February 23, 2010

On the oyster coast

The view from the picnic area at Hog Island.

To celebrate a friend’s 30th birthday, the team headed out to the wild and rugged coastline near Point Reyes on Tomales Bay to consume large quantities of oysters.

It is unfortunate for me that most marine life is off limits. I have the appetite and constitution to consume and imbibe almost everything except for animals that swim, crawl or merely exist in the ocean. I have had my fill of trout, bass and catfish but for some reason when I have nibbled on delicacies such as sturgeon, salmon, swordfish and other such fare, my stomach revolts in a most unpleasant manner. I was not looking forward to oysters, but I was eager to get out to the coast.

I have always loved the drive out to the Sonoma or Marin county coastline. The drive is even more enjoyable this time of year during a day with an unsettled sky hung with heavy, gray clouds that occasionally part allowing brilliant rays of sunshine to drench hills that are a shade of green so vibrant it almost seems unnatural. The winding roads, gnarled coastal trees and large formations of gray rock dotting the many cow pastures make one feel as if you’re in another time and country even though Petaluma or Novato and traffic-jammed Highway 101 are almost just over the next hill.

After the pleasant drive, I had an immediate reminder as to why Christine and I don’t travel out to the coast much on food expeditions. As I stepped out of our car I was met with the nauseating smell of seafood emanating from piles of oyster shells that had been thrown on the Hog Island’s parking area. I can’t stand the smell, it’s a rotten, decayed odor that hovers over decrepit piers or bait shacks. I admit, for all my pretensions of loving the good life, I just can’t stomach the thought of eating some of the fishy things like oysters that other people love. I am resolved to try them at some point in my life, but on that particular day with a two-hour drive to get home, and the chance of digestive stress, I was not going to experiment.

If you do like oysters, I am told by many that Hog Island has wonderful oysters grown on site in the clean waters of Tomales Bay. Our group had rented two tables in the picnic area at Hog Island with wonderful views of the bay. Christine and I had brought along a bottle of sparkling rosé wine and a still rosé Syrah that she said paired well with the oysters. For myself, I had a ham and salami sandwich. (And frankly, it was a damn good sandwich.) Hog Island’s picnic area has grills available for warming oysters although you need to bring your own charcoal or buy some at the Hog Island store. Dogs are allowed and we brought CoCo our lab but you have to keep them on a leash.

Shuck, slurp and repeat.

For most of the afternoon, our little picnic point was buffeted by cold winds coming off the water. Later in the day, however, the clouds opened up to reveal a blue sky and the sun. The sunshine and convivial atmosphere of oysters and an open fire made me feel as if I was back in Nantucket or some other glamorous destination. But then I thought, no, I’m on the beautiful California coast near Pt. Reyes. This is one of the most gorgeous areas in the country. One can find Hog Island oysters at the Ferry Building in San Francisco or at the Oxbow public market in Napa. A really fun experience though, even for an unhappy soul like myself for whom the delights of oysters are forbidden by a fickle stomach, is to visit the island first hand. I may not have enjoyed the oysters but I loved the beauty of the coast and the company of good friends.

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February 1, 2010

Tasting Notes: Quixote Winery

The distinctive cupola of Quixote Winery peeks out from trees in front of the cliffs of the Stags Leap district in Napa Valley.

A buddy and me were just driving along Silverado Trail in Napa recently without any plans and time to kill when he suggested we check out Quixote Winery. A few years ago, my friend John had installed wireless internet at the winery and he remembered the winery’s wild architecture.

As luck would have it the winery, which is usually only open for tastings by reservation, had opened its doors  to the public for tastings that afternoon. Quixote Winery is worth a visit just to look at the grounds and the winery, but the wines turned out to be quite good too.

The building has no straight lines and is decorated with tiles and glass painted in bright shades of blue, yellow, red and other colors. My friend and I felt a little sheepish walking into such an artistic and sophisticated tasting room wearing jeans and sneakers, but we were quickly welcomed by the enthusiastic tasting host named René. (Funny side note, John thought René said his name was Ernie when he said hello and so he sat through the hour-long tasting wondering how a Swiss dude picked up the name Ernie.)

Tasting at Quixote feels like being inside a work of art and it actually quite literally is. René explained to us in detail how the building was designed by Austrian artist Hundertwasser. I’m no art student and my art appreciation is pretty poor, but René had a book of Hundertwasser’s art for us to enjoy and we received a quick tutorial on the Austrian’s bold works of contemporary art. The artist created several building projects in Europe but Quixote Winery is his only American piece and after finishing the winery Hundertwasser passed away. The building reflects his style of no straight lines, a “living roof” planted with trees and grass, and cupolas and towers dotting the structure. I had thought I would find it uncomfortable and intimidating to taste in such an artistic building but instead found it to be a warm and inviting atmosphere for a tasting.

It's a cool scene at Quixote Winery. I didn't see any windmills though.

And the wine was great. Our tasting cost $20 each (the tasting fee was waived with a purchase) and included four vintages. We started with a Cab that was quite typical of the Stags Leap area of the Napa Valley. Quixote prides itself on its estate Petit Sirah. We tasted two, an ‘05 and an ‘02. The ‘05 was quite nice with strong flavors and a bone dry finish but the ‘02 was really good although at $70 a bottle it was too steep for my modest means.

I did buy a bottle of the winery’s ‘05 Grenache-Mourvedre blend ($40 a bottle), which René said is quite a rare blend. This wine had just a great balance of fruit and acidity and it was really approachable. John, who enjoys wine, but readily admits to being a novice said he could just drink it all day. On the palate the wine had red fruit flavors like a little bit of strawberry and a nice clean, finish.

A visit to Quixote Winery brings you to an intriguing intersection of art and wine. Such a combination can be found at other wineries, but exploring the relationship and similarities of fine wine and fine art is too complex for my simple musings. Instead, I’ll just say that the art inherent to the building broadened your understanding of what a space can be and prepared your palate for the artistry of winemaking.

The Art of Hundertwasser can be found in every corner of the winery. Even the bathroom was pretty wild.

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January 24, 2010

After the storms

California and the rest of the West Coast was slammed by a recent series of storms. Here in Carneros we received our share of howling winds and pounding rain. I have always loved rainy weather, and as I was telling a friend with Midwestern roots, if the worst weather of the winter is wind and rain it’s a reminder that we Californians have it pretty good.

All the vines are dormant right now so the rain is just much-needed water. The deluge of water can erode out vine stakes and the soil around the roots, while the mud can make pruning a nightmare. I bet, however, that most farmers are just grateful for plenty of water this season.

On Saturday, a break in the rain provided for a great chance to enjoy how the storms transformed the countryside. It’s wonderful to walk through the vineyards discovering new creeks and ponds created by the rainfall.

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January 20, 2010

What I’m drinking …

Beverage here man!

The wintry weather had me in the mood for a smooth, indulgent cocktail this past weekend. I was making a big batch of carnitas and wanted a few cocktails before dinner. In light of the carnitas, I found myself leaning to the Mexican coffee liqueur Kahlua and from there it was just a short jump to White Russians.

I do like a little bit of Kahlua and cream in my coffee, but by itself Kahlua is too sweet for my tastes. Mix it with cream and vodka, as in a traditional White Russian, and the liqueur is just sublime. I like to mix an ounce of vodka with an ounce and a half of Kahlua followed by cream to taste. I like a darker cream color with a little unmixed Kahlua at the bottom. The cream lightens the Kahlua and brings out pleasant chocolate notes while the vodka provides subtle backnotes of clean alcohol flavors to remind you that it’s not a melted milkshake you’re drinking.

Like most folks of my generation, I was introduced to White Russians (or Caucasians as some call them) by the 1998 film The Big Lebowski. In this legendary bit of cult classic cinema, the main character known as “The Dude” swills White Russians as he bowls with his loser buddies and finds himself in a kidnap caper that involves vicious rug urination. I apologize for the insider humor but if you haven’t seen this movie you really need to. The Big Lebowski has retained a solid fan base that attends annual Lebowski fests, which people attend dressed up as their favorite characters (I always thought I was a bit of a Walter — “Mark it zero!”). The film’s popularity coincided with a rise in popularity for The Dude’s drink, the White Russian. I remember watching the movie when I was a senior in high school and thinking to myself: “What’s he drinking? He’s mixing vodka with … milk?“

The combination does work, although Half and Half or heavy cream is better in a cocktail than milk. Be warned though, the Kahlua and cream masks the fact you’re having a two to three ounce drink and the sugary sweetness of a White Russian can make you down them very fast. Remember, The Dude abides.

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January 18, 2010

The best bar in San Francisco and … the world?

In its most recent edition, Food & Wine named Rickhouse bar in San Francisco as one of the best bars in the world. The owners of Rickhouse are the same people who run Bourbon and Branch the legendary speakeasy in the city that requires reservations and serves exquisite cocktails.

Bourbon and Branch

The magazine has effusive praise for Rickhouse’s selection of drinks as well as its inventive punches “like a gingery Pimm’s with gin and lemon, served in white milk-glass bowls with giant blocks of berry-studded ice.” In addition to Rickhouse and Bourbon and Branch, the owners also run the premier liquor store Cask that offers delivery service of its hard-to-find liquor, wine and beer.

I’ve heard nothing but good things about Bourbon and Branch. When some friends from San Francisco were in town for a Napa wine tasting trip, they couldn’t stop raving about it. I’m intrigued by the bar’s commitment to hand-crafted, quality cocktails and I think the team will need to make a visit for sure.

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January 17, 2010

At the winery

Harvest is long gone, but I’m still working at the winery. I’m proud and thankful that my harvest internship has gone well into the winter.

This time of year the Napa Valley is covered in fields of mustard flowers that offer bright displays of yellow and green.

Right now we’re pulling lots of samples from the finished ‘09 wines, most of which are in barrels. After the wine receives an analysis in the lab, the barrels then get laid down for topping. While aging in a barrel, wine can evaporate by as much as five gallons, leaving a significant amount of head space, or empty space, in a barrel. Periodic topping keeps the barrels full preventing excessive oxidation.

Barrel work can be fun and a rush. Sometimes you’ll need to pull a sample from a barrel stacked high on top of other barrels. Barrels are laid on racks that hold two barrels. These racks then can be stacked on top of each other. The stacks can stand as high as 30 or 40 feet. To reach the top you squirm into the tight space between stacks and grab on to the barrel racks to hoist yourself up using the racks and fat part of the barrel as kind of a ladder. To keep yourself steady you rest your rear on another stack of barrels. But as you work higher up in the stack your weight and movement can cause the stacks to sway back and forth. Standing with your feet on swaying stacks of barrels about 20 to 30 feet in the air gives you the sense of working on a mast of a sailing ship.

The really hard part can be navigating the tight spaces between barrel racks. You often have to contort your body while squeezing through gaps that are only about a foot wide. I’m always keeping that good rule of thumb of climbers in mind: maintain three points of contact. For example, grasp a rack with two hands and keep a boot on a barrel before extending the other foot to move.

Spanish missionaries brought wild mustard to California. The plant is essentially a pretty weed and is not used in making commercial mustard.

Scrambling over barrel stacks has given me a little sense of the rush rock climbers may enjoy. After years of telling my more intrepid friends that I’m too afraid of heights to try climbing, I’m thinking now it may be worth a try.

Other recent winery work has included adding fining agents to some wines, mixing and adding sulfur to other wines and the start of some blending. Following harvest, there’s also been quite a bit of cleaning and maintenance. Cleaning is never any fun, but when you need to keep a sanitary environment it’s crucial to a good operation.

So when folks ask me what’s next for the journalist turned cellar rat,  I say I’m pretty honest in that I’m not sure. I’d love to stay at Starmont or find another job at a different winery, but in light of the economy I’m keep a realistic outlook in terms of a job search. Maybe I’ll just devote all my time to this little online enterprise. I’ll think of it as unpaid service for the good of all humanity. In these troubled times, one man took it upon himself to keep spirits uncorked and beverages filled. I could be that man.

Napa hosts an annual Mustard Festival, and there's a pretty good restaurant on Highway 29 just north of Napa called Mustards Grill.

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January 15, 2010

The new Norman Rose Tavern in Napa

When you hear the owners of one of your favorite restaurants has opened another eatery, you’ve got to try it. And judging by the crowd, it seems like most of Napa had the same thought.

Christine and me were joined by some friends for our first visit to the Norman Rose Tavern in Napa. The tavern is owned by Michael and Christine Gyetvan, the same couple that run Napa’s best known pizza joint, Azzuro Pizzeria & Enoteca.

When we went on a recent Thursday night, the place was packed. We put our name down on the list and ended up standing shoulder to shoulder with a crowd at the bar. After a wait of about 2 hours we finally got a small booth table near the front of the tavern. Waiting for a table wasn’t that bad as the bar service was quick efficient, although I was disappointed when the bartender couldn’t answer from memory what lagers they had on tap and instead just tossed me a menu listing the draft selections. Maybe it’s a minor quibble, but I would expect a bartender to know what lagers are on tap. It wasn’t as if I asked what beers they had on tap.

The menu is pretty simple, consisting of bar food and a few salads. I was really impressed with my sausages and mashed potatoes and Christine enjoyed her chicken sandwich although she did say it was a little reminiscent of a Chick-fil-A sandwich. The general consensus of the group was that the tavern was satisfying but a bit predictable. I did like the bar scene, decor and the place has a nice wine list. I found a bargin Rhone blend from Amador County that was delicious. I recommend a visit, but expect a wait.

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January 12, 2010

Tasting in the valley next door

Sipping some Sauvignon Blanc in Suisun Valley. Cheers mate!

Just over the hill from Napa Valley is another wine country, but no, it’s not Sonoma Valley it’s the Suisun Valley wine country. This little known appellation has been producing quality grapes for decades although it quite literally has been in the shadow of Napa.

Located right off of Interstate 80 near Fairfield, the appellation offers a taste of rustic wine country that’s mere minutes from the high-profile indulgences of nearby Napa and Sonoma. Christine and I are friends with George and Gina Richmond who are part of the small winery Mangles Vineyards that runs its tasting room with three other wineries at the Suisun Valley Wine Cooperative. After a lunch of decent pub fare at the Rockville Inn bar and restaurant, we stopped by the co-op for our first taste of Suisun valley vintages.

Mangles’ Verdelho was quite impressive as well as their Petite Sirah. Granted, I’m friends with the winemaking team so I do have a bias but I thought all of Mangles‘ wines were solid and pleasant tasting. Their Petite Sirah was especially enjoyable. Petite can often be overloaded with tannins and dark fruit flavors but Mangles’ wine had a wonderful balance and paired great with a dinner of braised sausages. One impressive characteristic of Suisun Valley is the variety of grapes grown in the area. Many “up and coming” appellations have hinged their hopes on one particular type of grape, while Suisun Valley

The co-op tasting room in Suisun Valley

offers an abundance of good grapes. During our tasting trip we tried the standard varietals such as Cab, Pinot and Zinfandel but also enjoyed a mix of less common wines such as Torrantes, Veridigue and several tantalizing blends. I’ll be honest, some wines were terrible. There was a Zinfandel at the co-op that was undrinkable and at another winery later in the day Christine and I both tried a Viognier that left us shaking our heads and wondering, “What did they do to that poor wine?” But on the whole, we were impressed by the quality of winemaking.

The day of our visit was overcast and foggy. The roads and most of the tasting rooms we visited were quite as if most folks had decided to bundle up inside and watch the NFL playoffs, but as the 49ers weren’t in the playoffs this year (Next year for sure, right Alex Smith? Right?) Christine and I were excited about a day of wine tasting. Our next stop after the co-op was Wooden Valley winery and vineyards, the oldest winery in Suisun Valley. Run by the Lanza family for almost a century, this vintage winery has a rustic tasting room with an old world Italian feel. I found their Primitivo to be especially enjoyable. Primitivo is the Italian cousin of Zinfandel, so grown here in the United States it’s Zinfandel, but no matter what it was called — the wine had excelllent fruit characteristics that were followed by a smooth, dry finish.

Our next stop turned out to be my favorite, Ledgewood Creek Winery. This winery, owned by the Frisbie family, had the most complete and satisfying tasting lineup of our tasting tour. We loved the winery’s open and modern tasting room that afforded wonderful views of the estate vines that surround the winery. At one point during our visit, everyone in the tasting room stopped to marvel at flocks of thousands of small, black birds rise from the vines shrouded in mist and take to the air, like a living cloud.

Ledgewood does excellent Rhone style wines. Their Rhone blends, known as GSM for Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre, are exceptional. But they also do other varietals, and Christine and I especially enjoyed a side-by-side tasting of their ‘07 and ‘08 “Three-Clone” Chardonnays that had excellent structure and wonderful aromas.

Ledgewood Creek Winery offers a great selection of well-made wines at affordable prices.

If you’re interested in visiting Suisun Valley, check out the Suisun Valley Vintners & Growers Association for some basics on the region and its wine. The great part about the area is that you can do a quick tour of some wineries along a loop route that will take off of Interstate 80 and back in about two hours of total driving time.

The other great part is that the wine at almost every winery we visited is quite affordable. Most bottles cost around $13 to $22 and the wineries offer case and club membership discounts. Suisun Valley may be in the shadow of Napa Valley, but it would be worth your time as a wine lover to try visiting the valley next door.

Inside the tasting room at Ledgewood Creek winery.

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January 4, 2010

What I’m drinking …

Home made and tasty!

My own homebrew! I’ve been enjoying the fruits of my own labor for about a month now and I feel confident enough to declare this batch a success. You may recall a recent post in which I described a homebrewing experience.

At the time, I had a certain degree of trepidation about the quality of my beer. I was worried about contamination, odd flavor profiles and the dreaded pitfall for most homebrewers: no bubbles.

Many of my friends had told me they’d tried homebrew before only to experience an insipid and uncarbonated beverage that only remotely resembled beer. It’s often the case that a homebrewer can maintain decent sanitation during the brewing process to create a solid foundation for a beer only to see it fall apart in the bottle because the beer just won’t carbonate. There is nothing worse than flat beer.

Carbonation is really an expression of one of the best characteristics of beer: it’s alive. Well, in a sense, it’s alive. “Bottle conditioned” beer is carbonated by the little yeast beasties that have already fermented the beer. During bottling a small amount of sugar is added to the beer. The remaining yeast in the beer will eat up that added sugar and convert it to CO2. That gas will release when the bottle is opened in the form of bubbles and a nice full head of a foam at the top of the glass. The trick with homebrewing is to know how much sugar to add and how long to let that secondary fermentation, or conditioning, last. Most homebrewers bottle condition their beer as it’s an easier process than injecting compressed CO2.

Rule of thumb is two weeks, but I have found that optimal carbonation can sometimes take up to three weeks. That, my friends, is the hardest part of homebrewing. Having cases of bottled beer that you made yourself just waiting to be opened, though you know you can’t because it still hasn’t reached prime carbonation.

My beer? A little flat after two weeks, but after about two and a half weeks it was drinking nice.

I would describe my beer as something akin to an unfiltered Sierra Nevada. A rich, hoppy taste but with a fuller mouth feel and darker color.Thankfully the beer has not exhibited any tastes of bad contamination and has a cleaner and crisper finish than my other beers.

But perhaps the best praise came from my friend Joe who doesn’t brew and prefers to drink — gasp! — Coors Light.

“This really isn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” he said after the first sip.

“Actually, it’s not that bad at all.”

Robust praise for the humble homebrewer.

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January 1, 2010

Feeling a bit slow today?

Today, New Year’s Day, is often spent in deep, personal reflection as many pause in their hectic lives to consider just what the hell they said, did and drank the previous night.

Ah, the hangover. The fitting reward for a boisterous night of debauchery.

Scientists have recently performed research that confirms what many drinkers already have known. Different kinds of libations have different effects on you the next day. Dark colored liquor like bourbon, with a higher number of toxins, can make you feel worse than clear liquor like vodka. The participants in the study, however, exhibited the same impairment from their hangovers despite what they drank. Vodka does have milder after-effects than whiskey, but I know that the clear liquor gin can bring a hellish morning of remorse and regret the next day.

During this time of year you can hear about lots of “hangover cures.” There is, however, no such thing as a hangover cure. Rather one only has options on the best way to endure the six to 12 hours of suffering as your body regains its proper balance. The following are some of the better methods I’ve discovered:

SENSIBLE AND BORING: Take two Advil and drink lots of water. If this is your approach then you probably don’t get many hangovers anyway.

HEALTHY BUT MASOCHISTIC: Drink about a liter of water and then do a hour of strenuous activity. After exercising, drink about another liter of water. This is the closest approach to a cure I’ve found, but as one may guess, sometimes the suffering of a hangover saps your motivation to work out. The various self-inflicted, drunken injuries like a twisted ankle, torn MCL and general sense of hopelessness may also prevent you from taking this approach.

DELAY AND DIVERT: Watch a movie you know is going to make you laugh. (For me a good one is Ron Burgundy.) The laughter will release endorphins making you feel better and the movie itself should kill at least ninety minutes or two hours of your hangover. Key point on this approach, don’t watch a downer movie. Million Dollar Baby and other dark or depressing movies ain’t going to cheer you up and will likely make your hangover seem worse.

GET BUSY: Another way to release endorphins and feel good is to engage in an act of … er … intimate relations with whomever or whatever you chose. (Keep it legal though, winding up in jail for unnatural acts won’t make you feel any better.)

WALLOW IN YOUR OWN CRAPULENCE: Beer, football and Mexican food. A perfect antidote to the particularly unpleasant New Year’s Day hangover as you’ll have beer left over from the previous night’s festivities and there’s nothing but football on all day long. Mexican food can be swapped for other fare such as hamburgers or pizza but remember, it can’t be healthy. Who the hell wants to start the new year eating fresh fruit and fiber? New Year’s resolutions don’t take effect until Jan. 2. Today I’ve got some Coors and left over tri tip steak and I’m rooting for my Oregon Ducks to stomp on some Ohio Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl.

I’d be curious to know of any other hangover aversion strategies you gentle readers may use.

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