Mountain View
Note - this post was originally published 05.15.2014
For one reason or another we traveled over multiple mountain ranges this week. Luckily for us, vineyards stretch out in every direction. This photo was one of our favorite views on the north end of Napa Valley, well no longer in the valley but up the side of the slope that hugs the valley at over 1000ft in elevation.
Tractor Work
Note - this post was originally published 05.01.2014
The biggest news has probably been the weather. We had a couple chilly, rainy days which gave a lot of people a much needed break/weekend. Then summer roared and we've got a little heat wave with highs in the 90s. Happy first day of May!
Our photo from this week is from our tractor work. Keeping everything clean. There is a wonderfully satisfying feeling of taking care of a vineyard, being stewards of the land, and turning around after a hard day's work and seeing the beautiful, maintained vines.
California Sunshine
Note - this post was originally published 04.23.2014
Everyone talks about it. People fly thousands of miles for the guarantee of soaking up some of the rays. What we find amazing is the growth it inspires. It's April and we've been eating pints of super lush, sweet, large strawberries by the pint this week. And of course, the grapes. The vines have sent out shoots and now we're just trying to keep up:
Napa Valley
Note - this post was originally published 04.16.2014
Why is it we rarely play tourist in our own back yard? It seems it's only when we receive visitors from out of town and want to show them the highlights of the area that we stop to see the sights and take a break from all those other things that keep us busy.
A few photos from Napa Valley this week:
Suckering Time
Note - this post was originally published 04.09.2014.
Spring has sprung and so have our schedules. We're finding ourselves busier and busier which is exciting. The Russian River Valley grapes are a little ahead of the Napa Valley vines in growth. We started suckering this week and getting excited about this vintage of grapes. Can you see the little clusters to-be in this photo?
Out here suckers are what we call the new growth. And the vine sends out shouts all over, not just the places we've prepared for during pruning. So, suckering is when we remove the extra shoots. Less shoots leaves more resources (nutrients, water, etc) for the grapes to-be and gives us higher quality fruit.
All this lovely green after the last couple of winter/rain. Here's a photo... making wine in the rain and hail last week:
A Little Green
Note - this post was originally published 3/21/2014.
This week it was a pleasure to drive around the Russian River and Napa Valleys. The first signs of green. Only a little rain this year and yet we still get to enjoy greenery. Spring is here:
Update: White Wine
Note - this post was first published 3/15/2014.
This week we racked our white wine. After aging for 5 months in stainless steel, it's really coming around. We're excited about the color, clarity, aroma, and flavors. We're shooting for another month of aging or so, and then hopefully we'll be ready next month to rack the wine again and bottle our first vintage!
Which leads us to our favorite photo this week: racking our white wine:
Lees
Note - this post was first published 3/8/2014.
lees: the sediment of a liquor (as wine) during fermentation and aging > Merriam-Webster
lees: Heavy sediment left in the barrel by fermenting wines; a combination of spent yeast cells and grape solids > winemag.com
lees: sediment consisting of dead yeast cells, grape pulp, seed, and other grape matter that accumulates during fermentation > Wine School of Philadelphia
We took this photo when we racked some of our wine off the lees (just taking the clean wine, taking care).
Our Wine Project
Note - this post was first published 3/1/2014.
We're working on our dreams not only in the vineyard, but in the cellar too. 2013 is our first vintage as winemakers! We're still hard at work; the wines aren't quite ready for release, but with a little patience the flavors are starting to shine and we're getting excited.
We've got a red and a white going. Recently sampled our wine and took it to a local wine laboratory.
When we received the results and a little insight into how the is wine aging, we racked the wine (moved the clean wine off any sediment that had settled at the bottom) and looking down at the bottom of the empty barrel was one of my favorite photos from this week:
Our Little Batch of Limoncello
Note - this post was first published 2/23/2014.
It’s citrus season and we decided to take advantage of the alluring lemon aroma by starting our own small batch of limoncello! After reworking our recipe from a couple years ago and harvesting over 50 of our favorite organic lemons, we sat down one morning to begin.
First step wash and dry the lemons.
Next, peeling just the yellow.
Then mixing together the alcohol, filtered water, and lemon.
And now we wait.
Cherry Blossoms
Note - this post was originally published 2/21/2014.
The cherry trees are in full bloom. Took some photos just as they were showing off their beautiful pink petals:
Vineyards: Pest Management
Note - this post was originally published 2/19/2014.
Congrats to Francisco! He is now a licensed private applicator for pesticides. Looking for someone to employ to take care of your vineyards and/or wine? Look no further. Awesome career development and good for personal safety. He can now apply pesticides and teach others about the safety precautions to take when working with pesticides.
There are many strategies for pest management in the vineyards. At some point to protect the grapes though, vineyard owners (even the organically farmed ones) often choose to spray. For example, they might spray a sulfur solution to prevent molds/powdery mildew after summer rains.
Valentine's Wine
Note - this post was originally published 2/11/2014.
It’s Valentine’s Day on Friday! What ever your thoughts, beliefs, conflicting holidays (Happy Birthdays, Jodi and Walter!) it’s a reason to celebrate and take a little extra time to enjoy.
Of course, when it comes to wine the classic choice is to opt for sparkling. We were in a wine shop recently that specializes in California wines specifically those hard-to-find amazing wines from around the state. In their sparkling section, however, the options were more international, because, well, you have to have Champagne. Legally, sparkling wine can be called champagne only if it was made in the Champagne region of France.
Our vote for this year is to go a little sweet and linger and savor your dessert with port or a dessert wine. These wines are often sold in half bottles, which are perfect for two and an evening, one with a sweet tooth, or a unique gift. There are two general categories of port style wines – tawny and ruby. Unless you really prefer the taste of hard liquor and the earthiness of something aged for years and years and years, we suggest trying a ruby this year. Ruby ports are often made from just one vintage, only aged a couple years (like a traditional red wine), and have a more fruity flavor (not dried fruit flavor). Ports are fortified wines, with alcohol contents ranging from 17 – 24%.
Ports traditionally come from Portugal. Like the French with Champagne, they’ve now trademarked the name, so to speak. So unless it’s made in Portugal or the winery was somehow grandfathered in, the wines will be labeled Dessert Wine or port-style. It’s always good to ask and talk to your local wine shop when making a selection. Ruby ports pair wonderfully with your favorite chocolate or a nice cheese plate with intense cheeses (blue cheese for example) and nuts.
In Portugal, port is generally made from a blend of red wines. Here in California we’ve found and enjoyed more varietal specific ports made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, or Syrah. For those of you who don’t enjoy reds, white port is not as common, but available and often made from Chardonnay. Also, you could opt for a late-harvest dessert wine; for these, the grapes are picked at the end of harvest and have more sugar content, which then translates to a sweeter end product.
Salut!
Another Wet and Gloomy Day
Note - this post was originally published 2/5/2014.
There’s no thunder, but the sounds strike you with awe nonetheless. Listening to the rain pound the earth in waves. It’s beautiful. Rain’s not just for the ducks and the vines. It brings life and makes us happy too. Another wet and gloomy day under the blanket of clouds… Yippee!
Some day we'll have our own little weather station, but for now the best data we could find online for this area was based out of Santa Rosa - Sonoma County (west over the Mayacama mountain range from Napa Valley). We haven't gone for a driving tour, but here's betting there's a good bit of flooding around the vines in the Russian River Valley. We did run into a little flooding ourselves while out for a walk:
Juice and Salad
Note - this post was originally published 2/5/2014.
Well it’s not wine, but it’s made from local fruit and we could easily nerd-out and use some wine descriptors to share this nectar. This week we picked oranges. Great as a snack, but divine as juice.
In effort to keep healthy this winter, we’ve adopted the big salad on our house menu. We start with romaine leaves washed and halved and then pile on what ever we have, trying to make an appealing color wheel. Our latest toppings: carrots and lemon slices sautéed in olive oil with a little salt and pepper, canned corn, avocado, feta cheese, shrimp, garbanzo beans, radishes, and chopped fresh Roma tomatoes (thank you, Mexico). Served with a light ranch and Parmesan dressing.
Recommended wine pairing: Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc. If the dressing is a little richer, we could also see a semi-dry or dry Riesling. Salut!
Winter Found Us
Note - this post was originally published 2/3/2014.
Who knew we would be so excited to welcome winter? The weather has chilled and the clouds moved in for a good down pour and crisp wind. On the Vaca Mountains (the mountain range on the eastern side of Napa Valley) there was even some snow!
Rain Drops
Note - this post was originally published 1/30/2014.
It rained. .. a little. January is usually the wettest month of the year. This year we are in a governor-declared drought emergency.
In the image above, Napa and Sonoma Counties (North Bay) are in extreme drought. There’s only one more drought level higher. But it rained, just enough to get the roads wet and slippery and hang the mountains and valleys in the clouds.
My husband was out taping vines despite the consistent rain drops. We tape the new vines to the trellis (the tape is green in the photos below) to train the vines to grow straight and encourage more fruit production. We also tape older vines to the wires of the trellis to support them, so when they bear fruit the vines can hold up their own weight.
I had the opportunity to take a trip up Spring Mountain, which straddles Sonoma and Napa counties as part of the Mayacama range. I brought my camera, hoping I might get up above the clouds far enough to take a nice photo for you, but no luck. I could barely see where my car was parked. As I came back down the mountain, I did see seven deer and three turkeys. Only a little water and life is slowly returning.
The cool cloudy weather inspired warm comforting soup for dinner:
“Broccoli and Potato Soup
1 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil
½ white onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into coins
1 bay leaf
3 Russet potatoes, peeled, washed, and chopped
2 cups broccoli florets
4 cups vegetable broth (I used boiling water and added two boullion cubes to the soup)
Over medium-high heat, melt the butter and oil together in a large pot. Add onions, garlic, and carrot. Stir to mix with oil, but then allow to cook 4 minutes over medium heat – want the onions to start to become translucent, not burn. Add bay leaf, potatoes, broccoli, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. That’s it!
Adapated from this recipe I found online.”
The City
This past week I had an opportunity to go to the City. Back East, that meant a trip to New York to play tourist, shop, check out a new art exhibit, or smile at the Rockefeller Christmas tree. Here, we live in the North Bay; our city is San Francisco.
My reasons for the day trip were personal, but wine being our way of life, it and the weather (the ever relevant agricultural topic) came up in conversation. As we walked along the streets and talked, I was reminded of some of the history of the City, specifically how recently it became significant and the effects of the Gold Rush. Gold was discovered in California in early 1848, just before the US took over California from Mexico. Needless to say, news of gold got out, making San Francisco an instant hub. Many of the immigrants that came at that time headed north and without success at gold panning, planted grapes and started making wine. Helping to create the wine regions we enjoy today.
If you make it to the city, there are definite wine benefits = selection (think wine shops and restaurant lists). The city being the center of commerce, you can often find wines that just aren’t available up here in the country. We live at the source, enjoy the life style and have an opportunity to “eat/drink local.” But in the city you can travel the world at dinner.
Photos from San Francisco:
(note: this post was originally published 01/25/2014)
Happy January
It's January. Time for new beginnings, hopeful thoughts and prayers, and warm comforting drinks and stews. We've started this little website to hopefully generate more work for ourselves and to start to make something of our own. While we try to keep up with life, I thought I'd share some of what we're up to.
January is when we get back to the vineyards. The cycle starts over again and we prepare for the promised growing season which will start this spring. The wine grape vines are dormant; we prune them back to encourage the best and new fruiting growth when it starts to warm. This week Francisco was in northern Napa Valley taking care of a vineyard, pruning all day. Here's a photo he took:
Pruning in the vineyard
My happiness came later that day when I made a warm stew for dinner. For me it's relaxing to cook, fun to experiment, and satisfying to take care and contribute to my family. Below is the recipe I used (my modifications to the original from Martha Stewart Living, May 2013 "Lamb and Bulgur Stew with White Beans") to fit the ingredients we had at home.
Winter Stew
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 lb. ground turkey
2/3 cup quick-cooking bulgur
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/2 tbs dried oregano
28oz canned diced tomatoes
2 cups boiling water
14.5oz can white kidney or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and water squeezed out
2 oz feta cheese, crumbled
Heat oil in large pot. Add chopped onion, meat, bulgur, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper. The original recipe called for lamb, but that isn't as easy for me to find (I admit I could've waited 'til the farmer's market was open and paid more for really nice meat and figured out a way to grind it myself, but you know) and we've been trying to eat leaner and more healthily. So, turkey worked just fine. Cook until the meat is cooked through, stirring to break up the meat and keep the bulgur from burning on the bottom of the pot. Add paprika and stir constantly to toast, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add tomatoes and water, bring to a simmer and simmer covered until bulgur is tender, adding oregano about half way through the simmering time. We have a Trader Joe's grocery store nearby and for little more than a dollar I was able to pick up quick-cooking bulgur which really reduced the over all cooking time. I needed about 10-12 minutes simmering instead of 25.
Last step, stir in beans, spinach, and feta. Cook for a couple minutes just to melt the cheese a little and warm the beans. I served the stew with tortilla chips and for my husband, fresh habanero peppers to bite into and kick it up a notch spice-wise. Yum!
Suggested wine pairings: If you prefer white wine, aim for something crisp/dry to stand up to the acid of the tomatoes, and something with a little minerality to compliment the depth and roundness in this dish, maybe even something semi-sweet to pair with the heat if you make it spicier: a Pinot Gris or Riesling. If red is more your style, I'd go Sangiovese or Cabernet Sauvignon. If you were fortunate enough to cook lamb, the typical pairing is a fuller bodied Petite Sirah. Cheers!
Note: This post was originally published 1/5/2014.