All things wine

Let’s see, last…September (so wow, a year ago…can you believe how fast the time goes?) Danielle and I took an epic trip to Napa, including a stop by Chateau Montelena in Calistoga, where I am a member of their wine club. If you’re not already familiar, Chateau Montelena has an awesome back story. Basically, back in 1976, they were invited to participate in a blind taste test in France that put French wines up against California ones, which at the time did not have much international acclaim. This event became known as the Judgment of Paris. The French wines were expected to win, hands down, and to everyone’s surprise, a California wine won in both the red and the white category – and for the white, it was Chateau Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay that won. This event helped put Napa Valley wines on the map and is a historical moment in wine history. There’s a lot more to the story, and I’ll get to that in a minute.

Before our last fall, Netflix had recommended a movie called Bottle Shock and I watched it one afternoon, not expecting too much. Well, I loved it – it tells the (fictionalized) version of the Judgment of Paris and the role Chateau Montelena played. Even if there was creative leeway given, the story is great, the soundtrack is great, the cast is awesome, and the whole film is filled with beautiful scenes of Napa. Prior to seeing the movie, I hadn't even heard of Chateau Montelena (this was clearly before I became the wine snob I am today). My dad was going to be visiting and we were going to head up to Napa for some wine tastings, so I had him watch the movie (he loved it too) and we made sure to hit up Chateau Montelena during our tour of Napa. During that trip, I became a club member at Chateau Montelena…and dad did as well.

Danielle’s visit came shortly after dad’s. I learned that as a club member, I had the opportunity to do a special Cellarmaster tasting at the Chateau, so I signed us up. Honestly, it was one of the best experiences I have had in Napa, and that’s saying something, as they've all been pretty epic. It was a seated tasting with cheese pairings, plus we got to go out into the vineyards and taste some grapes right off the vine, all in an idyllic setting. That trip also marked my introduction to Midnight Moon cheese by Cypress Grove, a truly life changing event (best. cheese. ever).  Anyway, while I was there I picked up an autographed copy of Judgment of Paris by George Taber, the journalist who covered the original event. The book is a more thorough look at the events leading up to and including the tasting, and the lasting impact it had on wine globally.

So fast forward almost a year, to earlier this month. In preparation for an upcoming trip to Napa, I finally picked up the book to read. I guess I thought that despite the interesting subject, it might be a bit dry (ha...a wine pun...a bit dry) – wrong again. It was really fascinating, and I learned a lot about the history of wine, wine making, and the global wine market. And that finally brings us to the point of today’s blog post. Each chapter heading includes a quote about wine, so I thought it would be fun to pull together some of my favorites – from the book and elsewhere.

I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food. ― W.C. Fields

Give me books, French wine, fruit, fine weather and a little music played out of doors by somebody I do not know. ― John Keats

As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans. ― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast 

his lips drink water

but his heart drinks wine ― E.E. Cummings

Beer is made by men, wine by God. ― Martin Luther

Men are like wine - some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. - Pope John XXIII

Wine is bottled poetry. - Robert Louis Stevenson

The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars. ― Benjamin Franklin

And now, Bottega in pretty pictures

My dear friend Danielle, whom you may recall from the origins of this very blog, flew all the way from Vermont to visit me last week. We had such an epic adventure, I don't even know where to begin. We started with touristy San Francisco stuff, and finished with an absolutely amazing weekend in Napa. I'm sure I'll be back with all the details and play-by-play, but for now, here are some pretty pictures of dinner at Bottega. Enjoy!

Pasta Fritta -- basically a deconstructed salad of figs wrapped in prosciutto (the undisputed king of meats), Parmesan puffs, and wine foam.

Ricotta gnocchi

Duck! And roasted grapes...

A finale of olive oil cake with macerated raspberries and fig gelato.

I may never stop talking about last Sunday

Let me apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I just had so many exciting things to talk about.

No exaggeration – this past Sunday was one of the best days of my life! Alex and I spent the day in Napa before heading to a John Hiatt concert, and the whole day was epic. Here’s the rundown:

We left Berkeley around 11, and didn’t arrive in Calistoga (the very northern part of the Napa region) until almost 1:30. Unfortunately, this is pretty typical – its only a 50 miles drive or so, but traffic tends to suck. Thankfully we swung through Starbucks on the way (side note: fall drinks and treats are back! I got a salted caramel mocha and it was to die for. This also means that its pumpkin cream cheese muffin time! I’ll let you know how that goes as soon as I get my hands on one). It was a gorgeous day and we had good tunes in the car, so the drive was pleasant.

Finally we arrived at a tasting room in Calistoga. I had spent some time on Google and Yelp looking for some inexpensive wine tastings for two reasons – 1, I was trying to save some money (duh) and 2, this isn’t really Alex’s thing – he was mostly doing it to humor me – so I didn’t want him to spend a ton either. It turns out that there are a TON on inexpensive tastings available throughout Napa, you just have to do your research. So anyway, we went to this place (and now I’ve totally forgotten the name, but I did buy a bottle there). While we were there, we got a coupon for two complimentary tastings at Markham (www.markhamvineyards.com/) – where it turns out they also had a free gallery full of photos from Rolling Stone’s original photographer – think Jerry Garcia, Hendrix, Janis Joplin, all in their prime, paired with the original Rolling Stones covers. Alex was ecstatic – this is definitely more his scene, and I was pleased because while the day was rather me-oriented, I wanted him to enjoy it too. So we drank some more free wine and checked out some very cool art. Then we had a delicious packed lunch in the parking lot (cheese, summer sausage, crackers). That concluded our wine tasting for the day – and ringing in at $6 each, it was not bad at all.

Next we headed over to the CIA Greystone, which is practically across the street from Markham. The woman at the first tasting room had recommended that we stop by. Honestly, I hadn’t realized that it was open to the public, and that there was an awesome campus store. The building is beautiful, like a castle, and there are also some neat displays inside – the antique corkscrew collection, for example. I wanted to drop everything and enroll and never leave…but I managed to contain myself (I have been looking for a part-time culinary program to enroll in, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but they are so dang expensive and I guess just not a very practical option right now). I did buy a cute bamboo salt box with the CIA logo on it and a postcard for my grandparents. I saw the cutest pink chef’s coat, too (hint, hint, mom and dad).

Next stop was Dean and DeLuca. I’d been surprised to see the shop last time I was in Napa; I’d always thought Dean and DeLuca was more of an East Coast thing. Regardless, I’d never actually been in one (just heard Julie talk about in Julie and Julia, and of course, Felicity worked there…). Paradise. I walked away with a very cool burlap tote bag, and Alex got some licorice, so everyone was happy. We drooled over the meats and cheese cases, and the homemade marshmallows, but managed to resist. But  I wanted one of everything in the store (of course, I felt the same way back at the CIA shop…I’m incorrigible, I know).

Another winey weekend

Last Saturday some friends and I took a day trip up to Napa Valley for some fine wine and fine food. It was a great day -- the weather was gorgeous -- about 90 degrees, which is usually a little too warm for me, but it was dry, with a slight breeze, making it pretty ideal. We hit a total of three wineries. I'd hoped to fit in one more, but three ended up being pretty good -- we all got to enjoy the wine without anyone over doing it.

My roommate planned the trip -- she belongs to a local wine club and had several tasting passes (re: the tastings were free!). Our first stop was Sterling Vineyards (http://www.sterlingvineyards.com). This place was unique -- rather than just walking up to the bar ad selecting some wines to taste, the tasting was integrated with a tour of the facilities. We began with a very scenic tram ride up the mountain to the winery and the tasting room. Once we got off the tram, we were greeted with our first wine to try -- and so it went. There was a self-guided tour with various stopping points to taste the wine. I particularly enjoyed the Chardonnay here -- usually a wine that's a bit too sweet for me, but theirs just tasted like fruit and butter. Yum. The Merlot also had a nice woody hint to it. As someone who very decisively prefers white wine, that's saying something.

Provenance Vineyards (http://www.provenancevineyards.com) were next. I don't remember much about the wine here -- it just wasn't that special, I guess -- but the venue was gorgeous -- like an old barn. It was very idyllic.

Our last winery was the day was Beaulieu Vineyard (http://www.bvwines.com). The tasting room is kind of hidden and was surprisingly busy when we got there fifteen minutes before they closed. Here was the only place I actually purchased any wine to take home -- one bottle, a Muscat, that has a strong apricot taste. Its very light and refreshing. As I mentioned, I'm a big fan of white wine -- its mostly a temperature thing (I like my drinks nice and cold and light, rather than rich and heavy like a red). Most of the wine tastings focused on reds -- Cab especially -- which I understand, as these tend to be the most popular wines, but I was a little disappointed.

After the tastings, we headed to downtown Napa. I should mention, one of the favorite things about the trip was seeing all these famous restaurants that I've heard so much about. "Oh look, there's NapaStyle and Bottega! We're in Yountville -- the French Laundry is here!" and so on. It was very exciting. Anyway, we explored Napa a little (and I had the most fabulous Nutella latte -- seriously one of the best coffees of my life) before heading to Grace's Table for dinner. It had been my task to pick a dinner spot and this was my choice -- and it ended up being a great one! We ate a ton of fresh, seasonal food in a fun yet elegant atmosphere and didn't completely break the bank. Service was a little slow, that was minor enough. Everything we ate was just delicious.

Oh oh oh! And later today, the brother and I are heading up to Mill Valley for the afternoon. We're going to have lunch at Toast (where I've already been once with the roommate, on the Fourth of July when we went to Muir Woods) -- super yummy, not too expensive, and a great atmosphere -- plus they have beignets, awesome pancakes, and a wide variety of Benedicts, which are Alex's favorite. They even have a pulled pork version. After lunch, we might poke around town for a little while and check out some antique shops -- Alex will tolerate this as long as they have records to browse through -- before heading over to Tyler Florence's shop -- something to check off the wish list! Yay! And then we're heading home and watching all six Star Wars movies. True story.

 

 

Want a little cheese with that wine? Also known as Allison and Danielle’s Awesome Winey Adventure

So last weekend I went up to Vermont to celebrate Danielle’s birthday, and OMG, what a great time we had! I arrived Friday evening after spending about 4 ½ hours in the car (super fun – but what a gorgeous drive), so naturally, our first stop was dinner at the Bluebird Tavern. Have I mentioned before how much I love the Bluebird? It was delicious as always, with the usually highs and lows. First we got a cheese board, which has basically become a tradition of ours. It was great, with a wide variety of cheeses and different textures and flavors. However, I must interject – the cheeseboard used to be a flat price (like, $15 or so) and you got whatever they put on it. Now they charge $7 per cheese – something that we were not aware of…meaning we unwittingly spent $35 on cheese! Oh well. It was yummy. Then I had the heirloom tomato salad with house ricotta (and you know how I feel about ricotta) and Danielle had mussels (any surprise there). Oh, and we shared fries with – you guessed it – homemade Bluebird ketchup! I swear, that stuff is legendary. We finished the evening with some really fresh, fruity desserts – blueberry pudding for Danielle (she had a thing for pudding) and a strawberry tart for me. Success.
The next day is when our adventure really began. Danielle had taken some time to route out our trip around northern Vermont. We started in the Champlain Islands, where we stopped at an adorable farmers’ market. While there, we just happened to taste some East Shore Vineyard wine. The Summer Snow is delicious, cool and crisp and fruity. From there, we were off to Snow Farm for another wine tasting. I loved the Rose Red – a surprise, because I’m usually strictly a white wine drinker. I think I liked the Rose because it was sweet, and could be drunk cold, like a sangria….I don’t really care for room temp drinks. Plus, their tasting room was adorable and so scenic.
After the islands we headed inland to Boyden Valley Farms, known best for their ice wine. Well, they had an apple crème liqueur that incorporated ice cider that was simply to die for. Very similar to Baileys, it was smooth and creamy and really flavorful. The guy who handled our tasting was friendly and cute, adding to the fun of the experience.
Now, I must confess, I do not claim to be any kind of wine aficionado. I know what I like and what I don’t and just go with it, regardless of whether it is overly sophisticated or not (as in, we tried one wine that tasted just like grape juice, and I loved it). I would like to learn some more, actually – BCC is offering a few inexpensive wine courses this fall that I might be interested in. In the meantime, I’ll just drink what I enjoy.
We ended up in Stowe for the afternoon. Lunch at The Whip was fab out on the patio, soaking up the gorgeous weather. I had some really yummy crab cakes, and Danielle had a caprese-inspired sandwich. We spent some time wandering the quaint shops, including the Laughing Moon chocolate shop. They have really unique truffles – blue cheese, lavender-chevre, basil-pepper – and delicious hand dipped treats. A quick stop at the Von Trapp Family Lodge for a little touristy fun rounded out the trip.
We finished the day on the waterfront in Burlington, listening to live music (after a stop at Starbucks, during which I made Danielle listen to me while I rambled on about all the ways I’ve missed Starbucks these past few months). Excellent. IS there really a better way to spend a weekend then drinking wine, eating good food, listening to music, and enjoying the perfect mountain weather, all in the company of a great friend? I think not.