Category Archives: california

Can you drink 28 glasses of wine in 3 hours?

You wouldn’t even believe this if I told you.  What if I told you that between 9:30 and 12:00 this morning I drank 28 glasses of wine?  Well, if I had really drank everything I wouldn’t be alive to write this.  Today Larry and I had the fantastic opportunity to go and taste 28 samples of wines from the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County.  We were invited to a “media tasting” sponsored by the Russian River Valley Winegrowers. There were 24 of us media types and a panel of 6.  The panel was moderated by Geoff Kruth, Master Sommellier and Wine Director at the Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant.  The rest of the panel included John Holdredge of Holdredge Wines, Pete Opatz, viticulturalist to Picket Fence Vineyards, Dan Kosta of Kosta Browne Winery, Tom Dehlinger of Dehlinger Winery and the host, Peter Merriam of Merriam Vineyards.  Everything took place at Merriam Vineyards which is on the Windsor/Healdsburg border north of Santa Rosa.  Upon entering the room for the first flight we were greeted with 9 glasses filled with Pinot Noir from different wineries in the Russian River Valley.

Flight 1 – The first flight was Russian River Pinot Noir – Single Vineyard – 2007 – The price of the bottle and my grade of the wine
Balletto Vineyards – Burnside Vineyard – $34.00 B
Coterie Cellars – Saralee Vineyard – $38.00  B-
C Donatiello Winery – Maddie’s Vineyards – $62.00 A-
Dutton Goldfield Winery – Freestone Hill Vineyard – $58.00 B+
Forchini Vineyard and Winery – River Terrace Vineyard – $32.00 B
Freeman Vineyard & Winery – Keefer Ranch – $46.00 B-
Russian Hill Estate Winery – Tara Vineyard – $46.00 B+
Sequana Vineyard – Dutton Ranch – $40.00 B
Suacci Carciere Wines – Suacci Vineyard – $48.00 C+

Flight 2 – The second flight was Russian River Pinot Noir – Blends – 2007 – The price of the bottle and my grade of the wine
Chasseru Wines – $40.00 B
Hook & Ladder Winery – $25.00 B+  **
Hop Kiln Winery, Generations – $40.00 B
J. Lynn Wines – $19.99 B  **
Joseph Swan Vineyards, Cuvee de Trois – $28.00 C
Kenwood Vineyards – $18.00 B-  **
Moshin Vineyards – $36.00 B
Olsen Ogden Wines – $42.00 B+
River Road Vineyards – $27.00 B 
Terlato Family Vineyards – $60.00 B+
Willams Salyem, Westside Road Neighbors – $67.00 B-

Flight 3 – The thrid flight was Russian River Bordeaux’s.  The winery, vineyard, varietal, year, price and my grade of the wine
Acorn Winery – Alegria Vineyard – Cabernet Franc, 2006 – $32.00 B **
Dehlinger Winery – Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 – $50.00 B
Ledson Winery & Vineyards – Merlot, 2005 – $44.00 B-
Longboard Vineyards – Merlot, 2007 – 24.00 B+  **
Merriam Vineyards – Miktos Red Wine, 2005 – $50.00 B-
Selby Vineyards – Azvedo Ranch – Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006 – $40.00 B-
Suncy Winery – Hedin Vineyard – Merlot, 2006 – $30.00 C
Windsor Oaks Vineyards – Chalk Hill – Malbec, 2007 – $35.00 B  **

After the third flight we were treated to an awesome lunch at the winery.  During lunch we mingled, and talked about each other business etc.  We also drank more wine!  We had 2006 Merriam Merlot and 2007 Picket Fence Pinot Noir.  Here was the menu:

Arugula & endive salad, avocado, Manchego cheese, caramelized almonds, lemon-truffle vinaigrette
Salad of baby beets, feta cheese, orange & horseradish vinaigrette

Rotisserie pork loin, pomegranate glaze, roasted red grape & farro salad

Wild mushroom & goat cheese spaetzle

Mini Chocolate cakes, caramel mousse mini chocolate chunk & banana bread pudding

                  Peter Merriam, Merriam Vineyards

All I can say is WOW!  Luckily they gave each of us a cup to spit the wine into and a bottle of water at each flight to replenish liquids.  So in reality I probably drank about 1 glass of wine.  But it sounded a lot more impressive saying 28 glasses.  Our day did not end there.  We went on to two more wineries, then out to dinner.  That is another blog for another day.

Remind me, why did I go to Palm Desert in August?!

I’m back from a week in Palm Desert.  For those of you who don’t know, Palm Desert is about 5 miles due east of Palm Springs, which is about 90 miles east of Los Angeles.  If you like the hot dry desert weather, then you would love it.  If you’re like me who likes it hot outside but not too hot that you can’t even lay out in the shade without sweating like a pig then you would have been frustrating.

We left on the 1st of August for 8 days.  I was so looking forward to this trip, as Larry and I had just got back from the Bloggers conference (which was hard work drinking all that wine – another blog to follow about that weekend).  Larry didn’t even go home, he went from one conference to another, back to back.  We were going to unwind, to have no obligations (except to see my grandmother and family), eat, drink, and get reacquainted with each other; all on a low budget.

We left Dublin about an hour later than planned as Larry’s back decided to spasm just as we were about to pack up the car.  So, guess who had to lift up the ice chest, the suitcases etc. and pack it all in?  Yep, ME!!!  I was so nervous that my back was going to go out doing this.  [Two and a half years ago when Larry, our son Jacob and I went to Palm Springs to have a nice relaxing week there in January, I had a bad back the whole time we were there and Larry had a back spasm while we were there the day before we were to leave to drive home.  Jacob had to load the car for us, as we were invalids!  We have such bad memories of that trip, it was so cold all week, we couldn’t go to the pool once and all the citrus trees were literally freezing each night.]  Larry was in good pain the whole drive there, but with this kind of spasm he is better off sitting than standing.  I drove 5 ½ out of the 7 hours it took to get there.  I forgot to go to the library to rent a book on tape so we just had music and each other.  The Giants had the nerve to be playing a night game so we couldn’t even listen to that!

We got to Palm Desert, checked into our 1 bedroom villa.  This was part of the Marriott Desert Springs Vacation club.  Our unit was beautiful.  It had a separate bedroom with a Jacuzzi tub, shower, a full kitchen with dining room and living room.


                   The view from our porch

There were two TV’s a DVD player and a really nice porch area that faced out to the golf course and lake by the 2nd tee.  Around 8:00 we were off to the local “City Wok”, Chinese restaurant for dinner and a beer.  We ordered their catfish two ways special, which we had in a black bean sauce, Kung Pao combo, freshly steamed edamame and brown rice. The beer went down real smooth and we were extremely impressed with the quality of the food. 

Every morning we had breakfast outside on our patio, read the paper, did a sudoko, watched the world go buy (or the ducks).  It was very relaxing.  Most lunches we had outdoors too but sometimes the sweating got out of control and we had to go back into the air-conditioned unit.  We went to the pool at least once each day and even went to the Marriott pool one day to see if that was something we would want to do more often.  We walked through the beautiful hotel and spent about 2 ½ hours in the 116 degree heat.  Their pools there were very nice, and we found a great spot in the shade under an umbrella, but it was very crowded and noisy.  (What were all these people doing in the desert in August?)  We took advantage of the flag that you put up on the back of your chair to call over the cute little cocktail waitress.  Larry ordered a margarita and I ordered a strawberry daiquiri plus a plate of fresh fruit.  That came to over $40.00!  We ate about half of the fruit there and brought the rest back to the unit and a couple days later made a nice fruit smoothie out of it.  In the end we decided that our local pool by our unit was just fine for the rest of the week.

We only cooked one dinner in.  We made soft tacos, which actually gave us three additional lunches.  One night we brought in Chinese Food, again from the City Wok. 
   Larry in the living room with Chinese food and wine

This time we ordered and spicy chili string beans with chicken and peppercorn chicken with brown rice.  We ordered in pizza one night, and went out to dinner at the Yard House one night.  We went there after we had seen the movie Funny People with Adam Sandler.  Very good movie.  For dinner Larry had an Ahi Crunchy Salad and I had their BBQ Chicken Salad.  Larry had one of their many beers they have on tap, and I ordered a cosmopolitan martini.

We had dinner at my Aunt Frankie and Uncle Ray’s house one night.  My 94-year-old grandmother and cousin Danny live there too.  My 85-year-old great-aunt Beatrice also joined us.  Aunt Frankie made delicious lamb chops, a cheesy potato casserole and green beans to go with the meal.  We had brought a Merlot from Murietta’s Well Winery in Livermore to share with everyone.  After dinner we sat and talked and enjoyed a piece of peach pie with banana nut ice cream.  Another night we met Aunt Frankie, Danny and Grandma at Applebee’s and had a nice early dinner (5:00).  After dinner Larry and I went to the movies and saw the most recent Harry Potter movie.  We then went to the Cheesecake Factory and enjoyed dessert.  I had their lemon cheesecake and Larry had their carrot cake.  I haven’t gone out for dessert in years! ☺ 

As the week went on Larry’s back got better and better.  We never did any exercise except in the pool.  We met very nice people at the pool each day.  We got a lot of work done that we had brought to do.   We also did a lot of reading, knitting, watching DVD’s and visiting.  Toward the end of the week the weather got a little bit cooler and I was able to layout in the sun the last two days. 

I was wondering why did I choose to go to the desert in August!  Then I figured it out.  One, it is a quieter time there.  Two, it will for sure be warm!  Three, we can stop on the way home in the San Fernando Valley and visit a lot of our family.

 
                     Lori and Grandma Millie  
                                              
Four, and most importantly, I wanted to see my almost 95-year-old grandmother.  She has been a very large part of my life and it is challenging to get to see her but once a year.  This trip makes it twice this year, and that makes it all worthwhile. Family is very important to me; you just can’t take them for granted. I don’t know how much longer she will be around but for me to see her smile and hear her laugh and to be comforted that she is happy was all I needed to make my vacation complete.

Wine Bars – The new way to sample many different wines all in one place

One of the newest hippest places to go to when in a downtown area is to go to a wine bar.  Why you may ask?  Well the main reason is that if you like wine, they usually offer a very large selection.  Some wine bars offer tastes in 2, 4, and 8 ounces besides the glass and or bottle.  I love the different sized samplers as it give you a perfect way to sample different wines.  When you find a wine that you like you should write down notes about what you liked so you could go and find it to have at home.  Usually these wine bars offer tapas or small bites to select to go with your wine.  It’s a perfect, casual and fun place to go with other wine lovers.  

A few weeks back I went to meet up with my friend Liz for just that.  We agreed on meeting at Vinoteca in Danville.  Neither of us had been there as they were pretty new to town.

Vinoteca was beautiful with its wood floors and tables, some couches with short cocktail tables and tall cocktail tables covered with black tablecloths with tall stools.  Liz and I were greeted very nicely and were taken to a nice bar table.  We looked at the menu, which is very nice, filled with beverage and tapas choices.  The food menu is divided by categories of Nibbles, Bocadillos (small grilled sandwiches), Greens and Things and Petite Plates.  The wines they offer are mostly from Europe.  This was a nice change of pace for me.  I didn’t know what to order so I asked my waiter and he made a great suggestion.  You can order the wine in 3 different sizes – glass, carafe and bottle.  Besides the wines they offer, they also make blood orange sangria that they serve with lunch, and they have draught beer from Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Pacific Coast.  They also have some bottled beer, ports and espresso drinks to end the meal with.  

I had a glass of ’07 Vaza, Crianza, Tempranillo, Espana, which was just perfect with the Tapas we ordered.  Liz had the ’07 Olvena, Chardonnay, Somontano, Espana also good but served a bit too cold.  They serve the wine in a Luigi Bormidi glass (which I’ve never heard of before.)  We ordered marinated olives, salted almonds; sheep’s cheese-stuffed Majool dates wrapped in pancetta; smoked pulled pork, caramelized onion with Piave cheese Bocadillo, and chicken and salt cured ham croquette with spicy sofritto.  When the boys came to join us Larry ordered a ‘07 Albarino, Paco & Lola, Rias Baixas, Espana and Werner ordered an ’07 Pinot Grigio, Benvolio, Furili, Italia. 

To add to what Liz and I had eaten the boys ordered heirloom tomato salad with spicy oregano and baked feta; grilled calamari with yellow fin potatoes, chorizo, piquillo peppers and arugula, and a black cod with heirloom tomato gazpacho and couscous.  Everything was delicious and served on different styled plates.  We were all full after having these dishes.

The service was fantastic and it was crowded for a Thursday night.  They have a live band in there Thursday-Saturday from 9-11, but by 9:30 when we left they still weren’t there.  I would highly recommend Vinoteca for lunch, an aperitif to dinner or for dinner.

Russian River + Turning 50 = Fantastic Day

Last week I took my friend Chris who had just celebrated her 50th birthday up to the Russian River in Sonoma County.  A few days prior we were at her house to celebrate with her family and friends, but I wanted to take her out for a “special day”, something she would remember for a long time.

We left the Dublin area around 11:30 and arrived in Sebastopol for lunch around 1:00.  We were given the suggestion of K & L Bistro on South Main street, downtown.  A very cute place, not too large, but quant with dark woods and art placed around.  It felt very Parisian.  I ordered their “Stimulus Lunch” (the special of the day), which included a cold cucumber gazpacho soup and salmon served with vegetables and red baby potatoes.  Chris ordered their Spring Risotto, which is described as having in it – Meyer lemon, asparagus, tomato confit and goat cheese.  Both of us enjoyed our lunches very much.  Neither of us had wine with lunch as we knew that wine was in our near future.

Next we went to Dutton Goldfield, where Brandon a.k.a. WinemakerB, is the assistant winemaker.  They share their tasting room with Balletto Vineyards.  So you can taste two for the price of one!  We tasted and compared chardonnays, had some D.G. Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Syrah.  Brandon took Chris and I for a quick tour of the winery.  They were cleaning out a lot of the barrels, letting them dry, then sterilizing them and plugging them shut.  After those steps they get racked again and wait for the harvest.  Balletto was getting ready to bottle yet another wine that is ready.  

After Dutton Goldfield we went to Gary Farrell Winery.  They are on Westside Road in Healdsburg, but not very close to town.  Gary Farrell is known for its Pinot Noir.  Their tasting price is $10 for the premier and $15 for the limited release.  We tried their ’07 Sauvignon Blanc, Redwood Ranch*, ’06 Chardonnay, Russian River Selection, ’06 Pinot Noir Russian River Selection, ’07 Chardonnay*, Westside Farms, ’06 Pinot Noir, Ramal Vineyard, ’06 Pinot Noir, Starr Ridge Vineyard* and the ’06 Pinot Noir, Rochioli Vineyards*.  The ones mentioned that have an “ * ” were my favorites.
 

The views from the tasting room were incredible!  They are up about 1,000 feet or so, nearly the top of tree line.  All you see are trees, blue sky and the hawks swaying in the wind.  

Our next stop was at Porter Creek Vineyards.  They are also on Westside Road but much closer to the town of Healdsburg.  They are a certified organic winery. 

Their tasting room is in what used to be a single car garage and is now a historic structure.  It’s decorated with local artwork.  The winery is up the road a bit, not visible.  But what is visible is some of the many acres of vineyards they have.  Jonathan was there pouring for us and we tried their ’07 Viognier, Timbervine Ranch*, ’06 Pinot Noir, Estate Point, ’06 Pinot Noir, Fiona Hill Vineyard, ’07 Carignane “Old Vines”, Mendocino County, ’06 Syrah, Timbervine Ranch*, ’06 Zinfandel “Old Vine”*.  I really enjoyed my tasting experience there.  We closed them down for the day but didn’t feel any pressure to leave.

We then drove to downtown Healdsburg, (one of my favorite wine towns).  We parked, grabbed our Giants folding chairs, walked to the town square and placed our chairs in a great spot awaiting the upcoming “Jazz on the Square” they have every Tuesday night during summer.  We took a walk all around the square, which was having its Farmers Market.  Chris bought a couple nectarines and I bought last of the season cherries.  We peaked in some of the art boutiques and unique shops around the square.  Luckily most of them were closed.  We had to stop into my favorite candy/gelato shop, Powells Sweet Shoppe.  There we treated ourselves to a kid’s size scoop of chocolate peanut butter gelato.  We also bought some candies for later.  We then made our way to the Oakville Grocery market, which is known for its deli with meats and cheeses, they also have different bread choices, condiments plus much more.  While we were there they had two huge chioppino pans, about 3 feet in  

diameter.  The chef was making two differenty types of chioppino.  One pan had chicken, sausage,vegetables and rice (foreground).  The other pan had seafood with different cut up fish and huge prawns on top with vegetables and rice.  Had I known about this in advance I would have waiting the extra 20 minutes, but we ordered sandwiches instead.  Chris had their curried chicken sandwich with mango chutney mayonnaise, and leaf lettuce on a Dutch crunch roll.  I had (to keep with the French theme) an apple wood smoked ham & brie sandwich with whole grain mustard, leaf lettuce and red onion on a Dutch crunch roll.  We got a bag of chips and drinks.  Just as we got to our chairs we had enough time to take out our sandwiches from the paper wrapping and then the music started.  The band was great and the people watching perfect.  There were people of all ages from babies/toddlers to the very experienced folks.  They had an area set aside for those who wanted to dance, and there were plenty!  We stayed for 1-½ hours and headed back to the car to drive our 1 ½ hour drive home.  

Yes, this was a long day (10 hours), but it couldn’t have been more perfect!   Three wineries, one tour, two meals, good friends having a great time and plenty of beautiful scenery along the way!

California Wine Festivals in June, July, August and Beyond

This is an update of what is going on in the California wine
regions.  I’m not going to post what the individual wineries or wine
shops are doing, but I will post the wine festivals that I’m aware of. 
If I’ve missed anything, please inform me at info@vicivino.com, so I
can add it to the list.  Some future events are listed down below.

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

          Current California Wine Events June – August ’09

June 6th & 7th, 11-5pm – Santa Cruz Mtns. (western side) June 13th & 14th Santa Cruz Mtns. (eastern side) – Santa Cruz Vintners Festival

June 6th, 1pm-4pm – Two Harbors, Avalon – 8th Annual Wine Festival, Catalina Island

June 13th, 3pm-7pm – Historic Escalle Winery, Larkspur – 5th Annual Marin County Pinot Noir Celebration

June 24th-28 – San Francisco – San Francisco Pinot Days 2009

June 26-28th, 11-5pm – Murphys – Calaveras Passport Weekend 

June 28th – San Francisco – Pino Days, Grand Festival Wine Tasting

July 9, 5:30-9pm – Sacramento – California’s Grape and Gourmet

July 23, – 6pm-9pm – Livermore – Taste of Terroir

July 26th, – 1-6:30pm – Napa – Jewish Vintners Wine Trail

July 26th,  1-4 pm – Camarillo – 22nd Annual Wine Food Festival

August 8th, 6pm-9pm – Paso Robles – Winemakers Cookoff

August 8th, 12-3:30pm – Monterey – 17th Annual Winemakers Celebration

August 14-16th – Sonoma County – 14th Annual Russian River Valley Wine Growers “Grape to Glass” Weekend

August 16th, 2-5pm – Moraga – Saint Mary’s College Wine Festival

August 29, 10am-6pm, August 30th -10am 5pm – Bodega Bay –Bodega Seafood Art and Wine Festival. 

August 23, 3-6pm – San Francisco – Family Winemakers of California


     Belly Dancers at Mounts Winery – 2009 Dry Creek Passport Weekend –   Live band at Martorana Winery

                                   Future Wine Events

September 4th – 6th,  Healdsburg – Sonoma Wine Country Weekend which includes TASTE of Sonoma

September 6th & 7th, 12-5 each day – Livermore – 28th Annual Harvest Wine Celebration

September 11 & 12, 11-5 each day – Fort Bragg, – 25th Annual Winesong!

September 27, 12pm-6pm – Lodi – Taste of Lodi

October 25th – Russian River, Sonoma County – 6th Annual Pinot on the River

November 18-22 – San Diego  –The 6th Annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival

June 12th, 2010 – Russian River Passport Weekend – Sonoma County

Being a Kid Again at the Jelly Belly Factory!

Yesterday I went to the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, CA.  It’s about a 60-minute drive from San Francisco and 45 minutes from Sacramento.  They offer FREE tours daily every 15 minutes that last about 45 minutes.  I went with my mom Pearl and stepfather Bob,
and cousins Karen and Rod who were visiting from the L.A. area.  I had been there before, but each time is a different experience because
of the different people I’ve gone with.  I think the more in your group
the more fun it can be   We all acted like little 10 year-olds.  We
acted mature enough to behave during the tour, we kept quiet and were
respectful, but we were a bit obnoxious in the gift shop.  We all spent
way too much money on sugar!

  Pearl, Bob, Rod and Karen on the Jelly Belly Tour!

Besides the factory in Fairfield, CA the only other one in the USA is in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin.  There they have a 30 minutes train tour of the warehouse and factory.  We learned a lot of very interesting history.  It all started in 1869 when the Goelitz brothers arrived from Germany with a desire to have their American Dream.  They landed in Belleville, IL and bought an ice cream and candy store.  The Goelitz second generation developed a candy they called “Butter creams” which included the likes of Candy Corn.  This helped them to survive during the depression and two World Wars!  Today, the great-grandsons of Gustav Goelitz, the fourth generation, are still
carrying on the tradition of making candy.  The
jelly candy inspired by Turkish delight was shaped into a bean and given a soft
shell using a French process called “panning”.  The first jelly bean was created
by an American candy maker whose name has since been lost in time.  Although the penny candy boom waned a bit when America fell in love with
chocolate in the early 1900’s, there was a real chocolate shortage when most
chocolate went to overseas troops during World War II.  So, patriotic Americans
once again discovered their urge for non-chocolate sweet treats like the common
candy store jellybeans.  Back in 1976, a Los Angeles candy distributor had an idea for a jellybean made
with natural flavorings.  He called up the candy makers at Jelly Belly
(formerly known as Herman Goelitz Candy Co.) who had a reputation for making the
very best candies.  In 1976
the first eight Jelly Belly flavors were born: Very Cherry, Lemon, Cream Soda, Tangerine, Green Apple,
Root Beer, Grape and Licorice.  Funny enough they are still some of the most
popular flavors made.  Jelly
Belly became the favorite candy of Ronald Reagan, who eventually made the beans a
staple in the Oval Office and on Air Force One after he was elected president.  President Reagan’s passion for
jellybeans inspired Blueberry flavor, which was cooked up so he could serve
red, white, and blue beans at his inaugural parties.  Diplomats and world
leaders clamored to have Jelly Belly beans.  Jelly Belly was also
the first jellybean in outer space.  Free floating, weightless Jelly Belly beans
were sent on the space shuttle Challenger in 1983.  Today the company still makes Candy
Corn and more than 100 mouthwatering candies, including such delights as
chocolates, gummies, sour candies and confections for all the major seasons.  Did you know… that there are about 4 calories per Jelly Belly bean?  One batch takes two weeks from beginning to packaging?  It can take up to two years to develop a Jelly Belly flavor?


                              Me and Mr. Jelly Belly at the factory

Speaking of flavors.  They offer over 50 different flavored beans, including new pomegranate, dark chocolate and soda flavors like 7-up, Orange and Grape Crush, Root Beer, Ginger ale, and Dr. Pepper to name a few.  Get ready for this…they have a grouping of flavors called Bean Boozeled.  Some of the flavors in this grouping are vomit, pencil shavings, booger, baby wipes, skunk spray, moldy cheese, rotten egg, black pepper and earwax!  They are mixed in with some nice flavors such as peach, coconut, plum, pear, buttered popcorn, licorice.  This way when you are eating the package you don’t know which flavor is going in your mouth!  I can only presume that the kids between 6-14 will like those and dare their frineds to tasting them.  Can be a fun game or spoof.  Bob tried vomit and said it tasted horrible!  What was he thinking?  Some of the other new items are Sport Bean, Smoothie Blends and Cold Stone flavors.

This was a perfect way to start out my Memorial Day holiday weekend.  It is very worthwhile going on this tour; you get to see and understand a lot of what goes on in an American candy factory.