From theater and live concerts to innovative art exhibitions, Los Angeles is a creative mecca boasting an astounding collection of world renowned museums, theaters and cultural attractions. 
A music biz whiz who promoted (and garnered gold records for) artists such as The Beatles, Elvis, David Bowie, Cat Stevens and John Denver, Don Whittemore established Dandy Don’s HomeMade Ice Cream in 1981. Specializing in sundae bar catering and serving fine restaurants and markets in Southern California, Dandy Don’s HomeMade Ice Cream has been winning gold medals at the Los Angeles County Fair since 1996.
After five successful years of the LA Winefest in Hollywood, founder Joel M. Fisher, PhD is moved the wine fun to the Santa Clarita Valley. On February 12, 2011 local wine lovers met at the Embassy Suites in Valencia, CA to sample some of the best local food and wine from Napa & Sonoma to Temecula.
Dr. Fisher, a wine educator, writer and Sommelier for the Escoffier Society of So. California created the LA WineFest in 2005.
SCV Winefest is brought the community together by teaming up with Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley. This new local group is gaining momentum in our valley. Bringing shelter, meals, and support services to families without homes, Family Promise of Santa Clarita Valley founder, Larry Comp is very grateful for the chance to expose the community to this important cause. “We appreciate the opportunity to help get the word out as Family Promise spreads throughout Southern California,” said Comp.
For more information, check out http://scvwinefest.com.
We're Visiting the Beautiful D.R. Stephens Estate in Napa Where Tasting Manager Wendy Day Tells Us All About Their Unique Cabernet Sauvignons & Chardonnays!
On graduating from college at University of Southern California, Don Stephens moved from Sacramento where he had grown up to San Francisco to attend Hastings Law School.
To pay for his education he and some partners started a restaurant on Union Street – a steak house named “The Cooperage.” The attraction of good red wine, and particularly Cabernet Sauvignon, combined with a steak, gave him the long-term goal of becoming a vintner and making great wines.
The desire stayed with him through his business career as a lawyer; Founder, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of San Francisco and Managing Partner of D.R. Stephens & Company – a firm he founded in 1973 and still manages today in the real estate and private equity investment business.
Trish, an interior designer and gourmet cook, prides herself on her entertaining, a key element of which, in San Francisco, is wine selection. When she and Don met in 1994 one of their joint interests was to some day create a world-class wine.
In 1996 Don and Trish found Oz II, their 35-acre property on Howell Mountain Road in the Saint Helena area of the Napa Valley, and an opportunity became available to attain their dream. Trish designed and built their French-European home on a four-acre plateau above the vineyards and indigenous olive trees. She is currently planning the addition of a wine cave with a dining hall and wine library, which will hold the Estate’s legacy wines and provide a venue for large scale entertaining.
Don and Trish planted the nine-acre Moose Valley Vineyard in 1996 and had their first release of their 1999 D.R. Stephens Estate Moose Valley Cabernet Sauvignon in 2002.
The wine was extremely well received in the food and restaurant world and was immediately added to the wine lists of some of the best restaurants in many of the major cities.
Wendy Day: A life long Californian, Wendy arrived in the Napa Valley in 2005 after having lived for many years on the North Coast. While there, she attended Humboldt State University, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communications and a Master of Arts degree in the Teaching of Writing.
At the beginning of her career in education, she took a U-turn and purchased the small restaurant where she had worked throughout college. Folie Douce Restaurant was originally the creation of Les Behrens and Lisa Drinkward (Behrens Family Winery; Drinkward-Peschon) in Arcata, California. In 1998, Wendy took over ownership of the business from the couple and began another avenue of study: wine and food.
Seven years later she sold the business and moved to the Napa Valley on a quest to learn about the production of wine. She accepted a position as a harvest intern at a small Oakville winery where she gleaned as much information as possible about fermentation, vines, and soils. A short series of steps brought her full circle, and she is now back to doing what comes naturally --sharing her enthusiasm for beautiful wine and food.
When she is away from D.R. Stephens Estate, Wendy is usually out exploring local trails or tending her garden with her border collies, Sofia and Faye.