The year in wine, food, and frolic

Favorite wines….I once stated that Venge wines are Vi-vi-licious, and I stand by my words and then some. These folks make some damn fine wine. If my word isn’t good enough for you, if you must, then at least trust Robert Parker. He and I apparently see eye to eye on this one, especially when it comes to the Family Reserve Cab (a big winner of our blind wine tasting). Not sure which to try? Try and buy them all as I for one can’t begin to pick a favorite because they are all so damn slurp-worthy. Good news is coming to a town near year as 2010 breaks ground on the Venge’s Calistoga winery. Cavus, the 2004 and 2005 Cab. This wine was so hefty, heady and downright delicious they had to peel me off the walls of the tasting room of Acme Fine Wines (a great spot for Friday happy wine hour, pouring new vineyards each week). These folks enjoy a wineward way of life and it shows with each and every sip of their wine that you slurp. There is a god in Zinfandel heaven and his/her name is Chase Vineyards. Their Zins are as good as they get as is their home town hospitality. The fact that they throw a damn good party (July Fest, harvest and beyond) is just icing on top of an already death-defying cake. Best event of the season, this should come as no surprise – CHEERS! St. Helena. I have sung their praises so many times I am making myself sick, but I’ll do it again because good deeds should go noticed. Each and every first Friday of the season (May-Oct) these folks topped themselves time and time again by bringing together the community, entertaining the visitors, and giving just about everybody a reason to celebrate, what with all the wine (60+vineyards), street food, bang up bands and so much more. I can’t wait to get me some more of this action come spring time. Best restaurant desert – Jolie’s coconut cream pie. Dark chocolate, twirled with caramel, fresh vanilla cream, hand shaved coconut, and crust created with care make this desert a weekly staple. Best side dish – Press’s truffle macaroni and cheese, paired with the creamed spinach. This mac n cheese melts in your mouth all night long, cooked to perfection and coated in only the finest cheese. To die for, and well worth it to score this savory delight. Best cookie in the Valley, Annie the Baker’s peanut butter drop cookie. It made me cry on my first weekend in Napa, and every time I have the pleasure of sucking down one of these blissfully decadent delights I slobber all over myself. More “best ofs” to follow, I need to give my fingers a break. But get busying on the list so far if you missed out on any or all of the above. I dare anybody to top this stuff in 2010, go ahead, make my year!

James Cole - Wine that Rocks and Rolls

If you hail from the house of classic rock you'll feel right at home with the folks at James Cole as you jam with this mighty fine wine. They’re known for making 100% petite verdots and Malbecs. You’ll also be enthralled by the sights which include signed guitars and music videos playing on the walls of the barrel room on a lucky day. The cabernet is the “bomb” busting with throaty hefty flavors that will make you scream right along with the rocking tunes. If my wine word is not good enough to sway you, maybe Mick Jagger’s will be. Him and his Rolling Stone mates loved this juice so much they commissioned the winery to make up a special brew just for them. It is just that good. The ice wine just about put me over the edge, in a very good way. So break out your toothbrush/air mic, slide on your skin-tight flared pant rocker uni-tard and prepare to, “get what you need.” Trust me, you need to get some of this. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!

Jumpin for Joey Phelps Wines

Ok, perhaps Joey is too informal for this classy winery and its oh so heavenly wines. I have been a bad girl these past few weeks, since it has been way too long in between blog posts. Hopefully Santa is not watching, it’s the holiday season, and this scribe is behind on just about everything, so forgive me I have “zinned” onto the wine! I can’t say enough about this vino, so I will settle by saying a few very short and sweet things. I could draft a very long holiday list for these guys, because their wines have been very good to me, take note St. Nick. I can’t list everything so boiling it down like only I can never seem to do (New Years resolution, type less, say more!)... Insigna – the flagship Bordeaux blend instantly lulled me back to my fine days in France where I romped about the wine country on a scooter thinking I had died and gone to an Irish Catholic’s heaven (where wine bottles dance in the background). This hefty red was nothing short of a religious experience for me, but oh so much better than church. Robust in all the right places and smooth in the others, a mouthful that I never wanted to end. I buttoned up my gluttonous wine tasting experience with the Eisrebe, a vivid, lush, pineapple bomb of a desert wine, though not nearly as sweet as you would expect which was why it was so damn refreshing. I literally slurped the entire glass down and licked the inside of my glass. It was one of the best unexpected presents of my wine season. Let the reindeer games never end! Wacky WineSense Rating: 5 grapes for both!

Miner’in for Wine? Look No Further

I love when I cry tears of joy. Preferably when it is about good food, wine and let us never forget frolic. My latest sobfest came with a jaunt to Miner Family Vineyards. From the moment I stepped foot into their love cove (they were more than happy to welcome me in the door and into their wine family, after a not-so-friendly step into a winery that will remain nameless, hint: Tre—then, a welcome surprise) I knew I had discovered sweet greatness. Sweet in several senses – first hospitality, one of the most jovial crowds and tasting personell (especially head tastemaster Steve Gage) I’ve ever had the good fortune of stumbling into. You would be surprised that in the ever-vast landscape of tasting rooms, dubbed the “hospitality industry,” how all too often I am greeted with anything but. All the more sweet for those wineries that have never lost sight of the basics–pouring fine wine with a smile. After a long, soggy-wet, not totally fun day spent on the tasting trail I have renewed hope for the industry. The next sweet deal was the vibe at this jumpin joint. All I can surmise is that people, just like me, were so damn happy to be treated to fine slurpin wine in a warm and hospitable enviroment that all they could do was bop & hop. The last sweet sensation was the wine. Not a bad taste in the whole lot. I loved them all, fruit forward, and financially affordable. What a smacking good combo! Proving that there is good wine out there that you don’t have to spend a fistful in order to enjoy. The Viognier – splashing and smashing, its light and fruity sensation made me dance. The Chard, not my favorite style wine but this one was downright delectable, a great balance of exactly what I want, more fruity than buttery. The Sangiovese, oft messed up and not given its rightful place in the wine bunch, these folks mined a good one. Light and fruity yet substantial in taste. And the grand daddy of them all (price tag jumps up here) The Oracle. Each year they pick the best grapes of the litter to form this ever-changing Bordeaux blend. Hefty yet smooth, classic tendencies while showing off some distinctly different flare. So, check your ties, nametags and snobby pretense at the door and slide into this sweet little grape of a winery. Then, sit back and enjoy the vino and the company, in the comforts of what feels like the perfect non-dysfunctional familial home that we all strive for (ok me). Wacky WineSense Rating: wine and hospitality 5 Grapes!!!

Groth – Gaggles of Great Wine!

The name, Groth, threw me at first. Doesn’t slide off the tongue or sound the least bit sexy, but none of that actually matters as you slurp down this stuff. As I inhaled the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc I got over myself and my silly sex and name hang-ups because this lush-fruity-affair of a wine was dandy. Delicious and equally charming with its floral tendencies. I can’t be certain but I looked sexier having consumed this beverage, good wine does that to a gal. Moving on to the other side of the grape vine, I fell, knees to the floor, for the 2006 Reserve Cab. I was embarrassed at first being in a skirt and all, but I got over myself again because I was blown back upright with one swig of this divine wine. This baby is a gentle beast of a wine that is equally slick as it is smooth. It is at once robust and demure with its heady fruit flavors and rich finish. I never wanted the slurpin to stop, but I had to be cut off, as this baby ain’t a cheap date, but I tell you, it is worth every bit of its price tag. I bought this as a lovely gift for an even lovelier friend, but then I decided to keep it for myself, as I wanted to feel lovely all year long, which I do, every time I slurp down this wine. Please, somebody, buy me a trough of this Groth! Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.8 Grapes

Terra Valentine Forever Has My Heart

I was lucky enough to squeak into 2009's last CHEERS to Taste (the hospitality arm behind CHEERS St. Helena) function at Terra Valentine. These folks get the meaning behind "the season of giving." They gave all night long, starting with a sparkling moonlight view of the valley below and continuing by hosting a bounty of cheer-givers including (all served up gourmet edibles) Go Fish, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen, Martini House, Meadowood and private chef Christopher Greenwald, of Bay Laurel Culinary, as well as the sweet and soulful sounds of former CHEERS! cohort, Doug Streblow, but it was the wine itself that was the most sparkly star of all. There is so much to comment on, but I must widdle it down to a few of my favorites. I almost lost track, there were so many vinos to choose from. It was borderline confusing and most definitely enthralling as they poured wine all over the place and out of a bounty of nooks and crannies through the maze of a winery, which only added to the fun. The 2008 Russian River Viognier was light and fruity yet oh so satisfying, a sweet opening to an otherwise heady night. There was the 2007 Amore, Sangiovese, a super Tuscan style wine that I loved almost as much as the town itself. This darling was as divine as it was deep, a welcome surprise. Fruity and slick on the finish with an ever so slight trace of spice. I could go on forever but I’m running low on time so I will close with my passion for the 2006 Wurtele Single-Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, while it is single vineyard, this wine will never be lonely, not with the deep cheery fruit tendencies and smooth yet bold finish. Who needs men when you can drink a wine like this? This winery is one Valentine worth celebrating, day after day, year after year. So get your butt up Spring Mountain for the sole pleasure of the damn fine wine and equally awesome view. Terra Valentine, won’t you please, please, please be my Valentine this year? Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.8 Grapes!

Proud to Be Picky About My Pizza

While I cringe at the thought of being called a wine snob (not very likely since I so often talk about slurping wine), I am not at all bashful about labeling myself a pizza snob and with good reason. Nothing against the West Coast, this coastline is arguably much prettier than the nameless coast that I grew up on (east – keep this hush) but when it comes to pizza pie this side of the country could stand to learn a thing or two from the Right coast. I don’t have time to get into a pizza smack down with everyone, but one of my assignments as a food columnist in New York City was to troll the streets of the city for an entire year looking for the best slice in town, so as far as credibility, I know of what I type/speak. I have been pretty unimpressed as far as slices go, especially in Southern California, none down there are really worth mentioning, though I do remain ever-hopeful. As far Napa goes, I’ve mentioned numerous times that the food here rules! I kept my nose held high and snobby for just a few short weeks when I moved here, trying to scrounge up some good pizza, until I tumbled into Pizzeria Tra Vigne. It doesn’t really count as NYC style pizza, not much does, but TV’s is a variety all its own, a damn good one. Knowing that I’m quite biased when it comes to traditional standards like cheese and pepperoni pizza, I went in a different tasting direction and tried the Vespa. Let’s start with the crust, as that is at the heart of any good pizza. This one is doughy, dense and crisp, all essential qualities. I can’t tell you how many soggy crusts I have sunk into, it is embarrassing for everyone involved, and downright disturbing when you are the taster. Note to all pizza makers - when the crust is floppy you can’t call it crust and you most certainly can't call it pizza! Period. So, thank you Tra Vigne for getting the consistency balance right, no easy feat. As far stacking a flavor punch, you get an A in that department too. Fancy and flip topping combos are oft over done and downright stupid most of the time, but not the case here. The Vespa’s chicken apple sausage, smoked mozzarella, oven roasted onions and spinach concoction is a dandy one. A delectable mix that’s fresh, flavorful and admittedly just a tad fabulous. The cheese-to-sauce-to-toppings ratio is right on the mark. There is a secret nameless ingredient that makes this pie dance down my throat, to me it tastes like nutmeg or cinnamon or a bit of both, but it brings the pie all together. Thankfully, this pizza has tided me over, week after week, and month after month, until I finally make my way back home to good ole NYC. Until then, keep up the good work TV, this gal’s pizza palate is hard to please and right now, I am very, very, pleased. If anybody out there in the blogsphere knows of a pizza pie that you deem worthy of a taste, please email me ASAP. I challenge you to find one that will make me cry tears of food joy. This is one smack down that I would kill to be a part of. May all the good pizzas in town rise to my occasion and attention. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!