Coming Soon to a City Near You...

When
the weather cools in Provence and tourism starts to trail off, lots of locals
in the hospitality biz head out of town: to visit family, to hit the beach
somewhere and regroup for the busy season ahead�or to take winter jobs in
far-flung locales like the Alps, the Far East or the Caribbean.

My
friends Guy Bremond (a French wine expert) and Jon Chiri (an American chef) are
among those who would rather keep working. So for the third November in a row,
they�ll leave Provence to offer gourmet French wine-tasting dinner parties in
private homes in the Western US. This year they plan to hit Washington, Oregon,
California and possibly Texas. The program is called �My Chef and Master Sommelier
at Home� and their website is here.

The
format is simple:  pick a day from the
calendar on their site and invite up to 14 people. Chef arrives at 3 pm, wine
tasting starts at 6 pm, dinner starts at 8:30 pm. The wines will be shipped to
you from Ch�teauneuf
du Pape roughly a month ahead�and Guy will lead your guests in a 90-minute
tasting.  Then Jon serves a four-course
meal, inspired by traditional Provencal cuisine and designed to pair perfectly
with the wines. Total price for the evening is either $3695 or $3995, which
includes all food and wine for 15 people, service and cleanup.

So
who are these guys? Guy is a master sommelier who owns Les
Caves Saint Charles in Ch�teauneuf. It�s a tasting room in a vaulted cellar dating from the 12th and 13th
centuries, located at the top of the village, right by the church. Open
from mid April to early November, Guy pours and sells roughly 35 local labels, serving them up in a magical,  candle-lit space that once stored wines for
the Popes based in Avignon. He�s a
charming raconteur who speaks terrific English�and he
loves to make the wines come alive with tasting tips and tales about the
personalities behind each domaine.  Next
summer, he�ll be unveiling a cooking school and a small food shop.

Born
and raised in Ch�teauneuf, Guy trained at the Culinary Academy of Arles and the Lyc�e
H�telier in Tain l'Hermitage. He earned the title Master Sommelier after a
series of rigorous exams, then went to work in high-profile hotels in
Switzerland and Hong Kong.  But his
beloved Ch�teauneuf beckoned and in 2007, Guy began excavating these ancient wine caves, opening to the public in May, 2012. (More info on Les
Caves Saint Charles appears below.) After the dinner series
in the US wraps up, Guy will return to be sommelier at the five-star Hotel Lana
in the French ski resort of Courchevel.

Jon was born in Davis, California and attended the
Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Napa Valley. He then went on to
chef jobs in New Orleans, Santa Barbara and Seattle, followed by Berlin and
Barcelona. He moved to Provence in 2001 and ran the prestigious cooking school La
Marmiton at the Hotel La Mirande before hopping over to be the
chef at Ch�teau de Massillan in
Uchaux, not far from Avignon. His next gig was at La
Verriere,  the �extreme wine school� and conference center in Crestet. These
days he wears a couple different chapeaux, working as a private chef, cooking
teacher and bike guide around Provence.  He
and a partner have the company Gourmet
Cycling Travel�and he and I have joined forces to create these Luberon
Foodie Tours, offered by bike or car. But with an adorable 4-year-old son
waiting for him at home in Seattle, Jon now prefers to spend his winters in the
US, taking private chef jobs and doing these elegant dinners. 



�We look forward to them all year,� he tells me. �Whether
the table is filled with old friends or new, we love presenting the food and wine of Provence this way. It�s such
a joy to share our favorite terroir with people as enthusiastic about eating
and drinking as we are. And since we do all the work, the host really gets to
be a guest.�

For
more info or to book a table, visit the website, email Jon (jonavandno@gmail.com) or call him on his
US mobile:: +33 (0)6 46
89 85 33.

*Note: If you�d like to visit Guy in Ch�teaueuf, he�s
open seven days a week, mid April to early November. Private 60- to 90-minute tastings  are free; groups of eight or more pay 15� per
person. You'll taste five to seven wines, including old vintages and a white Ch�teauneuf. Obviously Guy wants  to sell wine...and his prices are definitely
higher than what you'd pay at the winery or at retail...but it�s a small
premium for a unique experience  in a
cool, historic setting. And, there's no heavy sales pitch: if you like it, you
buy it. Another bonus to buying here is that Guy will ship wine to the US when
many others won't.  Les Caves Saint Charles is at 10-12 rue des Papes in
Ch�teauneuf.
To book a tasting or for more info :  +33 (0)4 90 39 13 85,  +33 (0)6 03 46 47 37, contact@cave-saint-charles.com, cave-saint-charles.com.



Photos: Jon and Guy plating...Jon marketing...clients partying...Guy sniffing...and Guy with clients in his caves in Ch�teaueuf.