The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

Not everything that sparkles in California is gold. Sometimes it's J! With the holiday season approaching, I found myself in Healdsburg in the heart of Sonoma County a week ago speaking at a technology growth and innovation conference . Meeting many cool and impressive techies and social media gurus was a lot of fun. That, plus a picture-perfect 80-degree weather in the middle of November put me in a groovy mood. So on the way back to Palo Alto, I felt like sparkling wine. Sonoma county is relatively well known for a number of reputable sparkling wine producers, who make bubblies in the traditional Champagne method (i.e. second fermentation in the bottle). In my mind, with all due respect to all other methods of getting CO2 into a wine, the method of Champagne is the only way to go for any serious drinkin'! And while nothing touches Champagne itself (with the exception of perhaps Italy's Franciacorta and Trento DOC), our traditional method domestics from Napa, Sonoma and Me...

Yesterday was my first time ever at Pizzeria Delfina . Unthinkable that this San Francisco Italian legend by which all other pizzerias in the Bay Area are measured has evaded me all this time. Opened in 2005 in an attempt to re-create the spirit of Naples, the place seems to be packed every minute it's open. In one word, simply AWESOME! Tiny space, adjacent to the Restaurant Delfina proper (open since 1998), 4 chefs running like hamsters, churning out perfect pizzas, and other delicious accoutrements non-stop all day long. Sitting at the counter in front of the little space they call kitchen, I felt jealous of the business these guys have, and yet I don't think I would want to work like that - these guys are athletes, man! Their Salciccia (sausage) pizza was simply the best sausage pizza I'd ever had. Housemade fennel sausage, tomato, bell peppers, onions, mozzarella - perfect crispy thin crust, bright, fresh tomato sauce, super fresh melt-in-your-mouth clumps of sausage -...