After a number of years of writing a newspaper column called “Art Predator,” on Saturday, November 4, 2007, I registered my Art Predator blog and began posting about an eclectic collection of topics that engages the whole soul– including food, wine, and travel.

Art Predator (CC) Randy Stewart, blog.stewtopia.com. Feel free to use this picture. Please credit as shown. If you are a person that I have taken a photo of, it’s yours (but I’d still be curious as to where it is).

That led to Continue reading →

Tuscany: Olive oil. Bread. Beans. Wine. And tuna?

Tuscany is synonymous for many with CHIANTI — the red wine made famous by the straw bottle that helped it travel here after many World War and other US Veterans grew fond.

While most Americans think of Italian cuisine as being all about pasta, Tuscans are actually known as Continue reading →

Another day, another fire.

Singing Ashes Ashes All Fall Down.

by my front door this morning

That’s what it feels like around here in Ventura County. In 2017 #ThomasFire burned hundreds of homes and other structures in my community and for awhile was the biggest fire ever in California, then last November a mass shooting then a fire, and now this week the Easy Fire and then last night the MariaFire which threatened the Clos des Amis Winery and vineyards where I’ve been interning this year. And these are just the BIG fires…

Continue reading →

I am one of those people who just LOVES Halloween! I’ve always enjoyed dressing up and racing around at night collecting candy– and now at Burning Man collecting experiences! My son always had creative costume ideas that challenged us– one year we BOTH went as Hermes and the outfits were almost completely homemade from thrift store finds.

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Another year my red head went as Tintin (with Snowy of course!) and another year my redhead went as the Riddler; this year I borrowed components for my own take on the Riddler in a vintage black petticoat, tails, and tophat! Rarely did our outfits come out of a box.

So what might pair with an outside of the box Halloween — and a not from a box costume? How about an outside of the box wine like Exitus?

Exitus is definitely a departure from your typical red wine!

For those of you who insist on pairing Halloween candy with wine, here’s a guide: Continue reading →

More #MerlotMe! October is #MerlotMe month and we have three under $30 from three regions of the world to recommend to you.

Previously we compared four merlot from France and California that also were under $30, and we wrote about two from Washington’s L’Ecole No 41 (one at $25 and the other at $37).

Clearly there is plenty of excellent merlot to be found in the under $30 price range! (Is this still part of the Sideways effect of no Merlot Miles?)

Seared ahi with a rub of Italian herbs plus crespelle with ricotta and spinach

On Tuesday, Sue and I were already doing an Italian themed dinner with herbed seared tuna to pair with two Tuscan wines, a Chianti and a Vermentino for this Saturday’s Italian Food Wine Travel taste of Tuscany: read “Tasting Tuscany: Tuna, Beans, EVOO, Chianti, Vermentino #ItalianFWT here  with recipes for the crespelles pictured above and the rub for the tuna as well as the bean recipe.

As we suspected the meal would go with merlot, we decided to open these three bottles up and sample them. What a great idea! Continue reading →

Gretel and Angie are in there somewhere picking… overgrown Viognier and Syrah vineyard in upper Ojai, California.

On Friday, Oct. 25, the final bin of grapes came in to Clos des Amis where I have been interning since January with monthly posts about the experience (here’s September; scroll down for the complete list). Continue reading →