A Trip Back to Paris

This may be, in fact, the cheapest trip to Paris. Ever.

No I'm not talking about going to Paris, Texas or the 19 or so other towns in the United States named Paris. Unfortunately I'm not in the City of Lights but I'm sitting in a little restaurant in Merrifield, Virginia called Le Pain Quotidien (Our Daily Bread).

I frankly had never heard of it before.  As it turns out it's a chain of restaurants around the world founded by a couple of guys from Belgium. But I digress.

I had come in thinking this was just a French name for another Panera Bread-like company. Don't get me wrong, I really like Panera Bread.  But this took the experience a bit further.

Sitting here drinking a perfectly drawn double espresso, I was writing my other blog when the wild mushroom and goat cheese omelette appeared with a side of French ham and Gruyere cheese. I was transported to a cafe in Paris I ate in two years ago.

The omelette was beautifully prepared.

And it got me thinking.  Up until the omelette arrived, I was not thinking a lot about restaurant at all.  I was just sitting here writing. But . . . the minute the omelette arrived, BAM I was back to Paris.

But this isn't the first time that has happened.  Sometimes it's a glass of wine that takes me back to the vineyard where I first tasted it. I can remember the experience as much as the taste. Other times it's a particular food.

Comfort foods are those things that take us back to times when we felt good. When life was what it should be. I think that's one of the reasons why I love food.  It's not so much the food as the experience and friends and life that is lived around the table.

And that is as it should be.

Like a Kid In a Candy Store

Today I made my first visit to the Binny's Beverage Depot around the corner from my house. This is one of the largest I've been through.

Aisle after aisle of wines, beers and spirits.

I really was like a kid in the candy store.  I saw thousands of bottles of wine . . . many of which I hadn't seen before. Lately I've been interested in various blends rather than a specific varietal over another.

A couple of years ago a friend had given me a bottle of Owen Roe Sharecropper's Pinot Noir from Oregon's Willamette Valley that I really loved. I spent three years in the mid-80s in the Willamette Valley. Unfortunately, the Willamette Valley AVA was created only in 1984 (when I arrived) but I wasn't much of a wine drinker at the time.

I think I wasted three and half years in the Valley and missing out on the launch of some really fine wines. I'm always interested in how wines get their names. In visiting the Owen Roe website, I discovered a lot about how each wine got their names.

It appears that in the early years of the winery (2001), Oregon's grape growers had a hard time selling their fruit and the winery didn't want to miss out on great fruit but couldn't buy the fruit because they didn't have the resources.  They resorted to an age old practice and shared the profits with the growers.  A win/win for everyone.

Tonight's dinner was a simple dinner of some potato wedges and Italian beef sandwiches.  The Italian beef came from my favorite grocery in Chicago, Caputo's. You get the beef and the jus all you need to add is the Turano buns. A perfectly simple meal.

Ideal for an evening of watching movies.

As I mentioned I picked up a couple of Owen Roe wines, Sinister Hand and Abbot's Table. I chose the Abbot's Table. The founder and winemaker of Owen Roe, David O'Reilly once heard of the generosity of those within the many monasteries would offer a weary traveler a place to dine at their table.

He thought he'd try it out on one of his European trips and found himself seated at the Abbot's table sharing delicious wines and sharing stories of travels. On his return he created this wonderful wine in honor of his visit.

This wine is a blend of fruit from the Yakima Valley. It includes Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Blaufrankisch, Merlot and Malbec. Quite a mix of wines from several regious around the world. This is where the winemaker earns his marks.

This wine was a real treat. I can't wait for tonight when I open a bottle of the Sinister Hand. I'll be digging into the story behind that one, too.

Does Wine Have to be So Complicated?

Do a search on wine books on Amazon and you'll find nearly 100,000 results. That's just books. There's videos, software and apps. Really?

Can wine really be that complicated?

Perhaps we're making it more complicated than we need it to be.  Just for fun, I did a search on wine pairings for Chinese chicken with cashews.  I got all kinds of recommendations. Red wine. White wine. Bold wines. Light and fruity wines.

Over the last few years I've done a number wine tastings. Some of those have been really fun experiences and some have been . . . well less than joyful.  In fact, several friends have told me how one of those wine aficionados have almost ruined their enjoyment of wine.

I've talked to others who've been incredibly intimidated by those types of folks and it's made them afraid to step out of their comfort zone. They drink the same wine all the time.  Sometimes it comes out as: "don't serve any good wine, I can't tell the difference."

That is until they taste some really good wine.  It's not the price of the wine that determines whether it's good or not.

At the end of the day, wine is something that should be enjoyed.


I'm grateful to my friends at Seghesio who helped me expand my palate from drinking just their Zinfandels to enjoying their great Grenache, Petit Sirah, Barbera, Anglianico, various field blends and of course their Sangiovese. I've branched out to other Sonoma County wineries like Frick, John Tyler Wines, Arista, Francis Ford Coppola wines.  I've enjoyed wines from Pine Ridge in Napa and Chamisal Vineyards in San Luis Obispo.


When I'm out with folks for dinner I'm often asked to choose the wine. I know I don't have a better palate than any of the people I'm with.  I tend to be a bit adventurous.  I don't always order a wine that I've had before.  I like to try something new.

But that doesn't mean that I don't have a plan. Sometimes I've had a wine that I liked from the same region.  For instance, I've never had a Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley that I didn't like.  Just last night I was out to dinner with clients and was asked to select the wines for dinner.

I had never really had any of the wines before but I do know that the Willamette Valley in Oregon has some really great Pinot Noirs. It was an Italian restaurant so I found a nice reserve Chianti as well.  As it turns out, the choices were pretty good.

This year I want to encourage those who are a little unsure of themselves to step out and try something new. Mostly I want people to enjoy making memories with friends and families over great food and wine.

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. 

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.

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.

Sonoma County Wine Country, Day 1

After arriving in Wine Country very early this morning, we began the day with the free breakfast at the Best Western Dry Creek Inn in Healdsburg.  Now I normally would put the Best Western down in the category of a Red Roof Inn, cheap, semi-safe lodging but the Dry Creek Inn could change your perspective.

Yes there is an outdoor entrance. However, access to the complex is only through a key so it's as safe as any indoor access lodging.  No worries there.  As far as the rooms are concerned, this one has a nice balcony overlooking a courtyard.  There's a reason why this is referred to as the Tuscan wing.  The room is equipped with a king bed, a fireplace, a jacuzzi tub and a shower. Like I said, not your standard fare.

While the free breakfast isn't necessarily fine dining, it's decent and filling.  No sense wasting dollars on breakfast when there's wine tasting to be had and other great meals. I'm not one to to be too picky when it comes to breakfast.  At least the coffee was strong and hot!

V-M-L Winery

After a late breakfast we began the vacation day in the very best way -- with no agenda and no idea where we were going to stop.  Leaving the hotel and wandering south on Westside Road we came to a beautiful winery called V-M-L.  The initials stand for the winemaker, Virginia Marie Lambrix.  The gardens leading up to the tasting room were absolutely stunning.

When we got into the tasting room, we found the wines to rival the gardens.  Stunning. V-M-L is an artisan winery specializing in Pinot Noir.  While all of their offerings in the tasting were delicious, I found myself surprised by the Rose of Pinot.

I'm not really a Rose sort of guy.  Actually, I usually categorize it akin to a White Zin. So much for being a wine snob.  This is the sort of wine that I can easily be drinking on the back porch on a warm summer day.  (Note to self: Let go of your preconceived ideas about wine!)

With the purchase of a couple of bottles for the room this week, the tasting was free.

Gardens at V-M-L

When I come to Wine Country, I'm looking for those out-of-the-way, previously unheard of (by me at least) wineries.  So having enjoyed one new find, I inquired about others on our way south.  First on the list was John Tyler Wines.

Haven't heard of them?  Neither had I.  That's good for a start.  We pulled into a relatively new tasting room.  It wasn't surrounded by lush gardens or a massive structure.  It's a simple building just off of Westside Road.

While the building may be new, the family behind the wines -- the Bacigalupi family -- aren't newbies.  They've been growing grapes for other wineries for years.  Only recently did they begin crafting their own wines.  Obviously, they've learned something along the way.

If you've heard of the movie Bottle Shock then you may know of their grapes.  You see, the vines from one of their vineyards produced the grapes that Chateau Montelena used to send the international wine world into a frenzy.

Being of German ancestry can't be any happier when the French are turned upside down!

On my last trip to Sonoma, it was the Frick Winery that was the surprise find of the visit.  This time, I'm thinking it's going to be John Tyler Wines.  After being greeted by 4-month old Cali, we were treated to an insightful tasting and history of the winery by Nicole. They are making some really wonderful Pinot Noirs.

The Japanese Garden @ Arista is stunning!

What was nice about the visit was the insight not only into the wines but also the growing of the grapes.  The difference in wine from different vineyards no more than a few miles from each other. Couldn't leave without purchasing another bottle for the week.

After a nice visit and a recommendation to head down to Arista Vineyards (the second recommendation for Arista in two stops) we meandered our way down to Arista for a tasting.  Once again we were greeted by a phenomenal view and spectacular gardens.  The tasting was primarily Pinot again.  After all, we're in the Russian River Valley.  It's amazing the difference a few miles can make in the climate.

In our own meandering way, we stumbled upon three previously unheard of wineries and found some really spectacular wines.  And some great advice and recommendations. After telling Jeff of our thoughts for lunch, he steered us to the Francis Ford Coppola Winery for a spectacular view and really fine food.

Much like his films, the winery itself is a monument.  You could probably spend a day just visiting the various parts of the winery.  You can even see his Oscars in a case on the second floor.  But that's not even the best part, it's the spectacular view from the terrace of the restaurant.

I ordered a glass of the Director's Cut Cinema red wine to go along with the Moroccan Lamb for two. I'm not sure I can put into words how delicious both were.  The Cinema is a big wine and it held up well with the lamb.

It is cooked for hours in what looks like a stoneware vase.  It comes to the table, along with a plate of couscous, and served from the vase. It's the most tender lamb I've ever had -- and I try to get lamb every opportunity I can.

Frankly, there was enough lamb for four people. Unfortunately there was only enough couscous for 1-1/2 people.  The only disappointment in the dish because everything was delicious.

After putting a dent into the lamb and a short night, I have to say I was ready for a nap.  I know what you're thinking and yes it's true.  I can't push through like I could when I was 40 and not 50.  After a refreshing nap, we went up to Diavola Pizzeria for dinner.

We heard about Diavola from Seghesio's Enologist Sonja last year when we were here for a special Seghesio event.  Her husband owns the pizzeria and salumeria.  This place was packed when we got there but with a few seats open at the bar, we took those.  After the huge lunch, we didn't have a big appetite but the wood fired pizzas looked to die for.

We ordered the Bambino which came with house smoked salumi along with a little basil on top along with the house Dego Red wine.  No I'm not trying to be a racist, that's what they call it. We saw a lot of it being poured and we know why that is.  Delicious.

The pizza came out and was better than advertised.  Colin and Dino, GM and chef respectively, have a tremendous business. If you find yourself within 50 miles of Geyserville, take the trip and find this gem of a restaurant. Not much more to do today but head back to the hotel and rest up.

As Scarlett O'Hara once said: tomorrow's going to be a better. day!