It’s been a hell of a year. Until early May, I was selling real estate, or at least attempting to. In March, my then fiancée, now bride, Laura and I spent the weekend in Paso Robles with our dear friends Denny and Jodi Jones. If memory serves me correctly, it was the 5th visit there for Laura and me in about a year’s time. We took Denny and Jodi to one winery after another, introducing them to winemakers we had met and to some phenomenal wines, too. At the end of the weekend, Denny told me what an incredible experience they’d had. He told me I ought to think about taking people out and giving others the same experience we had shared with them. That started the ball rolling. I had been writing a blog on a real estate web site for about two years, sometimes writing about real estate, but more often about travels, wine and life in general. My brilliant wife suggested I started a wine blog and do what Denny suggested and start taking people to wineries. The seed was planted. The name WINEormous popped into my head and we both liked it. We chuckle sometimes when we hear wine descriptions that talk about pencil shavings and the like. We love a good nose on a wine, we love to swirl the glass and let the wine open up, then savoring the mouth feel and picking up the fruit. That’s when I came up with Read more »

Cafe Champagne

Since women are responsible for over 50% of wine purchased, Mrs. WINEormous decided to check out some food and wine options for Thanksgiving.

Since Executive Chef Steve Pickell of Cafe Champagne at Thornton Winery has been creating delicious Thanksgiving menus there since 1993, we decided to join him, Thornton’s winemaker, Don Reha and Temecula public relations guru, Linda Kissam for lunch and tastings at Cafe Champagne on a recent weekday.

We reminisced about fabulous dinners past and planned for even more amazing events to come.  Some of Chef Pickell’s Thanksgiving musings: “I keep family traditions alive in some menu items.  There is always turkey prepared like I’ve had my whole life.  At Cafe Champagne we also serve fish, pork and vegetarian entrees.  The majority of guests choose turkey every year.”

Entrees for vegetarians might be in order for your dinner,  Instead of just letting them fill up on side dishes he suggested grilling portobello mushrooms or making them in a lasagna for their meaty texture to compliment the rest of the meal.

Now what wines to pair with this feast?  Both Steve and Don Reha had suggestions to enhance, not overpower my Thanksgiving experience.  Two or three selections should please every palate.  Don helped to break it down with wines he had created.

Start out light with appetizers or soups.  A sparkling wine that is festive (Thornton Non-Vintage Cuvee Rouge), or a crisp Gewurztraminer which relies on spices in the structure.  “Otherwise you’re just drinking bread.” Reha commented.

I had heard that Pinot Noir was the top choice for pairing with turkey,  Again Don suggested that I break with tradition and try a Rose because it’s not too dry for sweet dishes and keeps the palate fresh. “There is nothing in turkey that can stand up to a big backbone of red,” he explained.  Mr. WINEormous whose alias should be “Big Red” looked crestfallen.

Well if you can’t break with tradition choose a red blend like our Thorny’s Cote Red, a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Barbera and Sangiovese.  It’s structure won’t interefere with your food,” he hastily suggested.

Moving on to dessert we tasted Thornton’s  2006 Late Harvest Zinfindel and explored desserts that are pumpkin pie alternatives.  Although in most homes a dessert change would be an addition not replacement.

Time was running short and Don and Steve had just whet my appetite.  I was ready to attend Steve and Anthony Bartoletto’s cooking class on Saturday afternoon.

Great decision!  Easy to create recipes paired with fabulous wines.  These were much more than little sample sips and bites.  Here’s what we made and paired:  Butternut Squash Soup paired with Viognier, Cranberry Cherry Compote, Maple Roasted Pork Loin, Sauteed Apples and Onions and Potato Mushroom Gratin paired with Cabernet Merlot; and Gingerbread Bread Pudding paired with Late Harvest Zinfindel.

I left class inspired and eager to experiment until I realized that I would be spending Thanksgiving in Baltimore with family.  We leave you now to explore and create your own traditions.  Or better yet, make reservations at Cafe Champagne and just sit back and benefit from the masters.  Call 951-699-0099.

Look at our current New Weekly Recipes for Steve Pickell’s turkey salad recipe for those leftovers.

Ahi & Avocados

Brein En Croute

Hamburger & Fries

Dessert

Chef Steve

It can easily be argued that Sideways changed the wine industry. I can tell you for a fact it’s changed visiting the Santa Ynez Valley. We began our road trip heading North through Santa Barbara. Our ultimate destination was the Napa Valley. We almost didn’t make it as far as Santa Barbara. Laura and I decided to visit Stafford Premium Wines in Camarillo. A road closure forced us to take a detour and “Lee”, our Australian Garmin guide, took us on a frontage road where we got stuck in the mud. Cool heads prevailed and I managed to rock our way out only to find there was no tasting room at the address we had been given.

Laura had heard about The Winehound, so we decided a visit was in order when we reached Santa Barbara. The Winehound is an amazing store with shelf after shelf stocked with every conceivable varietal of wine from all parts of the globe. They represent the Santa Ynez Valley magnificently. After a leisurely time browsing, we hopped back in the winemobile to our destination, Buellton. Our choice for dinner on the first night was a no-brainer. We were less than a mile from the Hitching Post, featured so prominently in Sideways. We were delighted that fame has not gone to the Hitching Post’s head. We had a delicious dinner, wonderful wine and a memorable experience. If you go, the grilled artichoke with magic dust is a must.

Our first appointment the following morning was at Foxen Winery. We found out soon enough that Foxen has two tasting rooms and we had arrived at the wrong one. The original Foxen tasting room, used in the movie, is still in operation, but our get together was at the newly completed tasting room just down the road. The new tasting room is drop dead gorgeous. At 7600 Foxen Canyon Road, they pour Rhônes and Burgundies. The new Foxen 7200 label pays homage to the original tasting room at 7200 Foxen Canyon Road and features Bordeaux and Cal-Ital varietals.

Co-owner Dick Dorée and I sat down in back of 7200 for a visit. He and his partner Bill Wathen met about a quarter of a century ago. Dick was a self-described “frustrated banker”. Bill was freshly graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and he and Dick met at a party. Bill went to work at a winery near Paso Robles and when he returned told Dick they ought to check out the wine business, telling him it didn’t look that hard. Dick eventually went to work for Bill, training vines and driving tractor. Their first year together they produced four barrels of wine, punching it down by hand in old French Oak on Dick’s basketball court. They put the barrels in the back of a pickup truck and borrowed a press from Rancho Sisquoc Winery. The only problem was they had no way of getting the barrels out of the truck, so they wound up crushing the first harvest in the back of a pickup truck.

The first three years are always hard because you have no product. They did it all on a shoestring. They’ve been well rewarded though, with good press from folks like Robert Parker and Wine Spectator. They’ve never taken on a partner or gone beyond what the bank would loan them, so they answer to no one but themselves. Dorée says it affords them indepence and full control over their wine quality. “We don’t always make our wine in the most economical fashions. A lot of them don’t make sense to make for what we get for them, but they’re such good wines we continue to make them.” As to where the winery got its name? Benjamin Foxen was Dick’s great great grandfather.

Dick

Foxen 7200 - An Old Blacksmith Shop

Dick & Bill

We had passed the entrance to Rancho Sisquoc Winery on the way to Foxen and thought it looked intriguing. We had some time to spare, so we headed north and found that the winery is a bit off the beaten track. Just our kind of place! The building is charming and the wines and hospitality did not disappoint. I love their philosophy. 

We enjoyed nearly everything we tasted quite a bit and wound up sticking an assorted case in the back of the van. Chalk up another winner!

One of the neat things about the Santa Ynez Valley is that everything is relatively close together. From Santa Maria we drove South to Los Olivos. I spent my freshman year of high school at what was then the Dunn School For Boys. The campus is now coed and I hadn’t been back to the area in nearly 40 years. We had a delicious sandwich on the patio of the Los Olivos Grocery. The weather was idyllic and the food scrumptious. With full bellies we were back on the road and headed to our next stop: Fess Parker Winery.

Fess is still around and we hear he is a frequent visitor to the winery that bears his name. The tasting room is spacious, light and open and you see his signature coon skin cap everywhere. I do mean everywhere! The wine list is dominated by Pinot Noir and Syrah and we tasted several wines we found much to our liking.

Fess Parker Tasting Room

From there we made a stop at Sunstone Winery for a visit with winemaker Brittany Rice. Laura will share that visit on Women On Wine. Sunstone is in a lovely setting and has a charming and intimate tasting room. Brittany’s parents Fred & Linda started the winery in 1989 and their son Bion is the President. There grapes meet all California Certifed Organic Farmer standards.

Brittany Rice

Sunstone

Our last stop of the day was a visit to Teri Love, the owner and winemaker for Gioia Wines. I met Teri earlier this year at the Stars of Santa Barbara event. I shared the story of how she lost her son in a motorcycle accident. She devotes her life to his memory and makes wine in his memory. Her newly released Zinfandel is delicate and delicious. A portion of the sales from each bottle goes to the Tyler Love Foundation. She went to her garden, picked some fresh mint, put it in a glass with ice and added Zinfandel and voila! A Zinjito! The afternoon sun was very warm and this was very refreshing. Laura and Teri had a good visit and she’ll write about soon on Women On Wine.

Teri Love & Laura Plant

We had a fabulous dinner at Grappolo in Santa Ynez and called it a night. We had a few stops to make before we continued our journey Northward. We drove to Lompoc for a stop at Palmina Winery. Lompoc is a lovely coastal town and Palmina is a delightful place to visit. Jeanna welcomed us in, sat us down and served us wine, cheese, bread and olive oil. Steve Clifton founded the winery in 1995, naming it as a tribute to his grandmother and dear friend Paula who succumbed to breast cancer. After her death he learned her name at birth was Palmina. He met his wife Chrystal in 2000 when he was looking for someone who was fluent in Italian for a group of visitors from Italy. His focus is on Italian varietals and his wines are magnificent. Among his whites we loved his Malvasia Bianca, Traminer and Tocai Friulano. His also produces stunning reds, including his Undici Sangiovese, his Barbera and his Nebbiolo. Undici is Italian for 11, and is a tip of the hat to the movie This Is Spinal Tap. He played in a band called Secret Service that once opened for Oingo Boingo. Who knew? He has respect for Italian wines, and the methods the winemakers use, but he wants to make them his way. He says he wants his wines to make you hungry. His dream is to become a Nebbiolo house.

Jeanna

Palmina Tasting Room

Palmina Barrel (and party) Room

We had lunch in Solvang at Panino, enjoying an incredibly delicious sandwich al fresco. We stopped in Los Olivos again after several people told us we couldn’t miss Carhartt. I’m glad we didn’t. Carhartt Winery has without a doubt the smallest tasting room I have ever seen. We had a great visit with Rhea and visited with folks at the tasting bar while enjoying their wines. If you’re in the area, I highly recommend you check it out.

Carhartt

We had wanted to visit Blackjack, but read it was closed on Tuesday. When we drove past it, however, the sign read “OPEN”. We pulled in and found it was indeed open. When we entered were were told they just felt like opening. Blackjack is getting maximum mileage from their 15 minutes of fame from Sideways. The wines were excellent, especially the Maximus Syrah, but we were put off by little things like selling their corks and labels. Most wineries are happy to give them to folks who ask. There are momentos from the movie all around the tasting room. I found it just a bit too much.

Our last stop was at Kenneth Volk Vineyards in Santa Maria. The scenery as we drove through the countryside was spectacular. It was near the close of business and we were the only visitors. Ken founded Wild Horse Winery and gained a great reputation there. His Chardonnay is stellar and his Cab and Merlot are also worthy of tasting. Our first visit to Santa Barbara’s wine country had come to an end. We were off to our favorite wine destination, Paso Robles, with Napa in our sights at the end of the journey.

kenneth Volk Vineyards

For the most part I’m going to let the pictures do the talking. This past Saturday and Sunday, 25 Temecula Valley wineries opened their doors for guests to taste from the barrels and enjoy a bite or two of food. I was pleased to see folks like Bill Wilson from Wilson Creek (literally running trays of food from the kitchen) and serving barrel samples of late harvest Zinfandel, South Coast Winery owner Jim Carter and Executive Winemaker Jon MacPherson pouring wine, Thornton Executive Winemaker Don Reha pouring barrel samples of ’07 Syrah, Joe Hart cooking and his family serving wine and food, Marcelo and Damian Doffo pouring barrel samples and serving delicious food cooked by the fire in their brick oven, Dorian Linkogle at Briar Rose serving Les’ Zinfandel/Barbera blend, Mike and Mindy Calabro offering their olive oil and barrel samples of the Super Tuscan and Nick and Cindy Palumbo serving homemade tacos and pouring wine. Meeting Audrey Cilurzo, one of the pioneers of the Temecula Wine industry, was a real treat.  I was equally disappointed by some of the owners who did not put in an appearance. Hope you enjoy the pictorial story of a great weekend.

Don Reha

Callaway Winery

Stuart Cellars

Dorian Linkogle & Disney Pianist Rod Miller

Maurice Car'rie

La Cereza

Hart Family

Joe Hart

Jon MacPherson & Jim Carter

Wiens

Cindy Palumbo

Palumbo Vineyards

Nick Palumbo

Bill Wilson

Crispin Courtenay

Audrey Cilurzo

Mike Calabro

Villa Di Calbro

Marcelo Doffo

Foote Print

Dean Foote

Doffo Brick Oven

Cheers!

Chef Cody James of Manhattan Catering LLC visits Keyways Winery this week to prepare another fabulous meal. You can watch the show Saturday morning at 8:30 on Cox 4 in San Diego, or click Catch The Spirit at Keyways to see it now. Here are the recipes:

Chilean Sea Bass with a Citrus Beurre Blanc made with Keyways Sauvignon Blanc 2008

To serve 2
Two 6 oz Chilean sea bass filets
8 pink grapefruit sections
8 white grapefruit sections
1/4 cup each fresh red and white grapefruit juice
1/2 cup blood orange juice
1/2 cup 2008 Keyways Sauvignon Blanc Wine
1 tbsp freshly chopped chives
1 stick room temp butter
1 oz garlic oil
1 salad oil
1 piece of garlic, minced
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
Wash filets, make sure they are skinned, salt and pepper both sides,
Place oil and garlic into medium heated sautée pan, when the garlic starts
to caramelize, add seasoned fish filet skinned side up. Sautée for approximately
2 minutes or until clear fluid rises through the fish, Flip fish and continue sautéeing for approximately 1 minute. Take fish out of pan, put into 200 degree oven and let rest for approximately 8-10 minutes.
Add juices and wine to sautée pan, reduce by half, turn off heat and slowing incorporate butter with whisk till butter is dissolved, add chives to sauce.
Serve over fish immediately

To plate put rice pilaf in center of plate, sea bass fish on top of rice pilaf, 2 each grapefruit sections over fish, 2 each grapefruit sections around plate, pour beurre blanc sauce over fish, serve immediately

Rice Pilaf ………watch the show

Brie en Croute
with raspberry compote, red onion reduction, and cracked black pepper
To serve 2
1/6 of a large wheel of Brie
4 x 4 square of (store bought) puff pastry
1 pint of raspberries
1/4 cup of finely diced red onion
1 tsp of cracked black pepper
1/4 cup Keyways Zinfandel
1 tbsp salad oil
1/2 tbsp of salted butter
pinch of salt
Freeze slice of Brie to solid…leave white skin on the Brie
Take onions, a pinch of salt, and cracked black pepper and sautée with a small of butter till caramelized, add zinfandel, and cook till dry. Now add the raspberries and cook till dry, cool.
Roll out 4 x 4 square of puff pastry to 1/10th of an inch.
Place frozen brie in the middle of the pastry, top with raspberry and onion mixture and fold pastry over frozen brie as demonstrated on show.
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until crust on top is starting to caramel colored.
Allow to rest for 25-30 minutes.
No cracker needed crust is the starch.  Serve with Keyways Zinfandel 2006

Catch The Spirit – Cooking With California Wine made its debut Saturday on Cox 4 San Diego. The second episode from Orfila Vineyard will air this Saturday the 12th at 8:30am. You can catch a sneak preview here. Catch The Spirit at Orfila!
“Catch the Spirit, Cooking with California Wine.”

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs with tossed baby greens dressed with a Lemon Vinaigrette made with Orfila 200 Ambassador’s Reserve Chardonnay

Homemade Crêpes

Espresso Biscotti served with 2006 Estate Ambassador’s Reserve Merlot

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs
Serves 2
2 skewers per person
Two 16-20 size raw shrimp per skewer
8 shrimp cleaned and deveined, leave tail on
Fruit and vegetables to skewer: 1 inch Lemons wedge,
½ inch pieces zucchini, red onion, and red pepper
On skewer: 1st on skewer: red onion, shrimp, red pepper, zucchini, shrimp and lemon wedge on the top
Pour marinade over skewers; allow to sit for one hour,
Remove skewers from marinade; wipe off excess liquid with a paper towel,
Preheat grill to 500 degrees,
Place skewers on grill and grill till shrimp are pink.
Remove from grill, hold for service

Marinade is equal parts of Orfila 2007 Ambassador’s Reserve Chardonnay
and olive oil, adding dried basil, fresh chives, fresh dill, and
fresh ground sea salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Vinaigrette with Orfila 2007 Ambassador’s Reserve Chardonnay
Serves 12

Juice of ½ lemon
Zest of ½ lemon
3 oz. salad oil
1 oz balsamic vinegar
Handful of chopped chives, chopped dill
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 oz Orfila 2007 Ambassador’s Reserve Chardonnay
Fresh ground sea salt and pepper

In a small bowl, bring all ingredients together except oil and vinegar, then slowly drizzle in oil and vinegar while continually whisking till emulsified. Add salt and pepper to taste
Serve over salad
Plate as seen on TV

Crêpes
Makes 12
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1 cup flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp plus 1 tsp unsalted butter, melted and cooked slightly
1 pinch of salt
Blend milk, eggs, flour, granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, and salt in a bowl and whisk till smooth; about 1 minute.
Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to skillet and brush to coat bottom. Heat over moderate heat until hot, about 30 seconds, then pour ¼ cup batter into skillet, tilting to coat bottom evenly. Cook until underside is pale gold in color, approximately 1 ½ to 2 minutes, then flip crêpe as demonstrated or flip crêpe with a spatula. Cook this side till pale gold in color, approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer crêpe with spatula to a work surface, turning over so that side cooked first is facedown.

Cherries Jubilee with 2006 Estate Ambassador’s Reserve Merlot

Serves 2

3 oz dark canned cherries
3 oz of fresh pitted Bing cherries
1 vanilla bean split lengthwise and scrape as demonstrated
Save juice from canned cherries
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1 good shake ground cinnamon
Zest of ¼ orange
2 tbsp butter
1 oz brandy
2 tbsp Orfila 2006 Estate Ambassador’s Reserve Merlot
Directions
In a large sautée pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp butter and brown sugar, allow butter to melt while brown sugar continues to cook, next incorporate cherries, cinnamon, vanilla bean, and orange zest, sautée till all ingredients are hot. Add brandy, flame till brandy is completely cooked out, add orange juice and Orfila Merlot and cook this till mixture comes to low boil, then add last tbsp butter and stir till dissolved. Remove vanilla bean and serve hot over crepes or ice cream.

When John Thornton launched his Champagne Jazz concert series, little did he realize what a runaway success it would become. On the other hand, having spent some time with John, he probably had no doubt. This past Sunday Laura and I were guests of the Thorntons for the David Sanborn concert. We arrived at the winery at the same time as the Thorntons, and Steve took care to make sure we were seated and taken care of. We had a table for two, a bottle of champagne and a delicious dinner prepared by Executive Chef Steve Pickell.

Guitarist Paul Jackson, Jr. (leader of the American Idol band) and his band opened the show and he is a remarkable guitarist. He acknowledged Earl Klugh and you could hear the influence in his playing. David Sanborn came out and played a tremendous set, featuring several tunes from his most recent CD, Here & Gone. Steve Thornton was gracious enough to personally escort me backstage after the show to meet David Sanborn. The Champagne Jazz concert series continues through October 11th, with notables like Candy Dulfer, Spyro Gyra and Peter White still to come.

Paul Jackson, Jr.

Steve Pickell

John Thornton

Steve Thornton

David Sanborn

Ricky Peterson