Tuesday, November 1, 2011

And then there are the super cool Chef awesome things...

So this last weekend, we went and got our wines. Two from Napa and two from Sonoma. All family vineyards, second or third generation wine makers, 5000 cases per year or less.

It was magical... it is harvest time and the wine makers were bleary eyed and working hard. It had been far too long since I'd seen the wet end of a mascara wand and I even donned high(ish) heels and done my hair! It was a laborious process, what does a Chef wear to taste wines for her restaurant? I want to be taken semi-seriously... but then I wasn't sure why? Thank goodness I've lost a few pounds and had a few clothing options. White semi-low cut shirt, tan short sleeved cardigan, tight jeans, black studded high heel clogs... and the piece de resitance... a dragon necklace I got at the Halloween store... trying to rock it up a bit.

I know it seems silly to be such a girl and think about how my clothing might present myself, but I was in a hurry and I want to capitalize on non verbal cues. I am forty, I am a woman business owner in a largely male dominated industry and what I do is pretty rare (albeit getting more mainstream, thankfully) and I am pretty confident in where I am.

That said... I know nothing about wine. My favorite sippin' wine comes in a box and by the magnum. I drink Miller Lite on a regular basis. However, I had a few secret weapons in my arsenal and the foolhardy braggadocio of an arrogant Californian who just KNOWS that there are a million fantastic wines out there. I mean, duh... it's CALIFORNIA!

Secret weapon number one... Mike Wipple of Vin Underground. Brion's friend of many years. He has become an avid wine aficionado and expert and is especially into small batch vintners. We hit our first winery, White Rock, around noon. It is SOOOO Coool! A tall stately man meets us in the parking lot with the faintest of accents, like someone who has lived in California since he was very young. He talks about his wife and the vineyard, his sons... his grandson is eating lunch on a picnic table in the corner, he waves and smiles with chipmunk cheeks of sausage.

It is a beautiful winery, working it way towards an organic certification. Henry patiently explained their philosophy. His sons now run the winery. Christopher (the father of the adorable blond picnicker) is the wine maker.

We tour the caves. The winery is named after their
white rock caves which were forged from volcanic ash. They are amazing! They store the reds to age on site in hollows in the wall. The one above holds 4000 bottles. A cute brunette in cut offs is busy with the crush, everyone is bustling. She stops to check out my charcuterie (we brought some to try with the wines) and suggests I enter the The Good Food Awards competition for next year. I take some notes. I can tell she would like to talk more, but the grapes are waiting...

I pick one of their wines, a Chardonnay. Clean and bright, we all love it. It is the only wine in my price range and it is perfect. I talk to them about the wine makers dinners, they are interested.

I tell Mike we are going to a friend's winery (my second secret weapon, Danny Brakesman, is one of the winemakers at Summit Lake Winery. I catered his wedding). Mike is REALLY interested in checking it out, Howell Mountain is one of his favorite appellations and he is particularly interested in small vintners. We all head up after a yummy lunch at one of the roadside sandwich shacks.

The winery is gorgeous, late harvest time, everything is sun burnt auburn and gold. We meet up with Heather, Danny's sister. She looks just like Danny's daughter Sophia, gorgeous! We try the wines, they are amazing. A little bit pricier, but so worth it. the appellation is rare and highly vaunted and for good reason. We pick up four cases after a lovely tasting, with the dogs running around and Mike excitedly asking a million questions, How old are the vines? 135 years old. How many cases do you do a year? Around 1200.

We leave and hit Savour to drop off some product. We end up sitting and chatting with Dejan and Meghan for a while, it is hard to leave... they are so much fun to hang out with! It is easy to see why the place is so popular. We try wines, we share charcuterie, we genially chat.

We meet up with Mike shortly after at James Cole. An upper class couple is well into their cups out in the sunshine on the large loungy chairs on the patio. I stop to chat. They know what I do and want to chat all about it. I grab another tasting platter from the car and the husband sausage hoovers the plate in about 10 seconds. We all giggle in that wine-induced euphoria. the wines are great. It is clear by this time that the wine club members are a huge part of the success of these small wineries. Some of the wineries have 4000 club members that shell out $300 or more every few months for a shipment of club-member exclusive wines.

The last winery is Obrian. The matriarch of the winery joins us on a picnic bench outside. She brings us a plate of exquisite cheeses and laments that she cannot sell us any wines. We drink them anyway (of course) as the sun sets behind sweet smelling vines loaded with tiny ripe blue black grapes. The dogs run free amongst the vineyards and we are not really ready to go home, but we can't stay as the Obrian's are on their way to dinner. It was a lovely end to a beautiful day. And two wines selected! Both amazing and unique in their own ways and dear to me personally for their stories, my admiration for their makers, the land, and the vines.

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