Sunday, February 17, 2008
This event is one of the best wine tasting events that I attend every year. 45 wineries were represented and a total of 137 wines.
Now there is no way anyone can taste 137 wines in 3 hours. So you just pick and choose.
If you are a cab lover this was the place for you. 42 Cabernet Sauvignon's were poured. Some of the ones that I liked were, Arns, August Briggs, William Cole, Karl Lawrence, Miner , Robert Craig and O'Shaughnessy.
Among the other varietals presented I liked the, Capiaux Pisoni Pinot, Robert Keenan "Mernet", Krupp Brothers "The Doctor", Miner Family "The Oracle", Niner Wine Estates "Fog Catcher" and the Kenneth Volk "Sierra Madre" Pinot.
Bristol Farms put out the food but we had stopped for brunch earlier at The Warehouse in Marina Del Rey, so I did not avail myself of the goodies. The brunch was good and we sat oustide next to the marina as the day was sunny and a perfect Southern California Sunday.
This event is well worth the $75 admission and since it is a fund raiser for LMU scholarship fund a partial tax deduction is given. The event is held every February, usually the week after Super Bowl. Toward the end of the year you can access the website at www.lmu.edu, and click on events for the information.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Duong Son Chinese Dinner
Saturday, February 9, 2008
We have not had a dinner at Duong Son for quite awhile. With the holidays and other activites interfering it was nice to get back to the "traditional".
8 of us gathered tonight to take in some of the festivities of the Chinese New Year. The streets had been blocked off earlier in the day so that the parade could take place. During our dinner the owner came up to our table to let us know that there would be firecrackers going off and he did not want us to be alarmed. When the crackers went off it wasn't just a few, it was a long string that they hung from the second floor railing. There was so much smoke that it looked like fog from inside the restaurant. Shooting off the firecrackers is supposed to keep the "bad" away. This is the year of "The Rat" which means a prosperous year.
We have not had a dinner at Duong Son for quite awhile. With the holidays and other activites interfering it was nice to get back to the "traditional".
8 of us gathered tonight to take in some of the festivities of the Chinese New Year. The streets had been blocked off earlier in the day so that the parade could take place. During our dinner the owner came up to our table to let us know that there would be firecrackers going off and he did not want us to be alarmed. When the crackers went off it wasn't just a few, it was a long string that they hung from the second floor railing. There was so much smoke that it looked like fog from inside the restaurant. Shooting off the firecrackers is supposed to keep the "bad" away. This is the year of "The Rat" which means a prosperous year.
I also found out that the "lazy susan" in the middle of our table was given to the restaurant by one of our group. Henry brought the turntable back from a trip to Hong Kong many years ago for use in his home. When the family grew and moved out it was too big for Henry and his wife so he gave it to "Duong Son". It has a gold trim on in and the restaurant only brings it out for Henry during the New Year festivities. Henry was dining four days in a row at Doung Son during the New Year celebration. Lucky fellow.
We started off with a favorite, "Salt & Pepper Calamari", so much better that the Chinese chain restaurant and followed it with another favorite " Garlic Green beans with Sea Bass".
The next two dishes they only make at "New Years" because they take a long time to prepare. One dish was a marinated chicken that had been pan roasted at a very high temperature and the other was a tofu with a dry scallop sauce and choy sum. (a Chinese green vegetable). I'm not a big fan of tofu, but here they do wonders with it. It is always creamy and very tasty. Some of the others places that serve tofu, overcook it and it seems dry and tasteless.
Following that we were served beef & Chinese broccoli and shrimp with soft fat noodles. These noodles soak up the juice and they are devine.
By this time I was starting to reach my "Full" level. Then they bring out the duck. Need I say more. Then it was the "cooked oysters with ginger and chives". I was beyond full now.
Chinese culture is not big into heavy desserts like my German ancestors. We were served a platter with fresh orange slices, pears, mango and a gelatin made with aloe. Next came a warm liquid with white fungus, lotus seed and red dates.
I have never had a dish at Duong Son that I did not like. The food is fresh, well prepared and and always top quality and fantastic taste.
The wines brought tonight were all good. There was not a "dog" in the bunch. Sometimes at these dinners there are people that bring mediocre wines. Tonight was an expection.
2006 Pine Ridge Clarksburg, Chenin Blanc/Voignier
2005 Seresin Marlborough, Sauvignon Blanc
2006 Husch, Anderson Valley, Chardonnay
2001 Meeker Four Kings, (blend)
2001 McKeon Phillips BPR Cabernet Sauvignon
2003 Roth Estate, Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon
2003 Liparita, Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Earthquake, Lodi, Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Alma Rosa La Encantada Pinot Noir
Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Jiminez
Wino's Gathering
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Our first monthly "gathering of the flock" of the new year. This was held at my "Casa" and hosted by another couple. I lend out my abode when people either do not have enough room to host an event of there are other circumstances that prevent it.
Todays theme was "Russian River Pinot Noirs and White Wines". 22 people braved the elements today. At least the rain stopped before the event started. Made for a drier entrance into my house. I was seeing a room full of wet umbrellas, shoes & jackets. Glad that did not materialize. Usually I will have the wines on a table on the balcony but with the high winds and the very cold temperature everything was kept inside. Which made for a very cozy gathering.
Normally when we have a theme that includes red and white wines , there is a small percentage of whites compared to reds. Today there were 10 whites and 14 reds. Not quite even but close to it. Maybe it was because there have been so many "pinot" tastings lately that some people needed some diversity.
As always the food was abundent and good. The hosts had ribs, tri-tip and chicken. They served the sauce on the side which helped keep sticky fingers off the wine glasses. And my white couch survived.
A few of the wines that I liked were;
2005 Hartford Four Hearts Chardonnay
2006 Porter Creek Timbervine Viognier
2006 Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc
2004 Stonestreet Pinot
1994 Signorello Martinelli Vineyard Pinot
2003 Joseph Swan Trenton Estate Pinot
Argentine Wine Dinner
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Delius Restaurant and Wine Country hosted an Argentine wine dinner tonight. This dinner had been sold out for weeks. Delius really pulls out the stops when it comes to the food dishes for their themed wine dinners.
Being a single diner you are seated at the wine rep's table. This has distinct advantages. Usually better pours of the wines and sometimes additional wines that are not offered to the rest of the mortals. Tonight there was an additional bottle poured but since I did not write the name down and I am posting this 2 weeks later, at my advance age, I cannot remember the name of the wine. I have so many notes off the menu sheet that I'm not sure what they are. I have a name, Garagiste written down, possibly that is the name of the wine., but I doubt it. I also have a note about a wine dinner in the valley in August. Molly Ducker wines from Australia at Leias Restaurtant. Other than that I know nothing. (Which sometimes is best)
Tonights dinner started out the "mini empanadas" served with 2006 Terza Volta Sauvignon Blanc. The empanadas were filled with potatoes and olives. The crust was very tender. Nice pairing. The wine was not too acidic and had a nice light citrus/tropical taste to it.
Next up was "scallops with a leek-pancetta saute and creamy corn sauce". As always the scallops were cooked to perfection. The wine with this dish was a 2006 Terza Volta Malbec Rose. This was an excellent pairing and one of the 2 favorite wines of the meal.
A "wild mushroom soup with parmesan crisps" was seved with a 2003 Maestre de Campo Merlot. The soup was wonderful but the wine really lacked something. I just could not get anything out of it. I felt it was very mediocre. I had them pour me the next wine that was to be served and and liked the pairing much better.
Next wine was 2004 Terza Volta Malbec which was paired with "pork tenderloin on roasted opnion and white bean ragout". Again cooked to perfection and married very well with the ragout. I liked this pairing a lot and as I indicated this wine went better with the soup than the merlot. This was the second wine I realy liked.
The main couse was a "herb crusted rack of lamb with a rosemary red wine sauce" . Louise always shines when cooking lamb or duck. Perfect again. This dish was paired with 2 wines. 2004 Terza Volta Cabernet Sauvignon which I did not like at all. Again I thought it was a very mediocre wine. The second wine as 2003 Bates Red Blend (malbec, merlot, syrah). This was a better pairing and a much better wine.
Dessert was "dulce argentino". A baked dough strip with a sauce and strawberries. It was an original Argentian dessert but left me unimpressed. It tasted good but somehow it just didn't "seduce" me like good desserts are supposed to do.
I looking forward to the upcoming year for the the "themed" dinners. I especially looking foward to the "Stolpman Wine" dinner in April. Stoplman wines are some of my favorites and as I understand from Peter Stolpman there will be some "library " wines at that dinner.
Delius Restaurant and Wine Country hosted an Argentine wine dinner tonight. This dinner had been sold out for weeks. Delius really pulls out the stops when it comes to the food dishes for their themed wine dinners.
Being a single diner you are seated at the wine rep's table. This has distinct advantages. Usually better pours of the wines and sometimes additional wines that are not offered to the rest of the mortals. Tonight there was an additional bottle poured but since I did not write the name down and I am posting this 2 weeks later, at my advance age, I cannot remember the name of the wine. I have so many notes off the menu sheet that I'm not sure what they are. I have a name, Garagiste written down, possibly that is the name of the wine., but I doubt it. I also have a note about a wine dinner in the valley in August. Molly Ducker wines from Australia at Leias Restaurtant. Other than that I know nothing. (Which sometimes is best)
Tonights dinner started out the "mini empanadas" served with 2006 Terza Volta Sauvignon Blanc. The empanadas were filled with potatoes and olives. The crust was very tender. Nice pairing. The wine was not too acidic and had a nice light citrus/tropical taste to it.
Next up was "scallops with a leek-pancetta saute and creamy corn sauce". As always the scallops were cooked to perfection. The wine with this dish was a 2006 Terza Volta Malbec Rose. This was an excellent pairing and one of the 2 favorite wines of the meal.
A "wild mushroom soup with parmesan crisps" was seved with a 2003 Maestre de Campo Merlot. The soup was wonderful but the wine really lacked something. I just could not get anything out of it. I felt it was very mediocre. I had them pour me the next wine that was to be served and and liked the pairing much better.
Next wine was 2004 Terza Volta Malbec which was paired with "pork tenderloin on roasted opnion and white bean ragout". Again cooked to perfection and married very well with the ragout. I liked this pairing a lot and as I indicated this wine went better with the soup than the merlot. This was the second wine I realy liked.
The main couse was a "herb crusted rack of lamb with a rosemary red wine sauce" . Louise always shines when cooking lamb or duck. Perfect again. This dish was paired with 2 wines. 2004 Terza Volta Cabernet Sauvignon which I did not like at all. Again I thought it was a very mediocre wine. The second wine as 2003 Bates Red Blend (malbec, merlot, syrah). This was a better pairing and a much better wine.
Dessert was "dulce argentino". A baked dough strip with a sauce and strawberries. It was an original Argentian dessert but left me unimpressed. It tasted good but somehow it just didn't "seduce" me like good desserts are supposed to do.
I looking forward to the upcoming year for the the "themed" dinners. I especially looking foward to the "Stolpman Wine" dinner in April. Stoplman wines are some of my favorites and as I understand from Peter Stolpman there will be some "library " wines at that dinner.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Dinner at "India Restaurant"
Saturday, January 19, 2008
This was the monthly event of the "Wine & Dine" group. I have missed the last couple of dinners because of other commitments.
The restaurant the month was "The India Restaurant" in Artesia which is known as "Little India". Stores, markets, jewelry, restaurants are for the "Indian" population in the area. Quite unique and worth a day trip to wander around. You don't have to go to India to shop or experience the culture. The great thing about California is that we are so diversified that there is an area devoted to almost every ethnic group. Makes for great dining.
CJ always pre-orders the dishes. Tonight we had:
Saag/Palak - sauteed spinach, ginger, tomatoes, onions, herbs & spices
Vegetable Madras - vegetables sauteed with ginger, herbs, spices and coconut cream
Murgh Makhni - chicken tandoored & cooked in butter, yogurt & tomato gravy
Tandoori Jumbo Shrimp - shrimp spiced with masala and tandoored
Lamb Sheekh Kebab - minced lamb with onions, herbs, spices and tandoored
Pillau Rice - basmati rice with green peas, onions & cashews
Garlic Nan - leavened bread with fresh chopped garlic
Roti - multi layered whole wheat bread stuffed with potatoes and spices.
Dessert was an Indian ice cream. One was mango and the other was pistachio.
Everyone brought a bottle of wine. A couple of the stand outs were - Duckhorn Estate Merlot, William Selyem Russian River Pinot Noir. There were 2 Gerwurztraminer's brought. The Columbia Crest was a little drier that the Hook & Ladder. The Domiane Zind Humbrecht Alscae was good also. I brought an 04 Windward Pinot Noir - its was good but did not compare with the William Selyem.
Next month the "Wine & Dine" is off to a Bulgarian restaurant.
This was the monthly event of the "Wine & Dine" group. I have missed the last couple of dinners because of other commitments.
The restaurant the month was "The India Restaurant" in Artesia which is known as "Little India". Stores, markets, jewelry, restaurants are for the "Indian" population in the area. Quite unique and worth a day trip to wander around. You don't have to go to India to shop or experience the culture. The great thing about California is that we are so diversified that there is an area devoted to almost every ethnic group. Makes for great dining.
CJ always pre-orders the dishes. Tonight we had:
Saag/Palak - sauteed spinach, ginger, tomatoes, onions, herbs & spices
Vegetable Madras - vegetables sauteed with ginger, herbs, spices and coconut cream
Murgh Makhni - chicken tandoored & cooked in butter, yogurt & tomato gravy
Tandoori Jumbo Shrimp - shrimp spiced with masala and tandoored
Lamb Sheekh Kebab - minced lamb with onions, herbs, spices and tandoored
Pillau Rice - basmati rice with green peas, onions & cashews
Garlic Nan - leavened bread with fresh chopped garlic
Roti - multi layered whole wheat bread stuffed with potatoes and spices.
Dessert was an Indian ice cream. One was mango and the other was pistachio.
Everyone brought a bottle of wine. A couple of the stand outs were - Duckhorn Estate Merlot, William Selyem Russian River Pinot Noir. There were 2 Gerwurztraminer's brought. The Columbia Crest was a little drier that the Hook & Ladder. The Domiane Zind Humbrecht Alscae was good also. I brought an 04 Windward Pinot Noir - its was good but did not compare with the William Selyem.
Next month the "Wine & Dine" is off to a Bulgarian restaurant.
Dinner at Delius, Prixe Fixe Dining Room
Saturday, January 12, 2008
This was the first time I have dined in the Prixe Fixe Room since the new restaurant has opened. I was anxious to "feel" the ambiance.
I was joining 9 friends for dinner to "test the waters". I got off to a bad start. I was running on time as long as there were no obstructions to my path. I don't like it when I'm on edge trying to get someplace.
I pulled into the driveway and the parking valet had both lanes blocked. "Did not sit well with me". When I told him that I did not want valet parking, he said I would have to park in back. "Did not sit well with me". He moved a car so I could enter the parking lot and I proceeded to to park in the middle. He did not have any area roped or coned off, so my attitude was "screw you". I'm paying close to $100 for dinner and I'm supposed to park in back. I think not. I'm not a fan of valet parking. Its not the $ charge, it's that most of them are lousy drivers and if you have any money in your car it sometimes disappears. And they aways change the seat position.
Upon entering the restaurant, I informed Dave, the owner, of my encounter with his valet. The valet is supposed to leave one lane open for those who do not want to avail themselves of the service.
After checking the score of the football game, I proceeded to join my companions for dinner. The prixe fixe dinning area is a separate room which they keep the door closed to the rest of the restaurant and I was interested in comparing it to the old restaurant.
I was disappointed in the acoustics. It was noisy to me. Maybe the fact we had 10 people at our table entered into it. I have an idea it is not the soft ambiance as with the old place. The harpist still plays on weekends which is a nice touch.
Since I was the last one seated , everyone had already decided to order the house wine pairing with the dinner at $25 per person. I personally would have rather ordered bottles from the wine list, but when you are the "last minute charley" your opinion doesn't count.
The dinner started off with an "amuse bouche", a blue cheese/walnut mixture on a toasted bread round. Soup was roasted red bell pepper and tomato bisque. Next up was a Chipolte Crab Cake with a herb salad. After that came the chicken breasts with a prosciutto sauce. Extremely good. Main dish was new york steak with chipolene onion gravy, potatoes and vegetables. A cheese plate appeared and then dessert was served. You get three desserts, all small portions. Tonight we had Russian cream, (panncotta), sticky toffee pudding and some chocolate concoction. As always the food is outstanding. Louise is outstanding in the kitchen
I wasn't as happy with the wine pairings. I felt they were mediocre and we would have done much better ordering off the wine list. That's the problem when you have a bunch of wine geeks, nothing is good enough for us. We are too critical of everything.
I am doing an Argentina wine dinner this next week at Delius in the prixe fixe room, so I will compare the noise level at that dinner with this one. It may be much better. I hope so.
This was the first time I have dined in the Prixe Fixe Room since the new restaurant has opened. I was anxious to "feel" the ambiance.
I was joining 9 friends for dinner to "test the waters". I got off to a bad start. I was running on time as long as there were no obstructions to my path. I don't like it when I'm on edge trying to get someplace.
I pulled into the driveway and the parking valet had both lanes blocked. "Did not sit well with me". When I told him that I did not want valet parking, he said I would have to park in back. "Did not sit well with me". He moved a car so I could enter the parking lot and I proceeded to to park in the middle. He did not have any area roped or coned off, so my attitude was "screw you". I'm paying close to $100 for dinner and I'm supposed to park in back. I think not. I'm not a fan of valet parking. Its not the $ charge, it's that most of them are lousy drivers and if you have any money in your car it sometimes disappears. And they aways change the seat position.
Upon entering the restaurant, I informed Dave, the owner, of my encounter with his valet. The valet is supposed to leave one lane open for those who do not want to avail themselves of the service.
After checking the score of the football game, I proceeded to join my companions for dinner. The prixe fixe dinning area is a separate room which they keep the door closed to the rest of the restaurant and I was interested in comparing it to the old restaurant.
I was disappointed in the acoustics. It was noisy to me. Maybe the fact we had 10 people at our table entered into it. I have an idea it is not the soft ambiance as with the old place. The harpist still plays on weekends which is a nice touch.
Since I was the last one seated , everyone had already decided to order the house wine pairing with the dinner at $25 per person. I personally would have rather ordered bottles from the wine list, but when you are the "last minute charley" your opinion doesn't count.
The dinner started off with an "amuse bouche", a blue cheese/walnut mixture on a toasted bread round. Soup was roasted red bell pepper and tomato bisque. Next up was a Chipolte Crab Cake with a herb salad. After that came the chicken breasts with a prosciutto sauce. Extremely good. Main dish was new york steak with chipolene onion gravy, potatoes and vegetables. A cheese plate appeared and then dessert was served. You get three desserts, all small portions. Tonight we had Russian cream, (panncotta), sticky toffee pudding and some chocolate concoction. As always the food is outstanding. Louise is outstanding in the kitchen
I wasn't as happy with the wine pairings. I felt they were mediocre and we would have done much better ordering off the wine list. That's the problem when you have a bunch of wine geeks, nothing is good enough for us. We are too critical of everything.
I am doing an Argentina wine dinner this next week at Delius in the prixe fixe room, so I will compare the noise level at that dinner with this one. It may be much better. I hope so.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Vacation in Sonoma
December 7 - 15, 2007
Left on a Friday morning in drizzling rain which was better than the deluge that had been predicted. Picked up my friend Remy about 6:00 am and started up the freeway towards Buellton. By time we reached that point we needed breakfast so we went into Ellen's Pancake House. If you are ever in the area it is a great place to stop. A plain jane on the outside but the food is really worth the stop. I know that biscuits & gravy are not the best for a person, but they sure are good here.
Another quick stop just outside of Paso Robles at Turley Winery to pick up a few bottles and we continued on our way to Lafayette. I stayed the night with Remy's in-laws. Nancy made a great stew for dinner and Staurday morning after breakfast at Chows. (I had a smoked slamon and cabbage omelet which was very good), John drove us up to "Mt. Diablo" from where you can see the entire bay area including all the bridges and on a very clear day you are supposed to be able to see Mt. Shasta. It was cloudy that day because of the rains. It was extremely cold and very windy at the top and there was ice on the walkways. I found out later from a friend of mine that Mt. Diablo is used by surveyors as a start point for all the property in California along with a mount in San Bernardino county. That is why we have Baseline and Meridian streets in the area. Saturday afternoon I continued on to Windsor where I was staying at the Worldmark Resort.
Sunday morning I went over to the "Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County" airport to pick up my friend Jan who was staying with me for a few days. The only airport that has statues of "Snoopy", "Charlie Brown" and "Woodstock" in their facilties. It was a quick 3 minute drive from the resort. She arrived early enough that we could get to the first winery as it opened. That Sunday we went to 9 different wineries.
We did share tastings, as she was the navigator and I was the driver. Of course she didn't navigate very well coming back from Bodega Bay and we took the long scenic route back.
I was disappointed in the town on Windsor and Healdsburg as I was expected them to be decked out for the Christmas holiday and it was not to be. The shops were decorated but the towns themselves were sadly lacking of any holiday spirit. I naively thought that small towns would get into the holiday spirit more so that a larger town. Santa Rosa had more going for it than the other 2. Another lesson in life - don't expect anything and if something happens you are ahead of the game.
Jan left on Wednesday evening and I had 2 days alone to seek out a few wineries that we missed and a couple of places I wanted to taste again. I tasted at 37 wineries in 6 days.
After tasting at the "big" ones, I found a few smaller ones that I was had not heard of before.
Williamson Wines in downtown Healdsburg. Owners are from Australia. Nice wines and I especially liked their "Cuvee" which is a 5 Bordeaux blend. A couple of bottles of this went into the shipping carton.
Sbragia in Geyserville,. I even liked their Chardonnay.
Robert Young, (not the actor) in Geyserville. I wish now that I had gone back to buy.
Porter Creek in the Russian River area. Came across this one late in the day and squeaked in just before they closed. One of the best Viognier I have had. I bought a bottle of this for a tasting coming up in January. I will be anxious to see if I still like it as much as I did at the winery. All the estate wines here are organic and biodynamic certified.
Papapietro Perry Winery located on Dry Creek Road. Outstanding Pinots and Zins. I did bring a few bottles home from this winery. Although I do not like "wine clubs" per se, I am real tempted to join theirs. I will file the information away in my "mini brain" and sleep on it for awhile before I make a decision.
The weather was good. Cold at night, in the low 30's and in the mid 60's during the day. Had a 9 hour drive back, (alone, no help). I go the101 as I do not like the 5 at all. I would rather spend an extra hour driving than contend with trucks, 2 lane roads, boring, boring scenery and pulling "grapevine" . I got 39 mpg overall in my "rice burner". I did get 42 mpg on the stretch up and back, so with the stop and go of the wineries and dirt roads, 39 mpg overall is good. A total of 1567 miles driven that week.
Some of you will ask where I/we went to so I amd giving you an alphabetical listing of the wineries that we graced our presence with.
Left on a Friday morning in drizzling rain which was better than the deluge that had been predicted. Picked up my friend Remy about 6:00 am and started up the freeway towards Buellton. By time we reached that point we needed breakfast so we went into Ellen's Pancake House. If you are ever in the area it is a great place to stop. A plain jane on the outside but the food is really worth the stop. I know that biscuits & gravy are not the best for a person, but they sure are good here.
Another quick stop just outside of Paso Robles at Turley Winery to pick up a few bottles and we continued on our way to Lafayette. I stayed the night with Remy's in-laws. Nancy made a great stew for dinner and Staurday morning after breakfast at Chows. (I had a smoked slamon and cabbage omelet which was very good), John drove us up to "Mt. Diablo" from where you can see the entire bay area including all the bridges and on a very clear day you are supposed to be able to see Mt. Shasta. It was cloudy that day because of the rains. It was extremely cold and very windy at the top and there was ice on the walkways. I found out later from a friend of mine that Mt. Diablo is used by surveyors as a start point for all the property in California along with a mount in San Bernardino county. That is why we have Baseline and Meridian streets in the area. Saturday afternoon I continued on to Windsor where I was staying at the Worldmark Resort.
Sunday morning I went over to the "Charles M. Schultz Sonoma County" airport to pick up my friend Jan who was staying with me for a few days. The only airport that has statues of "Snoopy", "Charlie Brown" and "Woodstock" in their facilties. It was a quick 3 minute drive from the resort. She arrived early enough that we could get to the first winery as it opened. That Sunday we went to 9 different wineries.
We did share tastings, as she was the navigator and I was the driver. Of course she didn't navigate very well coming back from Bodega Bay and we took the long scenic route back.
I was disappointed in the town on Windsor and Healdsburg as I was expected them to be decked out for the Christmas holiday and it was not to be. The shops were decorated but the towns themselves were sadly lacking of any holiday spirit. I naively thought that small towns would get into the holiday spirit more so that a larger town. Santa Rosa had more going for it than the other 2. Another lesson in life - don't expect anything and if something happens you are ahead of the game.
Jan left on Wednesday evening and I had 2 days alone to seek out a few wineries that we missed and a couple of places I wanted to taste again. I tasted at 37 wineries in 6 days.
After tasting at the "big" ones, I found a few smaller ones that I was had not heard of before.
Williamson Wines in downtown Healdsburg. Owners are from Australia. Nice wines and I especially liked their "Cuvee" which is a 5 Bordeaux blend. A couple of bottles of this went into the shipping carton.
Sbragia in Geyserville,. I even liked their Chardonnay.
Robert Young, (not the actor) in Geyserville. I wish now that I had gone back to buy.
Porter Creek in the Russian River area. Came across this one late in the day and squeaked in just before they closed. One of the best Viognier I have had. I bought a bottle of this for a tasting coming up in January. I will be anxious to see if I still like it as much as I did at the winery. All the estate wines here are organic and biodynamic certified.
Papapietro Perry Winery located on Dry Creek Road. Outstanding Pinots and Zins. I did bring a few bottles home from this winery. Although I do not like "wine clubs" per se, I am real tempted to join theirs. I will file the information away in my "mini brain" and sleep on it for awhile before I make a decision.
The weather was good. Cold at night, in the low 30's and in the mid 60's during the day. Had a 9 hour drive back, (alone, no help). I go the101 as I do not like the 5 at all. I would rather spend an extra hour driving than contend with trucks, 2 lane roads, boring, boring scenery and pulling "grapevine" . I got 39 mpg overall in my "rice burner". I did get 42 mpg on the stretch up and back, so with the stop and go of the wineries and dirt roads, 39 mpg overall is good. A total of 1567 miles driven that week.
Some of you will ask where I/we went to so I amd giving you an alphabetical listing of the wineries that we graced our presence with.
Amphora, Raymond Burr, Clos du Bois, Dutcher Crossing, Ferrai-Carano, Coppola, Gary Farrell, Geyser Peak, Harvest Moon, Hook & Ladder, J Vineyards, Kendall-Jackson, Korbel, La Crema, Limerick Lane, Martinelli, Mauritson, Meeker, Murphy-Goode, Papapietro Perry, Pellegrini, Peterson, Porter Creek, Ridge Lytton Springs, Rosenblum, Sbragia, Seghesio, Silver Oak, Rodney Strong, Starry Night, Teldeschi, Toad Hollow, Trentadue, Wilson, Yokim Bridge, Robert Young & Williamson.
I have not decided If I will go back to Sonoma the end of 2008 or perhaps Napa. I need to make up my mind soon and get my timeshare trade in. Paso Robles is great because its 4 hour drive compared to 9 but I have gone there so much in the past few years. I think I need to broaden my vacation plans. I am going to China in March which is much broader but I'm not expecting to see any great wineries there. I did have a taste of a Chinese Cabernet earlier this year. I don't think Napa has anything to worry about for a very long time.
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