Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/80298
Karl's Korner Thoughts from Wente Vineyards' Fifth- Generation Winegrower Karl Wente As nights begin to get cooler and summer draws to its bittersweet end, we enter one of my favorite times of the year in the Livermore Valley—harvest. Each vintage, I look forward to spending fi ve straight months at home, working with the grapevines and our winemaking facilities to shape the imprint of each of our wines. Going into harvest, any winemaker Lazy Dog Café's founder and CEO Chris Simms built his restaurants' bar program to be "approachable, yet adventurous." T Off the Chain at Lazy Dog echnically speaking, Lazy Dog Café is a casual chain restaurant. Yet if you visit any of the ten locations spread throughout the greater Los Angeles/Orange County area, you will not be bombarded with random paraphernalia plastered on walls, nor will you be presented with completely predictable food options. What you will fi nd, though, is a drinks program that rejects the notion of playing it safe, a welcome departure from other eateries of Lazy Dog's ilk. Familiar brands serve as building blocks for atypical libations that virtually look foreign in a chain setting, like their Cucumber and Mint Martini featuring housemade syrup or their rotation of seasonal, locally sourced fruit cocktails served in rustic Mason jars. The unique bar program perfectly exemplifi es Lazy Dog's overarch- ing mission to blend coziness with progression. "Our goal is to be approachable, but adventurous," explains Chris Simms, Lazy Dog's founder and CEO. "We strive to be affordably priced and comfortable, yet at the same time we want to make sure we are always pushing the envelope within our genre." —Rich Manning Zig Zag Momentum A would say it is important to outline a set of goals that one wishes to achieve during the season. For me, these goals remain constant: to use every ounce of my being to make the best possible decisions so I can make the best possible wine. I do this by making a concerted effort to stay in the present, control what I can and surrender what is out of my hands. I use what nature gives me each year and apply what I have learned from past vintages. Each harvest is a personal learning experience for me and helps to continue my development as a winemaker. I hope you will be able to sit down on a relaxing early September night, drink a glass of wine and enjoy the fruits of every winemaker's labor. sk any Seattle cocktailian about Zig Zag and you will hear nothing but respect. This small, hidden-away gem, located half-way down the Hill Climb across from Pike Place Market is said to be a mecca for mixologists and the trade in-the-know. But try to get Zig Zag's Bar Manager Ben Perri to tell you the secret behind his success and he humbly says, "We respect our customers. They are spending their hard-earned money, their time; we need to give them what they want, not what we think they want." Perri admits he is a student of human nature, and Seattle's multi-cultural environ- ment intrigues him. Named after an old accordion-shaped bar tool, not the rolling paper, Zig Zag may be as good a place to pick up the important trends as it is to understand the psychology behind them." —Meridith May Zig Zag Bar Manager Ben Perri with Matthew Freerks of Pacifi c Wine & Spirits/Washington. september 2012 / the tasting panel / 17 PHOTO: JOANN ARRUDA