Napa’s Uptown Theater is Anything But Uppity!

When I ditched the boards of Broadway for a leisurely wineward way of life I never expected to pine for my roots. I’d be too busy swilling all that fine wine! But some habits are hard to kick. The longer I’ve been here the more I’ve found myself lingering on past memories of the lullabies of ole Broadway. Thankfully, somebody “up there” has been listening to my wining, and finally delivered a slice of live theater heaven, courtesy of one fanciful Uptown Theater, a shinier, spanking new venue to scratch our live music and entertainment itch. And like a good NYC Broadway counterpart, the acoustics at this jumping joint are worthy of the weight of our wines. Toss in some “arty” eye candy with the stupendous ceiling murals and photos and you’re in for a toast-worthy treat. Lucky for you the Uptown answers that call too as you’re allowed to bring your vino into the theater, enabling you to enjoy your music with our favorite local fruit and pastime on tap and in your hot little hand. So sit back in your comfy cozy seat and soak up the sounds and pleasures of a wine country way of life with a stop off at this smashing spot. Even my piss-poor sing-along ways won’t destroy a bound-to-be-beautiful night at the Uptown. Wacky WineSense Rating: 5 Grapes!

Swanson’s Sip Shoppe Feeds the Adult Candy Store Fix

At the risk of sounding redundant I will repeat myself for this very good cause. Wine should be fun. Life is serious, wine doesn’t need to be, or so speaks this low-brow wine junkie that will remain nameless (ok it’s me, Ms. Wacksense). Enter Swanson Vineyard’s Sip Shoppe, answering my call for a care-free, unique take on a tasting room. For those high-brow readers in the crowd, defer to Swanson’s formal tasting salon, this "shoppe" is gonna be way too footloose for your tastes. Low-brow readers, here is a wake up call for your peeps and palate. The Sip Shoppe is a wine spin off from the classic soda shop and jerks era (soda jerks, not dating ones), but lucky for us, the “candy” of choice is vino instead of soda pop floats and suckers. The décor is eye candy if I ever saw it with red pinstripe walls and intriguing wall adornments. A delightful outdoor sipping spot. The jovial food and snack pairings conjoined with your wine are downright dizzying (my personal favorite – the Dizzy Lizzy snowball whose garnish is some damn fine Pinot Grigio drizzle) if not bizarre in some instances, but for us here at Wacky WineSense, we thrive at the school of slightly off center, so we felt right at home here. Each wine taste (different tracks available depending on your taste buds) is paired with a tasty morsel of some sort (caviar, snow cones, candy, and more). Another favorite concoction – The 06 Petite Syrah with a slab of Clark’s Bark (a smash up of dark chocolate and toffee, and who knows what else). These folks realize that a day on the tasting trail can be hard work in these parts so don’t forget to ask for a “Rhodie” before you hit the road, and no we are not encouraging drinking and driving, we are talking about a New Orleans style iced coffee delight that’s made up of cold pressed coffee, 2% organic cow juice, and god help us, a dollop of brown sugar. But let us not forget about the real business at hand, the stuff behind the pinstripes, what Swanson has become infamous for – the wines. The Sauvignon Blanc, layered, fruity, crisp – a sheer delight. The Petite Syrah, rich, daunting, and for lack of a better word, dreamy in all of its intensity. The Alexis Cabernet and its drop dead deep fruit intentions will leave you and your loved ones screaming for more. So if it is fine wine you crave, make it point to slip slide into the Sip Shoppe or drop in “announced” to the Salon for a more formal tasting. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.8 Grapes!

Crying for cookies is a sweet deal with Annie the Baker

St. Helena’s weekly Farmer’s Market (Fridays 7:30-12) bears many fruits, but you know that all ready. I'm here to talk about a treat of a less plucky variety, but a much sweeter deal, brought to you by one Annie the Baker, the mind and spatula behind the cookies that taste more like the dough than the finished deal, which is what makes them a steal. Not to be confused with the Steelers football team (easy to do since Annie's booth at the market pays homage to the team in color scheme, the life-sized mascot and flaming yellow VW Beetle (her bakery mobile!), reminding us of her pigskined roots). Annie entertains you at the moment you step into her delicious domain. But all arrows point elsewhere once she slips one of her magical cookies into your eagerly awaiting paw. With one bite of the peanut butter with milk chocolate chip cookie I shed my first tear, and by the time I finished up my taste test I was weeping like a colicky baby. All of her cookies strike a unique balance between sumptuous chewy cookie dough and dense flavorful baked cookie punch. Her newest weep-worthy incarnations are the tuxedo (dark and white chocolate with macadamea nuts) and the newest of all, and another favorite is the Cocoa Loco which is perfect if you are gonzo for the gooey goodness (cocoa powder, milk and dark chocolate and other mysterious but addictive delights). Damn this cookie, adding another notch to my already overstuffed to-do list, as I am now all but forced to make weekly pitstops at the market and Locals' Night at the Oxbow Public Market, in order to snatch up her cookies. I guess it's a good enough cause as any. Better actually as the payoff of these bites is as consistent as they come. Check out her Facebook page (ANNIETHEBAKER) so you won't be left in the sugar dust. Wacky WineSense Rating: 5 Grapes! (must eat)