Tom Gore told me that on a recent phone visit. A second generation farmer, his dad moved to the Alexander Valley in 1973 and Tom was born two years later. His 2014 Chardonnay lets the vineyards speak.
The tasting room is right on the Vermont border and hosted by a lively gentleman named Tex. He has been with the company since the start and brings lightness and humor to cider tasters. Just don’t ask him where his nickname comes from. Well, maybe you should.
The music continued and the smell of smoke from meat being grilled began to waft into the room. You expect Malbec when you attend an Argentinean tasting and we tried two from 2012; La Posta Pizzella from Mendoza and Colome Estate from Salta.
Our friends, like us, raved about class themed “Off the Hook” featuring seafood preparations with whites and sparkling wines. “Romantic Roman and Italian Dinners”, also immensely popular and fun feature the winery’s bold reds.
He put that idea on the back burner until he lost his job in 2004 and thought to himself 'what the hell?' Starting with $78,000 and a naive stubbornness, M2 was born.
Clearly I needed more French fries, so chef promptly sent out an order of truffle fries ($6.50). The first thing to hit you is the aroma of truffles. They, too, were cooked to perfection and served piping hot.
For entrées we opted for the Argentinian style Gaucho steak and pan seared local white sea bass. Each carries a $10 up charge to the $30 restaurant week menu, but they were divine and easily worth the extra money. I challenge you to find a better $40 dinner.
If you feel like splurging, check out the chilled Grand Seafood with a whole Maine lobster, shrimp, oysters and king crab legs for $80. Appetizers range from $9 to $16 and entrees run from $25 to $59.
Over-sized concrete chairs and sofas dot the patio. Empty wine bottles are embedded in cement. They built the winery using natural ingredients, most of them sourced locally.
This wine offered plenty of citrus on the nose, mostly lime and was mineral on the palate. It proved quite food friendly and was wonderful with the St. Géric blue-veined triple crème from Fromagerie Guilloteau.
