This year’s IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) started Friday morning with overcast skies and cool temperatures, rare for this famed weekend at Linfield College in the heart of Oregon wine country.

Our group spent the day at Belle Pente Vineyard in Carlton, Ore. As the clouds disappeared, we toured the vineyards, learning about the different blocks of Pinot Noir grapes within the vineyard.

 Everyone was then broken into smaller groups of 6 (or so) for a blending exercise, in which we developed a Pinot blend from 3 different blocks of grapes. Cyril Frechier (Sommelier, Campagne, Seattle, Wash.), Fiona Beckett and Fiona Sims (Wine/Food Writers, The 2 Fionas, UK) judged each group’s blend, and much to our excitement, our group won!

 Following the blending exercise, we tasted Pinots from around the world, including Oregon’s own Sokol Blosser and Flowers from Sonoma.

We then moved to a four-course lunch, provided by Portland’s Ben Bettinger of Beaker & Flask. 

First course, cool corn chowder with shrimp; second course, blackened cod with seasonal vegetables; third course, lamb from the Belle Pente property (too busy eating to take a photo); and fourth course, panna cotta with black pepper, seasonal fruit and a shortbread cookie. My oh my, can you say delicious?

As if all of this wasn’t delightful enough, once we returned to campus, we visited the Moonstruck Chocolate booth, where we sampled truffles, as well as the not-yet-released Single Origin dark and milk chocolates. A wonderful cap to our fun-filled day, that is, until we moved on to the dinner festivities.

I recently returned from a trip to the Republic of Georgia where I met with the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss marketing Georgian wines in America.  My host on the trip was Paata Tsiskarishvili from Telavi Wine Cellar.   The cellar’s vineyards are nestled in the middle of the vast and quiet Alazani Valley in the Kakheti wine region, with the snow-capped Greater Caucasus Mountains on one side and the Tsiv-Gombori mountain range on the other.  The vineyards were first planted in 1742, and today, Telavi Wine Cellar exports wine to more than 16 countries around the world.

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting this Kakheti wine region with Paata.   As we drove further outside of Tbilisi on our way to Kakheti, the flat landscape gradually changed to rolling plains covered with grass, small walnut trees, spring wildflowers, lilacs, and newborn lambs and calves. 

When we reached the small hill town of Signakhi, we met and had lunch with John Wurdeman, a young American artist dedicated to resurrecting many of the traditional Georgian handiwork crafts.  John owns Pheasant’s Tears, a winery solely devoted to making qvevri wines: wines that are fermented and aged in clay vessels.   His winemaker, Gela Patalishvili, writes poetry and is from a family boasting eight generations of winemakers. 

During lunch, John taught me about the 10 essential toasts of a Georgian toastmaster (tamada). Leading a form of structured dinner conversation among those gathered, the tamada begins with a toast on one topic, and then others in the group make toasts expanding on the same topic.  Once the entire group has spoken, the tamada moves the discussion on to the next topic.  The topics are major life themes, and the order is always as follows:

1. Glory to God
2. Glory to those with whom you share a roof, such as family, friends, monastic brothers, etc.
3. The purpose of gathering together
4. Parents, ancestors and the blood in your veins
5. Women at the table and women in your life
6. Those who have died and their families
7. New life with children and hope
8. The homeland
9. The grape and wine
10. Beauty
11. Love
12. The Mother of God, the one that gave birth to God.

Sitting in this 300-year-old building in downtown Signakhi, enjoying lunch surrounded by my new friends, I listened to the lively conversation and thought to myself that the art of dinner conversation must certainly have begun in Georgia.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to escort a small group of U.S. journalists to Japan on a food tour of the country.  I can’t possibly begin to chronicle all of the amazing things we saw and did, but here are some highlights:

We began our 10-day visit in bustling Tokyo, where we had the privilege of meeting Elisabeth Andoh, an expert on Japanese cuisine and culture.  Andoh lectured on the “Seasonal Japanese Kitchen” and the importance of seasons and regions.  She explained to us the importance of “Washoku” literally, the “harmony of food” as a way of thinking about what we eat and how it can nourish us.  It was the perfect stage-setting for the days to follow.

Next, we attended FoodEx Japan, Asia’s largest food and beverage exhibition where we had the privilege of sampling more than 90 Japanese products and as a group, were asked to vote on our five favorites. 

At dinner, we were joined by Harumi Kurihara, the “Martha Stewart” of Japan, where we ate dishes from her latest cookbook and drank Shōchū, a distilled beverage made from sweet potato, rice or barley.

The next day, we took the Bullet Train North to Fukushima, where we learned about the art of miso production, met a poultry farmer who fed and treated his chickens as though they were his children, ate Waygu beef, sampled sake from an eighteenth generation sake maker and drank regional beer from a microbrewery.

A flight south to Kumamoto was equally exciting.  A stop at the impressive Kumamoto castle yielded a lunch representative of what would have been available during the reign of the 15th lord in the 1800s, before the invention of soy sauce.  Like most food in Japan, it tasted as spectacular as it looked.

 A dinner with the governor of Kumamoto featured the best sustainably farmed tuna sashimi I have ever consumed in my life. 

During an afternoon visit to the Kumamoto oyster beds, we learned that Kumamotos were exported to the U.S. 60 years ago by order of the Japanese Fishing Association.  There is a government funded effort to again begin cultivating the mollusks in the Fukura Bay.  This never before attempt to farm Kumamotos began in Japan three years ago and is projected to yield one million oysters this year.

The group ate freshly dug bamboo shoots barbequed over bamboo charcoals sandwiched neatly between cinder blocks.  The stunning resulting dish, prepared by the Denkis, a husband and wife team who first began farming bamboo and green tea leaves 40 years ago to pay for their children’s college tuition, bore no resemblance to the bamboo shoots we know. 

Traditional accommodations in Ryokans and multi course dinners followed by steaming hot baths in onsen (Japanese for hot springs), and of course, competitive karaoke, were experiences I will not soon forget.

There is so much we can learn from the Japanese.  The food, while indescribably delicious, is only one piece of what makes this country and its people so lovely. The humility, the civility and the desire to please are genuine and aspiration-worthy.   I, for one, cannot wait to return.

The IACP conference in Portland this April has caused me to reminisce about the last time the IACP came to Portland:  1998.

Portland was a different food town then.  We were just beginning to talk about the amazing products that the Willamette Valley and the Pacific Ocean provides as well as the growing authentic food culture.

As a result of our emerging importance, the 1998 IACP conference attracted many national food luminaries.  Perhaps my favorite was Julia Child.  I met Julia one morning at The Pearl Bakery.   Julia and the majority of attendees on this side trip had arrived by bus. 

I was with Suzanne Hamlin, a food writer for the New York Times and Fran McCullough, a cookbook author.  I had taken them to The Pearl Bakery in my car as I had invited them to have lunch after the tour.   Julia was a friend of Suzanne’s and she asked if she could invite Julia to join us for lunch.     

We had been on a very fast schedule and I hadn’t decided where we should have lunch.  I called Kim Paley at Paley’s.  (They were open for lunch in those days.)  I asked Kim if I could bring Julia Child for lunch in ten minutes with two other food writers.  She happily said yes.

Julia ate two hamburgers with frites along with the Oregon pinot that we ordered.  Julia was a very expansive conversationalist and quite upbeat.  She talked about many things from her time in Paris to living in Santa Barbara. 
She had also been a great friend of James Beard and since Portland was his home town, she wanted to talk about him.  She said that while she brought French cuisine to the American people, it was James who taught Americans their own cuisine based upon wonderful, fresh ingredients. 

I grew up with a grandfather, a butcher, who had a grocery store in Gaston, Oregon.  My uncle farmed onions, hazelnuts and plums.  My mother, a home economist, gave food demonstrations at grange halls.    I understood those food memories.

My lunch with Julia made me very aware of the special food place that Oregon is and very excited to share it’s bounty.

Last month, LANE executed events designed to introduce and educate key media and trade about the olive oils of Spain.  

Two events were held, the first at Spur Gastropub in Seattle, and the second two days later at Mercat a la Planxa in Chicago. 

Spur’s chefs, Chefs Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, were recently called rising star chefs by Food + Wine magazine, and Jose Garces of Mercat recently won the title of the Next Iron Chef. 

Both events included an informative olive oil tasting led by olive oil producer, Rosa Vañó, followed by a six course meal, each dish featuring one of the following varietials: arbequina, hojiblanca, cornicabra and picual.

There’s no denying it: I have a sweet tooth.  So when the opportunity came about to join Moonstruck Chocolate’s Master Chocolatier, Julian Rose on his New York media tour, you better believe I jumped all over it.

Moonstruck is known for its fun, whimsical seasonal collections (like the delicious Pumpkin Patch Truffles I’m indulging in as I type), and their packaging never fails to impress.  But taking a slow bite while I listen to Julian describe the care, creativity, technique and ingredients that go into each hand-crafted morsel, makes me realize just how special these chocolates are.  It’s truly a high-quality chocolate experience. 

It’s no wonder that Julian has just been named one of the Top 10 Chocolatiers in North America.  Cheers to that, from a self-proclaimed chocolate lover!

You’ve got to love working next door to a wine shop that just happens to be co-owned by your agency’s founder.  Just this week I ran into The Cellar Door’s personal wine buyer, Bryan Shuttleworth in the break room.  Bryan, who knows my palate and keeps an eye out for deals for me, had an extra bottle of wine in hand, handed it to me, and said, “Here you go, enjoy!”  Salud Bryan!  I’ll enjoy it tonight with homemade Ribollita.  I love this recipe for it:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/ribollita-soup-699304/

Jeff Davis of Food Fete is partnering with Oregon Bounty to host an invitation-only media event in New York City on October 20th.  This is an incredible opportunity for Oregon’s food and beverage companies to showcase their products in front of influential food writers including Saveur, Food Network, O the Oprah Magazine, Real Simple, AOL Food, People Magazine, Parade and Parents.

I have personally seen the power of Food Fete’s events and they are well worth the investment.  Jeff Davis really delivers on what he promises.  Don’t have the budget to attend?  Two lucky Oregon companies with outstanding products will be chosen to receive exhibitor scholarships which waive the exhibitor fee.  For more information on the event and how to register visit www.foodfete.wordpress.com/forms.

On Friday night, I attended one of the best events of summer: a Plate & Pitchfork dinner at Smith Berry Barn. This particular dinner featured the cuisine of Chef Scott Ketterman from Simpatica Dining Hall and Chef David Kreifels from the newly opened butchery and restaurant, Laurelhurst Market.   The wines were provided by Sokol Blosser Winery, each of which was deftly described by Allison Sokol Blosser. 

The balmy evening began with small bites and a sensational glass of rose of pinot noir.  Glass in hand, we were led on a tour of the family-run Smith Berry farm by one of the proprietors, who encouraged us to sample the ripened berries hanging off the vine.  The tour concluded in the middle of a small orchard filled with a dozen picnic tables. 

We took our seats as Scott and David guided us through the menu, largely starring locally produced Cattail Creek Farms’ lamb.  At the reception, I had the opportunity to meet Cattail Creek owner, John Neumeister.  A friendly, funny, salt-of-the-earth guy, we discussed how he sometimes thinks his lamb are the smart ones, always seeming to find the best perch in the valley from which to graze.

Here’s the full menu (the food was a good as it reads):

• Crisp lettuce with pickled blueberries, Juniper Grove Redmondo cheese and tarragon dressing paired with 2008 Dundee Hills Cuvee Pinot Gris

• Lamb tongue, summer squash and new potato salad with fresh herbs paired with 2006 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir

• Cattail Creek Mixed Grill with Sienna sausages, Provencal style lamb leg and slow smoked ribs with green beans, cherry tomatoes, squash blossoms and torpedo onions with Meditrina

• Warm blackberry buckle with whipped crème fraiche

Aside from the phenomenal food and drink, perhaps the best part about the Plate & Pitchfork series is that they are fundraisers for worthy non-profits.  Our evening’s beneficiary was Oregon Tilth’s Organic Education Center. 

The only negative about Plate & Pitchfork?  This summer’s series is sold out.  I can hardly wait for next year!

James Beard Award Ceremony 2009

This week, I had the remarkable opportunity to attend the 2009 James Beard Award ceremony in New York City.  Akin to the Oscars of the culinary world, winning a Beard Award is the highest honor for food and beverage professionals in America.

This was the ultimate experience for a food lover like me.  Not only did I see Mario Batali, Martha Stewart, Tom Colicchio, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Dan Barber and Ellie Krieger but I was also able to meet (or catch a glimpse of) the journalists whose food stories I have been reading (or more appropriately, salivating over) all these years.  

Did I mention the food?  Wow.  There were more than 20 food stations serving the most unique small bites from a combination of the nation’s most established and up-and-coming chefs.  It’s hard to pick a favorite – they were all amazing.  However, if I am forced to pick, my favorite three were dishes from:  

 Culinary royalty Michelle Bernstein.  Her Sea Urchin Cuban Sandwich and Coral Cortadito was mind blowing. 
 Chicagoan Carrie Nahabedian’s Cured Ice-Caught Great Lakes Whitefish and Door County Golden Whitefish Caviar with Crème Fraîche, Candied Meyer Lemon, Bull’s Blood Greens, and Lebanese-Seeded Fattoush was fresh, light and addictive.
 San Francisco’s Loretta Keller’s Bolinas Goat’s Tongue with Meyer Lemon, Fenugreek, Mint, and Tomato Chutney was unexpected!  Who knew goat tongue could taste so good?!

If you’re ever afforded an occasion to attend this event, do not miss it.  And, don’t forget your running shoes!

The May issue of Travel + Leisure just hit the stands and the feature story is on the 50 Best New Restaurants in the U.S. (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/50-best-new-us-restaurants-2009)
The primary themes: affordability, seasonality and connectivity. While some of the highlighted venues are high on the swanky Richter scale, the majority were friendly neighborhood joints with limited seating and small inventive menus featuring local artisan ingredients at fair prices.

To my disappointment, Portland’s representation was negligible. T+L’s one Rose City selection? Beast, (http://www.beastpdx.com/about/) Naomi Pomeroy’s meat-lovers oasis in the city’s Northeast quadrant.

Meanwhile, after several years of (relative) culinary obscurity, Seattle seems to have reclaimed its title as the Pacific Northwest dining destination, snagging seven positions on the coveted list. Featured restaurants include: Quinn’s, Pike Street Fish Fry, Spring Hill, Joule, How to Cook a Wolf, Poppy and Corson Building.

Is Portland’s run as the darling of the national food media over? Or like Seattle, is it our turn to slide into the back seat for a while?

What do you think? Email me at kristen@lanepr.com

During an amazing two-week adventure in western and southern Ireland, I saw and tasted dozens and dozens of loaves of soda bread.  What I found to be most fascinating were the variations in taste, texture and color.  While some differences were more subtle, others were more dramatic, including the addition of such ingredients as caraway seeds, dried fruits and nuts.

Much to my delight, soda bread (often called “brown bread”) was served at every meal in Ireland.  At breakfast, I’d slather a warm slice with chunky orange marmalade made by the owners of our B&B; at lunch, as an open-faced sandwich topped with thick slices of heavenly smoked salmon and a side of greens; and at dinner, to sop up the remains of my seafood chowder, soup or Irish stew.  

Soda bread’s roots trace back to the 19th century, when baking soda was introduced as a leavening agent. Combined with flour and buttermilk, and salt, it’s extremely simple to make.  The Irish are committed to safeguarding the tradition of soda bread.  In fact, there’s even a “Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread.”

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, the following is a basic recipe, courtesy of EatingWell.com.

Whole-Wheat Irish Soda Bread

Ingredients
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 cups buttermilk

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little flour. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in buttermilk. Using one hand, stir in full circles (starting in the center of the bowl working toward the outside of the bowl) until all the flour is incorporated. The dough should be soft but not too wet and sticky. When it all comes together, in a matter of seconds, turn it out onto a well-floured surface. Clean dough off your hand.
Pat and roll the dough gently with floury hands, just enough to tidy it up and give it a round shape. Flip over and flatten slightly to about 2 inches. Transfer the loaf to the prepared baking sheet. Mark with a deep cross using a serrated knife and prick each of the four quadrants.

Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400° and continue to bake until the loaf is brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped, 30 to 35 minutes more. Transfer the loaf to a wire rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.

We just wrapped up a PR/community relations campaign for Save-A-Lot Food Stores (www.save-a-lot.com).  This is the second time we’ve had the opportunity to work with Save-A-Lot; the LANE PR team introduced the company’s first Pac NW stores in 2006. 

On Feb. 28, all Save-A-Lot grocery stores in Oregon and Washington held “Fuel Your Family for Free” events where customers were given free groceries – all the makings for a spaghetti meal.  During such a tough economic time, this was a way Save-A-Lot could reach out to their local communities and give a helping hand – and needless to say, it was well received!  They also made a matching donation to local food banks, furthering their reputation as a true community partner.

We were challenged with a very short deadline (two weeks in total – and only one to actually promote to the media) and a wide range of tasks, including coordinating street teams, outreach to local food banks and community organizations, scheduling live radio remotes for the events, and of course a fast-and-furious media campaign.  It was a lot of work but we had a blast getting the word out on such a great – and timely – promotion!

Each store opened its doors first thing in the morning to a long line of eager customers.  Hugs, thank you’s and smiles were in abundance all day as people passed through the store to pick up their free groceries from the friendly Save-A-Lot staff.  It was a heartwarming experience. 

And the results of the campaign spoke for themselves…  In just one week, more than 150 media stories were placed; nearly 9,000 meals were given out to customers, as well as 9,000 meals donated to local food banks - an overall success for the client and wonderful project for the LANE PR team to be a part of!

Thomas Mathews, Wine Spectator executive editor boldly said, “Spain is the most exciting and dynamic wine producing country in Europe today,” during the 2009 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival where Spanish wines took center stage. Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia cut the ribbon at the Wines from Spain Pavilion at the Wine Spectator Trade Tasting Day. Other exciting events throughout the festival included:

• Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia were the guests of honor at ¡Viva España!, The Wines and Foods from Spain, held at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. Jose Andres, a renowned chef and host of the PBS series “Made in Spain,” served as the culinary chairman for the event. Mario Batali, award-winning and internationally acclaimed chef and author of “Spain… A Culinary Road Trip,” served as the evening’s emcee.

• Festival goers sipped the wines of Rioja at the Amstel Light Burger Bash - hosted by Rachael Ray and presented by Allen Brothers. Vibrant Rioja was the exclusive wine sponsor of the event.

• The Wines from Spain Pavilion in the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village featured more than 100 wines from more than 20 producers from regions across Spain.

• The Fontainebleau Miami Beach hosted the Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best sponsored by Bank of America and featuring the following Spanish wineries: Bodegas Montecillo, Campo Viejo, Freixenet, Grupo Barón de Ley, Grupo Pesquera, Marqués de Riscal, Pago de Vallegarcia, Segura Viudas and Torres.

• Various Spanish wineries also participated in seven individual Wine Spectator’s Wine Seminar Series throughout the festival, including presentations from Victor Charcán of Grupo Barón de Ley; Miguel Torres, Jr. of Torres Group; Jose Luis Muguiro of Marqués de Riscal; Elena Adell, the winemaker at Campo Viejo; Carlos Falcó, the president of Pagos de Familia Marqués de Griñon; Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga; Count of Creixell, the president of Marqués de Murrieta; and Pablo Alvarez, the owner of Vega Sicilia.

• Steve Olson, noted wine educator and Sherry expert, hosted two seminars as part of the Bank of America Lifestyle Wine and Spirits Seminars at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel.

I had the most amazing experience ever in my public relations career last weekend at the 2009 South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami, Fla.  It was the most incredible event I’ve ever been to –top tier media and celebrity chefs everywhere I went!   I was there representing a client, the Wines from Spain, and the biggest highlight of the weekend was when Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, Juan Carlos I and Sofia, made an appearance at the Wines from Spain Pavilion to kick off the festival.  It was a momentous day for Spanish wines and I was thrilled to be a part of it!  I even got to shake the King’s hand. 

The next day, I met Natalie Morales from the Today Show – she stopped by the Pavilion and I was happy to learn that she’s a fan of Spanish wines!  She was extremely nice and great to talk to.  I met so many incredible journalists at the festival and savored the great food of Miami.  It was an unforgettable weekend!