Winter Wineland, Part 2

Day 2 of the Winter Wineland was rainy and dreary. We started at Occidental Road Cellars, located at 870 Gravenstein Hwy.

Occidental Road Cellars served Louisiana Style Gumbo.

Our next stop was Fog Crest Vineyard, located at 7602 Occidental Road. They have a beautiful tasting room with a gorgeous view of the vineyards. They had finger sandwiches and butternut squash soup. They poured a 2012 Laguna West Pinot Noir that earned 90 points by Robert Parker. 

After Fog Crest, we stopped by Balletto, 5700 Occidental Road. We had not been to this winery before and they had a great Gewurztraminer. It was $18 but only $10.80 for wine club members. 

Balletto served cassoulet. This was very hearty with multiple kinds of sausages and meats.

Carol Shelton was our next stop. They're located at 3354-B Coffey Lane in Santa Rosa. I love their Wild Thing Zinfandel, $19/bottle, $15.20 for wine club members. They were also pouring Wild Thing Chardonnay and Wild Thing Rendezvous Rose. I liked the rose and loved the bottle, especially since it was only $10.50. I also liked their Black Magic (Late Harvest  Zin)--$20 for 375 ml bottle, $16 for wine club members. Carol Shelton served a very tasty Lentil Soup.

Nearby was Desmond, Premonition and Inspiration Winery. I liked the Premonition Pinots.

Our next stop was Siduri. They had a large tasting room and had a huge selection of Pinot Noirs and a few Zinfandels.

Siduri had the best food of the day. They served a pork banh mi sandwich.

After Siduri, we went to Mutt Lynch and Deux Amis in downtown Windsor. They had a Hawaiian team and

served pulled pork with coleslaw. The pork was tender and delicious!

Our last stop of the day was Woodenhead, located at 5700 River Road. By now, it was raining pretty hard. The tasting room was packed but we did get to sample several of their Pinots and a Zinfandel.

Overall, I liked Winter Wineland. It wasn't as crazy crowded as Wine and Food Affair in the fall and there were better sales on the wines.



2016 01 17

Parish Cafe

Before we started our wine tasting on the Winter Wineland, we had breakfast at Parish Cafe in Healdsburg.

Beignets--3 for $5

Special of the day--Soft Shell Crab Benedict--$18. Poached eggs, breaded and fried soft shell crab and house made hollandaise over French bread. The crab tasted frozen.

Eggs Nouvelle Orleans--$18. Poached eggs, lump blue crab meat, shallots and house made hollandaise over French bread.

Bananas Foster Pain Perdu--$11. French toast, fresh bananas, pecans and maple bourbon sauce.

2016 01 16

Winter Wineland

This weekend is the Winter Wineland on the Wine Road. Two-days of wine tasting, some with food pairings and all with great deals on their wines. For $52.38, you got a wine glass and access to over 100 wineries on the Wine Road. The designated driver got the cutest red mug.

We started at Skewis Wines, located at 57 Front Street in Healdsburg. They had some nice Pinots; my favorite was the Wiley Vineyard for $50/bottle. It had a nice touch of spiciness.

Next stop was Portalupi at 107 North Street in downtown Healdsburg. They had a nice Zin and Barbera and paired them with prosciutto and salames.

thumbprint (yes, it's a small case "t") Cellars at 102 Matheson Street was having a Mac Off. Earth's Bounty, Belly & Bistro 100 each offered a mac & cheese. My favorite was Earth's Bounty.

The Earth's Bounty (on the left) had Applewood bacon, caramelized onion & truffle essence. Belly's (in the middle) had Applewood bacon, Mexican and Spanish chorizo. Bistro 100 had goat gouda and black truffle.

Our next stop was Silver Oak at 24625 Chianti Road in Geyserville. They were pouring their 2011 Alexander Valley Cabernet, paired with Waygu beef & blue cheese pizza. The pizza was excellent but it was hard to justify $70 for their Cabernet. Maybe if it aged a few more years.

Nearby was J. Rikards, 24505 Chianti Road. They paired lobster bisque with a delicious Grenache Blanc.

Zichichi Family Vineyard at 8626 W. Dry Creek Road had barrel tastings of their Zins and a Petite Sirah.

Chateau Diana was our next stop at 6195 Dry Creek Road. I tried their prosecco but the tasting room was too crowded to get any other tasting.

Nearby was Truett Hurst (5610 Dry Creek Road) which was also crowded but had better flow. They offered a 2012 Bradford Mountain Red Field Blend (Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Syrah) that was very tasty. A case cost $156. They also had an unoaked Chardonnay in a square bottle for $10.

Truett Hurst offered Jimtown Store's Caponata with Bellweather Farms fresh cow's milk ricotta on crostini and Romesco sauce on handout corn tortilla chip. 

Mounts Family Winery was a our next stop. It was quite a distance, located at 3901 Wine Creek Road. I liked their 2012 Carignane Rebottaro Vineyard, Pine Mountain, Mendocino. It was $28.

Mounts paired their wine with polenta with tomato sauce.

Our final stop of the day was De La Montanya, 999 Foreman Lane. They had a nice Pinot Noir for $22/bottle and barrel tasting of their 2014 Malbec and 2015 "1776" Zinfandel. It has over 17% alcohol.



2016 01 16

Rustic

Went to Rustic for a work event. It's located at Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes in Geyserville.

Savory Zeppole, presented inside a brown paper bag. These were delicious. They were fried pizza dough.

French Fried Zucchini--$10. These were too greasy.

Chicken Mattone--$24. Chicken under a brick. These were tender and juicy.

Sweet zeppole for dessert. $3 for 4.

2015 10 25

Falafel Drive-In

Had a craving for falafels and where do you go to find the best? Falafel Drive-In in San Jose.

Dolmas--7 for $6. These have no meat.

Baba Ghannouj--$6. This is a delicious smoky eggplant dip.

Falafel sandwich. This is a small for $5. It doesn't look pretty but is so good. The falafels are so flavorful. They're crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The red sauce is amazing and it's what makes the sandwich so delicious.

2015 10 24

Wednesday Night Dinner

Last night's Farmhouse dinner at Flavor Bistro in downtown Santa Rosa was pork chops. You know I love pork chops, especially the ones at Flavor. It's juicy and flavorful. All this for $18.95.

Farmhouse Soup

Organic Green Salad

Spice-Brined Grilled Pork Chops with Sun-Dried Fruit Compote, Creamy Spinach with

Homemade Sausage, Whipped Potatoes, Blue Lake Beans, Homemade Bread & Butter

Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

Dinner is served family style. Pass the plates and take what you'd like. Dinner comes with a red wine and a white wine. If you can guess the varietal, you are entered in a drawing. Win the drawing and you get a gift card for $25 to Flavor Bistro. Second place winner gets a card for a free dessert.

2016 01 13

Smoked Trout Dip

When we were in Greece, we had a smoked trout in yogurt dip. I tried to recreate it.

Smoked Trout Dip

6 oz smoked trout
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup yogurt
1 Tbs prepared horseradish
1 Tbs minced red onion
1 Tbs minced flat-leaf parsley
1/2 lemon, juiced

Flake the trout. Puree the cream cheese, yogurt and horseradish in a mini food processor. Add the fish and pulse to a make a smooth dip. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the onion and parsley, and the lemon juice, to taste. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

2015 10 24