Things I learned on my honeymoon

How to figure out where we are on the map using the instruments on the plane and a scale.

That I shouldn't expect a steakhouse to be a really swanky joint just because I'm told they have the most amazing steaks ever.

That it pays to have a bro/sis that are wine club members at the places you go tasting - sometimes the winery will give you their discount.

That brewers up in the Santa Ynez Valley have heard of and are impressed by Bootlegger's Brewery (yes, I brag about my bros, can you blame me?).

That if we stay at the Radisson when we fly in to Santa Maria airport, we can call the concierge as soon as we turn off the engine and have them send someone directly to the plane with a luggage cart.  Transient parking is directly out their back door.  And they offer a AAA discount.

It seems like everyone in Santa Maria has some connection to Orange County.  As least everyone we talked to.

That I love Linguicia.  Not too surprising; I'm a nut for sausage.

That AT&T's coverage sucks in Los Olivos.  And by sucks, I mean it's non-existent. 

That if you tell people you are on your honeymoon, they'll get excited and sometimes give you stuff.  Or at least get really cheery (I find this often works with birthdays too).

That you have to do more than use that steering wheel to make a turn in a plane.  Or even maintain straight and level flight.

That I actually like Danish mustard (even though I HATE mustard), especially on Danish sausages (I told you I like sausage).

That I'm super glad we didn't buy a Sleep Number bed when we chose our mattress (We already have an air mattress, thank you).

That "Santa Maria-style BBQ" means steak, beans, and salsa.  Sometimes with saltine crackers.

That Hearst Castle has its own runway, but we aren't allowed to land on it.

That I actually like beets, especially on a salad with ranch dressing (no, I never ate a beet before - adventurous as I am, I still sometimes fear the unknown).

That Capt. G. Allan Hancock was an accomplished dude: http://www.hancockcollege.edu/Default.asp?Page=687

That I need to go back to Santa Maria again soon.

Grape Crush

Mom told me last week that the grapes were going to be ready soon, and asked when we were going to come over and help them make wine.  Today was the day.

This is the third year we've done this.  Mom and dad planted grapevines so they would create a nice shade cover in the front courtyard, but then with grapevines come grapes, and there is no reason to just let them go to waste, right?

Since wine isn't the reason they have the vines, mom and dad don't prune the vines for that purpose, or do enough cluster thinning, so the wine is never going to be super amazing, but it's an interesting experience, and since I'd like to eventually grow grapes to make wine, it serves as a nice practice run.

The first year we did this, the boys (dad, Keith, Bobby) wound up crushing the grapes with spatulas, and developed some nice blisters on their knuckles.  We call it the "blood wine" because there really is a tiny bit of blood in it.  Last year Bobby and I couldn't make it over to the house before it was too late, so we missed out.

This year, a friend of dad's and her sone came by to help out, and I gave Emma a camera so I would have proof of the event.  The cabernet seemed sickly this year, and mom and dad had prevented it from growing any fruit, so we just had the pinot noir to harvest.

Mom and Bobby were cleaning off the grapes while the rest of us crushed.  Everyone else employed our spatula technique, but I just grabbed bunches and crushed them with my fingers.  Bobby suggested that next year we get a kiddie pool and crush them the old fasioned way - with our feet.

As we were crushing away, dad brought out a glass of the wine from last year and the year before so we could try them out.  I thought they were both on the sour side, but I don't know how much that is attibutable to their youth.  Perhaps they will mellow out, perhaps we are doing something wrong, I'm not sure.

When we finished crushing, we had a nice lunch of homemade tamales, salad, and Bootlegger's Amber Alt Ale.  Perhaps one day we'll make wine as well as Aaron makes beer.

Pop the Cork

Bobby has recently been doing a lot of work over at the new GardenWalk in Anaheim. One of the stores, a wine bar named Pop the Cork, opened last week, and he made a point of being their first customer.

Last night he needed to go down to GardenWalk to tell his employee what needed to be done that night, and we decided to go early and visit Pop the Cork so I could see it.

When we walked by, it looked as though the were closing up, and the door was already locked. It wasn't even 9:30 yet! Bobby knocked on the glass and waved at the owner, and they came and unlocked the door. The owner said it had been completely dead, so they had decided to close up early, but if we would like to come in they'd open back up.

I'm always amazed at how easily Bobby befriends people. I tend to avoid talking to people I don't know, unless we are introduced by a mutual friend, but he'll strike up a conversation with anybody. He's a natural at networking.

Some friends of the owner were there as well, and took the opportunity to join us as fellow customers. Soon a few other couples and groups came in, and while it stayed slow, I'm sure they made a few hundred dollars while we were there.

We tasted some really good wines. Bobby and I compared small tastings of Dow's 10 year old and 20 year old port side by side, and I very much enjoyed the Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui (a sparkling rosé), and the Reisling that Bobby tried. With chocolates, of course. The sommelier attending the bar was very friendly and gave us the lowdown on the process and testing one goes through to become a certified sommelier, which was very interesting.

After buying a Gewürztraminer to take home (I've never tried one before, but have wanted to since I learned how to say it), we met up with our employee so Bobby could go over what needed to be done. As we were walking around the job site, you could hear music of The Doors quite loudly next door at another of Bobby's jobs, Heat Ultra Lounge, which will be opening this weekend. They were utilizing the beautiful sound system while tying up some loose ends.

Bobby and I went in the back door and the owner encouraged him to show me around. It's a really beautiful club, and should be very popular. The sound system is amazing. Bobby already wants to go to the club when they open, and he's not even a club person. I suspect he just wants to be there for it's debut, and enjoy knowing that he helped build it.

Happy Brithday Colette

To celebrate her birthday, my friend Colette rounded up her friends for a tour of Temecula wine country. Rented a limo, picked out the wineries they wanted to visit, and spent a few hours partying it up.

The last winery of the trip was Ponte Winery - where Bobby and I just happen to be wine club members. Unfortunately we couldn't join them for the whole tour, but we did meet up with them at Ponte for a bit of tasting and a beautiful lunch.



First we took advantage of the free tasting that is part of our membership - I tried all the sweeter white wines they had (I was feeling summery), while Bobby decided he just wanted all six of his "tastings" to be of their Supertuscan.

Lunch was very nice - sitting outside on a rather warm Saturday afternoon. The waiter brought out some bread for us to start along with a wonderful champagne vinaigrette that I have since been trying to re-create; the waiter said it has scallions and garlic and champagne vinegar...

Overall, a good time. I wish wine country were a little closer to home, and that we could spend afternoons relaxing and socializing more often. Hmm.... perhaps this spring we can host some wine tastings at the house...)

Bordeaux Intro

I've been taking online surveys lately, and each time I do I am rewarded with points I can spend on things like magazine subscriptions and airline miles, etc. A few months ago I used some points on a one year subscription to Wine Spectator.

Bobby and I get a little excited when the new issue arrives at the house, and we'll read through it and awe at some of the ridiculous prices of some things, but we are actually learning some things about wine and the industry as well. I only started drinking wine over the last five years or so, and I still have a tough time describing wines - I just know what I like and what I don't.

One of the recent issues focused on 2005 Bordeauxs. Apparently 2005 is one of the best years for the Bordeaux region since 1961, which was apparently one of the best years in recent decades - yes, I said decades. (So in Ratatouille, when Chef Skinner seduces Linguini with a 1961 Chateau Latour - I know he's talking about a very fine - and expensive - wine.)

Of course, I'm not going to go out and spend a ridiculous amount of money on a bottle of '05 Bordeaux they've recently rated. I'd never had a Bordeaux, would I even care for it? Though, I was a little interested to give some a taste.

Enter BevMo. Our usual strategy is to go in, and buy wines we've never heard of, that are either rated well, or won a medal or something, that are in our price range - we usually shoot for $10-$15. This way we get to try different producers and find ones we like. On Friday BevMo was having their $0.05 wine sale - buy a bottle for full price, second bottle is $0.05. And wouldn't you know - they had two kinds of 2005 Bordeaux (nothing we've heard of or that had been rated) that qualified for the sale. We decided to get both wines (two bottles of each) to try out. If we like them, we can buy more or branch out.

Last night we opened the first bottle: Cheval Quancard Reserve; Bordeaux 2005; Merlot - Cabernet Sauvignon. I really, really liked it. I'd like to see if BevMo has any more, and if not, I'm wondering if I should save the other, or if I should drink it. We would like to start cellaring wines, and we are learning about how to select wines that will age, but we really need to start practicing - it seems to be a skill that requires experience to develop. I'm really curious about the other producer we purchased - we'll have to try it out soon, so we can get more before they run out.

Planting My Vines

We finally did it - my vines are in the ground!

Mom and Dad arrived today while Bobby was out finishing some small tasks at a jobsite near home. I'd already spent the morning cleaning the patio and yard a bit - wiping down tables, shaking the leaves of the hammock, raking up some leaves in the yard - and pulling out the shovels we'd need for our task of the day.

I got out the book I was using as a guide, and we discussed what exactly we needed to do, and how we would stray from the directions - the directions are more for setting up a home vineyard, but I only have two vines (a Cabernet Franc and a Pinot Gris), and they are going at the end of my patio, so I want them to be somewhat decorative too.

I pulled out my bare root vines and set the roots to soaking while we worked. I think Mom and I made a pretty good team - we made excellent time moving the river rocks and digging the first three holes, and it wasn't long until we were planting the first vine.

Instead of burying the posts for the trellis deep into the ground, we buried these cement block things with a metal bracket/saddle attached so you just bolt in the post. We lined those up with the existing posts for the patio, with the vine in between. Instead of the posts being six feet apart, they are a touch more than five.

I'm glad we started early in the morning - it was bright, but still cool out; ideal for working outside. After the first side was done, Mom went to pick up some supplies, while I started moving the river rocks on the other side. She came back with lunch, and by then Bobby had returned, so we sat on the patio together and ate. It was an absolutely stunning day, and I got the sun I was so craving. I was eager to finish the job, and now that the rocks were out of the way, I went to move the tarp so I could start digging my new holes (we laid the tarp down on the grass to keep the dirt off it).

I tried it myself the first time, but there was too much dirt on it. Mom came to help me and after quite a bit of effort it was in place. I grabbed my shovel and began to dig, only to feel pain in my right forearm.

It didn't hurt all the time, just when I used my arm - at all. Bobby helped me acheive the depth on the first hole before going off to help Dad with the door, and Mom did more work on the second half. I kept working, but I'm not as useful with my left hand.

We theorized that I sprained a ligament in my forearm, near my wrist, when I went to move the tarp alone. My arm hurt pretty bad, and I was pretty upset that I hurt myself doing something as simple as moving a tarp. But we finished the task, and long before the boys finished with the door.

Temecula Wine Tasting

In early July or so, Bobby and I were headed down towards San Diego and needed to make a pit stop. Since we were in Temecula, we decided to stop at one of the wineries and do a short wine tasting while we were at it. We made the appropriate exit, and after passing quite a few I told him to just stop at the next one. We wound up at Ponte Winery.

After enjoying a number of the wines, we decided to sign up for the wine club. The cost was just the purchase of two bottles of wine, at a discount, and signing up for 8 shipments a year of two bottles. As a perk, you can get free tastings for two people any time you visit the winery. Bobby had particularly liked the Super Tuscan, and I was taken with the Juliet, a sweet rose, so we bought those and signed up. We haven't been back since.

It's not really surprising - Temecula is close, but not that close, and we've been incredibly busy lately. Other than sharing the Juliet with a friend, and using the Sherry they sent as a Christmas gift when making French Onion Soup, we really haven't popped open any of the Ponte Wine. In November, no one was home to sign for our shipment, so it was returned. We have since been meaning to make a trip back for a tasting and to pick up that shipment, but alas, we have not had time.

After wine tasting with my friend last week, we made plans to go tasting in Temecula today. She was the person we shared the Juliet with and she was a big fan. Our party went from two to three when I invited Bobby's sister-in-law to come along - we'd been so busy I hadn't seen her in about a month, and I was looking forward to catching up. Unfortunately, my friend then had to cancel, so our party was back down to two.

Jessica and I each chose different wines each time so we could try as many different wines as possible. I find it interesting how my tastes have changed in such a short time. Granted, I'm often in the mood for one style of wine or another - sometimes I want a light, sweet wine, sometimes a heavier dry wine - and it often has something to do with the weather, but I found I enjoyed some wines I hadn't even remembered from last time, and I was less impressed with others that I had previously enjoyed very much. I'm not sure how much of the difference was just me being fickle, and how much was because I've been trying a lot more wines lately. No other wine made this change more clear than the Zinfindel Port that we both had as our last tasting.

When Bobby and I came the first time, that was one of my favorites. I'm quite fond of Port, though I hadn't had it much before then. We didn't buy it at the time because I couldn't think of an occasion when I would open it. I have since been trying Port more often, and even purchased a bottle of Ruby Port that I've been drinking at home. After having a 20 year old Tawny Port at my parents' house, Bobby and I decided we prefered that to the Ruby Port. When I tasted the Zinfindel Port this time around, I found myself comparing it, and deciding I prefer my relatively inexpensive Port at home.

Before we left, I checked on our missing November shipment. Turns out November was not two bottles, but a magnum of Zinfindel. Our first magnmum.

Wine Tasting and a Sleepover

Wouldn't you know, as I was ruminating on who to hit up for an evening out, the perfect person sent me a random email about nothing in particular. I have only recently reconnected with this old friend from high school, but she's one of those people with whom I feel I never stopped talking to. We both have an interest in wine and traveling, and unlike most of my other friends, she lives relatively nearby. She has recently left her job in order to focus on finishing up with school, and so she is now adjusting to some extra downtime.

I replied to her email and asked what she was up to this weekend, mentioning that I was thinking about going wine tasting. We subsequently made plans to meet up at Twisted Vines Wine Bar in downtown Fulllerton, a place we've both been meaning to try out, since the tastings at Frogs Breath only lasted until 7pm or so. And since my friend was driving to LA in the morning and my house is closer to LA than hers, we planned for her to stay the night at my house as well.

On my way out the door, Bobby called to say that something had come up, and he needed to be on another jobsite in the morning, this one in Anaheim, so he would be coming home for the night after all. He would be there when we got home.

We had a great time, chatting for hours and trying one of the wine flights and a cheese tray. I had never had any of the six cheeses, but they were all very good. We had a kind of blue cheese that was served with honey - a combination I never would have thought of, but which was quite tasty. The wine flight we had included one white and two red wines all from a single producer. This is the flight we tried (description pulled from the Twisted Vines website):

Carina Cellars – Santa Ynez, Ca
Cost: $15, 3oz. pour of each
Founded in 2002 and located just north of Santa Barbara, Carina Cellars is dedicated to making the best Rhone style wines in California’s Central Coast. The wine making approach is traditional and minimalist, with the resulting wines rich in varietal aromas and flavors.

2006 Viognier – Central Coast
This lovely white is a blend of two separate vineyard sites and is aged for 6 months in neutral French oak barrels. Flavors of tropical pineapple, pear and a slight floral twist give this wine just enough weight on the palate. 990 cases produced.
By the Glass: $8; Take Home Price: $13.99
Eh, Viognier is not my favorite white wine, but it was still good. I wouldn't buy a bottle or choose it over another, though. My friend prefers sweeter wines, and didn't finish this one.

2006 Clairvoyant – Santa Ynez
This Chateauneuf du Pape style blend is 55% Syrah, 33% Grenache and 12% Mourvedre. This refreshing red offers a mouthful of fresh red berries and a balanced acidity that makes this wine perfect with almost any type of cuisine. 600 cases produced.
By the Glass: $11; Take Home Price: $22.99
This wine was a very nice, light, balanced red. Very drinkable. I would buy it, and would recommend to anyone that doesn't drink wine often (and those that do).

2005 Syrah – “7 Percent” – Santa Ynez
Oddly enough, this northern Rhone styled Syrah is named after the 7 percent of Viognier that is blended into it. Beautiful characteristics of black currants, cherry and earth tones.
By the Glass: $14; Take Home Price: $27.99
This is a bolder, heavier red than the Clairvoyant. It was good, but I think it needed to open up a little longer. Syrah is not a favorite of mine, but the wine was enjoyable, especially alongside the blue cheese with honey.

While we were chatting and talking, Bobby called. He didn't want to worry me but explained that he'd just been in an accident on his way down the mountain. He explained that everyone was okay, and that although the front end of the truck was pretty banged up, it was perfectly drivable. Knowing those two things, I was not worried, and told him to just get home safe. The poor guy has had so much go wrong for him in the last couple weeks (including, among other things, his 4 month old phone breaking - the LCD screen is shot), that it seems the fates are against him. I tell him that it's just getting all the bad luck out of the way.

When my friend and I finally made it back to the house, Bobby was there playing Halo. We chatted for a little while longer, drinking some port and watching the Star Wars episode of Family Guy. But we were all tired and didn't last much longer.

This morning, Bobby left early, and I was feeling energized, and was up early with him and started cleaning the kitchen. When my friend woke up we had scrambled omlettes with mushrooms and onions and red bell peppers and chatted some more. We listened to music and got ready for the day.

Sometimes I forget how much I enjoy hanging out with friends, sleeping over, and making breakfast in the morning. It probably has to do with being from a large family, and the breakfasts my mom used to make when most of us still lived at home. Sometimes just eggs and pancakes, sometimes my parents would go all out and make German Pancakes with baked apples or lemon and confectioner's sugar, or jam and cream cheese... with sausage and bacon and eggs and potatoes of course. I enjoy the company of others in conjuction with eating. And I've always loved a good breakfast...

In Pursuit of Shade

I wanted shade over the patio area that the patio cover doesn't cover. And I thought about how nicely the grapevines in the front yard at my parents' shade the courtyard there, and it would be kinda fun to make wine. So I bought some vines - one a Merlot from Home Depot in a pot, and a Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon from someone on eBay selling bare root grafted vines. But I'm me, and then I start wondering about the best place to plant and how much to water the vines to grow the best grapes, etc. So I buy a book - From Vines to Wines - and I start reading about how to grow grapes for wine, and here I run into a little hiccup in my grand plan.... when growing grapevines for the purpose of making wines, you would prune the plant much differently than you would for shade. In fact, proper pruning would negate my whole shady patio cover plan.

But now I'm all worked up about making wine, and have decided that is more important than my shade idea. So I'm planting grapes for the purpose of home winemaking. I even decided that I'm going to plant the vines I already bought elsewhere for the shade aspect (still not sure where), then I'm going to prep the ground where I want to plant my wine vines this fall and order new vines to plant properly in the spring. Cause I want to do it right. And that leads to more questions in my head - how long does it need to be aged, at what temperature, etc.

Then I start thinking about aging, and that's a whole new set of questions - if I wanted to buy wine to keep for awhile before drinking, how do I know what kinds keep getting better over time, and how does one know when the peak has been reached, etc. And where the heck in my house could I keep such wine. (Yes, I have trouble controlling the tangential nature of my thoughts.) So now I feel the need to build a cellar at my house too. (My brother Aaron looked at me like I had gone crazy... "When did you become wine crazy?" But when I told Mom about where Bobby suggested we put it - under the brick patio - she said "Oooh.... when do we start?").

The problem is that we aren't buying the house, so if I build, I build for someone else. In fact, I'm apparently not going to have harvestable wine-making grapes for at least three if not four years. So if it ages for 2 years in the carboys and in oak, and then needs to age in the bottle... I'm not even going to be able to taste my wine for 5 or 6 years... if I'm even still at the house! And even then, if it's good, I might want to wait to drink the rest for another 5 years or so. I could be 40 before I'm enjoying the fruit of my first harvest.

What's a girl to do?

I told Bobby these grapevines are a practice run, and I can wait on the cellar if I must. But we did join a wine club this weekend (Ponte Winery in Temecula... we stopped there on the way to SeaWorld), and decided to wait to open a red that we'd bought. And I bought another book - Cellaring Wine. Should arrive tomorrow, which is good, because I should be done with From Vines to Wines by then.