Christmas: A Family Celebration

It really doesn't matter how big your family is, there's nothing better than celebrating Christmas with family. Over the last few years I've visited with various family members for Christmas.  

Since I no longer have any children living at home with me, Christmas isn't like it used to be. No excited children hoping that I'll get out of bed so they can get to their presents. That's why visiting with my brothers is always a treat. They still have children at home.

With four children and two dogs, my younger brother's house can be quite exciting. This year, we visited them after Christmas, so this Christmas was a lot quieter. There were just five of us.  Now I never want to run out of food, but perhaps 4 ribs of a standing rib roast might be a little bit too much.

With our horseradish encrusted standing rib roast we had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry salad, brussel sprouts with a cheese sauce and some fresh bakery rolls. I wasn't sure what to serve with dinner so I tweeted out a couple of selections in hopes of getting some feedback.

My friends at Pine Ridge Winery suggested their 2009 Fortis.  Now I don't pay a lot of attention to how wines are rated. Mostly I pay attention to whether I like the wine or not.  I've had a lot of unrated wines that I really enjoy. But the 2009 Fortis was rated 93 by Wine Spectator and 92 by Robert Parker. 

I'm not sure what number I'd rate the wine but it was a perfect pairing for the standing rib roast. This Cabernet was selected from the very best vineyard blocks from the 2009 vintage. 

This is what Pine Ridge says about the wine:  

The 2009 Fortis presents an intense nose of cassis jam, black mission fig and blackberry fruit, supported by balancing aromas of rich caramel, dried rose petal and French vanilla. The black garnet color hints at the extraction of this gorgeously complex wine, confirmed by the intensity of flavors of sweet juicy blueberry and stewed black fruits beneath a harmony of chocolate ganache, dark espresso bean, brown butter and toast. Creamy tannins follow through the smooth and lasting finish of this rich and full-bodied wine.

As I've said before, I can't always pick up the aromas and flavors outlined but I did pick up on the blackberry, caramel and the vanilla. It's inky dark color hints at its bold, robust taste. The only thing bad I can say about the wine is that I only had one bottle.

The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging in the man cave with a fire in the fireplace and enjoying what I'm sure will be a new Chistmas tradition: watching National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. We did open a bottle of the Onyx and a bottle of Seghesio's Chianti Station to go with some cheese, salumi and crudites.

But most of all, it was a day full of family, food and fun. As the fire died down and the Christmas lights dimmed, we went to bed content. It's hard to imagine a better day.

A Charming Little Wine

Sometimes it's a little something special that makes an ordinary evening extraordinary. That certainly happened the other night.

It had been a hard day.  I picked up some take-out Chinese and came home and got into my "give up" clothes.  You know them, sweats or something comfortable when you're not expecting anyone to arrive. 

While setting up the Christmas lights, I threw out my back so it was still a little tender.  I wasn't looking for something in particular when I went to the wine cabinet.  I pulled out a bottle of the Pine Ridge Charmstone 2008 vintage.

Charmstone is a Bordeaux blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with some Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  Charmstones, which gets its name from the native cultures of California and the American southwest, are thought to have mystical powers.

I'm pretty sure that this wine does have mystical powers.  I wouldn't have thought that a wine that leans heavily on the Cabernet Sauvignon would work so well with the cashew chicken but it worked perfectly.
I wanted to find out what made this blend so mystical.  It's a limited edition blend available to wine club members only. I did a little searching on the internet and found that it comes from wines in some of Napa's very best appellations like Rutherford, Oakville and the Stags Leap district.

You can tell the high concentration of Cabernet Sauvignon right from the first pour. It's deep garnet color signals something special. While I'm not so good at picking out the various flavors, I did experience the sweet red cherry and hint of cinnamon spice.

A great place to visit when you're in Napa!

All the while I was enjoying the wine and a quiet evening, the phone rang.  No it wasn't an annoying telemarketer.  It was my first entry into the Mark Loux Alzheimer's book.  It was my cousin calling to see where we were and why we weren't at her house.

Then it all came back to me.  I had made plans for the night.  Deeply embarrassed, I apologized profusely.  After hanging up, I poured another glass of the Charmstone and amazingly forgot the whole thing.

I'm Thankful for My Friends -- Old and New

Last Thanksgiving was a bit crazy.  Not only was I getting ready to celebrate my 50th birthday (and my twin brother's) we found out on the Monday of Thanksgiving our Thanksgiving Day restaurant reservations had fallen through.

That meant that I ended up hosting two pretty big celebrations in three days.  I won't go into details here (you can read about it in my post The Unexpected Party. This Thanksgiving was a lot more low key.

This Thanksgiving I spent celebrating with family. There were just five of us.  Ok seven if you count the little dog and the 20 lb turkey! Pretty small considering the crowd that was there for last Thanksgiving but it was no less rewarding.

It was nice because it gave me an opportunity to reflect on a year of friends both old and new.  This past August (as you can note from my series on my trip to Sonoma, I had the real privilege to meet and work alongside three BBQ masters, Chris Lilly (from Big Bob Gibson's BBQ), Dr. BBQ (a mainstay on the professional BBQ circuit) and Pete Seghesio.

Not only did I learn a lot about the BBQ, I really had a chance to get to know more folks in the wine business.  Here's what I'm discovering -- I really like these folks.  The Seghesio team are incredible people.  From Pete and Cathy to Dave Meserli, Brandye Alexander, Dana Macaulay, Tony in the tasting room and so many others.

I'm really honored to call them friends not just acquaintances.

This fall I had the unexpected opportunity to not only meet some new friends but visit the great folks at Seghesio's sister vineyard in San Luis Obispo, Chamisal Vineyards.  You can read about the visit in my post A Special Day at Chamisal Vineyards. They're part of the reason for my reflections on my friends.  Our Thanksgiving meal featured the Chamisal's Morrito Pinot Noir.

This incredible wine was the perfect pairing for our turkey dinner.  Because of Michael's gracious tour, I can still see the view to the ocean from this little morro.  The particular terroir of this particular part of the vineyard is distinct.

It's more volcanic type rock than other parts of the vineyard and the hill is steeper.  This produced a wine that begins with a hint of strawberries and then ends with full on cranberry and the Chamisal spice. But more than the perfect pairing, it reminded me again of that special day with my new friends Michael, Alyssa and Andrea (who came in special even though she was recovering from an early fall cold).

So as we enter the holiday season, I just want to say thanks to my old friends and my new friends.  So to all those mentioned and to Bill Frick (Frick Winery), Nicole and Katey Bacigalupi (John Tyler Wines), Brooke at Chamisal and Nancy Santiago and Chistine Kyle from Pine Ridge Winery, a Giant Thank YOU.

You have made this a special year. Not only do you all make fabulous wines but you're some of the best people I know.

Cooking with Wine

Last Christmas I had this wild idea that it would be fun to take a cooking class.  It was a spur of the moment Christmas gift to a friend from a Groupon offer.  Little did I know how difficult it would be for us to take advantage of the certificate.

Not necessarily because of the company but we frankly let the coupon escape our minds for a while.  Then when we remembered my travel schedule made it difficult to take advantage of the certificate.  We finally settled on October 27th, her birthday, as the only day that it would work before the coupon ran out.

Now we know the Chicago area pretty well but I hadn't been to this part of the city before. It's not exactly a location that makes it easy to find or one that screams: "here's the perfect location for a cooking school." It's in an industrial area which I guess makes sense because in the back is a bakery churning out thousands of baguettes every night.

We were going to be completing their Chanel menu which included:

• Starter –Bouchées à la reine

• Entrée – Homemade sausage with boar

• Side – Pomme cuite, Pomme au four

• Dessert – Ile flottante

Cook au Vin provides everything necessary for food and cooking but you need to bring your own wine.  We decided on some French -- yet not so French -- wine.  

Over the past couple of years on our trips back to Sonoma we've found a small little winery, Frick Winery, run by a gentleman who absolutely has a passion for the business. And a passion for French varietals.  He's a member of the Rhone Rangers, a group of wineries that are committed to promoting the wines of the Rhone Valley. 

Bill, who does everything from caring for the vines to making the wine to managing the tasting room, has crafted some really delicious wines.  Including one I had never heard of before: Counoise. After our visit this summer I had purchased a couple of bottles and chose to bring two along for the night. As it turned out, it was a delicious pair to the meal. 

Counoise is pretty rare in the United States but it's one of the primary components of Chateau Neuf de Pape wines. The Frick Estate Counoise begins to set itself apart from other wines from the moment it's poured into a glass.  The brilliant earth red colors and aromas of plums and raspberry along with others start the experience.

Even to my unsophisticated taste, you can pick out strong fruit flavors along with a little spice.  So, while the other "students" arrive we begin with some cheese and pates to go with the wine that we brought.. I'm beginning to wonder if I brought enough.

Even to my unsophisticated taste, you can pick out strong fruit flavors along with a little spice.  So, while the other "students" arrive we begin with some cheese and pates to go with the wine that we brought.. I'm beginning to wonder if I brought enough.

Our classically-trained instructor not only does this but his full-time job is cooking for the Jesuits at Loyola University. And from his stories, they may not earn a lot or own anything but they eat extremely well. But I digress.

The class begins with us working on the dessert first.  Each couple has their own workstation. We're next to the instructor I can see close up what we're supposed to do. It begins by taking a vanilla bean and splitting it down the center and scraping out the seeds for the creme anglais (upon which the meringue sail will float). 

And now is when the dreaded "expert" cook began to rear her ugly head. You know the person -- the one who always has a comment.  In this case, they had taken a couple of cooking classes at Sur la Table and now took it upon herself to ensure the instructor was doing it "the right way." 

While classes are normally limited to six couples, this woman was part of a group of six that pushed the group to fourteen. One group too many to effectively work without bumping elbows.  For the rest of the night we were subjected to listening to her go on and on about this or that. Often missing the instructor's directions because she was talking not listening.

While the others in this group were very pleasant, Miss Know-it-All almost ruined the experience.  I won't provide a blow by blow description of the dinner but suffice it to say I learned more than a few things along the way.  

The best part of this was that the Chef/Instructor did much of the hard work ensuring that the meal was done correctly.  He did say that we did more of the work than other groups.  They primarily came to eat and drink and so they spent most of the time socializing and drinking rather than cooking.  

At the conclusion of the evening, we were all served family style.  Perhaps the most fun -- and something that will be tried at home -- was the sausage making.  

Is this something that I would do again? Probably. But it would mean that all the participants were people in my group. Then again, I might want to spend more of my time drinking and socializing rather than cooking.  At the end of the evening we had made a few new friends, learned some new things and drank some really fabulous wine.  

You can't ask for more than that.

Something Old. Something New.

With this month's wine club shipment, they included a 2009 Quindici. This Sangiovese blend from Tuscany includes 80% Sangiovese, 10% merlot and 10% Alicante Bouschet. Quindici, Italian for fifteen, celebrates the 15 years that Ted and Alberto have been collaborating.  

There's something special about family heritage. My family heritage is mostly German with a little bit of Swedish. We're known best for our wurst not our wine. Tonight, for no special reason, I opened a special bottle of family history. Not mine but my friends at Seghesio Family Vineyards. 

Tonight was an opportunity to celebrate the Italian heritage of the Seghesio family.  When Edoardo came to United States in 1886, he began work with the Pietro Rossi at the Italian Swiss Colony winery and he planted the first vines on the Home Ranch. Edoardo knew the Rossi family back in the "old country."

Seghesio's new wine from Italy? Delicious celebration of heritage.

For the last 15 years, Ted Seghesio, winemaker for Seghesio Family Vineyards, has been collaborating with Alberto Antonini in creating wines from grape grown in Sonoma County that builds on the family heritage. Primarily known for their Zinfandels, Seghesio has quite a lineage in creating Italian heritage wines such as Sangiovese, Aglianico, Arneis, Pinot Grigio, and just this year Vermentino among others.

A century after Edoardo Seghesio planted his first Italian varietals, Ted traveled to the land of his great-grandfather's homeland to create this unique wine. What I love about this is the sense of history in this wine. I love what Ted has been able to do with various Sangiovese blends from Sonoma County so I was particularly intrigued with the Italian version.

Obviously, the terroir of Italy is different from Sonoma. But the impact it has on the wine is intriguing. I found this wine to be delicious but not as big as some of the other wines from Ted.  I will say that this wine will find it's way into my holiday festivities. 

Thanks, Ted.  Here's a wine that is both old and new at the same time. Another winner from Seghesio Family Vineyards. 

Seven Pretty Pinots all in a Row

Last night was a celebration . . . a special birthday celebration. You know the kind. It's for those important birthdays that no one really notices. The kind that end in a two or a four. Really any time is the perfect time for a celebration.

And that's what we did.  What made it special was that I decided to make this a Pinot Noir tasting of from some of the wineries I have had the pleasure of visiting. The line-up included wines from Michel-Schlumberger, Seghesio Family Vineyards, John Tyler Wines and Chamisal Vineyards.  Perhaps not an extensive list but a really nice line-up of seven different wines.

Now usually I'm killing myself with preparing the hors d'oeuvres and other preparations but Saturday was filled with a cooking class (look for an upcoming post!) so it was enough trying to get the house clean and organized.

Thank goodness that I can just close the back bedroom door!

In order to take full advantage of the time tasting and pouring, I made a trip to Costco and walked through the freezer section and picked out some really nice (and easy) appetizers to bake in the oven before the guests arrived.

I had already made a trip to the Cocoa Bean in Geneva for some macaroons and for the cake. If you're in the Chicago area and looking for a great place fabulous french bakedry goods, the Cocoa Bean is the place.  Not only is their food wonderful, but they are a friendly bunch!

For the evening, I began by serving the Michel-Schlumberger 2009 Pinot Noir (Le Fou).  This was a great starting point. Michel-Schlumberger is located in Dry Creek Valley and features both hillside and benchland terroir. This unique terroir produces an elegant wine full-boidied but not overpowering.

This was followed by two excellent offerings from Seghesio. Those who have read my blogs know that I have a special affinity for the wines and people of Seghesio.  I love the way that Winemaker Ted Seghesio is able to get the most from every blend or varietal.  In this case we were tasting the 2006 Costiera and the 2008 Peter's Vineyard Pinot Noirs.

One of the first comments from this tasting was how much you could smell the fruit on this wine. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the aging or that these grapes came from the coastal region of Sonoma County (hence the name Costiera).

While Seghesio has moved toward becoming an estate winery, there are times they purchase grapes from growers equally committed to the high quality they've come to be known for.

I have to say that while there wasn't a bad Pinot in the bunch one of my top  wines was from the 2008 Peter's Vineyard Pinot. It continues to amaze me how different a wine from the same varietal can be depending on the winemaker, the terroir of the land it's grown on and the difference in location and temperatures.

The Peter's Vineyard is a single vineyard production that really touches on the quality and care put into creating a subperb bottle of wine.Thsee grapes com from ggrape grower Randy Peters.  According to my friends at Seghesio, Randy is one of those rare growers that match their commitment to quality. 

His Pinot Noir vineyard is located in the western Russian River Valley and was planted in 1973 to Pommard clones.  The Goldridge soil and benchland vineyard contribute to keeping the yields low.  This wine is a prime example of what has become a signature of Seghesio Family Vineyards and winemaker Ted -- to create excellent wines that represent the best of the vineyard and the grapes from a unique location.

I also think it's fun to see how an Italian winemaker approaches a French clone.

And that's exactly what the next Pinot Noir was as well.  Well sort of. From the Bacigalupi family and one of my favorite new finds on my recent trip to Sonoma (you can read about the trip in the previous posts from the end of July and August) and winemaker Tyler Heck (a fourth-generation winemaker with a heritage from Alsace) this Pinot Noir was a real treat.

We first found this wine when we did a tasting at the new John Tyler tasting room with Nicole. 

While talking the benefits and drawbacks of being twins (Nicole has a twin sister Katey, I am a twin  and my partner has a pair of 24 year-old sons), I got to taste some truly delicious wines. But more than that, we got to learn about one of the historic grape growing families of Sonoma County.

The 2008 Pinot Noir is no exception. Rated 92 points by Wine Enthusiast magazine this was a real treat for the evening.  My wine cellar was already full when I noted in a recent tweet that I would like to buy some of this (and their 2008 Zinfandel) but I didn't have room.  Nicole reminded me that the holidays were coming up and I couldn't have too much wine on hand.

I'm not sure that that's true or not because if Hurricane Sandy hits Chicago I'll be able to go a couple of months without having to restock my wine supply.

But I was glad to have this wine in the Pinot line-up.  A delicious wine that shows how different clones create differeent aromas and flavors.  Winemaker Tyler Heck does a fabulous job with this wine and its 92 rating is well deserved.

The last three wines for  this tasting came from my recent visit to Chamisal Vineyards.  With special assistance from Andrea, Michael and Alyssa, I came home with three unique expressions of their Pinot Noirs.

First up was the 2010 Edna Valley Pinot Noir. This wine is made from all ten of the clones found on the estate. When leaving the vineyard I picked up a couple of shirts that reflect the winemaking at Chamisal (My Pinot is bigger than your Pinot). I'm not sure what this is a play on but . . .  this is a big wine.

One of the unique characteristics of all Chamisal wines is the distinct spice that seems to find its way into everyone of their wines. 

I could tell you what the wine label says about the flavors but this is truly wone of my new favorite wines. Ok along with the John Tyler, the Seghesio and the other wines tasted.  It was a little bit of a transition from the John Tyler approach to Pinot Noir. Delightful none the less. 

Next up was the 2009 Califa Pinot Noir.  The Califa blend of the top three clones from a particular vintage give it a unique profile year after year.  This comes from the Chamisal website:

Every year the final blend of our Califa Pinot varies based on whichever clones have performed best that vintage. For 2009, it was a blend of 3 core clones: 114, 667 and 777. Clone 114 is full of lovely dark berry fruit. 667 has spice, power and structure, a great all-around performer. 777 provides powerful, ripe black and red fruit characters.

When I served this the other week to some friends at the office, I believe one of them used the phrase "This wine changed my life."   But as delicious as this wine was, the winner for the night was the 2010 Monologue.

The 2010 Monologue features the Clone 777. I'm not sure but I think that this wine changed my life. It's a big, big offering. While I couldn't tell you the fruit flavors, the fruit is very distinct in this offering.  This is a wine I can imagine pairing with everything.

I wish I could say that I thought things through on the food more but fankly I didn't. And, I don't think it matters as much as I used to think.  At the end of theday, everyone went home with a little more appreciation of the uniqueness of each offering showcasing the best  of the winemaker's skill and the unique terroir of the respective vineyards.

Now if you've had these wines yourself, I'd love to hear your perspective.  Just leave me a note below. And to my friends Nick and Annie, well, you left too early!

A special note to Nicole at John Tyler Wines, Brandye at Seghesio or Brooke and Michael at Chamisal, feel free to leave a note about each of your fabulous wines that describes them perhaps better than I can. Thanks for all you do in making and promoting some of my very favorite wines! 

 

Another Day in Paradise or Music City Day 2

Day two in music city dawned well before I pushed back the blankets and rolled my lazy backside down to get the free Hampton Inn breakfast. Nothing special but satisfying anyway. I guess the one twist on the traditional Hampton Inn breakfast was the option to go with the grits in addition to the oatmeal.

Some of the Honky Tonks on Broadway

Needing to do something healthy to start the day, we took a brief walk up to and down Broadway.  It’s not even 11 on a Sunday morning and the bars are beginning to come alive as the bands set up begin singing.

Aaah. Music City.

A quick stop in the store beside Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville suggests that there's a big sign on my back that says: "Take my money. PLEASE!"

Not only that, you can buy such things as a Beer Belly (a Camelbak) that slips under your shirt so you can sneak in beer to events you might not otherwise. Then there’s the Wine Rack (a bra that does the same with wine or any other beverage).

Patrons are already making their way into the bars such as the classic Purple Orchid, Layla’s, Second Fiddle and more. Folks can’t get enough of the country music and I’m still trying to figure out what country they’re from!

Most of the day was spent just wandering around the area including a visit to the Barnes and Noble near Vanderbilt. Couldn’t resist getting a book on making Salumi. Yes I could pick that up in just about any other B & N but . . .

After watching a little football and relaxing a bit, we went to dinner at a new-to-me Tex-Mex restaurant called Chuy’s and their should be famous Chihuahua Bar. 

With NRM friends Lynn Bogle (VP Development)
& Glen Cranfield (CEO)

Have one near you? Then you know what I’m talking about. While I don’t usually lean toward chains, this one has a couple of reasons to not miss. It begins with the jalapeño dip.

This ranch-based dip is to die for. Frankly, it could change your life.  It did mine.  Now I have to figure out how to recreate it. Along with their delicious Mojito I could spend the evening eating chips, salsa and the jalapeño dip.

But there’s much more available. Including their tortilla soup. I only wish a franchise was located in the Chicagoland area. I’m sure I would frequent it too much.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of the evening was keeping the dip and soup off my shirt. That’s because the whole purpose of the trip was coming up that evening. One of the organization’s I have the privilege to serve is the Nashville Rescue Mission.

Tracy Lawrence and Dave Innis prior to the show

This Mission is doing phenomenal things for the Music City and this fundraising event is not one to be missed. Music with a Mission was spearheaded by Restless Heart and friends playing alongside the Grammy-winning Nashville Orchestra.

Now being from Chicago, I’m really spoiled by the quality of the Chicago Symphony. The Nashville Symphony is just that good. Tonight’s lineup included a who’s who of the music world from country to jazz.

Besides Restless Heart there was Tracy Lawrence, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Amy Grant, Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo and many others.

I confess my main interest in the show was Branford.

Me with Branford Marsalis after the show.

Jazz is one of my favorite forms of music but when you’re listening to a Marsalis family member, they’re equally adept at every form of music. His classical piece was simply stunning in its orchestration.

The silent auction was filled with all kinds of music memorabilia.  I bid on a couple of items and almost left with a guitar signed by all the artists. It was just a bit over my budget for the event. 

Amazing. Signed guitars by Vince Gill and others along with a signed fiddle from Charlie Daniels. I’m not even a big fan but I was bidding anyway.

The performance?

Phenomenal doesn’t begin to describe the evening. I even found myself singing along with some of the country tunes. Gratefully the Mission provided invitations to the pre- and post-event festivities where I had the opportunity to meet several of the artists.

Greg Jennings with my co-worker Denise and me.

I’m planning on taking a trip to New Orleans sometime yet this year or early next year with a good friend from there. It’s in one of just two states I’ve never been in (Hawaii is the other) or through yet. The very gracious Branford Marsalis not only allowed a photograph but provided a couple of must see sights in New Orleans.

As I am leaving this incredible town, I’m still not sure I’m a huge fan of Country music but at least I’ve developed a new appreciation and won’t just change the channel if it happens to come on the radio.

They Don’t Call it Music City for Nothing!

It’s 6:30 am and I’m probably like many of the revelers in Music City . . . just ending the day.  Ok that’s not really true.  I’m just starting my day but this is a city that’s alive with music.

Got up bright and early on Saturday morning (flights were so much cheaper than Friday night!) and arrived early Saturday morning.  I was coming in for an event hosted by the Nashville Rescue Mission called Music for a Mission.

The best thing about this weekend is that I didn’t come alone.  Whereas last weekend I was working my way through California Wine Country, this weekend I’m in Music City.

This city has earned its name.

It begins in the airline terminal as you’re walking toward the exit. There’s a version of the famous Purple Orchid complete with live music. Every time I walk by the restaurant there’s someone different playing – and it’s not only what I would count as country music.

I have a confession to make.  I’m not a huge country music fan. Frankly I’m not a fan at all.  It goes way back (over 35 years).  I used to be an avid fan but then one fateful day a song came on where the chorus included: “there’s only two things that money can’t buy. That’s true love and home grown tomatoes.”

Really?

Over the years I’ve had folks tell me that country music is different today. I guess it is but I’m not sure with songs over the years like “Do you think my tractor’s sexy?”  Perhaps not so different.

I changed the station at that moment and never went back. That’s a bit unusual since my musical tastes are quite eclectic from classical and opera to rock to heavy metal and back to all forms of Jazz and the blues. No rap. No country.

Until this weekend. Maybe.

But I digress.  Since we weren’t able to check into the hotel early, we went over to an old favorite – Noshville – for a quick breakfast. Noshville is a great New York deli in Nashville. The quality of the food and the choices (great lox and bagel) are reminiscent of the fare you’d find in the Big Apple not Music City.

I picked up a magazine that listed all the best places in Nashville. Since I don’t always plan my trips, it provided a little direction for the day. The only thing on the docket was a dinner reservation at Whitfields with a dear family friend.

So a quick drive out to the community of Franklin. This cute little community on the outskirts of Nashville has a little for everyone. We even got in to see the Franklin Farmer’s Market. And, you guessed it; there was live music to entertain the marketers.

Even though there’s a wine road in Tennessee we decided to try something different – we took the whiskey trail.

From Franklin we headed to Lynchburg, Tennessee for a visit to an American institution. As American as apple pie, mom and Harley Davidson, Jack Daniel’s distillery is a must see.

Now here’s a unique twist – the distillery is in a dry county of Tennessee. Yep. Dry. As in no tastings. No regular purchases. Only commemorative bottles are available at the distillery. But we arrived just in time to take the tour – and a few weeks before their BBQ festival.

I was eager to learn what made the difference between Whiskey and Tennessee whiskey (not to mention bourbon etc.) When we arrived there was just one tour ahead of ours and before our tour began, they were taking reservations for tours seven after ours. 

While we have some photos, there were no photos in the distillery. Here’s what we learned. Tennessee whiskey has a minimum of 80% corn in the mash whereas bourbon has to have more than 55%. What separates Tennessee Whiskey from all the others is the charcoal filtering that takes place just after the distilling.

The tour begins with a short movie and then we load up on a bus and they take us to the Rick Yard. This is where they make the charcoal for the filtering from ricks of sugar maple. From there we get a bit of a lesson on the distilling of whiskey. 

It’s a tour I would suggest you take and the best part of it is that the price is right. Yep. It’s free.

After the tour and our free lemonade we went to Lynchburg for a quick lunch. We stopped at the BBQ Caboose Café for a pulled pork sandwich. Pulled pork was good but our side of red beans and rice was disappointing as the rice was not fully cooked. Still crunchy.

After lunch we wound our way to the George F. Dickel distillery. Just in time, as it turns out, for the last tour of the day. The name itself conjures up all kinds of inappropriate advertising slogans. Very similar to the Jack Daniel’s tour only they don’t do the bottling on site anymore.

Both distilleries are owned by huge conglomerates: Jack Daniel’s by Brown-Forman and Dickel by Diageo. Not necessarily bad but it’s not the same when you can visit with the family/owners like those of the Sonoma County wineries.

After the tour it was back to Nashville for a brief nap and to get ready for dinner. We met my dear friend Sue for dinner at Whitfield’s where her friend, Mark Sorrells and his trio, was playing. Whitfield’s is another gem in Nashville.

Seated in the bar so we could hear the music – again, it’s Music City after all – we began with a bottle of Francis Ford Coppola’s Director’s Cut chardonnay. I’m normally a red wine drinker but the Director’s Cut chardonnay was intriguing. 

After my visit in July to the Coppola winery, I’ve had the opportunity to pick out a couple of his wines to go with various dinners.  This one went with an appetizer of their mussels.

A truly delicious pairing.

This gave us time to just catch up and for Sue to meet Roxanne for the first time. After the first set, Mark joined us for a few minutes on his break. What a great opportunity to meet him. Smooth jazz. Standards. Even a little rock and roll. A very eclectic mix.

This is a place where the hours can drift away over good food and wine with friends. Dinner included a couple of their Saratoga Ribeyes and I had the Crab and Chorizo ravioli. The ribeyes were done to a perfect medium rare and the ravioli was delicious.

Dessert?

Absolutely. The perfect end to the meal was their donuts. Easily shareable and incredibly good. What’s wrong with dough dropped into hot fat and then rolled in sugar?  A perfect ending to day one in Music City.

Check back next week for day 2 and some really fabulous music.

A Special Day at Chamisal Vineyards

It's been about a year since I first heard about Chamisal.  It began with a tweet to the Winery asking what made this little jewel special. My initial interest began because one of my favorite wineries, Seghesio, had just been purchased by the same group that owns Pine Ridge, Archery Summit and Chamisal.

The Chamisal entrance. A beautiful vineyard.

After an initial shipment of some recommended wines from Brooke that expressed the uniqueness of the vineyard, I've been hooked ever since.

One of the things that sets off the wines is the particular terroir. Specializing in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, there's something about the soils that imparts what the vineyard calls the "Chamisal spice."

Overall, the Pinot Noir's are bigger than many I've had in the past.

But I digress.

When I had a business trip scheduled for the weekend in Santa Barbara, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to drive a couple of hours north and make my first visit to the winery. There are a lot of wineries and vineyards out in the market-place producing some very fine wines.  But it's not just the wines.

It's the people of the winery.

The tasting room, formerly the production facility.

That's one of the things that deepened my connection to Seghesio Family Vineyards. Not just the people that run the winery but the people that face the public day in and day out. They represent the personality of the winery.

And after a year of tweeting, email and online purchases, I finally had an opportunity to meet some of the great people behind the wines.

When I first suggested that I would be visiting the vineyard, I had some intriguing follow-up regarding what I might like to do.

Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know that I'm not really an "expert" just someone who likes food and wine. So when I was asked what I wanted to do, I left it wide open.

A left-behind cluster of Pinot Noir.

Then just a few days before arriving at the vineyard I received a tweet from Mike Bruzus the assistant winemaker at Chamisal. Now I'm really impressed. And a little nervous.

And this is why I choose to lover certain vineyards.  I'm really no one special but they pulled out the big guns for my visit.  Even Andrea Chan, the Director of Consumer Sales, came in on her day off to do a special tasting with me.

I arrived a little before 10 in the morning when the tasting room opened.  I was a little surprised to see the gates open but then with a recent heat wave, the winery was in full swing . . . even on a Sunday morning.

Chamisal is located in the Edna Valley near San Luis Obispo. This is a stunningly beautiful area of the country. Just about 10 minutes from the ocean and the Santa Lucia Mountains, this valley shows off why I am glad that I'm not facing the 40 degree weather back home in Chicago.

Inside the tasting room.

So instead of bundling up to go outside and rake leaves, here I'm sitting outside enjoying a private tasting with the very knowledgeable Andrea.

We started the tasting with the Chamisal Stainless Chardonnay. This is one of the most broadly distributed of the Chamisal wines. I've even found it in one of my local Costco's.

That's not to say this is a pedestrian wine. This is a great entry level wine. And for my sister-in-law it's one of the few chardonnays she can drink because the heavy oakiness of some gives her a headache.

Just off the tasting room this is a great place for a tasting!

But more than that, the stainless process allows the unique characteristics of each of the chardonnay fruit to really shine.

From there we progressed through a great selection of their white wines including the Estate and Califa Chardonnays along with the Pinot Gris. Here's where the special knowledge of Andrea really helped.

The Estate blends of both the Pinot Noir and the Chardonnay are made of a blend of all of the estate clones of each particular varietal. 

Some of the vines near the tasting room.

This approach gives you the opportunity to really taste what the vineyard is all about. Then the Califa wines are really the best of the best. Taking from some of the best barrels of the top two or three clones.

What makes the Califa wines unique is that every vintage has the opportunity to take on a different mix of clones and a different taste spectrum.

As a friend from work said after tasting the 2009 Califa Pinot Noir, it has a chance to change your life.

After finishing the tasting of the white wines we moved on to the red ones with a Rose of Pinot Noir. Now as I've mentioned before, I haven't always been a fan of the rose wines. Perhaps that's because the rose wines I've had in the past were cloyingly sweet. But of the various rose wines I've had recently, all have been quite good.

The same is true of this Rose. Served chilled this was a nice transition to the other red wines we would be drinking. Then we went to the stainless Pinot Noir. Like the rose wine, it was served chilled. A nice start to the red wine tasting. This was followed by the Estate Pinot Noir and the Califa Pinot Noir.

A map of the vineyard showing the various clones.

Both of these wines represented the unique characteristics of the Chamisal spice. As Andrea suggested, the spice is a little bit like a chinese five spice mix.

Following the Pinots we sampled some of the small lot wines that the winery produces such as their Grenache and Syrah and the Cinq a Sept and the Monologue.

Now I knew that I would have a difficult time when it came time to leave. We ended the tastings with the vineyard's desert wine . . . their Floreale of Pinot Gris. The fruit for this wine is still on the vines and it will be for a little while yet.

After the tasting Mike took some time from his busy schedule to show me around the vineyard. By the time I arrived at the vineyard most of the Pinot Noir had already been harvested.

One of the differences between Chamisal and other wineries is the way they treat their vines.  They've taken to growing the Pinot Noir vines in way that provides shade at high noon and a lot of sun in the cooler morning and evenings by taking off the leaves that would shade the grape clusters.

Some of the clusters still on a few of the later ripening Pinot vines.

This approach helps create the bigger, bolder Pinot Noir wines for which Chamisal is known. We then drove down several rows to the Chardonnay grapes.  These will be harvested very soon.

Now here's where I experienced my first first of the day.  I tasted wine grapes directly from the vine. Much sweeter than any table grapes, the grapes also didn't have any seeds.

Field lesson #1: the weather at the time the berries are set determines whether or not there will be any seeds.

Chardonnay grapes just days from harvest.

Who knew?

As we drove around the vineyard looking at the various clones and the change in the soil as we went.  Part of the vineyard is made up soil with a high clay content.

Part of the vineyard has more of the ancient ocean seabed mixed with the clay and other parts of the vineyard consist of more of the volcanic rock from the Morros.

A view from Morrito where one of Chamisal's small
production Pinots comes from.

These various soils bring a unique flavor to the various wines that Chamisal produces.  Within this little winery, there are several micro-climates. This makes growing the grapes a little more challenging.

As we were making our way around the vineyard we met up with Robbie Robbins.  Robbins Family Farms produce some really fine Olive Oils and import and bottle balsamic vinegar as well.

After a brief visit, he was off to deliver some of his product to one of his local distributors.

Part of the winery is in a bit of a depression where the fog from the ocean has a tendency to linger. This means that the grapes in this part of the vineyard ripen a bit later than the others in different parts of the vineyard.

It was here that Vineyard Lesson #2: I got a lesson in knowing how to tell when the grapes are ready to be picked. Take the grape and press it against the roof of your mouth and taste the juice, then look at the seeds followed by chewing of the skin.

You can see the volcanic influence of the soil here. 

When the skin isn't chewy but melts, the grapes are ready to harvest. At this point Mike declared that the grapes were about a week away.

Our last stop before heading into the winery was heading to the part of the vineyard where their Morrito (Spanish for little Morro) small lot wine is made.

The Morros or the Nine Sisters of San Luis Obispo are a series of ancient volcanic mountains.

Morrito is right in line with the nine sisters and could possibly be part of that ancient line of mountains. A theory that seems to be supported by the volcanic soil on this hill overlooking the rest of the vineyard.

An ancient oak standing guard over the vineyard.

An ancient oak tree right near the peak of the hill seems to stand guard over the entire vineyard. The views from this point of the vineyard are breathtaking.

Now for a brief visit to the winery itself. The vineyard recently received their Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing designation.

This designation provides for environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially equitable practices.

As part of this practice the vineyard is rebuilding their retaining pond to recycle all of the water the vineyard uses.

Chardonnay being pressed before heading to the
fermenting tanks.

The goal is to eventually use the wastewater from the winery to then be used eventually to provide water for the vines.

Our first stop on the tour of the winery was to check on the chardonnay that's currently being pressed and being transferred to the fermenting tanks.

Unlike the pinot grapes which are destemmed, the stems are retained for the chardonnay processing. They're actually helpful in pressing the grapes as the skins are not part of the fermentation process.

Pinot in the midst of fermentation.

The stainless chardonnay will spend its aging time in the stainless tanks. The estate chardonnay is then aged in larger tanks so there's some oak.

As we moved into the winery we climbed a few stairs to check on the progress of the pinot fermentation. This was another first for me to peek into the fermentation tanks.

In one of the tanks you could see the spent grapes had risen to the top of the tank as the CO2 released in the fermentation process.  You could smell the difference between the various stages of fermentation.

Fermentation complete (CO2 forces the
grapes to the top.

A quick trip into the barrel room and then back to the tasting room so that Mike could get back to work. I was amazed that, even in the midst of a busy schedule, how amazingly clean the whole winery was.  I think I could probably eat off of the floor

Returning to the tasting room I now faced the difficult decision about the wines I would add to my collection from this great winery.  

Alyssa Larson, the Tasting Room Lead, provided some great guidance as I selected the wines. I even had a chance to re-taste a few of the wines before making my final order. I also decided to add Chamisal to my club wine purchases. And not only did I order my wines but Robbie Robbins left a few samples for me to take home.  

A special thanks to Brooke, Andrea, Mike and Alyssa for setting up an absolutely wonderful day at an incredible vineyard. And to Robbie Robbins of Robbins Family Farms for the samples. I'm looking forward to trying them.

Wine aging in the barrel room. 

I can't wait for my next Mondays @ Mark's event where I'll definitely be introducing more people to these fabulous wines. 

But more than that, I've made some new friends in the Central Valley of California.  And that's the best part of enjoying wine and food.  I'd sure love to hear which wineries you've visited that not only make great wines but are great people.

Is there a "Perfect" Wine Pairing?

It seems like every time I taste a new wine, I'm pleasantly surprised.  When I first began pairing wines with food, I would let the "rules" of pairing drive my choices.  But lately I'm not so sure that the rules apply as much.

Sure it's true that often a white wine is preferable to a red wine for seafood but I'm stretching the boundaries lately. I've been known to pair a red wine with fish and and a white wine with red meat.  And I've been pleasantly surprised.  

Just the other night I was out with some clients and ordered a delicious Pinot Noir (the Director's Cut from the Francis Ford Coppola winery) that went just as well with seafood as it did with the NY Strip I had for dinner. I feel a little uncomfortable at times because it has been assumed because I really enjoy wine that I should pick it out.

Puts a lot of pressure on to live up to that reputation.  Here's the thing, I only can tell you what I like. I love the people who tell you they can taste all these wonderful flavors. Sometimes I get a hint but mostly my response is "Yep, that's good wine." 

What about you? When was the last time you were surprised by an unusual pairing?

One of the things I dearly love is cheese.  One would think with my love of cheese and my proximity to Wisconsin I would be a Packers fan. While I am surrounded by rabid Packer fans (I think rabid is appropriate), I am still a Bears fan.  I guess it's my long-term support of the Chicago Cubs that makes me long suffering. 

But I digress.  

Cheese and wine are great partners.  You may have read my earlier blog on the Cheese Clock that the Artisanal Cheese Company developed to help you.  You can find it at www.artisanalcheese.com.  Not only can you purchase some outstanding cheeses, you can pair them with wines designed to bring out their best flavors.

I'm not really a sweet wine person but . . . when I tasted some strong, even stinky, cheeses with a nice Sauternes the pairing was almost magical.  

From now on, I'm going to be a little more ambitious about the pairings of my wines with various foods.  I think the most important element isn't always what you're eating but the quality of the wine you're drinking. 

With winter coming on, I'll be spending more time in the Man Cave. And with it I'll be pushing the envelope in my wine pairings.  I hope you will be, too.

Train and the First of Three Glorious Weekends At Ravinia

After returning from our trip Sonoma to BBQ and drink wine with both old friends and new friends, we had scheduled three weekends in a row to be at the Ravinia Festival. This is truly one of the great treasures of the Chicago area during the summer. The eclectic mix of entertainers who come through Ravinia every season is a real treat.

This year has been no exception to that rule. Over the course of three weekends, we traveled from Pop to Easy Listening/Big Band to Rhythm and Blues as Train, Tony Bennett and Anita Baker all came to town. Each brings not only an original sound but their own audience as well.  All three concerts were sold out and while I don't know the number of people in the audience, judging from how we were packed in like sardines, it had to be well over 10,000 per concert.

Just getting started!

And here's where the best $75 I've ever spent came into play. Because I made a gift to the Festival, I was able to get in 30 minutes before the mongrel horde was.  Nothing like walking up to the member gate while everyone else is standing in line out to the parking lot!

Being of an age where I'm not always "up" on the hottest pop/rock groups, I wasn't sure what a Train was. I am quite familiar with Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train" but Train . . .  not so much.

But then again, we were at Ravinia so frankly the music, in my mind, is almost secondary. This great venue for a picnic and music is one of my favorite summer spots. Nothing like relaxing around a picnic dinner, drinking some truly fabulous wines and enjoying some music on a Sunday night.

Having set up before everyone in our favorite spot (with a view to the screens behind the stage), we could relax as the gates opened and several thousand people rush the venue trying to find their ideal spot. I'm frankly a little surprised that no one was trampled on the way in.

For us, this is the perfect time. We've already opened a bottle of wine and are now calmly sipping away. We have some food out and we're enjoying not having been nearly killed on the entrance to the park.

The line up for Train. As you can see, the Venom is empty already.

We're on the phone as some friends are trying to find their way into the park and toward our spot. For tonight's concert I've chosen some really delicious wines from Seghesio, Barbera, Venom, Sonoma Zinfandel, Home Ranch Zinfandel and the San Lorenzo Zinfandel along with a bottle of stainless Chardonnay from Chamisal Vineyards.

These should go really well with our cheese and charcuterie, grilled romaine and portabella mushroom salad, grilled chicken skewers, fruit and olives.

While waiting for friends to arrive, we had a glass or two of Seghesio's Venom.  I love what winemaker Ted says of this wine (grown on Rattlesnake Hill on the Home Ranch): "Venom is the antidote for all other previously consumed bad Sangiovese." I understand that Sangiovese isn't one of the easiest grapes to grow or wines to make. Venom is truly a work of art.

After every inch of space around us had be covered with a blanket, a folding chair or a table of some sort, we finished putting out the food.  One of my favorites is this grilled romaine salad that I've put together.

There's something about grilling the romaine hearts that brings out a little nutty flavor.  At the same time, roasting the portabella mushrooms, peppers and corn brings out a special flavor. What really kicks it off, though, is the homemade dressing.

For my brother who's allergic to mustard, it could be considered "killer." But it's really very simple.  If you'd like the recipe for this delicious salad, be sure to respond to this post.  I'll be happy to give it out.

When our friends arrived, we put the finishing touches on the food and the wine.  This was the first visit to Ravinia for Megan, Jason, Deanna and Erick. Now all that was necessary was a little birthday celebration and to sit back and to enjoy the music as Train rolls through Ravinia.

While I know August was your birthday month, Jason, maybe you can continue the celebration a little longer.  Thanks for sharing your birthday with us . . . and about 16,000 other folks.

Not that it really mattered at all by this point, but the music was really quite good -- if this not quite too old guy can say so.  The challenge with the concert being on a Sunday night is that work rolls around Monday morning so it can't be too late.

I suppose there are 50 Ways to Say Goodbye but since there are two more glorious weekends at Ravinia coming up (with Tony Bennett and Anita Baker) I won't say goodbye yet. Just come back next week for more of Mondays @ Marks!

Leaving Wine Country for San Francisco

Sadly our time in Wine Country had come to an end over a leisurly breakfast at the hotel. The Dry Creek Inn had exceeded all my expectations and so had the various wineries we visited. While I didn't buy wine from all that we visited, I wasn't disappointed in a single vineyard.

Now over breakfast, we decided that rather than try to visit one more winery on the way to dropping my brother and sister-in-law off at the San Francisco airport we would head there straight away. As it turns out, the decision was probably a good one.

While I had rented a full sized car, trying to get all of the luggage into the trunk was a little bit of a puzzle what with four suitcases and various bags with wine and other purchases in them. Not to single my brother and sister-in-law out but their suitcases were bigger -- clearly not intended to be carried on.

Taking the 101 south into the city, we encountered more traffic than I envisioned for mid-morning. As a result it made the best sense to drop my brother and sister-in-law off and then decide how to spend the rest of the day.

After dropping them off for their flight home (and hoping they don't have one cancelled again), we headed into the city to find a cup of coffee and some free Wi-Fi. Turns out we found Peet's but the free Wi-Fi was perhaps unable to handle the volume of use in the coffee shop as my connection was dropped repeatedly.

Our first task of the day was to figure out where we were going to stay so a quick stop to Hotels.com and various other sites to identify a  potential winner.  We were intrigued by the Hotel Kabuki in Japantown. We had stayed somewhere close to this area the last time but ended up at a different boutique hotel.

Having made reservations, we were free to wander our way over there.  Now I've been pretty impressed by my phone (a recent addition) even if it is a little bigger than most (it's a Samsung Galaxy Note). But the challenge with using it as a GPS device is it drains the battery -- even if it's charging! So having used it to find the Peet's and the Hotel, I was concerned I would run out of "juice" before getting to our first destination for the day . . . Chinatown.

Chicago has a vibrant Chinatown -- one that I remember my grandfather taking us to at least annually when I was a child -- but it's certainly not San Francisco's Chinatown. So far this trip had all the earmarks of my style of travel.  Find a destination and then figure out what to do.  Chinatown was no exception. 

Having found a city garage to park in, Roxanne went across the street to check out any information in the hotel lobby while I found a seat in Portsmouth Square to people watch. As usual I am not disappointed.  This park is filled with women playing Mah Jong, card games and spirited debates. None of which I could understand because they weren't in my native language -- American English.

We decided to head down Grant Avenue (apparently we were doing Chinatown backwards!) to see about finding a place for lunch. As a bit of a foodie and sometime amateur chef, I love sticking my head into the local groceries -- especially the ones with produce on the street to lead you into the market.  I also tend to visit the gadget stores as well. 

Having picked our restaurant, we were quickly seated (probably had missed the lunch crowd because it was now close to 2pm. We sat down and ordered some hot tea and one of the special meals and watched the fish in the fish tank and as the servers and cooking staff ate their lunch as well.

Proceeding down Grant Street, we poked our heads into a few shops along the way before turning around and heading back to the car. Our goal was to try and get some good pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge. The challenge is that everytime we tried to get a picture on previous trips there was some fog that made it almost invisible.

This time, armed with a little knowledge, we made our way to Crissy Field.  This former military airfield has been restored to a beautiful park with running paths and some of the best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Winding our way past Fisherman's Wharf, we found ourselves in the Crissy Field National Park. Headturning views of the bridge -- that is if you used your imagination for a bit because it was covered in fog.

After a nice walk around, the fog burned off and we prepared for a sunset photo of the bridge.  Seeing as we had a couple of hours before sunset, we went back to Fisherman's Wharf to grab a bit of something to eat that we could take back as a picnic dinner.

But first, no trip is complete without a trip to Tiernan's Irish Pub for an Irish Coffee. This place is historic. Not only do they make the best Irish Coffee's, but it's a warm, inviting pub. Just what you're looking for in a neighborhood institution. We were a bit early for the crowd, but I was here a number of years ago on a Friday night and you couldn't even move.

The Irish certainly have a way with their coffee. I am a huge fan of coffee and, as it so happens, of Irish Whiskey, too.  I'm particularly fond of Bushmill's. (And I don't even need the whipped cream but it's a nice touch!). 

So after a wee bit of coffee we made our way down to Fisherman's Wharf to pick up a crab roll and a few other fixin's to take back to Crissy Field for a picnic dinner. Trying to get the perfect photo turned out to be a bit of extra work. Ok, perhaps not work but time.

After the sun set, we headed back to the hotel.  This clearly Japanese hotel is not only beautiful, it's peaceful. The decor and the rooms are designed for comfort. Pushing back the Japanese screens and then the glass doors and stepping out on the tiny balcony, the views are nice but not spectacular. Unlike other parts of the city, the streets aren't terribly busy.

I do like that there's a pot to boil water for tea and a tea pot to steep it in. It's a nice change as I turn in for the night. In the morning, I ordered the traditional Japanese breakfast (or should I say brunch). It's a Bento Box filled with smoked salmon, a scrambled egg, fruit and some pickled vegetables along with a bowl of rice and some miso soup.

After a morning stroll around Japantown and picking up some noodles we made one last stop at Crissy Field to each lunch watching the bay and enjoying the beautiful sunshine. After a quick stop again at Humphrey-Slocombe for one last taste (and to purchase their recipe book and a couple of mugs!) we were off to the airport and on our way home.

Just as I found heading home from Paris after a week, it's easy to see why it would take a lifetime to see and experience all of the sights and opportunities in this great part of the country. Not only that, we've made some new friends and renewed relationships with some old friends along the way.

These are the memories that will keep us warm through the long, often too cold winters of Chicago! Thanks for going along with me on this trip of a lifetime . . . one that I hope gets repeated over and over again.

Making the Most of Wine Country, Day 5

It's our last full day in Sonoma before heading back to San Francisco so we wanted to savor this day and extend it to its fullest.  We began by taking advantage of the free breakfast at the Dry Creek Inn. 

While perhaps not the gourmet breakfast we experienced at the Grape Leaf Inn in Healdsburg (what a tremendous place to stay!) it was filling and for those of us with a little Dutch in our heritage it was, well, the best possible thing. 

Free.

Having filled up on the free breakfast, we began the day by heading north into the Alexander Valley to try a couple of new wineries and some old favorites from previous visits.  We began by heading to the Fritz winery. 

The lake below the Fritz Winery

We'd never been to this winery before but it's in a beautiful setting.  The cellars are built into the side of the mountain and the vineyards back up to Lake Sonoma. We arrived just as the tasting room was opening and were the first visitors of the day.  They provide a couple of options for tasting.

Being primarily a red wine drinker, we chose the red wine flight. We chose not to taste the rose but after our tasting at V-M-L I have to say I left regretting that choice.



The entrance to the Fritz Winery

Since it was early, we enjoyed sharing the tasting. Having been the first to arrive for the day, our host was most generous with the pours and providing a few additional tastings as well.  It keeps everyone in a position to enjoy the whole day.

And unlike others, perhaps, the idea of spitting out the wine after tasting is a bit unappealing to me. Like I said . . . with a Dutch heritage we believe in the ol' "waste not want not" philosophy.

For our next visit, we'll plan a little better and make a reservation for a tour of the winery facility.  The visionary founder really embraced the concept of sustainability and built the facility underground.

We really enjoyed their 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir. So after purchasing a couple of bottles (which got the tasting thrown in!) we were on our way.

The view south into Dry Creek Valley from the terrace.

Our next stop was to visit famed winemaker Ed Sbragia's tasting room just below the Lake Sonoma Dam.  With a terrace overlooking both the dam and down into the Dry Creek Valley, the views from the winery are spectacular.  So are the wines.

After an award winning 20 plus year tenure at Beringer Vineyards, Ed and his wife, Jane, purchased the old Lake Sonoma Winery and began their small, family-owned winery on the site.

Our al fresco lunch on the terrace!

While at Beringer, Ed won many accolades for his Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignons.  He's done the same with his own winery as he's crafted, along with his son, Adam, some really fabulous single vineyard cabernets.  I have also really enjoyed his Zinfandel from the La Promessa vineyard to honor a commitment to his father, Gino, to open a family vineyard.

After a tasting of some spectacular red wines we purchased a bottle of his Chardonnay, some cheese, a little salami and some gluten free crackers. Taking that out on the terrace we really enjoyed our al fresco lunch.

It was nice to take a bit of a timeout from the tasting since we had the rest of the day ahead of us. Our next stop was one of my favorite places in Sonoma -- the Frick Winery.  This little winery is owned and operated by Bill Frick.  He's crafting some of the most unusual wines I've every tasted. 

Arriving at the Frick Winery. 

What sets Bill apart from the rest of the winemakers in the region is his focus on French varietals such as Cinsaut, Counoise, Carignane among others and he crafts a number of delicous blends as well as the specific varietals.  One of our favorites is the Cotes-du-Dry Creek a play on the French Cotes du Rhone.

His small tasting room provides an intimate atmosphere.  It's only open on the weekends from 12:30 to 4:30. Why the short hours. Because among other things, he's winemaker, vineyard worker, celler rat, and the host at the tasting room.

This is a winery not to be missed.

When we arrived, we were the only ones in the tasting room which can handle somewhere between six and eight people at a time. His approach to the tasting is quite different. Instead of a pre-determined flight of wines to taste, you can choose a certain number off the menu and make your own wine tasting.

After tasting a number of different wines, we made a couple of purchases. First, because of shipping restrictions we purchased a couple of bottles to bring home with us in addition to the wine we are having shipped.  After a bit of a mix up with my credit card (apparently they were trying to protect me from myself for the second time in the week), I ordered a couple of mixed cases and we purchased a couple of hats and some wine glasses.

Since we only had a little more time, we made our way back to V-M-L winery for a tasting before heading toward the coast. We had visited this winery on our first day.  I was intrigued by the giant-sized Jenga tower outside (an idea worth stealing for my backyard).

We went inside where this time I wasn't going to hold back on the rose wine. While all of their wines were delicious, I really enjoyed something that normally doesn't hit my wine palate. After a nice tasting and the purchase of a couple of bottles, we began the drive down Westside Drive on our way to the ocean. Those of us from the Midwest rarely have this opportunity.  The closest we come are the Great Lakes but they're not really ocean scenic.

But before hitting the ocean we made a quick stop at the Korbel Winery. We did a quick tasting of some of their California Champagne. A quick note about the name. Normally only wine coming from the Champagne region of France can legally be called Champagne but because the historic nature of their wines they can continue to do so.

I must add that Champagne is not among my favorites -- even Champagne from the appropriate region in France. After a few minutes in this beautiful area near the coast we continued our way down to the ocean

I never tire of seeing the ocean -- especially in sun drenched California. We couldn't help be be awed by the views as we drove down Highway 1 along the ocean.

We made several stops including one that allowed us to actually wade into the ocean. The temperature wasn't as mild as I anticipated but it wasn't nearly as cold as a visit a few years ago to Maine.

When you travel from the Midwest and you have an opportunity to dip your toes in an ocean you take advantage of it.  After winding our way down the coast and a couple of stops we made our way back to Healdsburg.  We didn't have any plans for dinner Sunday night and after all that we experienced in just a few short days it was time to catch our breath a little bit.

We stopped at the Healdsburg Safeway and picked up a rotisserie chicken and a few other finger foods and headed back to the Dry Creek Inn.  Over in the Tuscan building there's a beautiful courtyard complete with a gas fireplace.

With a number of different wines from our travels this week, we opened a bottle from the Frick winery and another from Seghesio and relaxed as the sun set and we were ending our time in the Sonoma Wine Country.

Next week I'll let you in on a spot that most folks visiting San Francisco probably don't visit but has great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'm already trying to figure out if a week is enough to visit all my favorite wineries on my next visit to Sonoma and still find some new ones.