Sonoma memories

Summer vacation, ahhh. Only a few months late. We just returned from a week in Sonoma, California. What a wonderful trip full of wine tasting, good food, and beautiful fall colors in the vineyards. I highly recommend the Vintners Inn as a lodging location near Santa Rosa. It consists of three two-story buildings that house the rooms, which results in a cozy, private-like setting. Our room overlooked the vineyard and had a petite patio on which to lounge and enjoy the fall colors. Importantly, it also had a jogging path through the surrounding vineyards. After all the tasting and eating, we definitely wanted to take advantage of an exercise option in the idyllic setting. However, instead of their breakfast, which didn't rank high on my list, go to Flying Goat Coffee in Santa Rosa or Healdsburg. Delicious coffee and pastries are available. I also sampled espresso at Bad Ass Coffee because it sounded fun. Turns out it wasn't much to look at other than the cute ass logo, which didn't come out too well in the photo, but the espresso was very, very good.

From one stimulant to another...the wine tasting is outstanding in Sonoma - over 70 wineries to visit.  Needless to say, we didn't quite get to them all. The sights also delighted. From salmon swimming up streams to beautiful gardens and a bronze wild pig statue. Next post....all the wines we tasted and falling in love with Pinot. Enjoy a few winery pics in the meantime!





Tasting Event #3

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so we tasted four wines that should go well with turkey and fixin's. With help from our friends at Midtown Wine & Spirits, we picked out four very different wines - two whites and two reds:

1. A German Riesling: Von Schleinitz from Mosel - Weissenberg Kabinett  @ $19.99
2. A South African Chenin Blanc: Secateurs @ $16.99
3. A California Pinot Noir: Belle Glos Meiomi @ $19.99
4. A French Syrah-Grenache blend from the Languedoc region: H & B (Hecht & Bannier) Minervois @ $19.99

In order to determine which went best with thanksgiving food, we also served small plates of fall tastes - tenderized turkey breast steaks topped with stuffing and smothered in provolone with a splash of gravy, roasted sliced brussel sprouts with bacon, and a sweet and gold potato gratin.

So, our results: the Reisling was a little too sweet for most people on its own.  It was much better with the food, but some still thought it was too sweet. The Chenin Blanc was delicious on its own with a good minerality to it.  It had the acidity to cope with the richness of the food, yet it didn't really stand up well against the food. That is, it didn't bring anything to the food and its own flavors disappeared.  The Pinot Noir was the big hit, combining some nice up-front fruit with a bit of spice.  It was delicious by itself but paired extremely well with the food, especially the brussel sprouts. If you wanted something a little heartier than a Pinot Noir, the Minervois was exceptional. The Syrah-Grenache blend and style is similar to that of more widely available Cotes-du-Rhones, should you have trouble finding an offering from Minervois in your wine shop.

Happy Thanksgiving!