First Attraction
A wine tasting trip to Monterey County followed by a fine-dining experience did it for me. A dozen and a half years ago, I became fascinated with Wine and Food cultures from all over the world. I have been blessed with opportunities to explore many wine and food cultures, especially living right here in this magically diverse San Francisco Bay Area. It is just a short drive to Napa Valley, and to the equally satisfying Monterey Wine Country in the opposite direction.
What was a hobby over the years turned into a passion, in 2008 I started my wine study through research and travel, tasting and learning one sip at a time. A couple of years later, I earned my Sommelier Certification from the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Wine and Food Living
Wine study is done by appellations (regions), I revisit my wine study time after time, but now I spend as much time on learning about food as I do with wines. As a self-trained chef, wine-food pairings is my neck of the woods; recreating each regional dish to pair with many different wines is a tasteful way to learn. How a dish and a wine marry together so effortlessly is a thing of beauty.
Many dishes featured here came directly from our kitchen, it is just a few steps away from our humble wine cellar. NapaReserva is a collaboration of passions between sommeliers, foodies and wine experts. I dearly hope you’d enjoy exploring NapaReserva as much as I do writing for it. NapaReserva is a Virtual Wine Country where we all come together and celebrate this wonderful way of life, a wine and food living.
Salud!
Thomas Le, CS, ASBC.
-Certified Sommelier -Court of Master Sommeliers
-Accredited Small Business Consultant
