Wine

David Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards has produced some renowned Pinot Noirs from his sprawling Sonoma Coast estate. They're very good. And very expensive. But the estate also makes a second label called "The Bohan-Dillon," which is much more affordable. About one-third of the fruit comes from Hirsch Vineyards, mostly younger vines, and the remainder from neighboring estates. The Bohan-Dillon is made exactly the same way as Hirsch Vineyards' higher-priced Pinots. The 2010 is selling for about $28 if you can still find it; the 2011 is a little more expensive.

How did Jeff Morgan morph from a nice Jewish boy from New York into a sax player and bandleader in sequined tuxedo, then into one of the leading wine journalists in the United States, and finally into a kosher wine maker in the Napa Valley? And one who makes not just any kosher wines but a Cabernet Sauvignon that garners big points and can easily hold its own against the big boys' Napa Valley Cabs? It's a long story filled with digressions. As a young musician, Morgan went to France to study flute, then got a job as sax player and eventually bandleader at the Grand Casinoin Monte Carlo, developing a love of food and wine.

Mark Mendoza is one of the most knowledgeable sommeliers around town. Earlier in his career, he worked at Farallon in San Francisco and at Seeger's in Atlanta. Now, after eight years as wine director for the David Myers group , which included the now-shuttered Sona and its million-dollar wine cellar, Mendoza has joined Rivera as sommelier. The list here is focused on wines from Latin countries -- Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, southern Uruguay, Mexico. "We have a fair amount of sherries and Madeira too," says Mendoza.

The breakup of the Wine Advocate 's Robert B. Parker with his former lead wine critic Antonio Galloni is getting ugly. You might remember that Parker sold a substantial interest in his influential wine newsletter, the most powerful in the country, to Singapore investors last December. Though Parker isn't exactly retiring, he is stepping down as editor-in-chief. And that position has been claimed not by Galloni, his heir apparent, but by Lisa Perrotti-Brown , a Master of Wine who was a Singapore-based correspondent for the publication.  Fast forward to Feb. 12: Galloni leaves to found his own website . End of story, or so it seemed.

I'm a longtime fan of wines from the Alsace estate Zind-Humbrecht, which can trace its wine growing history back to the Thirty Years' War in the 17th century. Who wouldn't covet any of their stunning grand crus? But a Tokay Pinot Gris from Clos Saint Urbain from Rangen de Thann, say, is strictly a special occasion wine. The estate's entry-level 2010 Pinot Blanc, however, is very affordable, and it's a perfect white for everyday drinking. Scented with flowers and peaches, it's crisp yet with ripe fruit and a thrilling complexity.

AUSTIN, Texas -- At South by Southwest, most musicians don't get the luxury of privacy during soundchecks. Preparing for their set early Thursday afternoon at a Pitchfork showcase, the members of L.A.'s Rhye tuned up their instruments in full view of the several hundred hipsters making their way into a warehouse space east of Interstate 35. And with keyboard, bass, drums, violin, cello, trombone and vocals, the group took its time doing it too; even...

At Papilles , owner Santos Uy has taken the Paris bistronomy movement to heart with this funky but soulful little bistro set in a Hollywood strip mall. The menu from chef Tim Carey is prix fixe and affordable. And the wine list from wine bar veteran Uy (Bacaro, Mignon) focuses mostly on French and/or natural wines from small producers.   What's your favorite wine region to visit?  I don't really visit wine regions that much.  As a restaurateur, it's more important for me and more fun to visit foreign restaurants.

The UCLA Film & Television Archive's Festival of Preservation turns its spotlight on the small screen with a tribute Saturday to the television work of an award-winning actress and a celebration March 23 of an acclaimed but short-lived ABC anthology series. Julie Harris has won five Tony Awards and is best known to film fans for her role as James Dean's character's love interest in 1955's "East of Eden. " During the 1950s, she was one of the superstars of live drama anthologies. One of her earliest TV appearances, in the1951 Goodyear Television Playhouse "October Story," screens Saturday afternoon at the Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood.

Sotto wine director and blogger Jeremy Parzen is keeping up with this story over at his Italian wine blog Do Bianchi . It seems that Gambero Rosso , a gastronomy magazine that publishes wine guides and selects top wines each year to receive its Tre Bicchieri award, has come out against the natural wine movement in its latest issue. And, naturally, writer Michel Bettane's negative take on the wines has ruffled the feathers of winemakers who espouse natural winemaking. After the Italian wine blog Intravino brought the Gambero Rosso article to his attention, Parzen translated excerpts from what he characterizes as "Bettane's harangue" and put them up on his blog.  Here are a few: "We sincerely hope that Italian wine lovers will not be subjected to what has been happening in France: an invasion of so-called 'natural' wines - in other words, so called 'zero sulfur' wines - with the complicity of numerous sommeliers, wine merchants and irresponsible journalists.

About midday on Tuesday, Mike Carpenter, an owner of the Culver City wine shop " the Redd Collection ," got a call from a gentleman with a slight Italian accent. It sounded like it was coming from overseas. The caller asked if the shop had any 2008 Papale Primitivo di Manduria from the producer Varvaglione. Carpenter said, "'Sure, we've got it.' He asked how much we had. And I told him we have access to quite a bit, but probably only two or three cases on the floor. " Then he asked if the shop could supply him with 115 bottles.