About The Tasting Room
Tom Leykis appreciates the good life. He knows that somewhere between death and taxes, you need to have a little fun. And for the millions who believe the harder you work, the harder you play he created The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis.
The first of its kind, The Tasting Room is a lifestyle themed program for those with a taste for the finer things in life. From fine wine, high-end spirits, & craft brews to first-rate dining & premium cigars, Leykis covers it all in this weekly two-hour, on-air ride through your ultimate wish list.
Leykis has proven to be a huge ratings draw with churning discussions that kept Americans listening every day to The Tom Leykis Show.
His opinions are thought provoking and his unconventional perspective on dating, relationships and politics have made him one of America's top radio personalities.
Weekend of 05-12-12
Click here to download or listen to the show.
Jeff ZimmittiFrom the perennial epicenter of rosé wine, Provence, the Commanderie cuvée is always pale rose in color. It is fresh and lively on the palate, nicely dry with a mineral finish. A blend of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Hints of strawberry and citrus dance on your palate.
A blend of 50% Marsanne, 35% Clairette and 15% Ugni Blanc. This jewel of an estate, located on the French Riviera (Provence), is experiencing a renaissance in quality. This bold white wine from Cassis is quite remarkable. Crisp and intense at the same time. Bright, spicy and chock full of flavor. A perfect match with any seafood but particularly great with fish soup (bouillabaisse), the dish that is most famous from this region.
2001 Bodegas Riojanas Monte Real Rioja, Spain $34.99
The Monte Real is made from 80% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo and 5% Graciano grapes, all hand-harvested from vineyards in the village of Cenicero. 24-30 months ageing in Amerian oak barrels is followed by another three years ageing in bottle. This wine is smooth, supple and delicious. Filled with cherry and strawberry-like fruit with good spice and earthy qualities. An amazing value for a 10-year old wine.
2007 Cascina Roccalini Barbaresco, Italy $39.99
(93 Points: Wine Spectator) Bright with cherry, floral, licorice and tobacco aromas and flavors, this balanced red starts out full of sweet fruit, with the sweetness offset by dusty tannins on the finish. Offers fine length and grip. (Suggested retail: $50)
2010 Sandhi Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills, California $35.99
The partners are Rajat Parr, wine director of Mina restaurants; winemaker Sashi Moorman; and Charles Banks, who used to run Screaming Eagle. The wines are hand-crafted and delicious. It is a blend of vineyard holdings in the Santa Rita Hills with over half the fruit from 40 year-old vines at the Sanford & Benedict vineyard with the rest coming from sections and younger vines at Rita's Crown and Bent Rock. It has bright, shiny, crunchy black raspberry fruit with great aromatic lift of fruit, flowers and cola spice. 654 cases made.
2009 Carlisle Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley, California $44.99
Neon black-purple. Completely opaque. Room-filling aromas of blackberry, violets, crushed rocks, spring flowers, cured meat, and a hint of pepper. Very Cornas! Medium-full bodied and quite smooth on entry, refined tannins build slowly through the lip-smacking finish. A very savory, even meaty, Syrah. This wine offers up considerable complexity already but should be in its sweet spot between 2013 and 2022. Picked October 9th, 40% of the fruit was not destemmed to add floral notes to the nose and structure to the palate. Indigenous fermentation. Twenty-nine percent new French oak. Lightly egg white fined to polish the tannins but bottled unfiltered. 496 cases made.
Weekend of 05-05-12
Click here to download or listen to the show.
David Breitstein and Steve Zigman
The Duke of Bourbon
Canoga Park, CA
http://dukeofbourbon.com/
(818) 341-1234
Outside California: (800) 4-FINE-WINE
Tom Traverso
Orin Swift Cellars
Rutherford, CA
http://www.orinswift.com/
Tasted:
2008 Schramsberg Blance de Blance
http://www.schramsberg.com/wines/blancdeblancs.html
2010 Orin Swift Mannequin White Blend
http://www.orinswift.com/wines/mannequin.php
Weekend of 04-28-12
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Stacie Hunt
Du-Vin Wine and Spirits
West Hollywood, CA
http://www.du-vin.net/
Tasted:
Patz & Hall, Sonoma Coast Chardonnay http://www.patzhall.com/
Colgin, IX Estate Napa Valley Red Wine http://www.colgincellars.com/
10th and Final Annual 
Bogart Pediatric Cancer Research Program
Wine Aficionado Dinner
“Going out in Style”
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The Bazaar by José Andrés
SLS Hotel
Beverly Hills, CA
For tickets call 323.308.0508
or email info@bogartfoundation.org
Tom Leykis: A Taste for Talking
Santa Ynez Valley Journal - Many people think of wine enthusiasts as snobs, bores or even boors.
None of these appellations describe radio personality Tom Leykis, who for the past six years has hosted a wine connoisseur show designed to inform and enlighten listeners through stories told by winemakers themselves.
Leykis is best known for his recently cancelled nationally syndicated general talk show, where from the bully pulpit he aired eyebrow-raising opinions on dating, religion, politics and other topics. That show ended last year when the station switched its format to Top 40 music.
Although Leykis’s former audience consisted of highly educated people, many fans were surprised to learn that the shock-jock spent his off-hours drinking and waxing effusive on Bordeaux and California Cabernet, and listening to Dexter Gordon and Lyle Lovett at his home in Northern Santa Barbara County.
“People couldn’t fathom it,” he said, sitting in an easy chair, his legs tucked under him. “It was like imagining David Letterman doing a travel show.” Read more...
Tom Leykis and Adam Leemon: A Perfect Pairing
Tom Leykis isn't "blowing up" call-in listeners anymore. For the pathetically uninformed who are still scanning the airwaves looking for the controversial radio host's lurid, misogynistic antics — which include ending call-ins with offensive sound-clip send-offs such as a bomb, a bong hit, a near-orgasmic woman having sex with Kobe Bryant, or Jesus being nailed to the cross — "The Professor" is continuing to educate and entertain on a more elevated level.
He is co-hosting a show about wine, The Tasting Room With Tom Leykis. Read more...
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The making of Tom's wine
Follow along as Tom creates a
"pedal to the metal" Syrah.