Miner'in for wine

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 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 4.8 Grapes!!!

It's A Zin

Excerpt from Northbay Biz magazine, By Christina Julian

In a region where Cabernet often holds reign, seven like-minded Zinfandel producers are banding together with a collective mission—to give the grape its due.
Zinfandel holds a unique place in the history of American winemaking, dating back to the 1820s with initial plantings in California during the Gold Rush. The grape has continued to dazzle and spice up lives ever since. Now, with the support of organizations like ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers) and the anointing (by ZAP) of November 19, 2010, as the first annual “Zinfandel Day,” the varietal is gaining well-deserved attention.

Only about 5 percent of Napa Valley’s vineyards are planted to Zinfandel, but that statistic didn’t deter Zin-loving wineries from forming the Napa Valley Zinfandel Trail in June 2009. Those who opt to hit “the trail” can download a roadmap that includes wineries pouring a range of Zinfandels, whose styles and tastes are as diverse as the settings and proprietors of this hand-plucked bunch. Each of these wineries runs a shoestring operation, where the owners are the winemakers, growers, sellers and tour guides; each one serving up its rendition of Zinfandel while paying homage to the Napa Valley of yesteryear. No quirky ripening patterns, tight clusters or propensity to rapid dehydration and sugar spikes will stop these trailblazers from sharing why Zinfandel is a challenge worth accepting. Click here for full article

Firebelle Lil’ and the wines of Larkmead

Being a fellow fireball, spitfire, scrappy New Yorker at heart, I immediately bonded with the historical figure behind Larkmead Vineyards, Firebelle Lillie Hitchcock Coit (yes, of that Coit). Good God this gal was a feminist, decades before the “movement,” having been named the first female member of a fire company way back in 1859. Somehow fitting that she would make her way from San Francisco to little old St. Helena. My wine induced romp down memory lane was abruptly halted with a mere swig of Larkmead’s 07 Firebelle Blend, a slow seduction of a wine. A bawdy brew, much like the vino’s namesake. Love at first swig. The intense yet plush layers of this silky delight threatened to make me cry. But I resisted. I didn’t want any of my salty mushy tears to muck up this damn fine wine. I chided myself for cursing about this wine in public, but then I thought better of it. While I only know of Lil from the literature I’ve read, I suspect she would applaud my boisterous side, especially when spewing expletives about the merits of Larkmead wines. The 07 Solari Cab with a scant bit of Petite Verdot was a knock out, too. So lush, so fruity, it knocked me right off my pa-tootie! So go ahead, get off your rump and roll down to Larkmead Lane so you can revel in how good it is to live in the Napa Valley, and if you don’t live here, trust us, and enjoy some of this fine wine. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.7 Grapes!

Napa Valley - more than just great grapes

While wine and farming have always been a way of life in Napa Valley, there is much more that lurks amidst the grapevines, with traditions of food, adventure, and wellness – waiting to be uncorked. Known as one of the “Great Wine Capitals” of the world this fertile and geographically compact stretch, while only a mere 30 miles long, boasts a multitude of things beyond the vino bottle, to quench your thirst.

Napa serves as the gateway to world class culinary traditions that fork out from Napa and Yountville to St. Helena and Calistoga. Whether you crave the perfect pasta to pair with your wine or perhaps you’ve always yearned to poke around in the kitchen and learn from the masters at the Culinary Institute of America, the Napa Valley is guaranteed to feed your fix.

If you’re feeling adventurous, leave your car back at the hotel and opt for peddling your way through the valley. Many hotels like Solage and the Bardessono Inn offer complimentary cycles to their guests and several bike outfitters will customize tasting and town tours read more.

When it's not volcanic, Lava(vine) is a very good thing

Nothing could be finer than finding another hidden wine gem that's just a quick pedal away from Calistoga. While people have been known to flee from red hot lava, except when rubbernecking at Hawaii's Volcanoes National Park, I urge you not to flee from Lava Vine (the winery), and here's why. Sweet indulgence. While I love a good cupcake as much as the next gal, the only thing that trumps that sugar high, is port. We can't technically call this wine a port, but Joe's non-vintage dessert wine isn't fooling this wine scribe. Much like a lamb in sheep's clothing this wine is a port dressed up as a dessert wine. Regardless, this baby sang as it slid down my wine tube. Lightly sweet, yet supple. Well, it made me feel supple while drinking this delight. A hint of this, a hint of that. All I know is that this mish-mash of vintages swirled into one bottle, is divine. The best of many worlds. Joe wouldn't tell me much more than that, but I lost interest in the semantics and gained interest in scoring my own case of this juice. I'd recommend snatching up some of the Cabernet Franc, too. A spicy, bawdy counterpart. The vibe in this tasting room is casual-friendly, with soulful tunes wafting in the background, and vintage photography (the pink caddy photo would do The Boss" proud) pinned to the walls. A good time is prime for the picking at this joint. Wacky WineSense rating: 4.5 Grapes

Bacon Becomes an Art Form

I’m not embarrassed to admit that I am in no way a pork lover; in fact I avoid pig meat at all costs. It could be that I was marred at a young age. My most vivid Xmas memories are of Wilber, cooked and sprawled out on our dinner table, kicking up his poor unsuspecting back hoof. The apple artfully placed in poor porky’s mouth didn’t help. I have avoided pork ever since, until now. But I’m in a safe zone because this plate of bacon is actually an art exhibit, premiering at St. Helena’s Silverado Brewing Company (excuse this redention of the photos, they were taken on my phone with blinking tree lights in the background, you'll have to check them out in person to get the full affect). And while bacon specials are abounding at the brew co in concert with the exhibit, that is not what’s got me excited, it’s the art of the self-dubbed “Bacon Girl,” Bigi Voix. This vegetarian turned pork fiend had a life altering brush with bacon that forever changed her and the local art scene. Bigi accidentally fell off the vegan wagon over a bacon-binge weekend which led to her inspiration for this whacked out (in the best possible way) art exhibit that pays homage to pork, in strip form. Bigi has become all bacon, all the time, turning her exhibit into a calendar that is due out in 2011. Even I, who avoids pork, couldn’t keep my eyes in their sockets in the presence of these portraits. Who needs a muse when bacon is in the picture? The photos go as broad as a fifty’s pinup pool girl with a bee-hive hairdo done up in bacon, to a reincarnation of Bruce Springsteen’s classic Born in the USA album cover, where bacon is stuffed into the Boss’s back pocket instead of a baseball cap. And if that is not enough to wet your arty and pork-filled appetite, some of the more racy renditions feature Bigi and her “unmentionables” sloughed over in bacon. What I love most about this ingenious collection is that it exudes the very essence of what art means to me. All night long I couldn’t stop talking about these off-beat photos. The visuals and their creative concoctions left my mind lingering on the memory of each long after I’d left the exhibit. Who would have thunk it? That someone as anti-pork as me could grow to see pig in a brand new light. So whether you love bacon, hate it or yearn to bring a little of Bigi’s bacon to a home near you, you don’t want to miss out on this one of kind display of art in the making—bacon. Check it out at Silverado Brewing Company for the month of December. Wacky WineSense Rating: 5 Grapes!
(The actual exhibit version of these photos were shot by Robin Bordow)

Girard = Glee in a bottle

Gleeful. Yes. And I'm not talking about the TV show, though almost as entertaining as a good wine. I'm speaking of how I felt after a mere sip of Girard's 08 Petite Sirah. A deep dish berry pie of a wine. Boisenberry comes to mind. As does the chill that this fine wine sent down my spine. I love it when a wine gives me goosebumps. And this little gem did just that. The wine was as bodacious in flavor as the crowd was lively at this year's Yountville Festival of Lights. It was hard work, but the WineSense crowd, had to troll the streets scooping up as much sampling as our ticket allotment would allow. And after searching far and wide for the top wine of the night, Girard will be the "star" atop my wine tree this year. Make someone merry with some of this magic juice. Wacky WineSense Rating: 4.5 Grapes!