day full of foie gras and delectable cheeses is more the norm. However, this year we stumbled upon the Kerrygold butter booth and were pleasantly surprised and instantly comforted by the simplicity of quality bread and butter. After hours of trying new wines and rich bites, the bread and butter was a welcomed change! Such a simple food really can be delicious.
6. Lanson Champagne is still our favorite! - We are always looking for new champagnes to try but we honestly still adore Lanson Champagne the most. #sorrynotsorry
8. Berries by themselves - Driscoll always makes an appearance at the PBFW event. The berries are served as is and are always one of our favorite snacks in between the richer bites chefs prepare. The acidity and sweetness wake up our pallet so they are ready to try the next thing! We also loved the tasty berry popsicles they handed out as we all left the tent.
9. Sake for wellness sake - This year we sampled TYKU sake which has a variety of flavors. Tyku is a clean alternative to wine because it has lower acidity, no sulfites which sometimes irritate people, and has no tannins. You can literally "unwine" with TYKU. Our favorite flavor was the refreshing cucumber. We think it may be time to explore the world of sake soon.
10. There really is NOTHING like PBFW - We haven't been able to attend any of the other Food and Wine events around the world but we have been told by many who have that the Pebble Beach Food and Wine is the BEST. And jousting by the location, the chef and winemakers who attend, and our experience, we can't see how anywhere else can compare!
Avacado, mint and cucumber shooter topped with créme fraîche and wild flowers
Bone marrow, butterscotch, panna cotta with blueberry and bacon relish by Chef Jin from Paws Up Resort
It was our Mom's birthday on Sunday we were so happy to be able to spend the day sipping and tasting with her!
Kona kampachi tartar with shallots, chives, avacado puree, radish, lemon aioli and honey crumble.
Marinated salt spring mussels
Ivy & Eve Champagne-rita
Last weekend we had a family get-together to watch some Sunday Night Football. We made Mexican food and wanted to try and make a bubbly cocktail to go with the feast. Right then and there, the Ivy & Eve Champagne-rita was born.
At first we were apprehensive about mixing sparkling wine with anything, let alone tequila! We shuddered at the thought of wasting sparkling wine, in the event that the concoction tasted awful. Luckily, we ended up LOVING it so much we are making it a signature Ivy & Eve cocktail from now on (we knew it was good when Ivy, who cringes at the thought of a shot of tequila, sipped on hers rather quickly). We hope you try it out and let us know what you think!
Tip: Sip slowly as this has quite a bit of alcohol (about 1/2 a glass of champers and 1 shot of tequila).
xxx Ivy & Eve
Makes one drink.
Ingredients:
1/2 of a lime
2 tsp agave syrup
1 shot (1.5 oz.) tequila
Ice
Champagne or other brut sparkling wine
Directions:
In a tall glass, juice 1/2 of a lime and add the agave syrup, tequila, and a few ice cubes. Stir until cold.
Pour the mixture into a champagne flute.
Top with Champagne of your favorite bottle of bubbles.
Garnish with a twist of lime.
Enjoy!
Cranberry-Rosemary Champagne Cocktail
The holidays go with champagne like Christmas goes with Santa. So naturally we drink champagne during the holidays...a lot. With all of the festivities surrounding the season, it is one of the busiest times for everyone, so many parties to attend and to host. We decided to create a holiday cocktail that is simple, festive, and almost entirely effortless. This drink combines our favorite drink champagne, festive cranberries, (we recommend making our Sugar Dusted Cranberries, but plain works too), rosemary (basically the tasty version of a Christmas tree), a splash of simple syrup or bitters. Put them together and you get a drink that will simply WOW your guests and leave you time to actually enjoy your party! You're welcome.
xxx Ivy & Eve
Ingredients:
- Cranberries 2-3 for each cocktail (see how to make these pretty & tasty Sugar Dusted Cranberries HERE)
- Sprigs of rosemary 1 for each cocktail (length depends on champagne glass 3-4" should work)
- 1 bottle of Champagne
- Simple syrup left over from the Sugar Dusted Cranberries (optional)
- Your favorite bottle of bitters (optional)
Directions:
- Remove leaves off the bottom half of the rosemary sprigs.
- Slowly poke the stem through each cranberry one at a time.
- Pour champagne in glass. (add simple syrup from the Sugar Dusted Cranberries recipe for a touch of sweetness and/or a dash of bitters)
- Place cranberry-rosemary garnish on each glass.
- Serve!
Cheers!
Autumn Champagne Cocktail
We love champage, and by now you probably know we LOVE autumn, so what better than combining two things we can't live without?! We love drinking champagne on its own but sometimes it's fun to spruce it up a bit and make a champagne cocktail. With all the autumn festivities going on, we started brainstorming cocktail ideas. Quickly, we narrowed it down to something with champagne and then decided to pair it with the quintessential fall apple cider. We are pretty happy with the results and it takes 5 minutes or less to make! This cocktail is perfect for any fall gathering and screams to be served during Thanksgiving dinner.
xxx Ivy & Eve
Makes 1 cocktail
Ingredients:
1 bottle of brut champagne or sparkling wine (we used Charles Ninot Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc)
1 jug apple cider
Caramel sauce (we used this Torani caramel sauce)
Small plate of brown sugar for rimming
Your favorite bitters (we used Angostura)
Directions:
Drizzle the caramel sauce on champagne flute rim.
Turn over the flute and roll the rim in the brown sugar.
Add a dash of bitters.
Pour about 1.5 oz (one shot) of apple cider into the champagne flute.
Pop that champagne!
Pour champagne into flute, fill to brim.
Cheers!
Santa Lucia Highlands Gala
The Santa Lucia Highlands Gala (also called the SLH Gala) is an event put on each year that showcases 40 plus local wines grown in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA (American Viticultural Area...fancy talk for a grape growing region). On top of premier wines, the event has small bites of some of the best local flavors. This year the event was held at Mer Soleil Winery and Vineyard. Surrounded by vineyards and sunshine, it was the perfect setting for a wine party! This event is really unique because only wineries that produce wines from grapes grown in the SLH are invited. You can taste anything from dry Rieslings to bold Syrahs. Some of our favorite wineries attended such as Morgan Winery, Joyce Vineyards, Boekenoogen, and Scheid Vineyards. We found a few new favorites along the way though. The Odonata winery had a very dry riesling which was fun to try. While we were talking to the winemaker Denis, he mentioned having a sparkling wine down the road at his wine tasting room and winery. So naturally we stopped in for a glass on our way home, and left with two bottles. Oops! Here is a link to their online shop.
As for the small bites, options ranged from a huge cheese table presented by the local Star Market grocery store, to waffles with fresh sweet corn topped with lobster from Chef Soerke from Basil. Just delicous! If you needed a break from the wine you could stop at the Bar Cart Cocktails Co. table where Katie was serving chilled herbal tea made from ingredients picked on the Apex Vineyard in the SLH.
On our way home we stopped at Joyce winery to regroup with friends. We caught a glimpse of their new tasting room (scheduled to open this summer) and jumped in a few tanks before heading home. Shout out to our dear friend J for hooking us up with tickets to this event! It was fab!
xxx Ivy & Eve
What a view!!!
YUMM from Chef Todd at Tarpy's
Delicious Noodles from Shiho at Ocean Sushi
Eve used to work at a tasting room so when Morgan needed a helping hand, she gladly stepped in! Photo by: Morgan Winery
Katie from Bar Cart Cocktails Co. pouring some of her tasty tea!
Goofing off at Joyce! :)
Rosé Roundup + Free May Calendar!
May is just one of those "happy " months. The weather is warming, the flowers are in full bloom, and the days are getting longer. When the days get warmer and longer, we love to come home after work and enjoy a glass of rosé together on our patio. Rosé has become very popular in the past few years. Many wineries have come out with crisp, dry, and minerally rosés which we LOVE! If you haven't tried rosé yet, we dare you to test some of our favorites!
To go along with our pretty pink drink, we have paired some of our favorite rosy fashion favorites. Ivy designed the tote, and we can't wait until we get the samples in!
Ivy also made the adorable and FREE printable calendar. We both have one pinned at our desks at work to remind us that life is better when seen through rosé colored glasses. Print it out and enjoy!
xxx Ivy & Eve
** Calendar not available anymore
Bubbles and Bites: Pebble Beach Food and Wine 2016
For the past nine years, Pebble Beach plays host to over 100 top chefs and 250 wineries at the Pebble Beach Food and Wine, making it the West Coast’s premier food and wine event. Over four days, there are countless events such as cooking demos, wine tastings, and dinning events. We had the good fortune of getting tickets for Sunday’s top two events, The Big Bottle Bubbles champagne seminar, and the Lexus Grand Tasting.
We started off at the Inn at Spanish Bay for our Big Bottle Bubbles seminar at the early hour of 10:00 AM. Held in the Grand Ballroom at the Inn, we arrived stylishly late (some confusion about the location on our part) and sat down to a beautiful spread of nine champagnes to taste! We quickly knew we were with hundreds of like minded folk when the host of the seminar opened the talk with saying that 10:00 AM is a perfectly acceptable time to be drinking nine glasses of champagne because:
“Champagne is breakfast in a glass.” - Kim Beto
All of the champagnes we tasted were from magnum bottles, which is 1.5 liters (equivalent to 2 regular 750ml bottles). This size is preferred for aging by many winemakers and sommeliers. This seminar was super fun and we learned so much that we will be doing a longer post on all the great info we got from our sommelier hosts. So stay tuned! We also found our new favorite champagne, Lanson, which happens to be one of the oldest champagne houses. More on this also to come!
After the seminar, we headed straight to the Lexus Grand Tasting. We met our wonderful parents at the door, and began our 3 hour culinary adventure! With over 300 wines to sample and 30 top west coast chefs’ bites to try, we made a game plan to stick with bubbles and sample as many bites as possible. Limiting ourselves to one type of wine helped us to not ruin our palate by switching from reds to whites constantly. Plus, we love bubbles (obviously). If we go back next year, we will definitely go for both days! It was impossible to try everything in the 3 hours. Next year is the 10th anniversary and we are sure it will be an event not to be missed!
Here are a few fun facts we learned at the events:
Over 1 ton of butter was purchased for this 4 day event.
One sommelier suggests drinking champagne with In-N-Out burgers.
Chocolate covered chicharrones are now our favorite bar snack thanks to Tarpy's chef Todd Fisher.
