Yesterday we attended an event which puts a new concept into wine tastings.  The New Zealand in a Glass Tasting included  a live performance by Maori musicians and dancers.  We loved watching this and then moving on to tasting some excellence vintages from both the North and South islands of New Zealand.
The idea came to us that this would be a nice addition at more tastings.
Say a Napa tasting of its world famous vintages.  How about a performance from some well aged San Francisco hippies doing some songs from "Hair" before the wine starts to flow?
When the  Maori performance was complete we settled down to tasting some of the 64 wines being presented by 12 wineries.  When it comes to New Zealand wines think Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.  And of interest is the fact that outstanding vintages of these varietals are produced in both the North and  South Islands of the country. 
However besides the two leading varietals other wines were on display including Chardonnay, Riesling,  Syrah, Gewirztraminer, and Pinot Gris.  Both North and South islands enjoy vine growing regions that have become famous for the outstanding quality of their wines.  In the south they include the Waipar and Waitari valleys and on North island Hawke's Bay, Gisborne and Marlborough.  It was at Hawke's Bay that the first discoveries were made on how well theSauvignon Blanc varietal does in New Zealand terroirs.
We were interested in the Tohu wines since it was the first Maori owned wine company in New Zealand starting 1998.  We liked Tohu single vineyard 2016 Sauvignon Blanc from North island's famed Marlborough region.  They also produce both a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
At the South island  in the central Otago region Quartz Reef is producing  methode traditionnelle Brut Sparkling wines.   At the very top end of the South island called the Nelson appellation Mahana is producing both Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir and in addition a Pinot Noir Rose. 
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir now enjoy world wide reputations for superior quality and with a variety of styles.  Many are now available in the US and often at a most modest price range.
The New Zealand in the Glass event took place upstairs at the Wine House in west Los Angeles.  The war dances of the Maori musicians took place in the parking lot with the full attention and appreciation of those in attendance.
Event was staged by Allison Levine's Please the Palate.
As for the Maori entertainers, well ,we want to go to New Zealand.

Los Angeles Harbor College has a most interesting Culinary Arts Program.  Third semester students present a series of luncheons each with the cuisine of one country.  Called the 1111 Bistro The Thursday lunch series this Fall represented eight different country cuisines.
Yesterday we attended the luncheon with the foods of Germany. 
We opened with Erste (first) which included Gurkensalat, cucumbers, watercress  and tomatoes in a dill sauce with slices of cured salmon and Bire-Kase Suppe,, a beer cheese soup.
Zweite (second) presented a choice of three entrees  Hahnchen-Apfel Wurst & Rosenkhol which included poached chicken-apple sausage with Brussels sprouts. or Bratwurst & Rotkohl, our choice, which was beef and pork bratwurst in a German style hot dog bun with braised red cabbage.  The third entree was Veganne Wurst & Kartoffelchip a navy bean based sausage served with mustard potato crisps.
The menu was created by students, Kristi Nakashima, Bre Payton and Jimmy Sirum, with all preparation and service by students.  Course instructors were Heamin Hwang-Kim, Jimmy NG and Executive Chef Erik Pastora.
 Desserts were Deutscher Schokoladengenuss (German chocolate delight) which was chocolatge mousse with pecan brittle and coconut whipped cream as well as Butterkekse Hoagie, smooth cherry ice cream sandwiched between two crispy butter cookies.
We were there as members of the Southern California Restaurant Writers and  were much impressed with this luncheon series and the quality of the food and service.  Prices are most modest.
For more information on these luncheons which are available on Thursdays only contact Chef Erik Pastora at culinaryreservations@lahc.edu.

Our stay at Best Western's Lighthouse Hotel had much to do with making our visit to Pacifica memorable.  For one thing its location adjacent to the breaking surf of Rockaway Beach and picturesque sunsets makes for built in entertainment and relaxation.
 Our room offered, besides a long list of amenities, a view of the surf breaking just yards from our  glass patio window.  We had much to  do in exploring what Pacifica has to offer but our hotel and room showed much of its seaside beauty.
We loved the convenience of the  easy access from the amply spaced parking garage to our room and the friendly most efficient staff.
Located in the hotel is the Moonraker Restaurant.  Here again the most comfortable bar and lounge as well as the dining room offers patrons a never ending seascape with both rocky headlands as well as a long sandy beach.  Executive Chef Jason Yeafali and Sous Chef Joel Perez has assembled a most pleasing menu with much seafood starting with a extensive oyster bar, classic soups like clam chowder and lobster bisque and many appetizers.  The main menu has a excellent mix of both land and sea entrees.  There are also three different surf & turf entrees.
Moonraker is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The Best Western Plus Lighthouse Hotel and Moonraker Restaurant are located at 105 Rockaway Beach Ave., just a block off Highway One in Pacifica.  Hotel Telephone 650 355-6300, web www.bestwesternlighthouse.com.  Moonraker telephone 650 557-7025, web www.moonrakerpacifica.com.
Across the street from the Lighthouse Hotel is a legend of the area, Nick's Seashore Restaurant.  A Greek emigrant named Stalios Karagianis came to the coast and in 1927 opened a small eating place.  With a hard to pronounce name, he changed the name to Charles Gust and this is the name the family still uses in operating the restaurant which has grown in size and stature through the decades.
We dined one evening at Nicks and we were not alone, the restaurant was packed.  Fortunate for us our waiter was Tom Schlieve who has been with the restaurant 18 years as is something of a legend himself.  The restaurant menu is huge  and along with the mix of seafood and land entrees much Italian fare as well.
My dining partner and I both love calamari so we opened with a plate of it that we shared.  Then what caught my eye was "Nick's famous grilled crab sandwich",  I love dungeness crab and so ordered the sandwich which arrived topped with tomato on grilled Wedemeyer sourdough which we had open face.  We never touched the bread but feasting on Nick's garlic bread  which is a tradition along with the heaps and heaps of crab.
My dining partner spotted the Coquille St. Jacques.  Here is an entree not often seen on today's menus and since she loves scallops ordered it.  It cam with mushrooms and all sauteed in a while wine hollandaise sauce.
The bar at Nick's often features live entertainment and dancing.
Nick's Seashore Restaurant is located at 100 Rockaway Beach, Pacifica with much free off street parking.  Telephone 650 3900, web www.nicksrestaurant.net.

 We found much of interest in our visit to Pacifica, located just south of San Francisco, which is currently celebrating its 60th year as a California city.
The very word castle brings about interest and imagination so, of course, we had to check out Sam's Castle. 
 And indeed a castle it was situated atop one of the highest points in Pacifica with a view that sweeps over the city and its magical coastline.  I It was built in 1908 by a San Francisco magnate, Henry Harrison McCloskey. His wife was born in Scotland in  a castle so the Pacifica structure was modeled to duplicate it.
 Over the next century the castle had many roles including a speakeasy during Prohibition, a brothel, and during World War ll a Coast Guard barracks.
In 1959 the late Sam Mazza purchased the castle and then filled it with exquisite works of art and antiques he had acquired  during his career as a decorator for 20th Century Fox.
After his death the Sam Mazza Foundation took over the property which has been renovated and is now open to public tours by the Pacifica Historical Society.
We were met and greeted by Jeanette Cool, executive director, of the Mazza Foundation who related its history to us. 
Then Scott Cunningham of Cunningham Design, who has been responsible for the renovation and remodeling, took us on a personal tour of all the castle rooms and described some of the fantastic paintings and works of marble sculpture.
It proved to be a remarkable experience.
Sam's Castle is located at 900 Mirador Terrace, Pacifica, web www.sammazzafoundation.org.

The seaside location of some of Pacifica's restaurants greatly added to our  dining experiences during our visit.  At Puerto 27, which features Peruvian foods, we had a table with a window  view of the rugged coastline and lines of breakers.
This restaurant is the true success story of Julio Perez and his wife Zoila who left Lima, Peru for a better life in the US.  Now Puerto 27 has four locations in the San Francisco area.  We did have the opportunity to chat with Julio Perez and he gave us a tour of the restaurant with its three stories,  all with sweeping views of the adjacent ocean.
This is a big restaurant with a large bar and lounge and several dining rooms.
Our waitress, Maria, was most helpful as we studied the many Peruvian Ceviche and Antcuchos, street style skewers, on the menu.
I ordered the Puerto Pasta with shrimp, chorizo, basil, aji amarillo cream and shaved manchego cheese.  It arrived in a huge bowl with about twice the amount of pasta I could eat.
My dining partner went with the salmon with was grilled with squid ink calamari rice and mango salsa criolla.
It would take many visits to explore the many interesting appetizers and entrees on this menu.
For dessert I ordered the vanilla bean pisco  flan with roasted strawberries while my partner decided on the Mango cheese cake with raspberry sauce.
Puerto 27 is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with a Brunch menu on weekends.
It is located at 525 Crespi Drive, Pacifica, Ca. Telephone 650 733-7343, on the web at www.puerto27.com.

When visiting a new town or city it is always a good idea to make the local visitors bureau your first point of call.  Almost every place has some points of special interest that require local knowledge to learn about and locate.
So when we set out to stay in Pacifica and learn about the city and what it has to offer our first stop was to the office of the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau.  There we met Jamie Monozon who is chief executive officer.
She had all kinds of suggestions for us and much written material as well.
 Pacifica which is currently celebrating its 66th year as a California city.  Situated only a few miles from San Francisco Pacifica has through the years been able  to develop its own decor, ambiance and services that are very much its own identify.
Geography has played a role in this development of a city that has managed to maintain an image of a small friendly community while being surrounded by larger more dense cities on three sides.  To the north San Francisco, to the east, a range of mountains, separate it from the vast populations of the Bay Area Peninsula.
On our recent visit to Pacifica we immediately noticed this small community friendliness with almost everyone we met.  Here people have time to get to know each other and are most willing to welcome and aid visitors.  This framed by the scenic rugged Pacific Ocean shoreline that here alternates between sandy beaches and rugged rocky headlands.
Besides offering all the basic services of the community Pacifica has much to offer the visitor.  There are a number of beautiful inns and hotels with frontage by the ocean including The Lighthouse Hotel which we stayed.   Also some exceptional restaurants, some with an ethnic cuisine, that also took in the beauty of the coast and sea.
At the Best Western's Lighthouse Hotel our room offered, besides a long list of amenities, a view of the surf breaking just yards from our full glass patio window.  We had much to do in exploring what Pacifica has to offer but our hotel and room showed much of its seaside beauty.
To learn about Pacifica's early history Jamie recommended a visit to the Little Brown Church and its historian Kathleen Manning.  After breakfast we were there in a very short time.  This was another joy about Pacifica, every place we visited was just a few minutes away.
Little Brown Church has a history of its own.  It was built in 1910 just a short distance from the railroad station.  In that era there was a railroad, named Ocean Shore Railroad, that extended from San Francisco along the coast to Santa Cruz.
Over decades the church enjoyed many roles including services, community center and meeting place, a public school and movie house, than headquarters for the Pacifica Police Department.  Now a project under the title Pacifica Community Museum Center has taken over after an extensive renovation.
All of this was related to us by Kathleen Manning who is executive director of the new museum.  Along with Docent Paul Slavers we toured the museum which includes memorabilia from the Ocean Shore Railroad, which ceased operations i 1920,  as well as the early history of the region dating back to the explorations of the Spanish who discovered the region.
The Little Brown Church Museum is located at 1850 Francisco Blvd., in Pacifica.  For hours call 650 359-5462, on the web at www.pacificahistory.org.

We thought Officine Brera was the perfect fit for the ever expanding Art District in downtown Los Angeles.
We were at the restaurant for a special dinner to introduce a new inspired menu for Princess Cruises showplace Sabatini's, its signature Italian restaurant for almost two decades.
 Princess Cruises carried two million guests last year to 360 destinations around the globe.
The new menu items have been crafted by Chef Angelo Auriana who owns Officine Brera as well as The Factory Kitchen, also located in the Arts District.
Some fifty members of the media were in attendance at the dinner featuring the new elevated menu items to be featured on Caribbean Princess and Grand Princess and then expanded to the entire fleet of seventeen ships.
Chef Angelo Auriana was personally on hand to introduce to new menu items.
Our Antipasto was preceded by Villa Sandi Fresco Prosecco.  It was brandade pink snapper mousse with Olivia ciaatta and olive oil.
With Primo our wine was 2016 Poggiotondo Vermentino, a blend of Northern Italian white wines
The dish casarecce curly eggless buckwheat pasta with mushroom sugo and gnocchi piemontesi, house made potato dumplings
Il Secondo course is a famed recipe of  Chef  Auriana, slow braised beef shoulder, root vegetables, potatoes in natural jus.   The 2015 Poggiotondo Toscana IGT wine was a perfect match for this Il Secondo which also included dentice pink snapper filet, artichokes, cherry tomatoes with pisarei e verdure house made bread dumplings
Finishing off this most interesting menu was our Dolce, castagnole freshly fried doughnuts, with sugar and a salty bourbon caramel sauce.
Adopted from an former shoe warehouse Officine Brera is spacious with an artfully crafted cocktail bar and lounge as well as an open kitchen, and both indoor and patio dining rooms.
It is located at 1331 East 6th Street in Los Angeles with a spacious parking area and valet parking. For more information call 213 553-8006,on the web at www.officinebrera.com.

For many Americans the wines of South Africa remain to be discovered.  We already knew about these vineyards and wines grown and made at the very southern tip of the African continent.
However when we attended  the seminar  conducted by Jim Clarke, marketing manager for Wines of South Africa we too learned much about the location of the vineyards and the wines they produce..
 Included was the tasting of three of the region's best known white grape wines and three of the red varietals that are from vineyards located at the very southern tip of the sprawling huge African continent.
Leading white varietal in Chenin Blanc and indeed South Africa enjoys the largest number of Chenin Blanc vineyards of any wine producing country worldwide.  The Fram Chenin Blanc we tasted from Pascal Schidt Selections was a 2014 vintage from the Citrusdalo Mountain region.  It earned high points on our score card.
The Sauvignon Blanc grape does particularly well in the Sanctuary Peak region which enjoys the influence of the southern ocean.  We liked the Downes Family 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from this region for its lush aroma and flavors.  The third white wine we tasted was Colmant Brut from Kysela Pere Et Fils. Ltd which also offers a Colmant Brut Rose.
Growing grapes and making wine has a long history in South Africa.   Grapes arrived with the first European settlers in 1659.  In that era South Africa was most important as an provisioning port for ships moving on to the East Indies and the spice trade.  Then in the 17th century Stellerbosch began the production of red wines.  Today 54 per cent of the  vineyards are planted with white grapes, the most popular Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay and Colombard.   With 45 per cent of the vineyards in red varietals the leaders are Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinotage and Merlot.
The cabernet sauvignon we tasted at the seminar was from the Stellenbosch, Jonkershoek valley region, a Neil Ellis 2013 vintage.  The age showed in this wine with softer tannins and silky smooth on the palate.
We were particularly taken with the Ken Forrester Renegade which is a blend of Shiraz, Mourvedre and Grenache.  We tasted the Renegade 2012 Red Blend and found it remarkable in its light aroma, soft tannins and a lasting finish.  We might add that the first Forrester vineyard dates back to 1659. 
We noted as we moved through the tasting that South African vintners are not in a rush to bring vintages to market.  Many enjoy years of cellar and bottle aging.  Also remarkable was the fact that the highest price for a wine we tasted was $21 retail.
Twenty wineries or their importers were represented at the tasting.  On conclusion of the seminar an excellent buffet luncheon was served.  We were very impressed with the facilities offered at the Marina City Club in Marina Del Mar.  It proved an excellent choice for the South Africa wine event.