I'm back!

I've been pretty quiet for the last two weeks because I've had that nasty cold that's been going around and haven't been able to smell or taste anything. It really sucked.


So, what's on the agenda for tonight? Mostly just a few comments.


I'm working on some of the requests for what you all want to learn about - we'll get there in the coming days. But for tonight just some thoughts.

Last night we had some great friends come over for a meal at home. They brought with them lots of wine. Of course, we drank most of it. We had a pretty simple meal. We started with bruschetta and for the main course had lasagna, salad (fresh greens, homemade dressing, cranberries, and Gorgonzola), garlic bread (on homemade bread), and Italian sausage. We also had a killer dessert that my lovely wife made - a tiramisu cake.


Anyway, I'll get back to the wine. From a food pairing standpoint we had 3 different varietals - Grenache, Zinfandel and Syrah, all from Bella winery in Dry Creek Valley. I was really surprised, but all of these wines paired just about perfectly with the food. I guess I shouldn't be that surprised since these are typically big, bold and fruity wines. A pretty good match for this particular dinner.

But more important than the wine working well with the food, the wine brought us together. We analyzed, tasted, smelled and talked about the differences between the wines and how they differ from other producers as well. What is it about wine that turns a dinner party into a special occasion?

Some could make an argument for the alcohol. Good times are had with alcohol, I guess. But I don't think that's it. A dinner party certainly isn't the same drinking martinis all night.

Is it the flavors? One could make a case for the complexity of flavors and how they match (or don't in some cases) with the food. Sure, I think that's part of it.

But for us last night, we were talking about the vineyards these wines came from and the way the wines were processed in addition to the flavors. In other words, the story behind the wine.


Everyone is looking for something real these days. And I think in the adult drinks world, wine is real. It's one of the few drinks (with alcohol) that on its own has a broad depth of aromas, tastes and colors. Sure, you could make a claim that some scotches or rums have all these things as well. But how often do think about where those drinks come from and crave the story behind them?


With wine, there is a "place". If you travel to it, you can actually go to the vineyard and producer of that wine in your glass. And that is very cool.

As I finish this post, I'm finishing the last drop of my favorite wine of last night - 2008 Belle Canyon Zinfandel from Bella Winery. This wine is just amazing. Check them out if you're in Dry Creek.

Cheers!

Slownoma, officially.

For many years now Sonoma has had the nickname, Slow-noma. And it's true. Things move at a different pace in Sonoma. It just has a small town, country feel to it. It's one of the reasons we decided to move here to raise our family. That and all the good wine, of course.

Well, Sonoma was officially named a "slow town" by the Cittaslow folks on Wednesday. Cittaslow (pronounced Chee-Tah-slow) is an Italian organization that has named over 120 towns in over 15 countries "slow". The name literally means slow town. There are 50 or so qualifiers that a town has to have in order to be named a Cittaslow town. The big news here is that Sonoma is the first in the U.S and that, my friends, is a big deal.

Sonoma is dedicated to small town life, history, organic, sustainable, family, and community just to name a few. All you have to do is come out to a farmer's market on Tuesday night in the Spring or Summer or to the annual 4th of July parade to know that Sonoma embodies all these things. I hope it never changes.

How does this tie into wine? Well, for me, wine is all these things. Wine is history in a bottle. It's naturally organic (though some people change that). It started as a small town crop, and in most parts of the world, including parts of California, it still is. Sure, there's the big producers, but in Sonoma that's still the exception.

Wine is slow. The grapes grow slow. The fermentation can take forever. The barrel and ageing process can seam to last a lifetime. But when I open a bottle, the world slows down. I use all my senses. And most importantly, I smell and taste every drop. How often do we stop and do that these days?

So, please slow down, open a bottle of wine and think about all the time and energy that went into making it. But above all, enjoy it!

Cheers!

First trip to Vella Cheese Co.

I've been eating Vella Cheese, specifically the Dry Jack, for several years now. It's made right here in Sonoma and they have a retail shop about a mile from our house just off the plaza. I'm not sure why I never ventured to it, but I finally did today.

Maybe for some of you going to a cheese shop may not be a big deal, but for me it was huge. I've really grown to love different kinds of cheese (paired with wines, of course) and this particular cheese goes with almost any wine - a true versatile wonder.

I know them for this Dry Jack (pictured below), but they also produce high moisture Jack, Cheddar and some Italian style cheeses too.

Vella was started in 1931 by "Tom" Vella and is still in the family. They pretty much make cheese the same way they did back then. I talked with one of the "Vella" family members for a little while about the cheese, she had some great information.

The shop is small and rustic. It's situated at the front of an old stone building that was built in 1906. It was like a time-warp going in there. The staff member and the family member I talked with were knowledgeable, friendly and genuinely seemed happy to see me. That is hard to find.

Hopefully next time I go I can get a behind the scenes tour, we'll see. Until then, I'll continue to enjoy this cheese with many of the different wines I'll be drinking.

Cheers!

Another reason I love Sonoma...

If you haven't figured it out, I love Sonoma. Not just the town of, but Sonoma County and all of its cool little towns as well. (More on that as I travel through Sonoma).

Tonight we went to one of our favorite local restaurants in Sonoma: The Red Grape. There are many options in Sonoma, especially surrounding the plaza, but this is consistently one of the best eateries at a great price.

The Red Grape has great pizzas, pastas and panninis (at lunch). Sometimes we take a bottle of wine, but most of the time we order off their list. Their wine list is almost all local wines at really reasonable prices.

Tonight, I ordered a margherita pizza and paired it with a Pellegrini Merlot from Alexander Valley. The half bottle was just $14....that's awesome!














The wine paired perfectly. It had great acid (a must for food pairing), and flavors of chocolate, black cherry and just a little oak.

We finished the meal with one of their giant ice cream sundaes. Perfect!

Stick around for more wine and culinary adventures. Until then, Cheers!