ENDINGS AND BEGINNINGS… It was a big week around here with the final Masters of Food and Wine, the first Big Sur Chanterelle Cook-Off and latest editions of the various Academy Awards extravaganzas.

After 21 years of lighting up the winter with cooking and wine stars from around the globe, The Masters will be greatly missed. ROB WEAKLEY and the gang at Highlands Inn put on a stunning finale, with Chef MARK AYERS continuing his excellence and first-timer MARK BUZAN getting a taste of the wonderful craziness the wine director experiences.

Meanwhile, down the coast at Big Sur Lodge, the inaugural Big Sur Chanterelle Cook-Off was a funghalicious success. I was honored to be one of the judges determining the best Chanterelle dish alongside the legendary JACK CZARNECKI, dubbed the “mushroom czar” by the NY Times; HEATHER FOSTER, chef/owner of Big Sur Roadhouse; Dory Ford, executive chef at the Aquarium; GABE GEORIS, general manager of Casanova; and RICH PEPE, local restaurateur.

BIG BALL TIME… March Madness is coming soon, which always triggers flashbacks and memories from my former life in college basketball. About 35 years ago, AL MCGUIRE, the great former Marquette coach, broadcaster and prince among men, proposed that all Division I schools be allowed into The Big Dance (his nickname for the NCAA Tournament). McGuire explained how it would only add another few days to the event and would give every kid and their school a chance for glory. He was right then and he’s right now more than ever…Al, you were the greatest.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS… I met another Napolitano…not the governor of Arizona or the lead singer for Nine Inch Nails but VICTORIA NAPOLITANO, owner of Victoria’s Fine Writing in Carmel, in the courtyard adjacent to Jack London’s, right below Da Giovanni’s. Victoria (no relation) became known to me through GEORGE EDWARDS, local wine guru and owner of Wine Market, in the Country Club Center in PG. This remarkable former police officer (Victoria, not George) from San Jose suffered two detached retinas during an accident while on duty, leading to serious sight problems, an early retirement from the force and all sorts of other struggles.

During her ordeal, she began writing thank you cards to all her well-wishers, using a beautiful form of calligraphy. Also, her heartfelt words were really making an impact so people began asking her to compose special letters for them. She parlayed that into a business that is quite unique. Check out her Web site, eleganceinwords.com, or call 1-800-549-0344. Or better yet, stop by her shop, have a chat…you will be thankful.

Another beautiful spirit, JON MAGNUSSON, my man at Bistro 211 in the Crossroads, is doing bouillabaisse every Friday at lunch. This classic French fish stew originated in Marseilles and features an assortment of fish, shellfish and potatoes simmered in a rich fish broth flavored with garlic, tomatoes, lemon and Pernod…ahhhoooohhh. Call 625-3030 or visit bistro211.com.

Had lunch with my buddy SCOTT BROWN the other day. Former editor of Carmel Magazine, Brown has deep ties in the community. He does all sorts of stuff from advertising to publishing and is an immensely talented guy with creativity and heart. We got together to talk more about an idea he first told me he was planning a couple of years ago, a Carmel Film Festival. He’s got a groundswell of interest and a target date of October, 2008. As he put it: “It wouldn’t just be a four-day festival once a year, but rather a 12-month-a-year cultural asset for the Peninsula. It would be a cinema epicuria concept, meaning food and wine paired with film. We’d like to show the films au naturale; on the beach, in the Mission courtyard, etc.” Here’s a guy that can talk baseball on the one hand and cinema epicuria on the other. He can be reached at scottbrownpublishing@earthlink.net.

KURT GRASING is hosting a series of wine dinners featuring local hotshot wineries at his Grasing’s Restaurant in Carmel. On the schedule: Chateau Christina on March 7; Galante on March 14; Cedar Lane on March 21; Silvestri on March 28. Call 624-6562 or grasings.com to find out more. Get on these, Kurt can cook and these local winos can make wine.

FROM FAR AND NEARER… For a swing into the French end of the wine biz, L’Auberge Carmel is matching a multi-course meal with the wines of Domaine Comte De Vogue on March 10. Probably the greatest estate in Chambolle Musigny, Vogue’s estate manager will lead a vertical of the prized Grand Cru Musigny from a number of vintages. Call 624-8578 to book it.

HELAINE TREGENZA has repositioned her Tregenza Communications Group as Marketers of the Good Life, a PR and special events firm specializing in food, wine and travel. She’s on the board of American Institute of Wine & Food, the newly formed Les Dames d’Escoffier, and may be heard regularly on my man SCOTT DICK’s Tasty Planet radio show (tastyplanet.org). Visit tregenzacommunications.com or dial 595-4570.

PAUL and CYNTHIA FRIDLUND of the amazing Pilgrim’s Way Bookstore & Secret Garden just got back from the annual International Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. Get down to their store on Dolores between Fifth and Sixth immediately to see all the cool new stuff they have, pilgrimsway.com, 624-4955…CHRIS NELSON (thebeergeek.com) has made it to the final four for the “Chief Beer Officer” job for the Four Points by Sheraton. Contact him to find out about voting him in—go Chris…Cheers.