A Little BBQ Competition in Wine Country

Having found our way back to the hotel the previous night after a few wrong turns, I called for a 5:30 wake-up call.  At 6 am I rolled over and panicked.  I was supposed to be at the winery at 6 am.  

Chris Lilly checking the smoker.

 As I stumbled out of the car around 6:15 in the morning, a little frustrated there was no 5:30 wake-up call, Chris Lilly and his team and Pete Seghesio were already hard at it.  

Chris’ ribs were already on the smoker and the last of the rub was going on the Winery’s ribs before heading into Blaze.

Smoking a few ribs on my backyard smoker couldn’t compare with the opportunity to BBQ with some of the industry giants.  Even at 6 in the morning the trash talking between the teams was already beginning. 

Pete was pretty confident with a re-worked spice rub and sauce for this year’s event.  As it turns out, with good reason.  Apparently he and Chef Peter spent some time squirreled away working out the alchemy of rub, proofing liquid and sauce. (Now I had never really heard of the “proofing” liquid but it’s the secret to competition quality ribs.

Dr. BBQ's ribs ready to go on the smoker

Dr. BBQ came a little late to the morning so I had the privilege of spending time helping put the rub on the ribs before they went into the smoker.  Now, I’m not really sure what went into his rub, but I did notice a few green flecks in what was a paprika based rub (I think anyway).  

With both Chris Lilly’s Ribs and the Winery’s ribs in blaze, Dr. BBQ was using a pellet smoker. 

Reminds me a little of Ron Popiel (“set it and forget it”) as both Dr. BBQ’s brisket and Chris Lilly’s pork butts were on the smoker all night long.  It took some doing but the butts needed to move to make room for the ribs. 

 

Perhaps a little friendlier than in other competitions!

Pete checking the ribs on Blaze

Nothing left to do but keep the temperature on Blaze at the correct temp for the next five hours. It took a little doing as everyone went back to the hotel to freshen up leaving Mickey and me to manage Blaze – who’s a temperamental mistress!

After checking out the smokers in use, I wonder how it is that I can actually produce edible ribs on my Char-Broil offset box smoker. But working side-by-side with some BBQ Champions really taught me a few things.  One of those things – as my former father-in-law used to say – is to have the right tools for the job. 

Pete's secret proofing liquid was a little on the sweet side.  Not sure beside the sugar what was in the liquid.  Chris had taken his ribs off the smoker and added his proofing liquid to each rack and wrapped them in a couple of sheets of aluminum foil.  Even with with several pairs of latex gloves, I burned my fingertips.

Pete overseeing my rib technique.

Chris has been doing this so long I'm pretty sure his fingers are impervious to the heat.

With folks showing up early, it was time to take the ribs off the smoker. This is where Chris and Pete departed company. Chris added the proofing liquid to the ribs and put them back on the smoker while Pete wrapped them and put them in a cooler.

Dr. BBQ, Roxanne, Me & Chris Lilly

The only thing left was the tasting. Being schooled by Pete on the correct application and cutting of the ribs, it was in the hands of the guests. But that didn't mean that the trash talking was over. This was a very confident Seghesio team.  

Each of the teams also served a side entree.  I think that my favorite was the pulled pork tacos from the Lilly team.  Taking a few minutes to taste all the ribs and sides, I think -- albeit perhaps a little biased -- the Seghesio team's ribs were the best. Not only was there food, each station featured a different Seghesio Zinfandel.  From the Home Ranch to the Old Vine . . . something to match each of the features.

My sister-in-law with her magnum courtesy of Seghesio!

Dr. BBQ's sauce was really quite good but the ribs could have spent a little more time in the smoker. It was sweet but not cloyingly so. His brisket was delicious.

Frankly, only the underhanded use of a very cute 4-year-old nephew allowed Chris to retain the title – by a scant 9 votes.

Now to find a cute child to collect a few votes next year . . .

Actually, the whole event was a fabulously fun and well organized.  I'm sure that a few cases of wine left the winery during the event.  I know that my sister-in-law was the surprise winner of a magnum of wine in the raffle.  

Joe, Pete & Cathy Seghesio with Roxanne and me! Great friends

The only thing left was to have a few pictures made with a few of my new found friends and some friends made on previous trips.  Before leaving both Chris Lilly and Pete had a chance to try some of my own BBQ sauce.  Both provided some very positive feedback.

The folks at Seghesio really know how to put on a party. Events manager Dana M. really kept everything humming. Not only did they take care of all the arrangements for us for the two days, they managed to pull of a huge event without a hitch (that I could see anyway!).

But the day wasn't done yet. After a day full of pork and beef, we decided to try something a little different. After a few minutes to refresh back at the hotel, we went downtown Healdsburg for dinner.  Yes I know it's hard to believe that after a day of eating great food and phenomenal wines we were still going to eat. 

To mix things up a little bit we went to Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar.  We didn't want something too heavy so it was dinner tapas-style.  After splitting some oysters with my food-allergy challenged brother we had the cheese tray out on the patio.

So after a full day in wine country, a little BBQ competition, some great wines and a little seafood, it was time to rest up for Sunday. We were planning to visit some really fabulous wineries.

But that's for next week's blog.

Wine Country Treats or Day 3 of the Great Sonoma Wine Vacation

As the sun rises on day three in wine country I'm pretty excited about the day ahead. After a little work in the morning, I head down to Santa Rosa to pick up my brother and sister-in-law and move them up to the Dry Creek Inn for the rest of the trip.

As they checked into the hotel and Roxanne finished her work for the week, I began planning the day.  Our first stop would be Seghesio Family Vineyards.  I was looking forward to experiencing the family tables. 
I had spoken with Tony earlier on Thursday to ensure that all food issues were dealt with so I wasn't too worried there wouldn't be anything for them to eat.  So when we arrived, they were ready for us.  We were a little early so we took a quick look around the tasting room. They had a few new logo items that we needed to take home with us.

So while we were waiting, we started the current tasting of the day. While it may have been 5 o'clock somewhere, it was only a little before noon in California so we were doing a leisurely tasting.  While we normally split the tastings, since we had plenty of time we each had our own.

As the rest of the folks sharing the Family Tables with us arrived and caught up on the tasting, we headed back behind the tasting room for a brief tour of the winery.  This was something I wasn't anticipating. 

It was interesting tour through time. I found the history of the winery from bulk wine production to becoming a fine wine producer. With insights not only into the the successes of the winery but some of the challenges as well.

We made our way up to the dining room where Chef Peter delivered a perfect plate to match five wines.  We started with a arm corn salad with chanterelle mushrooms, arugula and romano beans which was paired with the 2009 Costiera Pinot Noir.  This was followed by a duck confit crepinette and a Santa Rosa plum compote paired with their newly released 2010 Monte Rosso Zinfandel.

Perhaps the most unusual pairing was the swordfish, fregola sarda, early summer veggies and a cerignola tapinade paired with the 2005 Omaggio.  If you don't think a red wine can complement seafood, think again.  This was perhaps my favorite pairing of the day.This was followed by hand-cut egg noodles, rock shrimp and a piquillo almond cream paired with the 2007 Aglianico.

The lunch concluded with an almond bite paired with the Dionigia Port.  All in all a very successful lunch.

After placing an order, purchasing some souvineer glasses and a quick thank you to the team, we were off for a day of tasting at some other vineyards.  First up was a trip back up to the Francis Ford Coppola winery for the view and a tasting. 

I found the Director's Cut Cinema to be my favorite.  Once again I'm finding myself intrigued by the taste and aromas of blends rather than the straight varietals. It's not that I'm not enjoying the zins, cabs and carignane's but there's something about the the winemaker's skills coming to play putting the right mix of grapes, appellations and vineyards. 

That's what's going on here with the Cinema. A little Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah from Dry Creek Valley and some Cabernet Franc from Knight's Valley.These sub-appellations of Sonoma all bring something special to the party.

Having been invited to a party with friends that evening, I picked up a bottle of the Cinema to take with me.  After enjoying the view on the patio, we got back into the car and headed off to Bella Vineyards.  This vineyard boasts really beautiful views up in the Dry Creek Valley just north of Healdsburg.

Ok. You really can't go wrong with any of the views. this is such a beautiful area of the country.  For those of us landlocked in the midwest, it's a real treat to see the majestic beauty that is found in Sonoma and Napa counties. 

With a tasting in their cave, my brother picking up a bottle of wine here, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before an evening out.

In our travels over the last few years to the Sonoma wine country we've made a few friends and this evening one of them was hosting a party at their home.  This spectacular evening with friends old and new was the absolute highlight of the trip.  Although, the primary purpose of our trip this time would begin bright and early on Saturday morning. 

The 9th Annual Zin & BBQ Festival at Seghesio Family Vineyards and I'd be helping out the winery team as they tried to knock off world class BBQ masters Chris Lilly and Dr. BBQ.  But that's for next week's blog post.  Until then, enjoy the company of great friends with some really fabulous wines and make a few memories of the summer of 2012 before it ends all too soon in a couple of weeks.

When the Unexpected Hits in Wine Country

After a wonderful day yesterday, I was hoping to even improve upon it. It's day 2 of our little excursion to wine country and nothing is going as planned.  My brother and his wife were supposed to arrive in San Francisco around 10:30 in the morning and I was going to head and pick them up while Roxanne was finishing a little work.

Alas.  The best laid plans . . .

Apparently United Airlines doesn't have a contract with its pilots. Surprisingly just before the flight the pilot called in sick. I'm sure he couldn't get out of bed but with airline travel as it is, there isn't an empty seat to be found on most flights.  Imagine trying to accommodate a whole plane on subsequent flights.

At this point it looked like instead of a day tasting wines in Sonoma, he was drinking in O'Hare airport.  Not exactly the same.  On the other hand, stuck in the hotel finishing work was our lot.

But the day was not lost. Not in the least.

I'm an avid Starbucks drinker. I'm a Gold Card holder and love the app for Android on my phone. It might not always be the best but it's consistent. That's why when I'm traveling I like to try the local shops before falling back on Starbucks.

So while the work was taking place I thought I'd try a local coffee shop and pick up something perhaps better than in the breakfast room at the Dry Creek Inn.  (Which isn't bad at all.)

I hopped in the car and headed to a local coffee shop called Flying Goat Coffee in Healdsburg.  If I weren't sure it was Wednesday, I'd be convinced it was Monday because after ordering the coffee I reached into my back pocket to discover . . .

I left my wallet back in the hotel room.  Grumble. Snarl. Drat.  A drive back across town to the hotel and then back to the Flying Goat to get my coffee.  They were extremely gracious as if out-of-towners do this all the time.

If I was in the South I'm pretty sure I'd be hearing "Well, bless your little heart!"

So after picking up my coffee and heading back to check on Roxanne, I found we had a little time before heading out for the day so I stopped by Seghesio Family Vineyards to talk to Tony about the food allergies we had to work around for the Family Tables on Friday.  It sounded like a great menu.

So just before noon we wound our way from Sonoma to Napa and headed down to Seghesio sister winery, Pine Ridge down in the Stag's Leap District of Napa.  Once on the Napa side of the mountain, the traffic picked up considerably.

That's probably why I like Sonoma so much.  I spend enough time n traffic in the Chicagoland area that I don't really like to do so when I'm on vacation.  That being said, it's hard to complain about being stuck in the beauty of Napa County.

The Stag's Leap AVA is best known for their Cabernet's but Pine Ridge has some vineyards in different parts of Napa County.  They have a beautiful tasting room with a patio tasting area they were setting up for a party that evening.

They were tasting some really great wines -- nothing unusual here. While it wasn't on the menu, they did serve one of my favorite wines, the Black Diamond Port style wine. One of my favorite after dinner drinks.  After ordering some wine (and joining their wine club), we were headed down to San Francisco to pick up my brother and sister-in-law at the airport.

But not before checking out the demonstration plot alongside the winery.  They had different grapes as well as different ways in which to trellis the vines. It helped explain how the different vines were laid out in the fields.

Then it was on to San Francisco.  The first stop was to the can't miss California staple: In-N-Out Burger. What's fun about In-N-Out Burger is that they have a not-so-secret secret menu.  So while Roxanne ordered a single, I ordered the double, double Animal Style.

You may be wondering what Animal style is all about.  It includes onions grilled in meat juices with extra Thousand Island spread, mustard grilled patties, and extra pickles.  Delicious.

Stop number two on our trip to the airport was an out-of-the-way ice cream shop that's known for its unusual offerings.  It's called Humphry-Slocombe.  The Secret Breakfast is bourbon and corn flake flavored ice cream.

I settled in on the chocolate, smoked sea salt ice cream while Roxanne had the Peach-Habanero sorbet. Yes. I said Habanero in a sorbet.

This very sweet and yet spicy treat is something not to be missed.  A bit of a hole-in-the-wall in the Mission district of San Francisco, every flavor we tasted was fabulous.  Now it was off to the airport and a bit of a wait in the SFO Cell Phone Lot. 

A great choice with the cioppino!

By the time they got in, they had spent the entire day flying and were both tired and hungry. So instead of heading back right away to wine country and to check into their hotel, we made a stop down on Fisherman's Wharf. Last year when we were in town, we found a great place for some Cioppino.  I couldn't remember the name but I do remember that Mario Batali liked their Cioppino.

I remembered where it was so we took off on a walk there. Having left the heat of the Midwest, they weren't ready for the cool evenings of San Francisco -- especially around the water. But once we got there, the food was well worth it.

I'm sure you're wondering the name of the restaurant by now.  It's actually pretty easy to remember . . . Cioppino's.  The cioppino has to be good if it's the name of the restaurant.

And it was!

Now a 90 minute trip back to Sonoma and we were done with Day 2. After a bad start, the day ended really well. Perhaps tomorrow morning will start a little better.