Pizzulli Family Winery - Pacific Palisades

There are several vineyards scattered around the hills of Pacific Palisades.  One such place is Pizzuli Family Winery located south of Sunset Blvd. in the Bel Air Bay Club area.  Owned by interior architect Cosimo Pizzulli and his wife Christine and situated on a one and a half acre property - Pizzulli first planted Sangiovese vines on a half-acre hillside on his property in 2003.  Later he began making wine in a wooden shed and storing the fruits of his labor in a refrigerated storage container on the far side of his driveway.

Cosimo Pizzulli

Pizzulli operates an international design firm with projects in the retail, entertainment, hospitality and residential areas.  He has found a unique way to combine his passion for wine-making with his profession.  Since his production is just a few hundred cases, most of his distribution is to select restaurants on the Westside and at the Wine Expo in Santa Monica.  Two of the restaurants that Pizzulli designed, Enoteca Drago in Beverly Hills and Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, both serve Pizzulli's wines. "It's a perfect fit. My wines poured in restaurants that I designed," says Pizzulli.

Pizzulli currently makes 4 different red varietals: Sangiovese, Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto.  They are available at the following fine restaurants on the Westside.

Ado Ristorante - Venice
Ado Restaurant - West Hollywood
Enoteca Drago - Beverly Hills
Giorgio Baldi - Santa Monica
Il Grano - W. Los Angeles
The Grill on the Alley - Beverly Hills
Toscana - Brentwood
Valentino's - Santa Monica

For more information about Pizzulli Family Winery, go to http://pizzulliwinery.com .

The Pizzulli estate in Pacific Palisades is currently being offered for sale by Rodrigo Iglesias of Hilton & Hyland, and includes the vineyard and all winemaking equipment.  If you would like more information about how to acquire this rare parcel in Pacific Palisades, please contact me.   To see the listing, click here: Pizzulli Estate.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Suspicious Door to Door Solicitors

We have been having an email discussion among members of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association about suspicious door to door solicitors, particularly those offering home improvement services.  As someone who regularly knocks on doors in my neighborhood to offer my real estate services, I have a little bit of perspective from both sides of the portal.

I begin with the knowledge that most people are very wary of door to door solicitors.  If there is a sign posted saying no solicitors or anything else of that nature, I simply move on to the next home.  When I do knock on the door, I take a big step back away from the door and I remove my sunglasses if I am wearing them.  Most of my conversations are quick, but then I am not trying to get someone to buy a cash service from me.

In discussing the solicitors that have been working our neighborhood, a few practices were mentioned that can help separate the legitimate service providers from someone with other intent.  First, never let a solicitor in your home without having first checked out who they are and confirmed that they are legitimate.  You can always take their card or brochure and say that you will call them later if you are interested in their service.  If they don't have anything to leave with you, that is a big red flag.  Notify your security patrol if you have one and also give the police a call.  When we asked LAPD Captain Evangelyn Nathan about suspicious solicitors, her reply was "Immediately dial 911 when something like this occurs.  WLA is very interested in this type of behavior."

If they seem like they are possibly legitimate, there is still room for caution before getting engaged with them.  If they give you a business card or brochure, they should have a contractor's license number.  You can check them out at the California Contractors Board at https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/CheckLicense.aspx. Simply type in the license number or company name and verify that the information on file matches that of the information provided to you by the solicitor.  If you want to take an extra measure of caution, call the company and confirm that they have someone soliciting business in your area.

No one wants to treat legitimate solicitors like criminals.  But at the same time, it is all too easy for real criminals to impersonate a legitimate solicitor.  So before you invite one into your home or possibly even open your door to them, be sure you know who you are talking with.  If they are legitimate, they will be happy to allow you to take the necessary steps to satisfy yourself that they are who they say they are.  Better to be safe than sorry.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Paintout at Ventura Farms

Last Saturday, the Autry National Center's Masters of the American West Committee, in association with the California Art Club, hosted their 7th Annual Plein Air Paintout and Luncheon at the incredible Ventura Farms in Thousand Oaks, California.  This was the second time the event was held at Ventura Farms, the Arabian Horse ranch and retreat owned by David Murdock, the Chairman and owner of Dole Foods.

Nearly 40 artists from the California Art Club (http://www.californiaartclub.org) and from the Autry's Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale (http://theautry.org/get-involved/masters-of-the-american-west) spread out across the grounds of Ventura Farms to paint scenes taken from the immaculately groomed estate.

Just one of the lushly landscaped gardens

Conchita O'Kane works on her painting

John Geraghty, Special Advisor to the Masters of the American West and
grandkids chat with exuberant Russian painter Alexey Steele
and Olga Vlasova.

Guests wandered around the gardens, talking with artists, enjoying the estate and chatting with other patrons.  One of the most stunning aspects of the grounds are the huge, sinuous river boulders that Murdock had excavated and shipped from the River Kwai in Thailand.  They dot the entire estate and are a remarkable presence.  Weighing several tons each, some of these stones stand twenty to thirty feet tall and each one has a life if its own.

The boulders along the promenade

Morgan Weistling working with a model

Autry's new CEO Dan Finley and his wife Jennifer meet Ernie and Donna Schroeder

Z. S. Liang paints the Chinese pavillion

The grounds include a large pond that holds several thousand Koi fish.  An oriental bridge connects the grounds to an island where a Japanese pagoda rests.  This scenic setting has been featured in several movies over the years.  Also, a smaller Koi pond is inside of the Chinese Pavillion along with fabulous examples of carved jade art and other Asian masterpieces.

CAC President Peter Adams paints the pagoda scene at the Koi pond

Dan Pinkham painting high above one of the several rose gardens

Smaller Koi pond inside of the Chinese Pavillion

Carved jade panel inside the Chinese Pavillion

Lunch was served in the Conservatory, a giant hothouse filled with hundreds (if not thousands) of orchids and a central area with marble floors ... definitely the nicest greenhouse I have ever seen.

Lunch in the Conservatory

A tiny sample of the orchids in the Conservatory

All in all, it was an amazing afternoon that is hardly describable.  Thanks to David Murdock for his generosity in opening his wonderful estate to all of us.

I posted all of my images from the event online at: http://s563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/jarea6020/Autry%20Paintout%20at%20Ventura%20Farms%202010/  Enjoy them.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Santa Monica History Museum Opens October 24th

The Santa Monica History Museum will hold its grand opening on Sunday, October 24th from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at their new location at 1350 7th Street.  The new museum features a 5,300 square fot faciity located in the Santa Monica Main Library.

 

The central area of the museum features four different exhibits.  The Town In The Headlines exhibit features more than 500,000 images from Santa Monica's longtime newspaper, The Evening Outlook (no longer in business).  As a special attraction, museum visitors can superimpose their picture onto the front page of an issue of the Evening Outlook.

A Town At Work addresses the history of the McDonald Douglas Plant which used to operate at the Santa Monica airport.  The exhibit includes a DC-3 cockpit (one of the coolest airplanes of all times) and a series of artifacts from the era.

The third exhibition is entitled A Town At Play featuring a model roller coaster from the old Santa Monica Pier.  The final exhibit, A Town In The Arts allows visitors to view pictures from various locations around Santa Monica taken in the past and matched with photos taken in 2010.

For more information, visit their website at: http://www.santamonicahistory.org

OPEN:
Tuesday - Friday  10:00 - 4:30
2nd & 4th Sundays    1:00 - 4:00
Monday  closed

ADMISSION:
General                         $5
Members                      free
Seniors & Students      $2
Children 12 & under    free

Santa Monica Historical Society Museum
1539 Euclid Street
Santa Monica, CA  90404
Tel: (310) 395-2290

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

MKPOA Block Party

On Saturday, October 16th, here in Pacific Palisades, the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association (MKPOA) threw its annual Block Party with big assistance from lead sponsor ACS Security who underwrote much of the cost of the party.  MKPOA Board members, including yours truly, arrived early to set things up, blow up ballopns and generally get prepared for the event, which was staged along the Marquez Avenue community commercial district.

A "Spiderman" bounce house was set up in the lower parking lot at the corner of Sunset and Marquez.  Local merchants were set up with displays all along Marquez Avenue.  Flo Elfant brought copies of her Pacific Palisades Emergency Preparedness booklet for local neighbors to take home with them (you can download a copy from http://www.paliemergency.com).  Board members were on hand to sign up new members and to answer questions posed by residents.

Flo Elfant - Emergency Preparedness Expert

Alex making preparations

Board members ready to serve

Whirlie the clown with her celebrity rabbit was more like the 'Pied Piper' as kids followed her everywhere she went. The team at ACS donned their chef's hats at prepared hot dogs for everyone's enjoyment.  The Gregory Alper Quartet provided musical entertainment and were joined by some students from Alper's music academy.

ACS - Always on alert and Ready to Cook!

Kids love Whirlie

Gregory Alper and company

Time to eat hot dogs

To make everyone feel extra safe, the LAPD and LAFD were on the scene in force.  A raffle. led by Haldis Toppel and Christy Dennis with gifts from local area businesses put lots of prizes in many resident's hands.  Local martial arts expert James Gasvie from Max Impact Martial Arts got his hat handed to him by two darling girls from his dojo.

 

 The festivities were great fun for kids and adults alike.  The balloon guy Danny Moreno was very creative as this balloon dragon shows.  Love on 4 Paws Stopped by as an introduction to the puppy obedience contest ... they were all very obedient.

I'm a dragon - better watch out!

Love on 4 Paws

Balloon Maestro Danny Moreno

Rabbits are so lovable

MKPOA thanks all of the companies and individuals who sponsored this year's block party and contributed prizes for the raffle, including:

ACS
Alicia's  Place
Alper Music School
Bailey Electric Co.
CVS
Edlen Realty
Hair Nails and Skin Care
Innate Chiropractic Center
Knoll's Pharmacy
Mission: Renaissance
Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association
Max Impact Martial Arts
Nutritional,Fitness Consultant
Oasis Palisades
Palisades Animal Clinic
Palisades Construction
Palisades Heating & Air Conditioning
Palisades Plumbing
Paws n’ Claws Grooming Salon
Prudential CA Realty
Ralph's
Ronny’s Market and Deli
Ronny’s Parklane Cleaners

A full set of photographs from the MKPOA Block Party have been posted online at:
http://s563.photobucket.com/albums/ss72/jarea6020/MKPOA%20Block%20Party%20Oct%202010/

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Pico Festival in Santa Monica Today

 The 5th Annual Pico Festival gets underway today along Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica from Centinela Ave. to the ocean.  Sponsored by the Pico Improvement Organization and the City of Santa Monica, the festival being held today from 11 am to 4 pm features a Classic Car Show, food, music, art and a large Sidewalk Sale from participating Pico Blvd. Merchants.

 The event will benefit the grassroots organization, Project Lemon-Aid, to raise funds for the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation fund, “For The Arts,” an endowment that provides arts education (including music, visual arts, dance and drama) for students in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.  In addition, a special fundraiser will be held at the festival’s Classic Car Show to benefit Cody Williams, the Santa Monica High School linebacker who sustained serious spinal injuries in a game in September, 2009.

Visitors to the Pico Festival will see original artwork in all mediums at the Virginia Ave Park Art Pavilions where Pico art galleries, studios, and artists will display their work.  Children will also be able to participate in live art events at the Children’s Activities Pavilion, either watching new works being produced, or making their own unique creations. Live musical acts will perform on the Pico Festival stage, including groups from SAMOHI, Santa Monica College and other local schools.  Pico stores will showcase their wares in booths, and food vendors will offer delicious cuisine of all kinds. The Pico Improvement Organization will also give away free hot dogs to the first 1,000 visitors starting at 1pm.

 

Two Starline Tours double-decker buses with guides will operate the length of Pico in Santa Monica, directing passengers to various sites and events.  Visitors can stop and see artists exhibiting their work at various locations along Pico Boulevard.  Pico galleries and studios will be open and many will be demonstrating artistic and creative techniques.  Special coupons and discounts will be offered on festival day.

Then they can stop at the Classic Car Show, which will include 50 custom cars at the SGI parking lot at 26th and Pico. Pico Auto businesses will have booths, a dj and a mariachi band will provide music.  Trophies and prizes will be awarded in various classes.

 

A new feature of this year’s festival will be a “Bowl, Bike and Ski Triathlon” organized and sponsored by Bayshore Bowl, Virtual Ski, and Triathlon Sports (more details to be announced soon).  A number of Pico Restaurants will also join the festival by offering special tastings and coupons and many merchants will offer activities and events that will continue past 4pm.

At participating locations along Pico Boulevard, a large Sidewalk Sale will tempt fashionistas and bargain hunters.  Participating stores will have racks and tables with exciting merchandise on the sidewalk and some merchants will have their entire store on sale. Types of merchandise include fabulous men’s, women’s & children’s apparel, shoes, jewelry, and much more.

For more information, visit www.picopassport.com or Pico Festival on Facebook.  As in the past Pico Festivals there will be painting/drawing and photo contests that pay cash prizes and are open to the public.  For photo requirements contact Marissa Lopez at lafoto@lafoto.info or for painting requirements, contact Randy Ball at dovetailframer@verizon.net.

The Pico Improvement Organization is a Business Improvement District encompassing the entire length of Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica.  The district contains a growing number of attractions and businesses from Santa Monica College’s performing arts venues and planetarium to one-of-a-kind clothing boutiques, art galleries, coffee shops, designer furniture and more. A zone of small clubs and cafés are found along the eastern boulevard while Shutters on the Beach and Casa del Mar hotels mark Pico’s western terminus.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Art Odyssey for Families

This is a recurring event at the Getty Villa on Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California.

 Enjoy a one-hour tour of the Getty's Villa galleries, including activities like a challenging children's art project, an entertaining game, an art lesson and lots of family teamwork. The program is also offered in Spanish. Registration for the tour begins at 1:30 p.m. at the museum's main entrance. A times ticket for admission to the museum must be reserved in advance by phone or at the Getty website.

Where: The Getty Villa
Website: http://www.getty.edu
Address: 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
Phone: (310) 440-7300
When: Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m.  Register at 1:30 p.m.

Located in Malibu, the Getty Villa is a faux-Roman residence J. Paul Getty built in 1974 for his art collection and is the only museum of Greek and Roman antiquities in America — related to the Getty Center in the way the Cloisters in upper Manhattan, devoted to the art of medieval Europe, are to its parent, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The renovated museum has 48,000 square feet of gallery space displaying 1,200 artifacts — not to mention four gardens with more than 300 flowering plants.

Getty Villa
Pacific Palisades, California

The Getty Villa is located at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway. Take the I-10 (Santa Monica Freeway) west until it turns into Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) going north along the Pacific Ocean. Continue on Route 1 for approximately five miles to the Getty Villa.

The museum is open everyday except Tuesday, Wednesday, New Year's, July 4, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays to Mondays.

Important: Admission to the Getty Villa is free but is restricted at all times by timed tickets, which you must reserve in advance. Please visit http://www.getty.edu/visit/hours/ or call (310) 440-7300 to make your reservations.

Parking is on-site and is available to all ticket holders for $8 per car. Each Villa ticket allows you to bring up to three children ages 15 and under with you in one car.

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Willliams Palisades

Big Sur Food and Wine Festival

The Big Sur Food and Wine Festival will be taking place, in and around Big Sur, California from November 4th through the 7th, 2010, the second annual outing for this important California wine charity event.  The event, presided over by Toby Rowland-Jones, features wine tastings and lectures, winemaker dinners, hiking trips, side excursions and a live auction/dinner at Ventana Inn and Spa.

The Big Sur Food and Wine Festival is a giving organization that holds events to promote Big Sur as a culinary destination, supporting the overall health, character and vitality of the Big Sur community.  Its intention is to stimulate the local economy and give a portion of event proceeds to support local nonprofits, arts and education programs, sustainability projects, and talented Big Sur residents who would greatly benefit themselves and the community through a wine and/or culinary scholarship.

Toby certainly knows his way around a world class wine event.  In addition to his duties running the Big Sur Wine & Food Festival,  Toby has in the past kept a small army of sommeliers running smoothly and efficiently (and deliciously, I might add) at the Central Coast Wine Classic (http://www.centralcoastwineclassic.org) one of our favorite wine events of the year.  Be sure to check out the CCWC every July in beautiful Avila Beach, California.

2010 Participating Wineries

The Festival includes some of the finest wineries, winery owners and winemakers from across California.  They generously show great support for the charitable activites carried out for the beneficiaries of the Festival.

Au Bon Climat	L'Aventure	Talbott
Ridge	Continuum	Paul Lato
Pisoni	Clos Pepe	ROAR
Siduri	HdV	Testarossa
Patz n Hall	Drew	Chappellet
Breggo	Alma Rosa	Kunin
Bernardus	Roederer	Margerum
Wind Gap	Hitching Post	Lioco
Adelaida	Ramey	Tobin James
Arcadian	Miura	Heller
Justin	Galante	Bonny Doon
Qupe	Demuth	Cold Heaven
Kristi-Lynn	Tablas Creek	Windy Oaks
Perception	MacPhail	Wrath
B Kosuge	Morgan	Brewer Clifton
Saxum	Thomas Fogarty	Morgan
Alban	McIntyre	Poppy

Madeleine	Torbreck	J.Lohr
Hahn Estates

For additional information about the Big Sur Food and Wine Festival, and to purchase tickets online, visit their website at: http://bigsurfoodandwine.org .

Additional contact information:

Big Sur Food and Wine Festival
P. O. Box 31
Big Sur, CA  93920
(831) 667-0800
Email: info@bigsurfoodandwine.org

That is it for this post and as always, if I can be of any assistance to you or any of your friends, family or colleagues with any of your real estate needs (residential, commercial or otherwise) or if I can help find a real estate professional for you to work with in your local community, please let me know.  It would be my pleasure to help.

Jim Rea
Keller Williams Palisades