big blue chair

Where the Gardens Are Works of Art
Carneros, Napa, Calif.
Twilight on a Saturday
The big blue chair just east of the Carneros Junction marks the entrance to this eclectic venue that’s home to tasting rooms, a gourmet café, home and garden stores, galleries, and nine acres of garden installations collected from a select group of world-renowned landscape designers.

ladies of Acacia Vineyards

Marie and I made a feather headpiece the other Saturday. Then we went wine tasting. Our first stop, was a little joint where I used to work back when I lived in Napa – Acacia Vineyard. The beautiful Muriel and Margaret tried on our feather concoction while pouring us generous ounces of single vineyard designate Pinot Noirs.

Thank you to Kobie Mahiri for snapping some of these lovely photos of the feather making.

Carneros, Napa Valley, Calif.
Early Afternoon

Burlesque Thanksgiving Dinner

An exploration into cooking Thanksgiving Dinner in our underwear.

-Oakland, Calif

#pinotpanel

The 7th Annual Julia’s Vineyard Artisan Wine Program happened on Tuesday May 18th at The Wilshire restaurant in Santa Monica. Essentially the winemakers from Bonaccorsi, Lane Tanner, Foxen, Hitching Post, Byron and Cambria assembled together to discuss Pinot Noir.

The vineyard itself is composed of 4 blocks of Pommard grapes on a nice slope, upriver. These six winemaker pick their fruit at different times. Those that pick earlier watch as a feminine, soft cherry wine develops. The longer the grapes sit in the vineyard the denser, earthier and more masculine the wine. Think Strawberry Summer Breeze versus Tanbark Feral Cat. Both styles of wines were really delicious in their own right.

I felt like the 2007 Bonnaccorsi Pinot Noir was the most balanced between floaty strawberry breeze and feral cat. The other wines were firmly in one camp or the other.
Each wine was a true gift to sample, made more special, by being able to taste them side by side.
As I left the tasting I kept thinking about the rich, amethyst mouth from each bottling.

“Wine’s REALLY mirror their makers.” – Gillian Handelman, in regards to winemaker Lane Tanner

“Pinot Noir is the number one varietal totally made in the vineyard. The farmers are the most important.” – Denise Shurtleff

“…special green tea quality from Julia’s Vineyard.” – Jonathon Nagy
“You’ve got to manage the canopy in order to contain/control/enhance that sage/tea quality.” – Gillian Handelman

“Julia’s Vineyard is like a feral cat. You have to keep an eye on it or it’ll piss on the couch.” – Dick Dore

silly on the outside, business on the inside (ice cream, ice cream)

A story, unrelated, but totally related:

A Jewish grandmother is giving directions to her grown grandson, who is coming to visit for Pesach with his wife and children:

“You come to the front door of the apartment complex. I am in apartment 14T. There is a big panel at the door. With your elbow push button 14T. I will buzz you in. Come inside, the elevator is on the right. Get in, and with your elbow hit 14. When you get out I am on the left. With your elbow, hit my doorbell.”

“Bubbe, that sounds easy, but why am I hitting all these buttons with my elbow”?

“You’re coming empty handed?”

The point? Whenever you go into any business meeting, of any kind. Especially the kind that make dreams comes true. BRING YOUR A GAME my friends. Bring your A game.