I’ll Drink to That!

Mike, anxious to get the next phase of his first wine making endeavor under way, called to let me know that the brix was down to nada and it was time to go press off the wine. Who knew that Woodland Hills is the location to  one of the only home wine making supply shops in the LA area? So last weekend I met Mike at the Home Wine,Beer,Cheese Making Shop just off the 101 freeway where he was to press his 130 pounds of Syrah grapes.  The store was mobbed with customers purchasing jugs, bottles, corks and wine presses so I had some time to look around. They have everything there, even a small de-stemming machine. Hmmmm….

When it was our turn, “the guy” went to the back to get the wine press out, took it out to the curb and instructed Mike on how to use the press to get the juice from his grapes. I found it amazing that after hundreds of years, the process and the machinery have changed very little. Very basic really. First Mike hosed off the machine - winemakers are apparently big on “hosing” everything, before and after using. I’ve seen plenty of video footage of people hosing off equipment this harvest season.

Then right to it. First the macerated fruit was poured by bucketfuls into the press, and the “free run” juice allowed to flow freely into another bucket. The color of the juice was an incredible deep raspberry color.

As the buckets filled up, the juice was poured into jugs. Mike kept this up until all the free run juice had been collected. Then it was time to press the grapes to get every last drop of his “wine” out of the must. He piled on the blocks and began to ratchet until no more liquid ran and the “cake” was pressed hard. The yield was over nine gallons!

Disassembling the press to remove "the cake"

Compost anyone?

Michael has a lot to show for his efforts.

And then more hosing…..

I’LL DRINK TO THAT !

Trueblood Syrah - Napa Valley - 2004 - $29.95 - Long legged beauty was my  first thought when I poured a glass of this blood red wine. The viscosity of the “legs” was incredible, slowly making their way down the inside of my glass after a good swirl. Dark, rich, lush, elegant…spicy with figs and licorice in a long finish. Bloody good wine.

To hear Victor Abascal, owner of Vines on the Marycrest in Paso Robles, tell his story about how he got started in the business of making wine, is to once again learn what happens when someone just “fires” to pursue their passion. Last Monday night at I’ll Drink to That!‘s monthly networking/wine tasting event, Victor regaled the attendees with his story of how he secretly planted a vineyard on a vacant hillside belonging to a nunnery, got caught, had to pull the vines out and ultimately decided to forgo the “5-year plan” and replant his passion and his vineyard in the beautiful countryside of Westside Paso Robles.

Victor Abascal, owner, Vines on the Marycrest

The anxious “wine tasters” were then guided through a tasting of four of Victor’s luscious red blends, all named after some of his favorite songs. Plenty of humming could be heard as guests tried to remember the tunes to: “Summertime”, a Grenache based rose, “Heart of Glass” and “‘Round Midnight”, both Rhone blends, “Satin Doll” (Cab,Syrah, Cab Franc) and “My Generation”, a blend of estate Zin and Rhone varietals. Victor described his wine making style as balanced and food friendly. I would describe it as delicious!

Gourmet mini grilled cheese sandwiches made with Gruyere, caramelized shallots, blue cheese and apple were passed around with the wine, as well as other delectable treats made by executive chef Tori Rodriguez of Artisan Cheese Gallery. And to “cleanse the palate”, SanTasti, “the world’s first palate cleansing beverage”, was available for guests to try.

Although Victor did punctuate the fact that blended wines are his preference, he did bring along 3 bottles of his reserve single varietal wines which he donated to the “opportunity drawing”, with all proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization, Make a Senior Smile. Attendee, Sara Polinsky, representing the organization, spoke about their mission to fulfill “wishes” of members of the senior community who might find themselves without funding or family to otherwise support them.

Xochitl Maiman, IDTT founder, Victor and drawing winner, Michellene Debonis of Debonis Consulting

Blake Goodwin, owner of Video Optimize, was on hand to speak about the benefits of utilizing video as a powerful SEO tool, and his videographer was there to film the event.

Blake Goodwin of Video Optomize

The evening ended with some networking done via I’ll Drink to That’s “wine swap”. Each attendee brought with them to the meeting a favorite bottle of wine, and after breaking off into small groups, had the opportunity to swap their bottle and their business information with each other.

Barbara Cohen, IDTT Marketing Coordinator with Sara Polinsky

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

Vines on the Marycrest - Heart of Glass - 2006 - 72% Grenache, 15% Mourvedre, 13% Syrah - $22

Victor served this delightful wine slightly chilled making it the perfect wine to sip while  preparing dinner, or enjoying a sunset during these last warm days of summer. With fresh strawberries and cherries on the nose, the fruit carries through to the palate with the addition of smoky, earth and leathery touches. Beautiful clear, bright color.

The Facebook post read:

“OK, bought all my winemaking equipment this weekend. My Paso Robles syrah grapes are at 20 Brix (% sugar). Should be ready to harvest in about two weeks! Can’t wait to start fermenting!”

While this sounds like it could be a post from any number of wineries I am friends with or a fan of on Facebook, (after all it is harvest time),  to my great surprise, it was a post from my cousin, Michael, here in LA! I immediately sent him off an e-mail asking him how it was that a member of my own family was embarking on a wine adventure of this great importance without me knowing about it! (Thank you Facebook and note to self to be more in touch with family). He wrote back that he had spent the last two years “getting really into drinking wine, primarily French, primarily Rhone”, and had watched 600+ podcasts of Wine Library TV with Gary V. (And I thought I was wine obsessive). So now he wants to try his hand at making wine himself. Of course I thought this was fantastic, (see previous posts about following your passion), and asked him if it would be alright with him if I tagged along on this journey of his and blogged about it. He said “yes”, so here we go. I am so looking forward to sharing this experience with him and I hope you enjoy the ride as well.

pressedforwine.com writes:

“In the modern world we seem to lose touch with one another. We have all these communication tools, phone, cell, TV, computer, internet, palm pilot, blackberry, and yet at the end of the day we have this feeling that something is lacking in our lives. It’s the human touch, one person talking to another the old fashioned way, neighbors touching base, musing about anything- The solution to this malaise is obvious to wine makers throughout the world. We need a barrel in every basement.”

D’Anbino Vineyards and Cellars in Paso Robles writes on their site about their “basement wine” heritage…

Owners and family members John D’ Andrea and Carmine Rubino were raised on the east coast in Newark, New Jersey.  ”In our local Italian neighborhood, home wine making was a very important event. We can remember around harvest time all our neighborhood grandpas would go down to the local train yards to pick up their order of grapes coming in from California. And then there was the week-long celebration of the crush and barreling of the juice.  Up and down the street there sat in the middle of every basement—one prized barrel of liquid art, which every grandpa assiduously attended to and possessively guarded under the lock and key of his watchful eye.

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

Stanza - 2008 Chardonnay - Lodi

Discovered this at BevMo last week - for those of you looking for an affordable chardonnay without a lot of oak and more on the crisp fruity side , this could be for you. Currently on sale at $10.99 from a regular price of $15.99.

You guessed it - just saw Julie and Julia last night. Loved it- loved it-loved it! From the moment Paul Child’s classic, gorgeous, couldn’t believe my eyes blue Woodie drops into the scene, a smile is fixed on my face that doesn’t leave until emotional tears take their place at the end of the movie when Julie and Julia’s dreams are realized. Meryl Streep joyfully and brilliantly introduces us to Julia and her joie de vivre. Julia was a woman who clearly understood how to savor “the perfect bite”, how to live in the moment, how to figure out what it is that you love and how to get it. She learns to chop mountains of onions, (with carbon steel knives), keep a beurre blanc from separating, create the perfect Boeuf Bourguignon. Her contemporary counterpart, Julie, realizing she needs more in her life, jumps way out of her comfort zone and commits to a year of cooking and writing, both of which she already loves to do, but has up to this point, pursued without real conviction. She creates a blog, writes every day and cooks recipes with the French techniques laid down by Julia in “the book”. She simultaneously wonders “is anyone out there” reading her blog, while she worries how she will be able to cook a live lobster and bone a duck. Both women set goals and with the realization of those goals comes the realization of what this movie is really about - passion. Passion is the common ingredient that runs through the recipe of this movie - passion for food, for love, for butter, for having fun, for following your dreams, for connecting with and helping people, for brie cheese, (in my case, Cambezola), for family, for friends…for life. When we don’t allow for passion in our lives, we end up making hats in a cubicle. Or something like that. This movie was an inspiration for me to continue to pursue my passions…and I hope you will too.  On a personal note, I had the opportunity to meet Julia Child in 2002 when she attended a book-signing reception thrown by the cooking school I was attending. She was gracious and friendly and took interest in my name. The book that had just been released was “Cooking at Home”, co-written with Jacques Pepin, and offering a unique format of commentary by both chefs on traditional French techniques and recipes.

I’ll Drink to That!

If you’re whipping up a souffle with creamed crab in honor of Julia Child, why not try a delicious French white wine from the Loire Valley. The Bailly family have been winemakers in Sancerre since 1700. Domaine Sylvain Bailly Sancerre Terroirs is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc with a bouquet of honey, apple and lemon. It is full bodied with crisp acidity and a minerality to the finish.

Bon Appetit!

(Oh and by the way…is there anyone out there?)

An enlightened warrior is someone who conquers themselves, not others.

Such is the endeavor to earn one’s black belt in martial arts… and in life.  And so the two journeys are traveled on one path. People make the decision to take up a discipline of martial arts for any number of reasons. Exercise, to loose weight, fear, to meet new people. Few decide to continue to take it to the next level, and the next, on up to black belt status. I am a warrior - I am willing to do what’s hard. Those would be the individuals that come to realize that with every new skill learned on the dojo floor, a new and improved version of themselves emerges. A version to be taken out into the world to face life’s challenges, obstacles and disappointments with new strength, courage, compassion and preparation. I am a warrior - I am bigger than any problem. In the training to become a warrior , the realization emerges that the battle is within. The conquering of the inner enemy brings a sense of peace, clearing the way for growth.  I am a warrior - I act in spite of my fear. Testing for one’s black belt is the culmination of years of hard work, both physical and emotional - a test of skills, conditioning, focus, endurance and mettle. I am a warrior - I do everything at 100% and I never ever give up! Such was the case with my friend, Debbie, this last Saturday. After 12 years, it was finally her chance to show herself what she had learned and how she had grown. I am a warrior - I am willing to do whatever it takes. And for three hours she did exactly that. Put through endless drills by her masters, her body would occasionally falter, but her spirit never did. I am a warrior - I succeed in spite of anything. At the end of the day, she tearfully stood while her longtime master and friend tied the coveted black belt around her waist. Only Debbie knew for sure what significance each tear held.  And, as with the end of all journeys, a new journey begins with the very next step. Walk with faith, Debbie…faith in yourself.

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

For me, celebrations are always cause for two things - wine and chocolate! So that brought to mind a delicious pairing I experimented with a couple of weeks ago. I opened a bottle of ‘05 Villa Creek Denner Vineyard Garnacha, Paso Robles and served it with a strawberry filled cake iced with chocolate grenache. The wine, light in body with strawberries coming through on the palate, was decadently yummy with the chocolate/strawberry combo of the dessert.

May 23, 2009

PASSION

It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts.

Adlai Stevenson, US statesman and diplomat

Passion is what happens when we stop, quiet ourselves and listen to the voice in our soul. Unfortunately, however, we spend our time running from one thing to the next, swayed and influenced by what we think we need to be, have to do, must accomplish, have to acquire. And the irony is, after all that exhaustive work and attention, we often are left feeling unaccomplished, unfulfilled and lacking.

Many of us are now finding ourselves, either because of age, job layoffs, or some quantum awakening, looking to make the change from who we have been portraying to being our authentic selves.

Estelle Rees Arroyo is one of those people. Except she is not 45 or 50 or 55 years of age. She is 92 years old and she has just graduated with a BA in History from Sacramento State University. Her late husband used to tell her that she never finished anything she ever started. Then how in the world did she finish this, especially at her current age? What pushed her to drive 130 miles round trip every week for the past two years, calling a Motel 6 home while on campus? Why would anyone put themselves in such a conceivably awkward situation of being so out of place? What could push someone so far out of their comfort zone of identity and safety? The only answer I have is – passion. That which we do to express who we really are, and to identify the best version of ourselves.

To all of you who are taking the very brave leap of following your passion, do so with intention and a plan to succeed. Yes, even passion needs a plan. I salute you and send you my most genuine wishes for your success and fulfillment. And I look forward to hearing your stories. Congratulations to Estelle on her graduation and her passion!

I’ll drink to that!

On a visit to Sacramento last year at this time, my two girlfriends and I spent two fabulous days touring the wineries of the Sierra Foothills. My favorite find were the wines of Holly’s Hill. Not only is their focus entirely on producing Rhone varietal wines, my personal favorite, but this is a true family run winery. This beautiful wine estate is owned by Tom and Holly Cooper, and their daughter Carrie and son-in-law Josh Bendick make up the creative force behind the winemaking. These folks are truly passionate about their rhones. Their estate vineyards are composed of Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, and Counoise. Along with their varietal wines, they also produce both red and white blends. Both delicious! The Patriarche blend is the first wine put together each year getting only the best lots of estate fruit.

Holly’s Hill -

2006 El Dorado Patriarche - $30.00
(42% Mourvedre, 40% Syrah, 11% Grenache, 7% Counoise)
Deep aromas of boysenberries and cherries are highlighted with lavender and herbs like sage, oregano and pepper. The mouthfeel is broad with medium tannins and a long finish. Yum!

Hey Everyone,

After a couple of weeks of research, watching tutorials, and tons of calls to tech support, I managed to secure a domain, a web host and this blog space!!

I’LL DRINK TO THAT!

From Cass Winery, one of my favorites in Paso Robles, comes their ‘07 Viognier. Barrel fermented and augmented with a bit of Roussanne, this wine is full bodied with a viscous mouth feel in addition to flavors of  stone fruit.  Delicious with pan seared scallops!