As I wrote earlier, my lovely sister-in-law, Lisa, had mentioned to the WAF crew during last year’s Sonoma adventure that she knew someone who owned a biodynamic winery in Sebastopol. We weren’t able to get in then (schedules didn’t align) but — hurrah! — this time she was able to take me to visit Heidi Lemon, co-owner of Littorai Wines.
But first, I was sent some reading material. Turns out Ted Lemon, Heidi’s husband, and the co-owner and chief winemaker at Littorai, was deemed “Winemaker of the Year,” for 2010 by the San Francisco Chronicle. He’s also one of the founders of the West of West Wine Festival — a yearly event that features some of the finest makers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir along Sonoma County’s “true coast,” i.e. west of Highway 116. (Far to the left of Sonoma proper — think Occidental, that little hill town we stopped at last year for breakfast at the Howard Station Café.) After reading these articles, I was prepared to be impressed. Continue reading →
Me: The aisle sign says that this is the aisle for South African wines but I don’t see any.
Store Clerk: What are you looking for?
Me: I am interested in the Pinotage.
Store Clerk: They are right here… wait… you like Pinotage?
Me: I had an outstanding one recently and I am looking into the varietal to check it out and see if I like more.
Store Clerk: Pinotage sucks. Nobody likes them. You must have a very different palate if you like it.
Me: blink. blink. blink.
Store Clerk: Well we only have three so I recommend buying the cheapest one because they are all bad.
Me: Umm… okay. Thanks?
I then grab the bottle (not the cheapest, take that store clerk) and check out. I head home and go to open the bottle. It is a Pinot Gris! I grabbed the wrong bottle. I didn’t even end up with a Pinotage. Wah waahhh.
Moral of the story… cheap wine stores give cheap advice!
****Update! PS – This story has nothing to do with our beloved Menotomy Beer and Wines! They are our go-to wine store and more importantly our friends. It is just that every once in a while a person can stray especially when a person is out shopping and sees flashy lights from huge sign and they get confused. You are lured by the aisles and aisles of booze. But, you walk away feeling lost and dirty and are reminded of why you love your beloved so much.
This past week was February school vacation for Massachusetts. This means that its obli-cation time for the Mudpie family. A blizzard kept us from making our annual holiday sojourn to the South this year. We were delighted to have a cozy holiday at home, but our parents missed their grandchildren and vice-versa. So, this past week, we loaded the car and set off on our 750 mile trip (one way) to the Virginia mountains.
750 miles in a car with 2 kids translates to, best case scenario, 12 hours of road time. Enter 50 mph wind gusts and and overturned semi closing down the interstate, it’s more like 14 hours. Needless to say, Mudhoney and myself really could have used a little something to unwind from the road.
But alas, my parents’ house is a dry one. A rule that we respect because of their religious preferences. In contrast, my father-in-law, once a driver for NASCAR, learned to drive a race car outrunning the cops through the windy mountain roads to deliver moonshine. We would have to wait 3 days until we got to Mudhoney’s folks to imbibe in the open.
On the way to my in-laws, we stopped off at a local wine shop. We got a late start that day, so there was no time for perusing. I promised my husband who was waiting in the car with the kids that I would grab something quickly and be right back. I went straight to the California section. I was unwilling to risk an unfamiliar bottle so I settled on the Cline Cashmere. I remembered enjoying this wine the last time I had it and at under $20, the price was right. I began to look forward to later that evening when I could relax and enjoy my well deserved beverage.
I completely took for granted that my in-laws would have a corkscrew, but come to think of it, I have never seen either of them with a glass of wine. After our searches of the kitchen drawers yielded nothing, I remembered this video:
I thought about trying it, but, A) I didn’t want to risk breaking the bottle, and, B) I was afraid that I may cause concern for my drinking habits. As I was quietly contemplating how to get into my bottle of wine without anyone being concerned about my fitness as a parent, my mother-in-law remembered that she had a bottle of Prosecco that she had been given for Christmas. She assured me that she would never drink it and I was welcome to it. It’s not the same as a cozy glass of red wine but you don’t need a cork screw to get into it.
After my last experience without a corkscrew, which incidentally involved skinnydipping and getting stranded because of a broken car key, I vowed never to be without one again. I apparently didn’t learn my lesson all those years ago. I plan on keeping an extra corkscrew on hand for the future, but this link has some helpful ideas if you ever find yourself without one:
We are rapidly approaching our first blog birthday. Can’t believe how fast time flies. As we head into the 12 month of this blog here is what wordpress has to say about how we have done so far. I think they probably tell everyone that they are a “wow”. Stay tuned for our tune-up on the blog. Hopefully year two will be bigger and better around here. Cheers!
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
I learned this week that when asked at an airport restaurant if you would prefer the 6 oz or the 9 oz portion of wine you choose the 9oz. Best decision I made by far this week. Worst decision? Maybe choosing to drink before a redeye flight but hey, I can’t always win can I? Continue reading →
I keep picking up these tidbits of information in which I typically respond “I had no idea”. I thought I should share them here after all that is what this blog is about: our journey of discovering wine. Perhaps “what I learned this week” will become a weekly post. But no promises.
While reading my monthly Food and Wine I learned that petite sirah is not a syrah. I know, gasp. Petite Sirah is a common reference to the Durif grapes. Durif grapes originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant. More wikipedia:
“Petite Sirah is sometimes mistakenly spelled “Petite Syrah,” which has historically referred to a small berried clone of the Syrah grape by Rhône growers.[13] In California, immigrant vine growers introduced Syrah in 1878 and used the phrase “Petite Syrah” to refer to the lower yields that the vines then were producing in California. Actual Petite Sirah (Durif) was then introduced in 1884.[1]”
Stayed tuned to next week when I am sure to tell you all about what I learned about champagne (and The French Revolution) from reading this novel: