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We're finally returning to pre-pandemic feasting with a beyond delicious and convivial dinner with Terry Bering, one of the original pioneers who came to Sonoma and literally started making wine from Russian River grapes out of their garages. He’s a Sonoma legend as the long time Cellar Master for the iconic Rochioli Winery, the King of Russian River Pinot Noir, and for his own label, Castalia, which is an icon itself going on its 30th year and is made from the best Rochioli grapes for each vintage. As always, Terry generously shared secrets of making and aging Pinot Noir with us. Who else does that!?! Fréderic Hemon and his team at Alexander's Steakhouse made it magical with perfect pairings to Terry's wines. You know we're all about picture speaking a thousand words so check it out....  Terry Bering in the room! 
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 Freddie Mercury Dog chillin' with his lion pal. The Dog Days of Summer are here. Yet they fly too quickly. Got wine? Mercury Wines in quaint Geyserville, CA specializes in Bordeaux-style blends and small lots of Tempranillo, Mourvedre, and other fun varieties. All lovingly watched over by Freddie Mercury Dog.  Mural at the Three Sticks Adobe We recently time traveled to colonial Mexican California for a "Californio" Fiesta with Three Sticks Winery and their very talented and super fun winemaker, Ryan Prichard and their creative, beautiful and also super fun marketing and events manager, Maral Papakhian. Three Sticks is an amazing winery in Sonoma that owns one of the last standing colonial adobes and some of the most iconic vineyards in Sonoma such as Gap’s Crown and Durell. They also now own Kistler. In honor of that heritage we thought we'd pair their wines with foods using ingredients that the "Californio's" would have available such as corn, trout, and beef (CA was big time cattle country.... you could roast a ranchero's cow if you were hungry (or so inclined) but you just had to leave the hide, which was were the $$$ was!). And because Maral and Ryan are super fun and game, we even had a Spanish guitarist and some guests dressed to the period, including a resident "Padre" and a "Zora"! Our Californio cuisine was created by the very talented Chef Todd Barrie of Buckingham Caterer's and his “mini mansion” in historic Lafayette Square was our time machine. As you know, photos speak a thousand words, so travel back to Californio times with us... Beyond Baroque, an iconic literary percolator in Venice, CA, honored Viggo Mortensen at their annual Gala this year. Viggo, his ex wife, Xene Cervenka, and some of the other performers were regular Beyond Baroque peeps before they were famous! We love Viggo, so we and our winery friends really wanted to make it even more convivial by sharing their own "liquid art" with these artists! Yup, it's that time of year again. Thought you'd enjoy seeing the abundance of this year's harvest! After loading these photos, I wondered, what exactly is a "grape". Did you know it's a berry? And that yeast occurs naturally on it's skins so somebody about 8,000 years ago in probably around Georgia (not the peachy Georgia but the Stalin (meah) | Black Sea Georgia) had an "Aha!" moment. Very cool, yes?
We just conducted a wine tour to Willamette Valley, Oregon showcasing the region's "Pioneer", "Old Guard" and "Newbies" winemakers. Here are some pics so you can travel with us too! If you've drank Argyle Sparkling Brut, then you've drank Oregon bubbles! Bet you didn't even know it.
 Hanging at Rollin's Roco Winery  Winery dogs rule!And so do surfer dogs!  The Rustridge Gang  Life's tough patrolling 400 acres.  If I could drive, I'd trade me some Zin for big juicy bones!  Really, you drank a '73 Chateau Montelena last night and didn't pour some in my bowl?  Yup, this is my Eminent Domaine!
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A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words...As W.E.P. French said, opening a bottle of wine can lead to many things. Occasionally, we love posting photos of our adventures here, or a little ditty on wines we think you'd love, people of interest, and other things that come to mind. Archives
August 2023
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