I had the good fortune to take a walking tour through a vineyard this past weekend as part of a special “Earth Day” event. As we strolled along, viewing different “blocks” of vineyards, our tour guide described many of the different practices used in growing vines that produce wine grapes. I was at Hess Winery in the Mt. Veeder district of the Napa Valley, a series of steep hills with harsher soil conditions and cooler weather conditions than other wine districts in this famous region. Because Mt. Veeder is cooler than other districts, and because the soil is composed mostly of limestone, with a thin layer of topsoil over it, the vines here are in a constant “struggle”. Only certain varieties can even endure this district’s climate. And this, it was explained to us, is good. Vines that struggle will produce better fruit than those that do not. Whether a vine has to struggle to derive nutrients from the soil or to overcome a streak of unusually warm weather, the results are usually for the better, ultimately. Struggle, to a degree, is good, if you’re a grapevine.

I began to contemplate this some after about my third tasting, of six, following the vineyard walk. I’m glad I decided to taste wine after the walk and not before! As I thought about the vines and their struggles, I translated that to people and their struggles. Are we not very similar to grapevines? People who struggle usually grow in ways that are both unexpected and beneficial, in the long run.

It is unreasonable to expect that every growing year, for a grapevine, will be perfect. There are likely to be conditions that will cause the vine to stress out a bit and to struggle. It could be a late season frost, or an early, warmer than usual spring, a cooler fall, a colder winter, too much rain, or too little rain. No two years are ever going to be exactly alike in any wine district, in any wine region. This explains the distinct differences in wines between regions and years, or vintages.

It is also unreasonable to expect that life is always going to be a cakewalk for us. We are all going to struggle with something at some point in time. If you haven’t, brace yourself. I know, I know, I know; I’m the “positive mental attitude” and “law of attraction” preacher. And I am here to tell you, that my life was as perfect as I could imagine and going my way, 100%, for a very long time. It was pretty easy to be positive. Occasionally, I would look over my shoulder, though, because I couldn’t believe how well things were going, for so long. Not perfect, of course, I was making compromises, but things were really, really good, overall. And, even while practicing and preaching PMA and the law of attraction and even visualization, my entire world collapsed. Talk about struggle.

For quite a while, as my world completely shattered all around me, only my immediate family and my closest, closest friends knew what was happening. For everyone else, it was business as usual. Yes, I was struggling, but because I was so positive, because I believed in the law of attraction, I knew I would grow tremendously from the struggles I endured. Only occasionally did my faith waiver, only rarely did I despair, and only in private, and only for a moment. Then I set myself straight, and just went on.

As more and more of my friends and acquaintances became aware of the turmoil that had occurred, the struggles endured, by me and my kids, teenagers at the time, the more often I heard “I don’t know how you just keep going”. I didn’t know how to NOT keep going. I was driven, my kids were driven. It was just a struggle and we were going to get through it. As more and more friends found out about our situation, and looked on in awe, I realized that we had become invincible because of our struggle. We had always been tough, stoic, strong, stubborn even, the three of us. What we endured in the past several years, to some, would be a nightmare beyond fathom. Ok, it was. We lost everything. But all the while, we went about our work, school, myriad volunteer activities, we never had an excuse, we never quit, we showed up for everything, worked hard, and we excelled at everything we endeavored, we smiled, joked, laughed, lived. And we grew; better, I think, than if everything had gone perfectly as they had all those years prior. My son became an Eagle Scout, my daughter held a state office in the California International Order of Rainbow for Girls and I took on a new job that required learning pubic speaking and also required an enormous amount of travel, two things I never considered an ability prior to this “struggle”.

Our story is not unique. I’m sure, in light of the past several years of economic turmoil, you can think of a family, perhaps displaced from their home or from their jobs, who through those struggles actually found a new lease on life. Perhaps a more suitable lifestyle, perhaps the rare chance to start over with a career, to finally do something they only ever dreamed of doing. The vine bore better fruit as a result of the struggle. Of course, there are those who just sat there in despair, being the victim, languishing and desperate. Those grapes became bitter fruit because they did not respond to the struggle in an appropriate fashion.

I guarantee that no successful person in the history of the world ever made it to success without some significant struggle along the way. It is not possible to truly succeed without having struggled. The greater the success, I promise, the greater the struggle.

Do not be afraid when you are met with a situation you must struggle against; health, money, relationships. Just remember the vines, growing on the steep, limestone hillside in the Mt. Veeder district of the Napa Valley, remember that occasionally they struggle beyond just their difficult rooting in the rocky soil, in a climate cooler than the rest of the valley, where there is far less water. As a result, the fruit becomes sweeter, and the wine is divine! You will be, too. Learn to use struggle as a catalyst for growth and you will succeed, like the vine.

>>Lanie

lanielouisephotography@yahoo.com

I was running along a popular multi-use trail on Saturday, frequented by walkers, runners, cyclists, skaters, and horseback riders. On Saturday, there were numerous volunteers picking up bits of litter along the trail. It surprises me, really, that there was any litter to be picked up, because, for the most part, the users of the trail are sensitive to these issues and police their own litter fairly well. Somehow, though, the volunteers had bags full of bits of litter. As we passed them we thanked them, each and every one of them, for their contribution. I found a Snickers bar wrapper and picked it up, while running, and tossed in the trash when I passed a can. Grin.

On Sunday, I “celebrated” Earth Day by taking part in a vineyard walk at a local winery, The Hess Winery, in the Mt. Veeder wine district, one of five wine districts here. I live in Napa, right between the Carneros wine district and the Mt. Veeder wine district, to be exact. So there are lots of local wineries, but Hess Winery is probably the most local. As a crow flies, less than a couple miles from my house, perched on a steep hill that people around here call a mountain. Until recently, I’ve been living a bit closer to the Sierras, so I consider mountains far larger, but that’s aside from the point.

I grew up here, in this house, in this town, at the foot of this hill, er, mountain. Near the top of the mountain has been a winery for over a hundred years. It produced wine in the late 1800’s for many years, until prohibition. The owner was busted for bootlegging during that period and was forced to sell the winery, as a result. Wineries weren’t very salable during prohibition, as you can well understand. There was a group of folks that were able to produce wine, during prohibition, with impunity. The Catholics. So, a Catholic priest bought this winery for a hell of a price. Pardon the vernacular, I couldn’t resist.

You may recall Christian Brother’s wines. The name still exists, but the Christian Brothers themselves sold their winemaking interests, with the name, in the late 1970’s. Their history as winemakers, initially, was for sacramental wine. Later, they expanded and made wine to help fund their Catholic educational system, with many schools and universities throughout California. The winery on the mountain behind my house was called Mount LaSalle.

Mount LaSalle

Mount LaSalle was, among other things, a school for priests, who were to be teachers at the Christian Brother’s schools and universities throughout the state. And every day, for my entire childhood, you could hear the chapel bell ring. For as long as I can remember, Brother Timothy was in charge up there. He passed away at the age of 94 in 2004. He lived a grand, long life. I’m thinking it had something to do with the red wine! I don’t think I ever met him, personally, but I knew of him. People still drop his name around here quite a bit. My dad had a bicycle store when I was a kid. One company, Campagnolo, that made very high end, precision derailleurs for bicycles also made a beautiful, large corkscrew. Back in the 1970’s, this thing retailed for over $100. My dad gave one to Brother Timothy. I’m not sure why. My dad was not a practicing Catholic. It must have had something to do with the wine. My dad was a practicing wine drinker. Brother Timothy wrote my dad a wonderful thank you note that I’d love to see right about now. Mom shredded it in a clutter busting frenzy about a month ago. She busted the wrong clutter. Damn. A missed opportunity.

Campagnolo BIG corkscrew

I have other memories of this fantastic property that my Earth Day stroll brought back to vivid life. My dear, dear childhood friend lived at the top of a neighboring mountain, on Partrick Road. Our other dear friend lived not too far from the Christian Brother’s Mount LaSalle winery at the top of Redwood Road. The quickest way from the top of Partrick Road to the top of Redwood Road was by pony, at full gallop, right past the old cemetery where we used to ride at night to sit on the graves and tell spooky stories, right through the dense woods where, yes, redwood trees grow, right across several private parcels, right past the neat rows of vines, right past the Catholic boarding school for boys, and I swear to you, like a good Catholic, I didn’t know there was a boarding school for Catholic boys there, ever, until the tour yesterday. Talk about missed opportunities!

I was at a book launch party the evening before at an art gallery on the other side of town. There I had the chance to visit with many folks, some I knew, and some were new. One young man, I’ll rephrase that a little, one younger man than myself, the son of the neighbor who has lived next door for many, many years. I babysat him when he was in diapers. He is probably approaching forty now. I don’t think I’ve seen him since he needed his cloth diaper changed. And I’d never changed one before. Luckily, neither of us remembers the details of that event! We did chat a little and I mentioned the Earth Day Vineyard walk because I thought he and his wife might be interested. He shared his stories of riding his mountain bike through those very same woods. That winery, that property, has been a very large part of a lot of childhood memories around here! It was so awesome to be standing on the edge of those woods, by some of the very same vines, really, and listening to stories of the history of the Christian Brothers, of Mount LaSalle, of the vineyard, and of what’s become of it.

The Christian Brothers still own the property and operate a school for priests who will teach at the schools throughout the state. There is also a home for retired priests who have taught in the past. And some administrative offices, as well. The vineyards are still there, but have been leased by a Swiss business family, the Hess Family.

The Hess Winery grows all of their grapes sustainably. We toured several “blocks” and saw the different ways the grapes were trellised, pruned, plowed, or not, all in the best interest of the mountain, then in the best interest of the grapes. They respect the wildlife and let nature take care of her own. Yes, deer do eat the tender shoots on the vines, but the four breeding pairs of local mountain lions are left alone and, in turn, take care of the deer. The winery owns 1,000 acres on the mountain, in addition to what they lease, and only 340 of those acres are planted. The remainder of the land, steep and rugged canyon land, is managed for fire by goats. The goats are managed by flock guardian dogs, who keep the mountain lions on a strictly deer diet. It was a fascinating hour stroll through the vineyards around the Christian Brothers chapel.

I haven’t heard the bells ring since I’ve moved back. My mom hasn’t heard them for years, but probably wouldn’t. First, she is a bit hard of hearing these days, second, and possibly the cause of some of her hearing loss, the TV is usually on at full volume, and often, so is one of her four vacuums. Like now. I asked about the chapel bells, and yes, they are rung every Sunday, just before mass. Next Sunday, I plan to take my breakfast on the deck and listen for them.

It was heartwarming to have the unique opportunity to take this tour, as it is not offered regularly to the public. It was even more heartwarming to learn that this is one of several winemakers thinking of Earth first in their production, with their sustainable practices. The tastings I enjoyed after our stroll were fantastic, as was the modern art collection housed within the winery building. They now have a loyal customer in me.

That brings me to the point of my article. Once a year we celebrate Earth Day, but really, isn’t every day earth day? Only once a year we make an effort to pick up trash or haul rubbish out of a creek? This, I think, should be a constant practice. We have much to be grateful for, abundant resources and the beauty of nature. We should show our gratitude by doing, everyday, something, however small, something to help keep our planet more pristine and to conserve precious resources. There are so many ways we can incorporate something meaningful into our daily routine. Walk instead of drive, reduce, reuse, recycle. Look for companies that make sustainability a priority, support them, even if their products cost a few pennies more. The price, at a few pennies more, is far less than what the net effect of the impact of businesses not practicing sustainability will cause. A few pennies more now, or thousands and thousands, probably in tax dollars, for massive, corrective actions ordained by Congress in the future. This is as close to paying it forward as you can come as a consumer. Every little thing we can do does make an impact, however insignificant it may seem. I buy from companies who practice sustainability every opportunity I can. I vote with my pennies. I also like to pick up trash. Everywhere. Everyday. If I see something on the ground, I just pick it up and put it where it belongs. If everyone on the planet picked up one stray piece of trash every day, can you imagine the impact? I’ve been a Girl Scout leader and a Boy Scout leader for a decade and a half. Everywhere I took those kids, from kindergarten through high school and on into college, every outing, every meeting, we found some way to leave places better than we found them. That is the challenge for the generations that live on Earth today. We are going to have to find a way to leave things better than we found them, for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, their children, and their grandchildren. Let’s make everyday Earth Day! Let’s leave this place better than we found it, kids!

I was watching The Apprentice on Sunday and the contestants had to create an ad for South African tourism. Lil Jon was excited because he wanted to do something exciting about safaris. After all, that is what most people think of when they consider going on a vacation to South Africa. However, the South African Tourism people did not want to focus on that. They wanted to focus on things people don’t immediately think of, like vineyards and golf.

Personally I think that is a mistake. If I want a wine and golf vacation I can stay in the United States and skip the twelve-hour international flight. I can also skip the jet lag, the language barrier, the twelve-hour international flight home, the jet lag on the trip home, the lost luggage, etc, etc, etc.

And there is this: During The Apprentice, Gary Busey repeated ( and repeated and repeated) to the South African executives how years ago, when he was shooting a film in Johannesburg,  he heard some people being murdered right behind his hotel.

That did not go over well with anyone.

South Africa has been spending a lot of money lately to promote their part of the world. Here in NYC, they sponsor the traffic reports on the all-news station I listen to during my drive to work. However, I am not their target audience. They are aiming at an upscale (and specifically white) demographic that has never considered traveling to South Africa. The attractions they focus on are:

- Golf
-Wine
-The Nelson Mandela Museum
-Beautiful sunsets
- Street festivals

Take out the Mandela museum, and what is on that list that I can’t do in almost any other country of the world? To be fair, one of the people in the radio ad does say there is nothing like hearing a lion roar up close, but on the other hand, I heard lions roar in The Bronx Zoo, The London Zoo, and The San Diego Zoo. And what is a nature preserve in Africa but a bigger zoo?

However, although I think their focus may be misguided, there is a particular part of the radio ad that I truly believe the South African tourism board really needs to rethink. I can’t find it online, and I have not managed to make a recording of it, so I’ll have to describe it to you as best I can.

The premise of the ad is that a man and a woman are describing their recent South African vacation, but there was so much to do that they only have time to talk about their top five favorite things. The couple’s voices and their interests are very, very, stereotypically white. You just know they are the kind of people whose idea of rocking out is to put on some James Taylor and then fall asleep to his sonorous tones. (I’ve seen fire, I’ve seen rain….sssnnnnnzzzzzz.) For an exciting evening they drink an extra glass of wine, watch John Stewart, and phone in a donation to PBS. They may even read a ribald article in The New Yorker.

Anyway, they list the first few things they loved: golf, wine, sunsets, The Mandela Museum. You know, all the stuff people want to see in South Africa, not the wild animals or nature preserves. Not the savannah or native villages. You know, stuff like golf, which I can do right here at home, and wine, which I can get right here at home, and sunsets, which I can see right here at home (or anywhere else in the world- they have the sun in the North Pole too, just not every day.)

I do admit that I can only see The Nelson Mandela Museum in South Africa, but truth be told, I wouldn’t go there anyway. There are plenty of museums in NYC I haven’t been to either.

(And just as an aside, did you see there is a reality show about Nelson Mandela’s family?  What a way to honor your family legacy, Mandelas. You should be so proud. They fight and argue and act stupid like every other stupid reality show. One granddaughter says “when I spend money it has my grandfather’s picture on it!” Ladies and gentlemen, brains like that do not come around every day.)

But to get back to the radio commercial, there is still one highlight to go. I’ll try to recreate it as best I can.

VERY WHITE SOUNDING MAN: You know, you really impressed me when you joined the Soweto Street Party and learned the latest local dances.
VERY WHITE SOUNDING WOMAN: You weren’t so bad yourself. I didn’t know you had moves like that.
VERY WHITE SOUNDING MAN: You didn’t know you married a Zulu Warrior, did you?
BOTH: HA HA HA HA HA!

Does anyone else see a problem here? Did you catch it?

Go back and reread it.

And now I will rephrase it for you.

WHITE WOMAN: You weren’t so bad yourself. I didn’t know you could dance so well.
WHITE MAN: You didn’t know you married a black man, did you?

Get it? When she compliments his dancing and his rhythm, he compares himself to a black man.

And never mind the fact that the proud history of the Zulu Nation has been dumbed down to them simply being great dancers.

BTW- until I googled it for this post, I was sure he said “Sweater” Street Party.

This could all be attributed to some dumb USA ad agency at work. God knows they create enough dumb ads, but as seen on The Apprentice, the people in charge of the tourism board are a pair of South African women. They really ought to have known better.

Donald Trump with the brains behind South African Tourism.

China

The new Chinese obsession with red wine from Bordeaux is the subject of Red Obsession, a new film scheduled to air in July 2013. Produced by Warwick Ross, the film highlights the new Asian wealth as well as the French fight to hang on to their well-loved wine plantations. This scenario being played out on a global screen affects wine connoisseurs around the world.

Bordeaux Wine Market Flows to China

It is true that wines grown and produced in the most famous Bordeaux estates are hands down the most coveted on the planet. The grapes are grown on the best pieces of land in the world and the wines are lovingly produced to resemble perfection. The process of taking grapes from the Bordeaux soil and creating wine can be called a miracle in action. Although this region in France has shown stability and resilience through revolutions and wars, it may be facing its greatest challenge yet.

Growing Wine Fever in Asia Outweighs Supply

There is a new wine fever in China, where there are now more billionaires than in the United States who can well afford anything they want to buy. With the surging demand for the best wine in the world, prices of Bordeaux vintage are skyrocketing and have grown out of reach for the US pocket. The Chinese have been through revolution and are coming back with a new strength, passion and desire for the best that only money can buy. It seems to be the goal in China to own the Bordeaux wine market, which they use for political power. With the global power shift, they are able to buy up old estates and reputable vineyards across France, making the rich even richer and more powerful. The fear of the Frenchman is that the land will now be owned by foreign investors who will take control of those valuable and historic pieces of perfect property.

Satisfying the Red Obsession

There is no end in sight to the Asian demand for top quality wines. They have the desire and the money to buy anything they want. Right now, they want Bordeaux wines and will pay exorbitant prices to take control. However, even if they were to buy up all the best wines in the world, it would not satisfy the growing demand in China. Red Obsession takes a close look at this growing world wine dilemma.

2005 Alexander Valley Cyrus Red Blend

Immediately after opening, this red wine felt very tight and enclosed.  It is a dry and full-bodied red wine with solid tannins and nice long finish. After letting it breath for a while, it drank well with flavors of dark cherry, plum, and blackberry  coming through the most.

Rich and darker ruby color. I would highly recommend decanting for more than one hour and pairing this with red meats and others  that can hold up to the intensity of the wine.

Composition:
76% Cabernet Sauvignon
10% Merlot
10% Cabernet Franc
2% Malbec
2% Petit Verdot

http://www.avvwine.com/

On Thursday, I headed down to Adelaide (my beloved little hometown!) to celebrate my Uncle’s wedding. I arrived on Thursday afternoon, had some quality bonding time with the amazing grandparents who I miss oh-so-much, gobbled up dinner, and hit the sack for some beauty sleep in preparation for the weekend ahead. Friday was a blur of makin’ ourselves pretty and eating yummy food at this magnificent cafe, which was so cool and quirky and quite literally catered for everyone! The menu had goodies ranging from old-school burgers and hot dogs, to sweet potato fries, to vegan, organic eats, to brownies, to Mars bar milkshakes, to raw & vegan desserts… and I’ll stop there, despite my typical over-excitement. Control yourself, Kloe. I think I’ll do a separate post on the cafe, Argo, because it was so good it definitely deserves some foodie blogger recognition!
My grandma & I had a bit of a manicure date, and it made me so happy to see my grandma so flippin’ excited about it, chattering about it for hours after, as it was her first one. It’s the simple things in life, huh?
On Friday night, we headed to the airport to pick Tom up when he got here from Canberra. Yay for direct flights and no awkward, unnecessary stop-overs! Obviously, because this mushy, no-shame girl was involved, there may have been a bit of a slow motion run complete with big hug a la The Notebook… I’m that keen bean who hangs right at the walkway exit pretty much blocking the path, oblivious to everyone sighing and dodging me because I’m too busy smiling like an idiot waiting for someone. I embarrass myself. Most of the time.

Saturday was the big day! It started off with my grandma & I getting my hair done, and I ended up going for some loose waves/curls (debatable?!) for something different to my normal straightening regime. I was definitely happy with it, and was feelin’ a bit like a brunette Tay Swifty… minus breaking into heart-wrenching (term used loosely) break up song.
Poor Tom was forced to sit and wait while I discussed Harry Potter dealthly hallows tattoos, vintage clothes & hair extensions with my hairdresser. My ability to have lengthy conversations with anyone was definitely inherited from my grandma! Thanks, Nan.

The wedding was actually in McLaren Vale, which is about an hour and a half out of Adelaide and is such a beautiful little part of the world. It’s scattered with quaint little wineries, that are tucked in amongst the rolling hills covered in vineyards. Breathtaking, I wish I had a little getaway cottage here!

(source)

(source)

We stayed in a gorgeous cottage with amazing land around it, and casually a pack of sheep next door which amused my brother, Wil, and my cousin, Lily, to no end! (both under 3)
It was actually so big, and was able to fit the whole family in (minus the bride and groom, of course!) with no problems. It was freezing there, so the fireplace quickly became my new best friend.

McLaren Cottage

The wedding itself was simple but so beautiful, it couldn’t have been a more enjoyable afternoon and night if it tried!
We all gathered outside of Tapestry Winery, with the stunning view of the sunset over the vineyard just behind us. The timing was perfect, as the ceremony was bathed in that amazing late afternoon sun, giving it this magical glow. It was such a gorgeous, personalised wedding, with a humorous story about how the bride and groom met at the beginning. They both looked just so happy, and the brides’ dress was the most beautiful dress I’d ever seen and… Oh gosh, I’m just a sucker for weddings, okay?! I love them and get all mushy and warm and fuzzy.

My little cousin and brother were the flower girl and page boy, and it was quite possibly the cutest, most hilarious thing watching them run/skip/hop/army roll (yep.) up the aisle holding a wand and a flag saying “here comes the bride… last chance to run!” respectively. There are no words.

We had pre-dinner drinks before heading in for an incredible dinner with lots of delicious food: canapes to start, then a few shared main dishes, and wedding cake for dessert, of course. Wouldn’t be complete without it!
One of the highlights of the night was definitely the retro photo booth, and everyone was all over it from the start!
I must admit Tom and I may have gone a little overboard… but hey, when in Rome, right?!

Our pretty hefty collection! So many memories to keep.

Close up of my absolute favourites. Novelty props & black and white just make it!

There was lots of dancing, wine (dining at a winery will tend to do that!), hilarious (somewhat brutal) speeches, catching up with family, spending time with Tom, admiring the fantastic wedding and just overall I had a great night. Congratulations to the lovely bride and groom, and fantastic work with the wedding! It won’t be forgotten.

To wrap up an unforgettable weekend, a group of us all went to Settlement Wines on Sunday for a gourmet pizza lunch; our last chance to all be together before we all started heading back to the states we travelled from, and of course it was the last opportunity for many to sip and savour the wine McLaren Vale is famous for!

Another bittersweet goodbye to both my family and Tom, resulting in me heading back to Sydney feeling a bit sorry for myself and missing everyone. But I’m so grateful to have such wonderful people in my life, and such incredible memories together like those from this weekend! I’m so happy for my uncle and his bride, and wish them every happiness for their future full of adventure, love, laughter and joy.

Is any one as big a wedding fan as me? Do you get teary/all mushy no matter what?!
Has anyone ever been to South Australia, or the gorgeous McLaren Vale area there?
What’s the best weekend getaway you’ve ever had?

Lots more posts coming, I’m going to be one busy girl!
Enjoy your week everyone.

Love,

Kloe x

The elephant becomes an immediate magnet for visitors who want their photograph taken with it and the background of grape vines.

The stylish Elephant Hill Restaurant overlooks the vineyard across a reflecting infinity pool.  Every feature of this establishment is different from most other wineries in New Zealand, except perhaps the Craggy Range and Black Barn wineries also in the Hawkes Bay area which have similarly stylish and first class restaurants.

Reflections

Apart from the stylish restaurant, the winery also featured some equally stylish wines.

Ahh, Napa. We have been long awaiting this trip that we booked weeks ago, and I will say that it fully lived up to our expectations, and likely even exceeded them. When we made our reservations, we had not been dating for very long….the trip seemed like a test of our compatibility, and also a bit of a gamble. There are many people that I enjoy spending time with, but not many that I could spend 5 straight days with and enjoy every minute of it…

Before I unleash a diatribe against planning so far in advance at the beginning of a relationship, let me start with how the idea of our Napa trip was born. As I sat in the Spirit Terminal at JFK waiting for a flight headed to Detroit, I casually mentioned the idea of a weekend trip to Amy. This leads me to my first life lesson: Always make major relationship decisions when headed to Detroit via an ultra low-cost airline as the bar for happiness could never be lower! All joking aside, we had discussed attending a wine tasting in the city, and Napa seemed like a logical substitute for this idea. Clearly, my definition of logical is far different than the general public.While we had only been dating for a few months by the time the trip approached, I surprisingly had little sense of trepidation. The trip turned into a bonding experience that will be etched into my memory for a long time…

Fortunately, we both survived the trip and we are in fact still dating. We stayed at the Bardessono in Yountville for 3 nights, and had a last minute stay at the Carneros Inn. We drove the concierge at the Bardessono insane before arriving with our various attempts to surprise each other and plan special things behind each others’ backs. When I walked in, my eyes were greeted with white rose petals sprinkled all over the floor and on the bed…Adam can be such a romantic. I’ll let him share what he was surprised with…

Amy was far too humble with her description of the image upon arrival as she had planned for my favorite macarons (Bouchon bakery) and sparkling wine (Schramsberg) to be waiting for us in the room. The picture of me in a pink shirt (real men DO wear pink!) was actually taken at the Schramsberg Vineyard which was a great tour with some of the best wine that we tasted on the trip. I’m going to become a Master Riddler in my next life… Ramon, I’m coming for your record!

The room was huge and very modern, the location was perfect and in walking distance of some of the area’s best restaurants, and the wine tastings that the concierge set up for us were fantastic. We visited Ehler’s, Schramsberg, Mondavi, Saintsbury, Ram’s Gate, and Scribe. All of them had their own unique vibe and I would recommend any of them to people visiting, especially for the first time. We were lucky enough to dine at Redd Wood, Bottega, Solbar, Terra, and Bouchon. The weather could not have been better, and Adam managed to secure himself a nice farmer’s tan for the next few weeks!

If you like sunlight (and who doesn’t  like sunlight), the room at Bardessono was fantastic while the customer service was top notch from the concierge to the valet to the bartender who had to twist our arm to try a Bloody Mary at breakfast before a day of wine tasting. I will admit that the Bloody Mary was a perfect pairing with what Amy called “adult nachos”. Each winery offered something unique whether it be providing us with a better understanding of the wine making process or a greater appreciation for the pairing of wine and chocolate. I also want to commend our driver Tom who was the perfect tour guide with in-depth knowledge of each winery we visited. What probably struck me the most was the freshness of the various ingredients at all of the restaurants where we dined. While the idea of farm to table eating and locally sourced ingredients is a novel concept in New York, it is simply a way of life in Napa.

We were having such a fantastic time in Napa that we decided it was absolutely necessary to stay for an extra day. We did some poking around and settled on Carneros Inn, which was a little more off the beaten path than Bardessono. The property was breathtaking. Each guest has their own “cottage” and there are multiple restaurants, pools, and lounging areas on the property. We hopped on beach cruisers and biked down to the little market, grabbed some wine for the evening, played some bocci ball, and strolled around the “vineyard walk”. Packing up and jumping in our Mini Cooper for the ride to the airport was not easy…

As we toured the grounds of the Carneros Inn, I caught myself turning to Amy every five minutes and saying, “How beautiful is that view?!” While Amy did poke fun at me because of my insistence on wearing a bike helmet when we went riding, someone else did tell me it looked sexy! For those who have an affinity for a quiet, more relaxing vacation, the Carneros Inn is the spot for you. The Super Breakfast Burrito at the Boon Fly Cafe was the perfect final meal while in Napa even knowing that my first In N Out experience was only a few hours away…

Oh, and I stole Adam’s In N Out virginity. Anyone who knows me knows that In N Out could easily be described as my happy place (California natives, you feel me) and I felt that before our relationship could progress, he needed to have a number 2 with animal fries. I’m happy to say that he fully enjoyed it, and I got my fix before we hit the airport! Now, how can we make this an annual thing?

I will see you there next year sweetheart…

But this is the first time we’ve ever hit the timing right for the harvest.

The harvesting machine that drives between the rows of vines and shakes the grapes off… though the Premium lines are of course picked by hand

We saw these machines all over Waipura and Marlborough, lumbering between the rows of vines, shaking the grapes (and surrounding stems and sticks and leaves) into long troughs.

While we were in Nelson, Seth needed a haircut, so we dropped him off at a barber in Richmond and the rest of us nipped out to Te Mania.  (It’s fair to say that Barbara has a good deal more interest in visiting vineyards than does Seth.)

The kids moaned and groaned and, once they established that Te Mania did not offer chocolate tastings the way really good vineyards do, made a Big Point of bringing their electronic gizmos into the tasting room so they would have something to do while Tom and Barbara and I tasted.

Outside the tasting room, lounging around on a large deck, laughing and sipping oaked pinot noir with great enthusiasm, were about ten surprisingly scruffy looking young (er, that is, under thirty) people.  One hates to generalize about such things, but they didn’t have the typical Wine Taster air about them.  (We have found, when we’ve done tastings around the world, that our kids are invariably the youngest people in the room… and very often, Tom and I are the second youngest.)

It turned out that they were the hand-picking harvest crew, and that they’d just finished the pinot noir harvest, and they were out on the deck with the vineyard owner and the foreman, celebrating.  They were a fun global bunch — two from Italy, one from Germany, a couple from Denmark, two from Australia — some of them doing harvesting work for the first time, several making a year or two out of it, traveling from wine country to wine country following the harvest season.

We chatted with them until the pinot was drunk, at which point the vineyard owner and the hired hands wandered off, and William, the foreman, asked if we’d like a look around.

We did!

Investigating the harvest

Grapes, shoots and leaves

The shoots and leaves are jostled out on the conveyer belt. At least, most of them are.

The (mostly) grapes are dumped into the press, where they’re rolled into grape juice, with leftover grape grog

The filtered grape juice comes out of the bottom of the press, to be made into pinot grigio

The leftover grog comes out of the other pipe…

… to be sampled by curious Americans

“Oaking…”

Recently in my wine appreciation class, we’ve been seeing pictures of vineyards in foreign or exotic places like Chile, Argentina, South Africa and Italy. This article shows off 35 vineyards around the world, from Australia to Germany and then places closer to home like Virginia and California. My favorite from this list is the Hunawihr Vineyards in Alsace, France. The grapes surround a 14th century church and the scenery looks like something on a postcard.

Source

The Wine Enthusiast Magazine recently had an article about winery wonders of the world and featured 10 more modern-looking wineries that could be interesting to visit as well. While not as scenic as the grape-growing places I mentioned above, these places are more architectural gems where grapes can be turned into world-class wines. The Lopez de Heredia Winery in Spain topped my list of favorites because it looks as though it combines the old and new worlds to create a great place to try wine.

Source

I don’t think that I will get to either of these places soon, but they’re definitely going on my places to travel list. What are some of your favorite wineries to visit?

Cheers at Renmin University

The other day, when I took a stroll from the Friendship Hotel in Beijing where I stayed during my recent visit, I came also across the Cheers wine shop at Renmin University (People’s University). I knew this shop from earlier visits, and was curious to know what it had on offer.

I was surprised to find even a few wines from Germany: Two off-dry Riesling wines from my native Mosel and a Pinot Noir from the Pfalz.

2011 Peter & Peter Pinot Noir by Zimmermann-Graeff & Müller

I had never before heard about the “Peter & Peter” brand but could not resist to buy and later try this wine. I did not regret it. After my return from a business dinner with lovely Chinese food but without table wine, I opened the Pinot Noir and enjoyed it as a night cap.

Zimmermann-Graeff & Müller is a wine company in Zell, Mosel with about 300 employees and vineyards and wineries in the Mosel and Pfalz wine regions.

Jancis Robinson awarded this wine a 15 out of 20 points. The sales price varies. I found websites where you could order it for 8 to 10 EURO/bottle; in Canada it is available for about 19-20 C$.

Before taxes one can have it in Thailand for 356 Bath. But remember that the luxury tax in Thailand is considerable (400%).

For me it was great to enjoy this fine specimen of German wine so far away from my native land.

Condé, 49, an Independence, Mo. native, shared the history of South African winemaking marked by innovation and European influences. Condé started making wine after moving to Stellenbosch, South Africa in 1997 to be closer with his family.

“I had this epiphany; I was going to do something different with my life,” Condé said. “I looked around at the wine [industry] and thought to myself, ‘This doesn’t look too hard.’”

A 6-barrel vintage of Cabernet made in plastic tanks without a wine press won Condé a high score of 92 from Wine Spectator in 1997. Since then, he has opened two companies, Stark-Condé Wines and MAN Vintners and now produces an array of South African varietals.

Condé debunked myths about desert climate and wild animals interfering with growing grapes in Africa, admitting, “It’s a very dynamic place. [South Africa] has a long history that is changing all the time. It’s s very interesting place to work,” he said.

Chenin Blanc, South Africa’s most popular white wine, was among the wine varietals Condé shared. (MU Agricultural Engineering Building, Columbia, Mo. / April 16, 2013) Photo by Colin Hope.

Condé explained that the Mediterranean-style climate of South Africa makes its coast an ideal region for growing grapes and making wine. (MU Agricultural Engineering Building, Columbia, Mo. / April 16, 2013) Photo by Colin Hope.