Cook, Drink & Learn with us!

Born and raised in Chicago, Susan’s love of food and wine can be traced back to her Irish heritage where a focus on recreating Julia Child recipes and weekly entertaining was kindled.

Susan’s life changed when she tried her first white Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine.  Delicious and unlike any wine she had ever tried, Susan began planting her Southern Rhone estate grapes in 2008 on her 18 acre vineyard property.  Her wines have since garnered numerous Double Gold, Gold and Best of Class awards and Best Viognier in California.

Susan’s award winning online magazine, “Provence WineZine,” reports on all colors of wine from the regions of Provence and the Southern Rhone Valley wine region.  Susan particularly loves capturing the stories of the men and women who make the wine, including the generations of winemakers that preceded them.  While the majority of her readers are in the U.S., her audience is international, reaching readers from over 70 countries.

Susan has also written two booklets on wine and wine tasting. “A Primer of Wine Tasting” describes essentials of learning how to taste wine; the other booklet, “How to Host a Wine Tasting,” provides the basics of hosting wine tasting parties.

Consummate foodie and food writer of Cocoa & Lavender, David currently lives in Tucson, Arizona, in the beautiful Sonoran Desert.  David loves to travel – whether instate, across the United States or around the globe – and enjoys eating local foods in regional styles.

His love of food goes back to his childhood and was very fortunate to grow up in a home where good food – truly great food – was an everyday experience, though never taken for granted.  David is of the firm belief that sharing a meal with friends around the table is one of life’s greatest pleasures.