Camp better with wine

Years ago, beer was the beverage of choice when we went camping. Beer is still terrific, but a glass of wine goes a bit better by the campfire on a cold night in the mountains. Your hands don't freeze while you hold your drink and you end up taking less trips to the woods.

Last weekend, we went camping in San Diego County's Laguna Mountains and brought a few bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon with us. Our meal on Saturday night was pure camping gourmet. We had marinated flank steak, corn on the cob, and grilled zucchini. A nice meal like that deserves wine, no matter where you are!

The temperature that night got down to the low 30s. Fortunately, we had a blazing campfire to keep us warm and a little more Cabernet to provide a liquid coat.

Our faithful dog, Melrose, headed for the tent long before we did on that cold night. Probably because we didn't give her any wine!

The next time you go camping, pick up a couple of bottles of nicely priced Cabernet Sauvignon to take with you!

A great day in Willamette Valley, Oregon

It's Will-ah-met, damn it! The locals are a bit touchy about the pronunciation of their outstanding wine region, but Sally and I were willing to learn the local lingo in return for some great finds at some terrific wineries. Miles would be in heaven here because the main thing is Pinot Noir, but you can also find some good Pinot Blancs, Chardonnays, and even the occasional Syrah.

The Four Graces
Our first stop of the day was the Four Graces in Dundee Hills. Most wineries in the area open at 11 am, so the Four Graces was our pick because it sounded interesting and opened at 10. They poured a very crisp and refreshing Pinot Gris along with five different Pinot Noirs. It was interesting to taste the differences in the same varietal from the same winery. All were good, but our favorite was the '07 Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir which smelled like good BBQ smoke and would go nicely with a piece of slow cooked meat. Mmmmmm.

Domain Drouhin
This winery is French-owned, so they were pouring wines from both sides of the pond. Our favorites were their very balanced 2008 Chardonnay Arthur and their 2007 Pinot Noir Laurene Cuvee that managed to be both delicate and complex at the same time.The grounds were beautiful with views of the valley that might be amazing if it weren't for the gray sky and slight fog.

Domain Serene
A worthy goal when wine tasting is to get a taste of something not on the menu. Going off the tasting menu seemed to be in the plans at the Four Graces and Domain Drouhin, but we had to do some smooth talking at Domain Serene. We started by tasting a Chardonnay and a couple of Pinot Noirs and then moved on to their "Rockblock" Syrah. Their '05 Rockblock Del Rio Vineyard Syrah was very impressive with deep fruit and a taste that grows in complexity. Our server mentioned they only had 17 bottles left of their '06 Rockblock Reserve Syrah so it wasn't open. Hmmmmmm. Fast forward a few minutes and it WAS open, we enjoyed it, and bought two bottles. Just like that they were down to 14 bottles. Almost sold out!  Domain Serene was another beautiful winery that would have some impressive views on a clear, sunny day.

White Rose Wines

Several people had recommended White Rose Wines throughout the day, so we had to stop by. They are perched on a hilltop with another would-be incredible view that was obscured by gray and fog. It was still cool though and their wine was very good. Several different Pinot Noirs to taste, though our favorite was the '08 White Rose Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir due to its classic Oregon Pinot taste (earthy) with a hint of spice. Yum!

And now, a lunchtime interlude... We dined at Farm to Fork, a gourmet deli and restaurant that was very 'wine country' with it's nice selection of locally sourced vegetables, wonderful meats, and innovative takes on traditional lunchtime sandwiches.

Back to wine...

Barrel Fence

We almost judged this book by it's cover, but a new friend at the Four Graces had told us this newly opened winery made great stuff and a tasting was worth it because they were seldom open.

The inside of their tasting room looked like a garage, complete with a beautiful '68 Corvette parked in the middle. Okay, it really WAS the guy's garage! But the wine was good and very interesting. He had an estate Pinot Noir from his Dundee Hills vineyard (45 North) and a Pinot Noir made from grapes grown on land he owned in New Zealand (45 South). Both were terrific and reasonably priced ($28/$29) compared to other comparable wines we'd tasted that day.

Penner-Ash
This was another winery that featured beautiful views (if only the day was clear). Like everywhere else, their main show was Pinot Noir, and their several varieties were solidly good.

One last note... Six wineries in one day. Were we drunk? No. Here's the secret to enjoying some wine tasting while still having gas in the tank at the end of the day.

1. Share. You've just cut your intake (and tasting fees) by 50%.
2. Don't drink it if you don't like it. There's no sense in quaffing everything put in front of you.
3. Don't drink it all if you don't love it. It's perfectly OK to take a sip and dump the rest of the glass.
4. Pick your favorite at the end of the day and THEN get pickled.

Vacation Wine Finds

We recently returned from a trip to Hawaii, visiting Oahu and Kauai. Leave it to us to find a local wine shop in the small town of Koloa, on the south shore of Kauai. The Wine Shop is a great little gem not far from the Sheraton Kauai, where we spent an amazing week. For being on a small island, they had quite the variety. We enjoyed exploring the shop and learning about a few local wines and guessing the island price on high-end wines.

Until a few years ago, we had a tradition of hosting a New Year's Eve Party with our friends, with the theme, "Coast to Coast Champagne Toast". It was a fun event in which we served sparkling wine from each US time zone, starting at 9pm with east coast and finalizing at 2am with Hawaii. Yes, we somehow found a pineapple based sparkling wine to serve ~Hula O Maui from Tedeschi Vineyards.

The wine shop carried a few of their other wines, so we decided to give the red blend a try. The Ulupalakua Red can best be described as a good 'third bottle'. Unfortunately, it was not our 3rd bottle. It seems their pineapple sparkling wine is a far better selection, especially at 2am on NYE!

While there, the owners shared with us they were having a free wine tasting event on Saturday night. They were showcasing four 'big wines' and the deli next door was providing an assortment of snacks. We worked it in our 'busy' schedule and attended the event on Saturday night. The place was hopping with locals and visitors. Although we wouldn't define them as big, but enjoyable all the same, we tasted all four wines being served: Buena Vista Carneros Chardonnay, Mobius Cabernet from Sonoma County, Four Vines, and Peltier Station Zinfandel from Lodi. All were good, solid wines with a price point of $25 or less. While tasting, we munched on meats and cheese provided by the local deli and chatted with the wine distributor.

In addition to learning about the wines, we also learned a little about local liquor laws. Turns out, at many of the restaurants you can bring your own bottle, with a corkage fee. A good tip for next time! We also learned Kauai is one of the few places where you can actually take an open bottle out with you. Think that is one law we may not have to take advantage of too frequently!

The Wine Shop has been in business for 4 years, and we look forward to visiting them again on our next trip to Kauai ~ Mahalo!

2010 Wine Country Scavenger Hunt

For our 2009 Napa trip, we had a 'theme', a first for us for any trip. All the wineries we selected to visit were part of the Judgement in Paris...for our movie friends, it's what Bottle Shock was 'loosely' based on. We enjoyed having a 'theme' so much, we decided to do it again for our 2010 trip and created a "Wine Country Scavenger Hunt". A few friends have asked us what was on our list, and how we fulfilled it. So... here it is!

1. Visit a winery of a favorite tasted at a wine bar ~ Robert Biale "Black Chicken" Zin - tasted at Silo's, thanks Keith!
2. Recommendation from a local establishment (in Del Cerro) ~ Gloria Ferrer - K&B Wine Bar
3. Recommendation from a family member ~ Plumpjack & Brix - Greg & Jennifer Coleman
4. Recommendation from a friend ~ Redd - Brian Mayer (yummy pick!); Benzinger - Lenore
5. A "Delux" experience ~ Jarvis winery tour; Cade tasting
6. Previous visit favorite ~ Mustard's Grill, Sweetie Pies, Restaurante Allegria, Cuvaison
7. Purchase only visit ~ Plumpjack
8. A traditional stop (winery or non-winery) ~ In N Out; Oakville Grocery
9. Taste a cab franc or petite verdot ~Petite Verdot - Jarvis; Cab Franc - Artesa
10. Experience a unique tour ~ Jarvis
11. Enjoy a free tasting ~ had more than we expected here: Cosentino, Jessup, Folie A Deux, Cuvaison, Artesa, Valley of the Moon, Benzinger, Robert Biale
12. Experience a tasting other than wine ~ Variety of vinagers and mustards - Folie A Deux; Cheese tastings - Sonoma Cheese Factory
13. Capture photo for kitchen ~ Purchased Sweetie Pies print at Napa General Store
14. Find a cool new lunch spot ~ Sage in Sonoma - so delicious!
15. Experience a fun evening activity, other than dining ~ Silo's Jazz Bar

For details on all of our 'findings' check out Jeff's previous blogs for all three days in Napa.

Day 3: Three perfect days in Napa and Sonoma Valley

This is Day 3 of our recent wine tour to the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. Napa Valley can get a little crowded on the weekends, so we like to head over to nearby Sonoma Valley which features a lot of great wineries, more reasonable prices, and fewer people. Gotta love that combination!

Wine

Valley of the Moon. Our first stop of the day was terrific. Their tasting room is a two-fer: you can taste Valley of the Moon wines and Lake Sonoma Winery wines. It's interesting to compare and contrast the two styles. Linda, our host, played along and poured several of the varietals side-by-side, so we could blind taste them and try to guess which was which based on the descriptions. Lots of fun! The stand-outs for us were the super refreshing 2008 'So Co' Pinot Blanc that was very crisp and would go well with lighter foods. We also enjoyed their 2007 'So Co' Sangiovese. Sangiovese is a very versatile red wine, and this one had a nice oaky finish that will allow it to go well with pasta. Finally, we really enjoyed the Lake Sonoma Winery 2007 Dry Creek Zinfandel which has 94% Zinfandel and 6% Petite Syrah to give it some bigger tannins and a little complexity.

Benziger. Plan a trip here if words like "organic" and "biodynamic" ring your bell. You may also want to try Benziger if words like "really good Pinot Noir" and "big, big Cab" resonate with you. Either way, they make good wine. Our favorites were their 2007 Giusti Vineyard Pinot Noir which had deep fruit and a very Pinot earthy finish. Their 2006 Gordenker Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon was a BIG cab that hits you with lots of fruit (without being too jammy or showing too much alcohol) and smooths out on the finish. Their 2006 Port was made from late harvest Syrah and Petite Syrah and has a nice balance: not too sweet and not too tawny (think caramel).

Artesa. There's a lot to love about Artesa, from their sweeping vistas, to their beautiful tasting room, to their outstanding wine. Even with a large Saturday afternoon crowd, our wine host, Marie, was very attentive and informative. We particularly enjoyed their 2005 Tempranillo and their 2005 Cabernet Franc. Tempranillo tastes like a Spanish cousin to Sangiovese, though a bit bolder. It is a well-balanced red without too much fruit or too much tannin, and would go well with a variety of richer foods. The Cabernet Franc has a lot of deep fruit on the mouth and finishes softly (for a Cab Franc). Yum.

Food

We found an awesome place for lunch called Sage Fine Food and Provisions. This is really just a fancy deli that has tasty sandwiches made with fresh ingredients and a variety of salads. It's directly across the street from Gloria Ferrer (which we did not enjoy - it's really a wine bar rather than a tasting room). Dinner was at Brix in Napa. The ideal time to go to Brix is in the Spring or Summer, when you can stroll through their vegetable garden while you wait for your meal to be served. It's a different experience in the winter, but the food is outstanding California Bistro fare and the service is always very professional and attentive.