Located in the beautiful rolling hills of Sebastopol in Sonoma County is the unassuming Taft Street Winery. Starting life as “garagistes” in a garage in Berkeley, Taft Street has blossomed. The winery and tasting room are charmingly low key, devoid of the pretentiousness of some other Sonoma tasting rooms. In fact, it might be a bit too hidden. I missed the turn and had to make a U-turn, not realizing I was even in the correct place until I was literally in front of the enormous steel tanks not twenty feet from the tasting room doorway.

Inside, the tasting room is quite roomy and comfortable, with a pleasant adjoining patio, complete with tables and umbrellas. I had my dog with me and was concerned about leaving her in the car in the (albeit relatively mild) California summer heat. Without hesitation the tasting room attendant invited my dog to join me. So, I happily enjoyed a tasting of Taft Street wines with my dog at my side.

I didn’t keep notes on the wines I tried this trip, unfortunately, but I do recall sampling mostly whites, and a few heavy reds. I believe I tasted a gewurztraminer, chardonnay, rose of pinot noir, sauvignon blanc, and some reds, which I cannot recall at the moment. I left with two bottles each of gewurztraminer and Sonoma Coast sauvignon blanc.

Since that trip, I’ve encountered Taft Street wines in various stores and have purchased the Lake County sauvignon blanc.

The 2008 Taft Street Lake County Sauvignon Blanc has a nose of strong lemon/lime citrus with a nice balancing of a petrol or grass aroma, characteristic of the sauvignon blanc grape. This is the second bottle I’ve enjoyed, and it’s not as acidic as I remember, but still very pleasant. The citrus comes through in the flavor, as well, with a pleasing grassiness in the finish. Unfortunately, there’s a bit too much alcohol that can overpower the fruit flavors somewhat. However, I think this is a pretty enjoyable, simple, everyday sauvignon blanc.

I don’t see any Lake County sauvignon blanc available from the Taft Street website, but Bevmo has it available often (and for around $6.99 for members), which is quite a good deal.

Taft Street produces a number of nice wines worth trying and the tasting room experience here is inviting, casual, and relaxing.

Do you hate the cold surprise you get when half way through a shower, the hot water runs out? The worse part of having an old hot water heater is the constant fluctuation in temperature you feel as other appliances are used throughout the house while you’re in the shower.tankless water heaters are so useful in keeping a steady supply of hot water at affordable prices that they’re now eligible for a tax credit (see your tax advisor for details).Call APES Sonoma Plumbing today at 707-315-9864 to inquire on your new tankless hot water heater.

Sonoma tankless water heaters were first developed and used in Europe and are attached to the side of the house rather than inside as traditional water heaters are. The hot water is generated “on -demand” so there is no heat required to store gallons of hot water. You can access hot water immediately without ever waiting for it to “heat-up” Any Sonoma Plumbing pro will tell you never again waste your gas or electricity heating unwanted or unused hot water. You’ll soon notice reduce energy bills following the installation of a Sonoma tankless water heater. You’ll never have to worry about wasting energy warming up unused water again. It’s a good feeling when you know that you’re saving energy. Tankless heaters only work when you want them to.
Many Sonoma plumbing experts state peoples current hot water heaters actually overcompensate for colder weather by overheating the hot water in their tanks. This means that sometimes the water will come out scalding hot. Unbelievably, traditional heaters will actually add COLD water if they make it too hot! All this waste is not only bad for the environment, but it’s also costing you money. Click here for more information on Sonoma plumbing.

There are many ways that Sonoma plumbing tankless heaters actually benefit you: Sonoma plumbing pros state that Tankless water heaters don’t take up much space.
You’ll never get a lifetime warranty on a tank water heater – unlike a tankless.
You’ll never have to worry about a Sonoma tankless water heater leaking
Tankless water heaters contribute less to global warming because they use less energy.

Instead of braving the crowds at the stores this year, we headed up to Sonoma Valley to go Wine Tasting instead! It was the annual Sonoma Valley Open House! We went with Irving’s Aunt and Uncle (Hi Jake and Janie!) They do it every year, and we were so excited to join them this time! For $30, you get a glass and you can go to all the wineries and sample their wines! Each winery also had food to sample too! We pretty much ate and drank our way through Sonoma Valley.

Check out this Wreath made out of corks! This was at the Little Vineyards Winery.

It definitely felt like fall up there. So many beautiful colors!

This was the tasting room at Valley of the Moon Winery. They definitely had the best wine/food pairings there. We ate Pasta, Garlic Bread, Chocolates and a great Waldorf Salad!

Jake and Janie came prepared! They had wine trays to hold their food samples while we sipped the wine! They let us borrow some too. I think we were the envy of Wine Country that day. Everyone was jealous of their brilliant idea!

I think these were taken at Loxton Winery.

The Kunde Winery was gorgeous!

They have caves and tunnels under the vineyard! It was so cool!

This is the glass we got, isn’t it pretty?

Irving’s excited to go into the cave… you know why?

They had Grilled Cheese Panini’s and Tomato Soup in there!!!!

Grapes still on the vine!

Inside the Wine Cave!!

Mmm… Chocolates filled with Raspberry at the Kenwood Winery!

Then it started to rain! (But I love rain, so I was ok with it)!

But the sun came out and it was just beautiful! These were at the St. Francis Winery. It was so beautiful! They served awesome Chocolate Cherry Cookies with their port wine! Mmm!

Last on our list was the Ledson Winery. Can you believe this is someone’s house?! The tasting rooms were on the lower level.

We sampled a few of their wines (and had the most AMAZING brownies there!) But they were not very nice to us. We were thinking about purchasing the Orange Muscat, I went to the counter to sample it, and Irving was standing right beside me waiting for his pour. And at 4:01pm (1 minute past closing time), they refused to pour any more! I pleaded for them to let Irving have his taste…. but they turned everyone else away at the counter! Needless to say, we walked out without buying it! One minute past closing time, really?! It wasn’t that good anyways.

But they do have a very picturesque property!

The light was perfect!

After a fun day of wine tasting, we stopped by Irving’s friend, Thomas’s house to visit with his family. His wife, Julie served us the most amazing homemade apple pie! Then the boys played Video Games!

The perfect end to the perfect day!

Cozza the raconteur.

It must be Garmin Day at Twisted Spoke.

No sooner had we finished our insightful reportage on the Garmin Sponsors than cylingnews.com published a story on Steve Cozza, the 24 year old Garmin rider from Petaluma, California — not 40 minutes away from the Twisted Spoke HQ.

The accompanying video takes you along with Steve on his favorite training ride, a 140 kilometer loop called the Marshall Wall/Alpine Dam ride. Some of the exact same roads we ride every week — in fact, I’ve done the Alpine Dam section hundreds of times including yesterday.

It’s a perfect introduction to the amazing beauty and terrific roads in Marin and Sonoma country. And why riders like Cozza and Levi Leipheimer live in the area. Besides the goat cheese and pinot noir and organic produce and sexy hippy chicks in miniskirts and crystals.

In the future, we’ll plan to keep our eyes out for Cozza. But he’ll probably blow past us so fast we won’t even get a chance to say hi.

We have this queen size bed, complete with box spring, mattress, frame, down comforter and pillows, with two sets of linens and comforter covers.  ($250)

Here is one set of sheets:

Here is the second set (Calvin Klein):

Then we have this television, VCR and entertainment center  ($40):

We also have two corner standing floor cabinets for the bathroom ($100 each):

(see the cabinet in the corner, also two of the mirrors that are over the sink @ $25 each)

We also have two medicine cabinets  ($50 each):

(see the medicine cabinet over the toilet)

We also have two stools  ($10 for the pair):

here’s another view:

We also have a desk chair  ($20)…

And another little white chair  ($10)…

Aside from that, there are a bunch of spices and a few pots, pans, dishes, glasses and cooking utensils AND some water skiing equipment.

NOTE:  ONLY the item described in the photo is still what is available, NOT everything in the photo.  We sold almost everything at the sale on Saturday with just a few thing left.

View Larger Map

• H O F F M A N   F A R M

2125 Silverado Trail, Napa CA 94558, (707) 226-8938

• A reminder of when orchards ruled the valley
• The Last Walnut Orchard in Napa Valley

U-pick persimmons, walnuts and apples or buy already picked, including delicious Pineapple Guava. We’ll return next year at a better time, end of September – beginning of November!

• S A T T U I   P I C N I C

1111 White Ln, St Helena, CA 94574-1599, (707) 963-7774
Open on Thanksgiving day, classic picnic spot with yummy food.

• Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park

Stays on our wish list, we’ve got there late this time.
Mill grounds open daily, milling demonstrations offered on weekends.

• M O U N T A I N   H O M E   R A N C H

3400 Mountain Home Ranch Rd, Calistoga, CA 94515, (707) 942-6616
Missed their Thanksgiving dinner at 3PM, but fed the animals carrots and bamboo leaves, went fishing, hiked and picked mushrooms. Masleata mushroom that is, translation, pls

• S O N O M A   T R A I N   T O W N

20264 Broadway, Sonoma, CA 95476, (707) 938-3912
I don’t know how I didn’t know about this spot after searching so many times for kid-friendly places in this area. Nice stop for kids!

• C O R N E R S T O N E   G A R D E N S

23570 Arnold Dr, Sonoma, CA 95476-9211, (707) 933-3010
Found this children playgarden by chance some Thanksgivings ago, closed on Thanksgiving day. Happy to find them again on the Annual Lighting of the Snowmen day. A beautiful place!

Just got back from a whirlwind 3 days of intensive wine and food sleuthing in Napa & Sonoma.  The weather was lovely and the landscape golden with the grapevines in resplendent hues of gold, orange and red.  The purpose of the trip was to take a peak at a few wineries that do the food & wine experience well… and to taste some great wines and sample some amazing food.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that the retail Christmas insanity had not yet hit streets and stores in California wine country.  Clearly, Thanksgiving holds things at bay.  I suspect Christmas will hit full tilt starting tomorrow.  So much for checking out what they do in wine country in terms of Christmas gifting and decorating!

But I digress.  I enjoyed some excellent meals – lunch at Cook in St. Helena on the main street was a wonderful find.  Great food, reasonably priced, locally sourced ingredients and buzzing with locals and tourists alike.   A wonderful meal at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Yountville was worth the visit!  It’s amazing how thoroughly satisfying simple food can be when prepared with great technique and care.  Once again, the place was packed with a good mix of locals and tourists.  Dined at Redd in Yountville which was also excellent.

My final meal was in Healdsburg at a totally eclectic but charming venue – Barndiva.  The food was amazingly delicious and the ambiance warm and whacky.  There were some wonderful wire sculptures of farmers that fascinated and puzzled me the entire evening.  Through the clever use of light angles, the shadow created appeared to be completely different.  Really very clever!  Turns out the artist was also in the jazz band playing that night.  A nice way to tie in all the arts.  I’ve got his name and number and who knows… perhaps an exhibit in the future on at The Good Earth?!

So what did I come away with in terms of ideas you may ask?  Well, I was reminded how simple and delicious should be the goal – whether it is in enjoying the wine experience or sitting at a table for a meal.  It fits well with my philosophy at The Good Earth.  I am going to build on that approach as we enter into the often snooty world of wine.  It’s a simple message but like many simple things takes a great deal more work than may appear on the surface.

Speaking of wine, the winery is really coming along now.  The past few weeks of excellent weather have allowed the team of Bolek and Dan to move along with framing the structure.  Most of the windows are in and the “board and batten” siding is almost finished.  Today Al the electrician has moved in with his gang.  Soon we will have power!  Buck and his backhoe have arrived to install our septic bed.  I find myself juggling numerous ‘to do’ lists as the work proceeds.  As I described it to a friend this evening, I’m like a Microsoft program with multiple open folders… soon to crash with inadequate room on my harddrive.

The Good Earth winery – you've come a long way baby!

Here’s a look at the structure from the south aspect.  This will be the patio where we hope to see you this season, sipping on some good earth wine and noshing on some good earth nibbles while enjoying the peace, beauty and fun of our little paradise!

First, the good news.

The holiday season is in full swing and there will be lots of opportunities to celebrate with some excellent values from all over the wine country.

The bad news?

The economic crisis has hit the wine business squarely in the bank account. There’s a surplus of wine available  — from here and abroad — and the 2009 vintage is bubbling along in preparation for joining the already crowded marketplace.

Mike Grgich

In a recent Napa Valley Register article, Mike Grgich, founder of celebrated Grgich Cellars, bemoaned the backlog of unsold wines in his warehouse. He’s not alone. Many wineries are scrambling to reduce inventories any way they can.

Now, some good news.

Wine prices are melting down across all categories — from vin ordinaire to formerly triple-digit  “collector” cabernet sauvignon from Napa and Sonoma.

There will always be exceptions, but the laws of supply and demand will dictate an almost unstoppable craving for any exceedingly rare, miniscule production wines that have developed cult status among deep-pockets collectors.

You won’t find Screaming Eagle in anybody’s discount bin.

An empty (yes, empty) Screaming Eagle wooden wine box is offered on eBay for $75. A single bottle of this highly-allocated cabernet-based wine from Napa, depending on vintage, commands four-digit and even five-digit prices.

That kind of mad pricing scheme won’t stop, no matter what the general economic climate, is, but any winery without sold-out inventory is definitely looking for ways to attract attention from a skittery consumer and the simplest way to do that is with price.

Clearing Out the Cellar

I’ve noticed several wineries across the region are clearing out their cellars and offering bargains on even older wines.

If you belong to any winery-sponsored wine clubs, check your mailbox for special offers that include even greater discounts.

A good example is a recent mailer from Rosenblum Cellars in Alameda, offering 30 percent discounts to wine club members during the holidays. Rosenblum is owned by Diaego Brands, a multi-billion-dollar wine and spirits corporation.

But much smaller operations, like zinfandel specialist Robert Biale Vinyeards in Napa, are also reaching out with special offers.

A holiday mailing from Biale offered special sets of library wines and pre-release pricing for the 2006 Hill Climber  Monte Ross Vineyard syrah ($36 for wine club members, $55 to non-members).

Budget Wine Country Destination

Heringer Estates, a family-owned winery in Clarksburg, is offering a two-for-one special on wines purchased at its tasting room on Black Friday (Nov. 27). Go early because the sale price is only good from 9 a.m. to Noon!

Heringer’s main business is farming 105 acres of  their own vineyards and managing another 350 acres for customers.  Most of Heringer’s crop goes to other wineries, but the family keeps some of the fruit to make a few thousand cases of its own brand.

Mike Heringer

I met Mike Heringer, a sixth generation member of his California farming family, at a recent wine event. The talented winemaker told me they grafted over about 25 acres of chardonnay vines to eight more unusual strains of grapes to supply the family winery with fruit that will help differentiate their wines from the competition.

We tasted a 2005 Heringer petite sirah and, after a little airing out in the glass, it shed its rustic tannins enough to expose a vibrant core of rich, black and red  fruit. I’d call it a bargain at $21.

I’m also a big fan of the “bargain” wines produced by Bogle, another Clarksburg winery with a strong petite sirah program, including the latest release (2007) in a string of vintages going back 31 years. This wine is all about juicy blackberry fruit with a spicy edge. You can find it at grocery stores for less than $10.

Bogle’s holiday schedule includes daily tastings at the winery’s light and airy tasting room overlooking the Home Ranch Vineyard — about a 90-minute drive from San Francisco.

Last weekend the elegant premisses of the Landmark Hotel in Marylebone were swarming with wine lovers from all over the world.
A young banker from South Korea indulging in the 20th glass of Bordeaux was not a rarity and a curious wine junkie from the Czech Republic (me) could not miss this magnificent event annually organised by the UK wine magazine Decanter.

Exceptionally wide selection

From over 600 wines I managed to taste 40 and even left with three bottles as a gift from the lovely representatives of Chateau Peyrabon in Bordeaux. I tasted their wines right at the beginning of my long journey through wine regions of the world. Particularly Chateau Peyrabon 2003 with its black currant and mature taste for such a young age surprised me.

Bordeaux, Bordeaux, …

There were many other Bordeaux such as Chateau Beychevelle, Faugéres, Chauvin or the star Chateau Palmer which reshaped my conviction, that Bordeaux younger than 10 years is almost undrinkable. Their 2003 and even 2005 releases were more than pleasant!

New World wines

Another revelation was Napa Valley’s Heitz Cellars with stunning Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 is perfect for your juicy steak. California really does not stay behind. You only need to search in the immense haystack of for me often boring wines and you discover such treasures like Seghesio’s Zinfandel from Home Ranch Alexander Valley which balanced body with light chocolate entangling your tongue was intriguing.

From the eight winemakers from South Africa I would elevate the Danie de Wet Cape Muscadet 2007 for its exotic li-chi and orange peel flavours are ideal to accompany a peach sorbet. The Decanter Gold medal winner Steytler Pinotage 2006 and Steytler Vision 2006 were fruity and quite sweet. Both are from the Kaapzicht Estate meaning “cap view” as it stems from the wonderful view over Cape Town and Table Mountain.

Fashionable wine

Finally a small revelation. Fashion designers have already made their steps into furniture, hotels, etc. But Roberto Cavalli triumphs over them all as he lets his son Tommaso manage a vineyard on his Tuscan estate Tenuta degli Dei producing Igt wine since 2006. You could buy the classic bottle for £32 at the venue or get a special limited version bottle designed by Roberto himself.

This year’s Fine Wine Encounter was amusing and enriching for me as I have learned there a lot. Furthermore, I could not resist to the special subscription offer from the Decanter magazine and got one year for £29 with a gift in the form of an internationally praised wine guide the Wine Report 2009 by Tom Stevenson (£9.99 at www.dk.com ).

Plenty to win

Throughout the event you could enter a draw and win a place at the WSET level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wines & Spirits worth £355 from the largest global provider of qualifications in wines & spirits the Wine & Education Trust. What more to wish for Christmas as with their 40 years experience in the wine education your knowledge of wines can move to higher spheres. And this is not all! You could win cases of award-winning wines from Decanter and even a two-night luxury break at one of 17 historic country houses from Handpicked Hotels.

Upcoming events

To grasp all the great producers at the Landmark Hotel is impossible just here, therefore I recommend you visiting the upcoming Decanter events in 2010. The hotel will host The Great Bordeaux Fine Wine Encounter on 20 February and Great Italian Fine Wine Encounter on 15 May. For bookings call +44(0)20 31484513 or go to www. decanter.com/events

It has been a busy harvest time at Petaluma’s Internationale Instituto De Vino Wino!

The staff and officers worked around the clock to harvest the grapes from the solo vine. Afterwards, they had a little celebration–which, unfortunately, is still going on as this article is being written.

Celebration highlights…

• Many of the celebrants (including their parole officers) joined in singing several choruses of the Instituto’s official vino song: We drink to make other people interesting.
• Restaurant Manager, Al Fresco and Food Director, Sushi Tira-Misu engaged in a serious debate (fueled by some of the Instituto’s product) about the need to create an organic and exhaustive vision of the complexity of reality, born of philosophical and scientific studies, and translated into a narrative structure…with footnotes.
• A strenuous argument erupted when Treasurer, Minnie Da Moocher and Sumo Cum Laude “Big Fish” Sashimi (our bouncer) got into a heated discussion over…

…Se non e‘ vero e‘ ben trovato… 

versus 

…Se non è puoi vero è essenzialmente vero…

• Meanwhile, in the wine cellar, a Claret Kitty and friends had a party of their own…                                             

                                                                                          (Graphic By Barbara Simpson)

• Jerry Attrick (Senior Citizen Wine Consultant) took a swing at Frank, the Chief Wino & Solo Vine Manager (not to mention, author of this blog) who was talking about Old Vines with Enchy Latta, Director of Catering. Jerry apparently thought Frank was talking about his legs.
• Frank left the party early, muttering something about the need to drink a real Petaluma wine instead of the fictional vino being consumed by the fictional wackos at the Instituto. He was observed carrying a bottle of Que Syra, a Petaluma Gap Artisan Syrah from the Rivetti Family Estate Vineyard…                                                              (Graphic courtesy of Frances Rivetti) 

Upon advice of counsel, the rest of the event is better left unreported. I am authorized, however, to pass on the following…

Happy Thanksgiving from the officers & staff of the Internationale Instituto De Vino Wino–La Centre de l’Experience du Vin de Petaluma!

And, in case we don’t recover in time… 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 

Chief Wino &  Solo Vine Manager (We have only one vine)–Frank
First Secretary-Vinnie Parducci
Second Secretary- Guido Marcucci
Third Secretary-Gustav Von Da Vee
Treasurer-Minnie Da Moocher
Counsel–Horace Rumpole of Chateau Fleet Street Claret
Vat & Barrel Manager-Jay Gaulo
Restaurant Manager-Al Fresco
Food Director–Sushi Tira-Misu
Director, Financial Planning-Two Fingers (as in “a-one-a,” “a-two-a”) Sabastiani
Director of Protocol & Arbiter of Taste–Marthe Stuarda
Tour Director-Expresso Camino Freeway
Movie & Video Critic-Francois Fjord
Bouncer–Sumo Cum Laude “Big Fish” Sashimi
Chats du Vin Extraordinaire—Hannah Sue & Gracie Mae (The Claret Kitties)
Tristan E. Isolde-Director of Cheap & Trashy Personal Counseling
Enchy Latta—Director of Catering
Jerry Attrick–Senior Citizen Wine Consultant

“God in his greatness sent the grape to cheer both great and small. Little fools will drink too much and big fools none at all.” 

W H A T : Yountville’s 21st Annual Festival of Lights
W H E N : November 27th from 2 p.m. to 6 . Santa arrives at 2:00 p.m.
W H E R E : Yountville

M O R E :
Carolers, elves, horse-drawn carriage rides, ice carving and a visit from the big guy in red. Admission is free; Tasting tickets for food and wine are $1 each. Local wineries and the region’s top tables (Bouchon Bakery, étoile, Redd, Brix, Bistro Jeanty, Hurley’s Restaurant & Bar, Bouchon, Pacific Blues, Mustards and Napa Valley Grille) serve up tastes along Washington Street while galleries, boutiques and restaurants open their doors for late night shopping and dining.

T H A N K S G I V I N G   M E N U :

• Napa Valley Wine Train Thanksgiving Dinner
• Thanksgiving on the Sonoma Serengeti
• Thanksgiving Dinner at Bardessono
• Thanksgiving Menu: Brix
• Thanksgiving Tasting Menu

E V E N   M O R E :
November 25: Turkey Trot Day for Kids at the Stables
November 25: Napa Downtown Tree Lighting Ceremony
November 28: Napa Downtown Christmas Parade

CornerstoneGardens:
November 28:
Lighting of the Snowmen

Some of the best known family names in wine country are just nameplates on the door. Mondavi, Martini and others have been gobbled up by big companies hoping to cash in on the cachet of wine celebrity.

But there are lots of true family-run California wineries that are getting an injection of energy,  appreciation for new technology and modern advances from a new generation of young guns looking to make their mark on the industry.

I tasted some interesting wines and met some of the new winemaking generation at a wine trends event in Sausalito earlier this week sponsored by the California Wine Institute and the California Association of Wine Grape Growers.

Mauritson Wines

Clay Mauritson

My favorite wine of the day was the 2007 Rockpile Ridge zinfandel ($35) from Mauritson Wines in Dry Creek Valley. It was poured by winemaker Clay Mauritson, representing the fifth generation of his winegrape-growing family.

“I like the 2004 (Rockpile Ridge) but I think the ‘07 is going to be my new favorite. It’s showing very well,” Mauritson said.

I had to agree.

The wine was smooth and full of zinfandel character, tasting of blueberries with an edgy spiciness flanking finely integrated tannins. (To read my blog about Mauritson, click here.)

Wente Vineyards

The tastiest white wine at the event was the  2007 Nth Degree chardonnay poured by Karl Wente, the fifth generation winemaker at Wente Vineyards in the Livermore Valley. This limited production wine is blended from two of the estate’s top vineyards.

Karl Wente

The taste of this lightly golden wine was round and full-flavored on the tongue. It showed a sliver of citrus with hints of melon that developed as the chilled wine warmed up in my glass.

One of the vineyards used for Nth Degree is planted to the renowned Wente clone of chardonnay, which is widely used throughout California . The Wente clone vines are directly descended from vineyard cuttings brought to California from France nearly a century ago by a Wente family member.

“We operate the oldest, continuously operated, family owned winery in the country,” said Wente, who heads the family’s winemaking operations but describes his job as “flavor farmer and tannin farmer.”

Benziger Family Winery

Another family run operation, Benziger Family Winery, is having growing pains — of a sort. A new generation is marching in with aspirations of joining the wine business (Click here to see my blog about Benziger side project, Imagery, where Kathy’s brother, Joe Benziger, showcases his winemaking talents).

The solution is what Kathy Benziger, the last of seven siblings from the winery’s namesake, Mike Benziger, calls “our flaming hoops.”

Any younger nieces and nephews who want to work in the business have got to pass through a series of requirements to earn their spurs. The Benziger “family constitution” requires a college or trade school degree plus working experience outside of the winery.

“It’s really cool to be passing the torch to the next generation and seeing them really get into this business,” said Benziger, who was the East Coast sales manager in New York for more than a decade before returning to Sonoma for a senior marketing position.

Kathy Benziger

“But the millennials think this is easy,” she said. “You have to instill in them that you have to go above and beyond to be successful. You are a family owner and you have to set the very best example.”

The Benziger family, originally from New York, moved to Sonoma in the 1980s to make wine and started the hugely successful Glen Ellen brand, which they sold 16 years ago to Heublein. The family poured the Glen Ellen-winemaking experience, and profit from the sale,  into today’s namesake business.

At the tasting, Kathy poured me a taste of a red wine called “Three Blocks” from the Signaterra collection, a grouping of wines made from specific vineyard sites or special vineyard blocks picked for the confluence of three forces — earth, nature and man.

I liked the soft mint and mild tannins in this $49 Bourdeaux-style blend, which is immediately approachable but could also improve a bit over the next few years. The 2006 is a combination of cabernet sauvignon (64%) and merlot (36%). This wine spent 18 months in French oak and was fermented with native yeast.

More Family Winemakers

For a closer look at some other California family wineries, check out my blog about the Family Winemakers of California tasting event held each summer in San Francisco.

I am such a good wife. Not only did I make dinner two nights in a row this week, but I even tracked down and ordered the handmade chocolate truffles that B loved so much during our last trip up to Sonoma. Well, I mean, I HAD to because I lost a stupid bet (sorry, I did not think they sold safes at Best Buy. It’s an electronic store, right? Why would they sell safes there?) but being a girl who never admits that she’s wrong, I didn’t really HAVE to. But I did. I Googled and tracked down this couple who makes these yummy chocolates, emailed them back and forth about special ordering a box and even made sure they arrived before Thanksgiving.

And what thanks do I get? I’ve been home now for almost an hour with these chocolates waiting to be noticed (and for me to be rewarded somehow for remembering that I lost a bet), all because B is busy playing L4D2 with someone. RUDE.

So if I wait another 30 minutes, does this give me a right to open and eat these chocolates alone?

We can’t wait to for to the waves of live dream-folk and pop Americana to wash over us . . .

Indian Valley Line
Goldfinch
Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack

Nov. 10 -14, 2009

This past week I visited my friends CB and MM out in Cali. Here are a few snippets from my trip:

Nov. 10, 2009: San Diego with CB

CB lives not too far from the hotel I was staying at in San Diego with his charming boyfriend LP. CB picked me up from the hotel and we all went out to dinner at this Thai place near their apartment. We chatted about our lives and LP’s blossoming career as a DJ (he’s DJing the Miss. California pageant). After we ate some good Thai we went back to their swanky apartment and watch some Biggest Loser, while I desperately tried not to fall asleep on the couch. At this point I was exhausted from conference. CB told me he would wake me up so we could eat breakfast before I left for San Francisco and he left for work. At about 6:45 am I got a knock on my door and in came CB with my breakfast in bed! He roamed between his room and my room while we ate and chatted. Then he left for work and I decided I would go for a run in Balboa park before my flight.

Nov. 11, 2009 Mid afternoon – Berkeley

I hopped on the BART that I hoped would take me to Berkeley where I am meeting MM! Yay, time of a little quality girl time! My San Fran/Berkeley vacation with MM was awesome! We roamed all over the place and got to really catch up on each others lives. We both have a lot going on at the moment, it was fun being able to learn about what is going on in her life.

After we settled in cute her apartment we decided to go to this fun grocery store and buy some food for the rest of my stay. I am jealous of her grocery store – I want to steal it and bring it back to NJ. That night we decided to experiment and make some quinoa, neither of us has made it before but I have heard it’s real healthy and wanted to try it. Well, our recipe was a success and after a few beers we headed out into Berkeley for some al fresco beers, and later in the evening met up with an old running buddy of hers.

Nov.12, 2009 – Mt. Tam

We decided that today is our hiking day in the redwoods. MM know a great hike on Mt. Tam so we rented a car and drove out to Stenson beach and started our hike. The forest was gorgeous - right out of the Lord of the Rings. It was not too challenging but I got to get out and stretch my legs. After our hike we ate our picnic lunch and figured out dinner plans. We drove into the city for dinner and went ot Burma Super Star, which was soooo amazingly good! I had never eaten Burmese food before – I was missing out. Then exhausted from our hike we drove back home.

Nov. 13, 2009: San Fransisco

MM had to work today, her students had an exam so I decided I would head into the city and be tourist for the day. I walked over to Fisherman’s Wharf took pictures of Alcatraz and the sea lions, and of course has some clam chowder in a bread bowl. Then I walked over to Lombard street walked to the top and took a few photos there of the crooked street and the city skyline. After that I climbed some really huge hills and somehow wandered over to the Tenderloin (the “ghetto”), found BART and went back to Berkeley to take a yoga class. We had sushi for dinner with MM’s sister, who I have not seen in forever and her BF at a yummy restaurant in Oakland. Then we headed back to Berkeley and went to a brew pub for one more drink.

Nov. 14, 2009: Wine Country!

MM’s BF let us borrow his car and we headed out to Sonoma’s dry creek area for some tasty wine and leftovers from our picnic. The area is gorgeous! Rolling hills, huge estates and vines turning colors in the autumn sun. We first headed to the Michel-Schlumberger winery. They were having their annual pig roast to release their cochon sauvages Zin, but they managed to fit us in for a tasting. Their tasting room is unique, you sit at tables instead of fighting your way to a bar. They have a really beautiful porch/lawn area as well. After MM and I samples our very large pours of vino we headed to another vineyard. Quivira was was up next on the wine tour. Here we sampled some Zin which what is primarily grown in this area. The tasting room was more traditional and very crowded when we arrived. We found a spot at the bar and tasted some Zins, some grenaches and some blends, finished our picnic took some pictures with the chickens and headed back to the city.

Going back into the city we drove over the Golden Gate bridge, which is huge and really neat to see up close. Then we met some of MM’s friends at a Alembic, whiskey bar in the Haight. The drink menu here was really complex and really delicious! We hung out here talked weddings, wedding dress discounts, and ate bone marrow. Then we headed ot the next bar for beers, pizza and fernet (which is supposedly the next big thing in booze, and tastes like toothpaste). 9 pm came way too soon and it was time for me to head to the airport for my red eye back to NJ and Mr. K.

My trip to Cali was perfect, I got to do everything I wanted, with the exception of eating a San Fran burrito, which remains on the list. I got to hang out with my friends and see new cities. What more can you ask for?

This past Saturday, I joined my friend and her coworkers on a wine tasting trip to Sonoma. Napa tends to take much of Northern California’s wine glory, but there are several other great wine tasting areas near San Francisco that are just as nice and kinder to your wallet. Sonoma is Napa’s more down-to-earth neighbor to west.

Our first stop was Cline Cellars. I found the staff at this winery to be full of character and very personable. The guy who ran the wine tasting had a lot of useful information and entertaining anecdotes about his personal journey to appreciating wine. Cline had fun descriptions for their wine, including one that they claim is perfect for drinking with leftovers. This was a great winery– earthy, old school, and unpretentious.

Next, we headed down the street to Viansa Winery where we had a short tour of their property. After a tasting, we had lunch and then relaxed on the sunny patio which overlooks their vineyard. We talked to a youthful old couple who were originally from Holland. They said they came there every weekend to enjoy a bottle of wine. The woman told us, “We don’t even have to ask for what we want anymore. We just sit at our table outside and they bring us our wine!” That is my definition of aging well.

When we arrived at Nicholson Ranch, we found the perfect spot for our tasting. They had a wonderful patio with a view of vineyard-covered rolling hills, flowers, and extremely comfortable chairs. One of the owners came around to pour the wine while we enjoyed conversation and the late afternoon sun. Here, I felt complete relaxed and content. I was able to peel myself out of the chair for our last stop, Gloria Ferrer, where we enjoyed glasses of sparkling wine at sunset.

Vineyard

Fall Ivy

Wine Tasting at Viansa

Olive Tree

Grapevine Hill

Wine and a View

As you will see in the charts below the average sales price in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma continues to be driven by the distress sales.

Volume is picking up a little bit, but nothing to be overly optimistic about.

To learn more about this area visit my website or contact me directly.

If you have questions, just ask!

It’s Sunday.  Up, not too early (after all, we do need our beauty sleep) we plan our day.  Our Sonoma County museum is currently showing an exhibit,  a collection of maps, old maps, maps from the beginning of maps.  Discovery maps.  So we decide to go see this after an excellent breakfast of some Super Simple Scones, bacon and a beautiful Chandon Rose sparkling wine (it’s not champagne unless it comes from Champagne and that’s in France, Chandon is in Napa County in California so it’s sparkling wine.)  Of course, as is typical in my house, as we are eating our breakfast we are discussing what else we might eat during the day, specifically, for dinner… “I want something seafood” says the hubby…”and to be served with a red wine, a Syrah.”   “How about cioppino?”  I ask.  ”Sounds great” he says, “Whole Foods has some crab and I’ll make some garlic toasts to go with.”  Day planned.

We go to the exhibit, very interesting how the world was viewed in the years before Columbus, and even after how much influence the church had in determining what was acceptable as a world view and what was not.  Did you know that Galileo was put under house arrest by the church because he prooved the universe did not revolve around earth, but that it revolved around the sun?  Crazy thoughts now, but back then, not so much.  And all the early maps show California as an island off the coast of America.  Well, if there’s a big quake, that might not be too far off the money.

Early map with California as an island

After the exhibit we decided to get a little bite at  a Thai place called Khoom Lanna, one of the few food establishments smart enough to be open in downtown Santa Rosa on a Sunday (and they wonder why there’s no business in our little downtown, um…people want to go to places where they can get something to eat…ya think?).  We ordered a few appetizers, they were not only beautifully presented, they were delicious.

Good Good Goodie Bags

Chicken Satay

On to seafood shopping.  As the DH said there was crab at Whole Foods, and I prefer their sustainable practices for seafood, meat and poultry, we decide to go there.  They don’t have any crab. “But you had some last week”…well they say, yes they did have it last week but since our local crabbing season starts tomorrow…we didn’t order any from Oregon or Washington and that’s where we got it last week…ya know, the whole local thing.   Great.  OK…so new plan.  We get our fresh clams, mussels, some shrimp and decide to go with Alaskan king crab leg (yeah, that’s totally local) and a lobster tail (Maine?) to replace the Dungenous crab.  While less local then before, I think it’s going to be one great Cioppino.

Lindy’s Cioppino

LindySez: When working with fresh shellfish, make sure that the bags (usually plastic) are not closed, ask them to leave them open.  Also, watch the person who is picking out your shellfish, don’t let them just grab them willy nilly, make sure they are checking them to make sure your bivalves are alive.  Alive is when the shells, even when open, close as soon as you touch them.  Dead is when they stay open .  And you don’t want dead. When you get home, take the clams and mussels out of the bags and put them into a large bowl, do not put them on ice, (as the ice melts they will drown) or put them in water.  I know, it seems counter intuitive, they live in water don’t they?  Yes, they do, but they can’t live in tap water.  So, put them into a large bowl and cover them with a damp clean towel and pop them into the refrigerator. (If you keep them like this, and the towel stays damp, you could probably keep them for a couple of days, although I like to buy and eat mine on the same day). Do not clean them until you are ready to cook them.  To clean them, rinse them under cold running water, scrubing the shells and taking and beards off the mussels.

LindySez: Cheers to Cioppino Sunday.

Happy weekend! I only had three days of work this week, but I was certainly thankful for the work week to end. Going back to work after an amazing time at the Foodbuzz Festival and in wine country was very difficult. I do however, have a new work philosophy. At the end of the day, when I leave work I am just letting it go, not even making the time to talk about the work part of my day. So far this has worked well and has helped me to avoid reliving the frustration that talking about work brings.

When I last left off on our wine country journey, we were leaving Hook & Ladder after a tasting of reds, including a great Zinfandel that we purchased to ship home. We were going to head straight to Yountville to check into our hotel, but we had some time and decided to drove a bit past Healdsburg. Venturing off of 101, we found ourselves on a bumpy side road with a narrow old railway bridge. The scenery, as it was everywhere in California, was a sight to behold. Everyone says that Fall in New England is beautiful, and it is, but this was just such a different perspective on the season. I couldn’t get enough of it, and I can definitely see myself living there.

We were about to turn around to head back to the main highway when I saw a sign for Bella Vineyards and Wine Caves, a winery recommended to me on Twitter by Sonoma Wine Guy. As useless as Twitter sometimes seems, it was helpful in this case! Pulling up to Bella reveals their wine caves which include the tasting room and events space.

The wine tanks are also visible to visitors.

Taking photos inside the cave was difficult, but it was a cozy, warmly lit place, and I was excited to try their Zinfandels and other offerings.

Their wine glasses had a cute tractor, the same one parked out in front of the cave, etched on the glass.

Zinfandels definitely won again. We tried and enjoyed both their 2007 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel and their 2007 Big River Ranch Zinfandel. The standout was the Big River Ranch, though we liked them both. This is a big, tannin-y wine with a deep opaque red color and a burst of juicy berries on the palate. Yum. Tasting in the caves was a lot of fun. Bella offers not only tours and private tastings in their caves, but they also have a jeep tour that takes you up to Lily Hill, where the grapes for the Dry Creek zin are grown. I didn’t contact them in time to book any of the tours, but the next time we go to Sonoma I will definitely make sure  to book in advance. Their website offers information on the tours so if you will be in the area, check them out!

After leaving Bella, we were definitely heading back to the highway to get lunch and find our hotel for the night. But then we saw the sign for barrel tastings at Zichichi Family Vineyard and literally backed up and into their parking lot. Neither one of us had done a barrel tasting and really wanted to give it a whirl.

Our tasting was delayed slightly when I looked out on to the covered back deck of the tasting room and saw this, my new, nine week old Swiss mountain dog puppy pal:

Obviously I had to go out and play.

It was love at first sight. And love at first sip once I went inside!

The 2008 Old Vine Zinfandel from the barrel was incredible. It offers the perfect amount of the big, jammy flavor characteristic of Zinfandels. It is not even being bottled until January, and we will receive our shipment in March, just in time for my birthday, hopefully. I can not wait to see what a couple of months of aging in the barrel will do to the flavor of this young wine. Something to look forward to for sure!

At this point we were more than ravenous. A quick drive over to Geyserville brought us right in front of Diavola Pizzeria. After a good amount of water and some thin, chewy, cheesy breadsticks, we were served our lunches. For me, the wood oven roasted hearts of romaine with shrimp and Caesar dressing and for my hubs, a thick BLT panini teeming with thick, salty, smoky bacon and, red pepper mayo, lettuce, and ripe tomatoes. I will admit to sneaking a few bites of this sandwich, and I can understand why it was his favorite meal of the entire trip. It was a perfectly made sandwich, complete with chewy focaccia bread. My lunch was great too with perfectly cooked shrimp, and a creamy parmesan laden dressing over slightly grilled lettuce. Just what we needed to finish our journey to Yountville.

Next up, Yountville, Domaine Chandon, dinner at Bouchon, and more. For now I am off to go running with a group of Boston bloggers, then to walk some of my favorite dog friends at the shelter. They have been there for so long   I am not sure what the rest of the weekend will bring, but I know I will be blogging! Have a GREAT day my friends!

We just spent two days touring with long time clients and their friends throughout Sonoma. As ususal, near the end of the tour I ask them about what their favorite wines were, and implied in that is what their favorite winery experience was.

In the Russian River Valley there were two standouts. First was Iron Horse, where we started the day with sparkling wines. Part of the success was that we had the place to ourselves, and their open air tasting ‘room’ looks out on a beautiful Fall scene with the vines turning and the soft smell of smoke in the air from burning leaves. About 15 minutes before we left hoards descended on the place, 20 to 30 people must have arrived within 20 minutes, but we were wrapping up our sales and getting ready to go.

The other was C. Donatiello, where my clients were blown away by the quality if the wines. Once again it didn’t hurt that we had the place to ourselves and the staff there is absolutely delightful. The grounds have been beautifully restored and they were luminous in this wonderful season.

On the next day the two standouts had the huge advantage because the winemakers were pouring for us. First Chris Loxton walked with us out to the vineyards to talk about their current strategy for what was a very long harvest season, and which only wrapped up this past week. He still had a couple of tanks that he was nursing through fermentation. Chris uses the native yeast and it shows in the sophistication and complexity of his wines.

We think that Chris is Sonoma Valley’s best wine educator, which may explain why our clients ask us to return there. After that we were very fortunate in that my clients were members of the Glenlyon Clan (aka wine club). We were able to visit with Squire Fridell, the owner wine maker. They’re not open to the public. This is one of the valleys most exclusive wine clubs, complete with waiting list, but Squire is, besides being a wonderful winemaker and vineyard manager, a consummate story teller.

By the way there is a great article about Squire and Suzie in the Fall issue of Sonoma Magazine. Pick up a copy, it offers a wonderful insight about the unique and remarkable people who make up the Sonoma wine making community.

In fact, here’s an idea. The Sonoma Vintner’s association should get folks like Squire and Chris to do some videos for their website talking about the valley. We just completed the Napa Valley Wine Tour Iphone App, and are just starting the Sonoma version. So we love when the Sonoma Valley gets more attention in the media and the web.

For more about our books, tours and Iphone App visit www.AmicisTours.com

Set on 500 acres on a hilly, forested expanse with year-round creeks and uninterrupted views, the couple’s 9,000-square-foot Italian villa-style house in Sonoma is filled with custom flourishes and details, much of it shipped from France and Italy or handmade by craftsmen.

Source:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703740004574513473606656990.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_realestate#project=SLIDESHOW08&s=SB10001424052748704013004574517811938284996&articleTabs=article

This week we returned again to the home we designed and built in Sonoma, California, which the owners moved into last Thanksgiving.  We were delighted to see the home fully decorated, and the landscaping thriving.  Built on flat land in the Valley of the Moon, we created a pond on site to collect winter rainwater which otherwise would contribute to unnatural flooding of the nearby creek.  The pond can also be used for swimming during the hot summers.

Rainwater Pond

The home is passively heated and cooled, using hardly any heat in winter and no air conditioning. Clerestory windows provide light and warmth into the home.  The sun’s rays strike a thermal mass wall in the winter, which stores heat.  Nighttime ventilation in summer, combined with thermal mass, keep the building cool and comfortable even when the temperature tops 100F outside.

The home is centered around a large country kitchen next to a covered, enclosed dining courtyard and a vegetable garden.  The small living room, ideal for conversation, is spacious and light.

 

Living Room view extends into the courtyard

The walls are beautifully finished in lime plaster and milk paint, with a stained concrete floor and custom, built-in cabinets, desks and window seats.  For a high definition album of photos  of this wonderfully comfortable home, click here.