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Inspired Somm, Costa Mesa, CA (2026)

05/17/2026

Today is National Pinot Grigio Day! 🥂

Ironically, it’s a celebration basically unheard of in Italy… but very much alive here in America, where Pinot Grigio became a full-on personality trait sometime around brunch culture. 😄

And honestly? I get it. It’s crisp, refreshing, easy to love, and somehow works with almost every meal or absolutely no meal at all. Lately, it’s been my go-to wine for spring and summer sipping.

Fun wine-history moment: during the 1970s, Italian winemakers started exporting large amounts of light, approachable Pinot Grigio to the U.S., and Americans quickly fell for its easy-drinking style and wallet-friendly price. Fast forward to today, and it’s now the second most popular white wine in the United States. 🍋🍐

Also, if it looks like I casually wandered out of a Tuscan villa for these photos… that’s because I was spiritually in Tuscany. 😉 Last week, I had the chance to taste Pinot Grigios from 80 different Italian producers 🇮🇹 — definitely not a hardship. Scroll left for my top picks.

📍Plot twist: this dreamy Italian backdrop is actually Casa Lago, a stunning private-event estate tucked into the hills of Beverly Hills.

💡Wine nerd fact: Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris are the same grape. The difference is all about style and region. Italy leans into the lighter, crisp “Pinot Grigio” expression, while France’s “Pinot Gris” is often richer and fuller-bodied. Same grape, different passport. 🍇

05/12/2026

Have you been to a restaurant where the dining experience was so good you wanted to return the next day? For me, got the quad-fecta: great food, great wines, great service and sunset dining views near the beach.🤩🌅🍷

If you’re looking for a waterfront dining spot in downtown Santa Barbara that offers Italian coastal cuisine, bookmark Toma Restaurant & Bar.

📍It sits along West Cabrillo Boulevard near West Beach and Stearns Wharf, giving it a classic oceanfront Santa Barbara atmosphere. Think of “rustic coastal cuisine” with old-world charm. The vibe is romantic and upscale without the ridiculous price points compared to other restaurants in the area.

🇮🇹 The restaurant opened in 2013 and blends Italian and Mediterranean influences with Central Coast ingredients. The current executive chef, Gregorio Bonilla, focuses on seasonal seafood, handmade pastas, and locally sourced produce. Our bartender/server (who happens to the be the son of the chef) offered the best recommendations:

🌼 Squash blossoms: sauteed with peas stuffed with goat cheese, pine nuts, preserved lemon and orange citronette
🦑 Black spaghetti: fresh squid ink, manila calms, calabrese, garlic, wine butter **their signature dish**
🐷 Roasted pork belly: tamarind-glazed pork belly, celery root puree, baby vegetables, pickled pearl onions, with microgreens
🐑 Grilled New Zealand lamb chops

🍇Their wine program offers many wine-by-the-glass options for Reds. I like the thoughtful curation of Italian and Santa Barbara County wines to pair with the food. The list leans heavily on:

🍷Italian reds (Barolo, Brunello, Super Tuscans)
Central Coast Pinot Noir
🍷Chardonnay from Santa Rita Hills and Santa Barbara County
🍷Coastal Rhône varietals (Syrah, Grenache blends)
🥂Sparkling wines and Champagne

🍴Scroll left to see what we ate.😋

05/06/2026

Here’s an event to bookmark on your list for next Spring (April/May 2027). It’s the perfect event if you’re a food, art and wine enthusiasts while supporting local businesses.🍴🎨🍷

Last week, I attended the 24th Annual Downtown Santa Barbara LIVE Art & Wine Tour, which features local wine tastings, live art, and culinary bites at various downtown venues. During this event, you sip and savor your way through Downtown SB while getting those daily steps in.

The walking tour starts at the commencing at the same place with live music, art, food and wine from local winemakers and restaurants. My favorite local winery? Scroll left

💡State Street, in particular, isn’t as vibrant as it once was so I I love that proceeds from this event help support the revitalization of downtown including the Vacant Window Beautification Program, 1st Thursday Art Walk, downtown art installations, enhanced cleaning and maintenance, security cameras and more.

04/20/2026

Happy Monday! We’re almost in May?! Good news, there’s still time to celebrate and enjoy wines from Sonoma.

💡Did you know April is Sonoma County Wine Month? It’s one of the leading regions for sustainable winemaking in the world with many wineries practicing regenerative farming and vineyard biodiversity. 🌱

🍇 Home to 400+ wineries, Sonoma County covers a range of wine styles producing 60+ grape varieties across multiple AVAs. The wine stretches from cool coastal areas to warmer inland valleys, which means it produces a broader variety of wines.

🍷Here are my top six must-visit wineries in Sonoma with a mix of iconic estates, boutique producers, and scenic experiences across the region.

1️⃣ Buena Vista: California’s oldest premium winery founded in 1857. Historic stone cellars + storytelling experience. Fun, approachable tastings. Great intro to Sonoma wine history.

2️⃣ Jordan Vineyard & Winery: Luxury estate experience. Famous for elegant Cabernet Sauvignon & Chardonnay. Food + wine pairings are a highlight. Beautiful château-style property.

3️⃣ Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens: One of Sonoma’s most complete wine experiences. Huge culinary gardens + estate tours. Known for Chardonnay and food pairing focus. Great for first-time visitors.

4️⃣ Ferrari-Carano Vineyards and Winery: One of the most beautiful winery gardens in Sonoma. Stunning Italian-style gardens. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc and rich whites
Relaxed, scenic tasting experience.

5️⃣ Kosta Browne Winery: Ultra-premium Pinot Noir specialist. Highly acclaimed, limited production wines. Intimate, appointment-only tastings. Focus on Russian River & Sonoma Coast fruit.

6️⃣ Williams Selyem Winery: Cult-status Pinot Noir producer. One of Sonoma’s most respected boutique wineries. Highly allocated wines. Intimate, reservation-based tastings.

04/18/2026

Came for the Ice wine, stayed for the views.🤩🇨🇦

Want an elevated experience, the best views and delicious dining options? Put the on your next visit to Toronto.

✨The 360 Restaurant is one of Toronto’s most unique dining experiences because it sits inside a rotating glass restaurant at the top of the CN Tower located downtown.

🗼Completed in 1976 and originally built by Canadian National Railway (hence “CN”) as a communications and observation tower, the CN Tower is one of the most famous landmarks in Canada and a defining feature of the Toronto skyline. It held the title of the world’s tallest freestanding structure for over 30 years until 2007.

The restaurant sits 350+ meters above the city, with uninterrupted panoramic views of Toronto, Lake Ontario, and (on clear days) even Niagara Falls. 💦 After a day in Niagara Falls seeing the beauty up close, we were ready to head back to downtown. Scroll left to see the horseshoe falls up close.🤩

Lucky for us, the CN Tower is only a 5-minute walk from making it convenient for a short walk before the feast!

What makes this dining experience unique:

🔄 Rotating dining room: the restaurant makes a full 360° rotation about every 72 minutes. You get constantly changing skyline views without leaving your seat.🌆

🌃 Floor-to-ceiling glass: nearly every table has a direct skyline view. We sat at 7pm so it was the perfect timing to see daylight → golden hour → city lights in one meal.

🍷 Award-winning wine cellar: they one of Canada’s most extensive wine collections with strong focus on Ontario and international wines.

🍽️ Menu & dining style: fine dining / prix fixe focus. The seafood sampler and osso buco lamb shank are must!

💡Tip: If your meal is $180+ (CAD) for two guests, access to the observatory deck is included. Even if you’re not dining, some reservations are available just for the experience—but food is highly recommended for the full value. Cheers!🥂

03/05/2026

I am woman. Hear me pour.🍷🥳

March is Women’s History Month and I’m here at Bestia, one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated restaurants co-founded by a female. Along with her husband, pastry chef Genevieve Gergis opened this upscale Italian-inspired restaurant in 2012 in the Arts District. It continues to be top-rated and weekend reservations can get booked up months in advance. Why? Because Bestia consistently delivers on food, service, wine selection and ambience.

Set in a converted warehouse with an open kitchen, rustic accents, and a lively atmosphere, it’s a great spot for special nights out, date nights, and foodie experiences. Chances are, if you’re a foodie from SoCal, you’ve been to Bestia. For those of you who haven’t dined here, everything on the menu is worth trying. And no, I’m not paid to say that. 😁

The menu blends traditional Italian technique with influences from local ingredients. Want bold flavors? Get the lobster squid ink pasta. My favorite? The roasted bone marrow with spinach gnocchetti! Desserts are a must since it’s crafted by Genevieve.

Bestia’s wine list changes daily, reflecting the restaurant’s evolving offerings with a focus on wines from European coastal regions. The program is designed to complement the menu’s Mediterranean‑inspired cuisine with lighter, high‑acidic wines.

Because the list rotates, you’ll typically find a wide range of wines by the bottle and often interesting options by the glass. If you like trying something new, their wine list includes rare grape varieties from less conventional regions. ✨ Wine by the glass is limited and pours a little small relative to the price.✨

03/03/2026

I’m always excited when a restaurant we often frequent offers a limited menu.

If you love seafood as much as steak and want a little sparkle to your palate, make sure to visit for your next meal during Lunar New Year.🧧🐴

Offered for two weeks, their Lunar New Year menu features:

🦀 Garlic noodles with jumbo lump crab, green onions, crisp garlic
🐠 Whole crispy black sea bass, cilantro, tangerine, radish and XO sauce
🦞Wok-fried local spiny lobster, long beans, chile and black bean sauce

We’ve eaten these three dishes 4X times over two weeks and every dish dances in my mouth. 💃🏻😋

On their last day of the limited menu, we paired the meal with a 2019 Carneros Vioginer from and 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Estate Grown from

Aged for seven years, both wines paired perfectly with the seafood and steak!

✨Don’t miss an opportunity to try Water Grill’s limited menu when it’s the year of the goat in February 2027.🐐

02/27/2026

“You get to drink for a living?!” It’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it.😉🍷🇮🇹

Reality: sipping 200+ wines and spitting 90% out. Not because they’re not delicious! Double negative = positive experience.😊

Earlier this week, I attended the annual Gambero Rosso’s Tre Bicchieri Italian wine event held in LA (they do tasting tours in SF and NY also). After 11 years attending this event, it was nice to see some familiar faces from the industry.

This year, 55+ producers poured their award winning wines. My strategy was to start with wines that have the “Tre Bicchieri” (three glasses) first.🏆

Tre Bicchieri is the top and most prestigious wine award in Italian wine culture, given annually by the Gambero Rosso wine guide — officially called the Guida Vini d’Italia. It’s one of the most influential and respected recognitions for Italian wines. Producers submit wines from across all Italian regions, and awards are given regardless of winery size, reputation, or price — what matters is what’s in the glass.

Here are the ratings:

🍷 Un Bicchiere = Good wine
🍷🍷 Due Bicchieri = Very good wine
🍷🍷🍷 Tre Bicchieri = Outstanding wine

Only a small fraction of all submitted wines received the three-glass rating. Those scoring above 90+ are awarded Tre Bicchieri.

In the 2026 edition of the Gambero Rosso Vini d’Italia guide, 40,000+ wines were tasted and roughly 508 earned Tre Bicchieri.

Scroll left to see some of my favorites. Cheers!

02/12/2026

Is it windy where you are?💨 Currently, it’s all sunshine and mild temperature in SoCal, but when this photo was taken last month, I was blown away (literally) by the beauty at in Greece.🇬🇷

💡Let’s talk about how wind impacts the wine you taste. When there are heavy winds, vineyards will have lower yields and reduced quality. During the early stages of vegetative growth, high winds can break off the new shoots and delay or reduce the amount of flowering.🍇

BUT, this doesn’t mean wind is bad. With the right amount of wind, at the right time, can help prevent frost radiation. For example, evening or early morning winds help prohibit fungal diseases such as mildew from growing on dew-dampened vines. If you enjoy wines produced from grapes grown on mountains, wind is one of the reasons.

In hot Mediterranean climates like Greece, winds help moderate high temperatures by allowing the grapes to ripen slowly. This results in more vibrant aromas with layered flavors in the bottle.

So the next time it gets really windy, pour yourself a glass of wine and thank Mother Nature for the delicious sips! Cheers to a weekend fill with endless love!♥️🥂

01/15/2026

Have you had Egyptian wines? 🇪🇬🍷

It may surprise some, but Egyptian wine brands exist though production is small compared to ancient times. In fact, Ancient Egyptians were among the first winemakers in the world (5,000+ years ago).🍇 The Nile Delta became a major wine-growing region and later exported across the Mediterranean.

Since wines were produced mainly for royalty, priests, and gods, pharaohs were often buried with wine so they could enjoy it in the afterlife. Red wine was symbolically linked to blood and rebirth. We can blame the Egyptians for starting the elitist aspects of wine?😉

Under Greek and Roman rule, wine production expanded greatly in Egypt, but declined sharply after the spread of Islam (alcohol is forbidden in Islam). However, wine never fully disappeared. Egypt still produces wine today mainly for tourism and local non-Muslim communities.

While staying we had an opportunity to taste several Egyptian wines. The price per glass ranges from $10-$15 USD, which sounds affordable if you are from California, but very expensive considering average salary in Cairo is less than $1,000 a month.

If you find yourself wandering the streets of Cairo, you may be pleasantly surprised by the availability of local wines at supermarkets. White wines in particular are more popular with Chardonnay, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc thriving in the hot Egyptian climate. Egyptian whites tend to be light-bodied with citrus and tropical fruit notes. For the reds, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot are among the most popular grapes grown in the country. Egyptian reds are typically fruit-forward with bold flavors. ✨My favorite was their Rosé wines for its light and fruity notes of strawberry and watermelon.

Most of Egypt’s vineyards are located along the fertile banks of the Nile River. Here are 3️⃣ wineries to put on your list:

📍Gianaclis Wines: one of Egypt’s oldest wineries originally founded by Greek settlers.
📍Kouroum of the Nile: known for producing high-quality wines that are often compared to European styles.
📍Obelisk Wines: specializes in local blends perfect for casual drinking.

✨Personally, I enjoyed Egyptians wine paired with Italian food.😋🍝🍷

Inspired Somm

05/17/2026

05/12/2026

05/06/2026

04/20/2026

04/18/2026

03/05/2026

03/03/2026

02/27/2026

02/12/2026

01/15/2026

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