Last year, on a beautiful sunny day in Sonoma County, I attended Pinot on the River’s Grand Tasting at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Excitedly I walked to the main entrance where I was met with smiles and a lovely wine glass that would soon be filled with one generous pour after another. I had mapped out my plan of attack beforehand. With so many wineries to choose from it was important to make a list of the ones I didn’t want to miss. I knew it would also be a good idea to pace myself with the help of the delicious cheeses provided by talented artisan cheesemakers and the tasty plates sold for a more substantial lunch.
Wine Glasses Ready for Pinot
By the end of the afternoon I flashed my purple teeth with pride – a testament to the discovery of incredible Pinot by small, family-owned wineries and an affirmation of the high quality of Pinot created by some of my favorite wineries. This year, Pinot on the River’s Grand Tasting takes place Sunday, October 24 at Rodney Strong Vineyards. Over 100 Pinot producing wineries will be pouring their artisanal wines. The list includes Arista Winery, Benziger Family Winery, Buena Vista Carneros, Etude Wines, and Gundlach Bundschu Winery. Click here to view the full list of wineries. There will also be eight artisan cheese vendors including Marin French Cheese Co., Redwood Hill Farm, and Valley Ford Cheese Co. Along with memorable wines and amazing cheeses, there will be chocolate from Belgique Truffle Gateau. Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar will be selling pizza made from fresh, seasonal ingredients. BBQ Smokehouse Catering will be selling their slow-smoked barbeque.
Redwood Hill Farm returns to Pinot on the River 2010 Grand Tasting
Pinot on the River’s Grand Tasting is part of a three day celebration of Pinot that benefits Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Sonoma County. The celebration begins Friday, October 22 with a winemaker dinner at RoadHouse Winery. Saturday continues with seminars throughout the day and for the first time, a Taste of Pinot dinner at Hotel Healdsburg featuring 13 wineries and the cuisine of Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen.
Swirl, Sniff, and Sip at Pinot on the River Grand Tasting 2009
Rain or shine, this year’s Pinot on the River is an event not to be missed. Enjoy the activities all weekend or choose just one day. Contact Pure Luxury for your safe and professional private chauffeur to make sure you can relax and enjoy your time to the fullest!
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The new Tasting Room
With the grand opening of the Michael-Bernard Tasting and Hospitality Center in Healdsburg last week, visitors got a taste of family-owned winemaking style.
But more accurately, the new destination is owned by two families, across multiple levels. And it makes an interesting snapshot of independent winemakers in the year 2010: how they can make a dramatic impact even against the larger brands that are so increasingly common across Sonoma.
Owners Mike Kuimelis and Bernie Orsi have introduced their collaborative concept, of three generations of families joining together for multiple labels in one setting: Michael-Bernard, Mantra, Mobius, Prophet, Orsi Papale, Orsianna and Lazy Monkey.
More than just a tasting room, it’s an entire center, staged in a preserved Craftsman-style house built in the 1920s, on the 20-acre Michael-Bernard estate vineyard on Westside and West Dry Creek roads. Guests gather in comfy red armchairs around a fireplace while they sip, or lounge on the wrap-around deck overlooking the vines, directly across from the new Davero Farms olive oil tasting facility.
Just a few of the wines
If it is a small operation, Kuimelis and Orsi are packing a lot into the experience. About a dozen wines are offered, all made from grapes grown in the estate vineyards, which include properties across Sonoma County.
They’re also drawing from a long history of friendship and working together. The two met fifty years ago, as college freshmen near San Francisco. Kuimelis grew up in Kandela, Greece, a small village where every family is self-sufficient, producing its own wine, wheat, olives and cheese. Orsi is a first-generation Italian-American who grew up in San Pedro, California, helping his mother tend the family garden and working alongside his grandfather, making wine in the garage.
In 2009, Kuimelis and Orsi purchased their 20 acres in lower Dry Creek Valley, including its 90-year-old residence. The winery itself is in the planning stages, with construction beginning in 2011.
Yet the most interest comes from the wines themselves. To follow along, there’s a dual family tree on display, which details Kuimelis’ first vine planting in 1978, to Orsi’s introduction of his Orsi Papale label alongside partner and winemaker Lawrence Papale.
Sip and relax around the fireplace
Multiple relationships continue though the other wines – sons, daughters, in-laws and cousins work with various partners to present offshoot brands, with most wines themselves crafted in complex blends of multiple varietals. The Mantra, for example, marries two different Cabernet Sauvignons with two different Zinfandels, plus Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and a proprietary red grape.
Vineyards stretch like a Monopoly board, from Hopland and Cloverdale, to Guerneville, in a rainbow of varietals from Cabernet Sauvignon to Schiopettino.
If it gets confusing, then that should be celebrated, reflecting on the innovation of independents succeeding in an increasingly corporate winery landscape.
Details: Michael-Bernard, 779 Westside Road, Healdsburg. 707-433-2900. michaelbernardwines.com. Tasting room open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tip: Celebrate your family owned winery experience with the convenience of chauffeuring by a family-owned car service. Pure Luxury Transportation can help you plan and enjoy an entire day enjoying Wine Country with no need for a designated driver; just ask the Pure Luxury concierge for destination recommendations.
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Meadowood chef Christopher Kostow plans holiday dinners
Happy holidays.
Are you ready yet?
It may be hard to believe, but Christmas, Hanukkah and other seasonal celebrations are barely two months away.
Which means it is time to start planning your festivities right now, especially if this year is the year you want to blow out the stops and do something really special.
Festivities equal food, and here are two of the best culinary celebrations to be found in the North Bay:
Twelve Days of Christmas at Meadowood in St. Helena. This series of dinners is world-renowned, as top chefs and vintners gather to prepare elaborate feasts over 12 nights in a benefit for Share Our Strength’s efforts to end childhood hunger.
guest chef Paul Liebrandt finishes foie gras
The entire dining room of the lavish mountaintop resort morphs into holidays on high, starting with a cocktail reception in the salon, and then seated dinners (hint: the private tables are cozy, but in-the-know attendees request to be seated at the communal table for one-on-one hob-nobbing with the vintners).
The multi-course, wine paired meals stretch over several hours, and often include a sneak peak into the kitchen, where visiting celebrity chefs work with The Restaurant at Meadowood chef Christopher Kostow.
Kostow and his crew work nearly a year in advance, planning the participants and the fantastical, intricate menus. The food is announced only as guests sit down, as the chefs continue to devise, concoct and create their always-evolving inspirations.
In 2009, just a sampling of dishes showcased plates decorated with kinome leaves from Japanese prickly ash trees; foie gras suspended in gelée, quince and shiso; pretzels in chocolate ganache with peanut butter and beer ice cream; and foie gras with marshmallow, yams and brittle.
Meadowood dinners include a peek into the kitchen
The line-up this year includes:
Day 1 ~ December 3
Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto in Napa, Honolulu, Philadelphia and New York)
with Shari and Garen Staglin (Staglin Family Vineyard)
Day 2 ~ December 4
Mathias Dahlgren (Mathias Dahlgren in the Grand Hôtel, Stockholm, Sweden) with John, Janet, Loren and Hailey Trefethen (Trefethen Family Vineyards)
Day 3 ~ December 7
Roland Passot (La Folie of San Francisco) with
Kary and David Duncan (Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars)
Day 4 ~ December 8
Michael Mina (Michael Mina in San Francisco) with
H. William Harlan and Deborah (BOND Estates)
Day 5 ~ December 9
Ludo Lefebvre (Ludo Bites in Los Angeles) with
Koerner Rombauer and KR Rombauer (Rombauer Vineyards)
Day 6 ~ December 10
Mark Fuller (Spring Hill in Seattle) with
Cherie and Philippe Melka (Melka Wines)
Day 7 ~ December 11
Linton Hopkins (Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta) with
Delia Viader (VIADER)
Day 8 ~ December 14
Trey Foshee (Georges at the Cove in San Diego) with Margaret Duckhorn (Duckhorn Wine Company)
chef Nancy Silverton with pumpkin-date tart and bourbon ice cream
Day 9 ~ December 15
Jeremy Fox
(San Francisco) with Daphne and Bart Araujo (Araujo Estate Wines)
Day 10 ~ December 16
Shawn McClain (Sage in Las Vegas)
with Ann Colgin and Joe Wender (Colgin)
Day 11 ~ December 17
Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina (Osteria Mozza in Los Angeles) with
John Conover (PlumpJack & CADE) plus winegrower Andy Beckstoffer (Beckstoffer Vineyards)
Day 12 ~ December 18
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena) with
Jae Chun (Dana Estates)
Details: While dinner is naturally pricey for such a collection of chef talents (pricing begins at $990 for weekday events and $1,065 for Friday and Saturday events), the cost is per couple and includes one night’s lodging at Meadowood. Twelve Days of Christmas at Meadowood, 900 Meadowood Lane, Saint Helena. For Reservations, call (707) 963-3646 or e-mail reservations@meadowood.com.
Madrona Manor glitters for holidays
At Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, Michelin-star executive chef Jesse Mallgren rings in the holiday season with the highly popular Dickens Dinners.
For the first time in the event’s 17 year history, the festival is being held on Christmas Day, too.
This series sells out quickly, for its magical retreat into classic holiday cheer, for when people dressed to the nines in the spirit of the season, caroled with their neighbors and decorated their homes with gorgeous twinkling lights and festive ornaments.
The historic 1881 Victorian mansion which houses the inn and restaurant is lavishly bedecked, including 4,000 twinkling lights on a 14-foot tall Christmas tree. Manor owners Bill and Trudi Konrad spend more than a week decorating the mansion with wreaths, garlands, fresh flowers, toys and ornaments.
A feast at Madrona Manor
In a nod to A Christmas Carol, carolers wander the grounds, dressed in period clothing, while guests tuck into a five-course menu highlighted in dishes like petite lobster Shepherd’s Pie, Beef Wellington, and Christmas Pudding.
The Dickens dates include Dec. 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, Dec 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25 (Christmas Day offers matinee or evening service)
Details: Dickens Dinners at Madrona Manor, 1001 Westside Road, Healdsburg. The five-course menu ranges from $85 to $115 per person and $30 additional for suggested wine pairings. For reservations, call 707-433-4231 or visit madronamanor.com.
Tip: Jingle bells! Let Pure Luxury Transportation be your holiday sleigh. You (plus friends and family) will delight in a private “carriage” ride to your special dinner, in the elegance and convenience of a limousine or Town Car.
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Winemaker dinners are one of my favorite types of dinners. I have fond memories of course after course of delicious food paired perfectly with all types of wines. I have a method for making sure my palate doesn’t get tired while saving room so that I am sure to taste everything. But even the best of methods can be led astray when the winemaker dinner takes place at a restaurant that has earned a Michelin Star.
Sante Restaurant located at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa presents a winemaker dinner on October 21, 2010. Join Mike and Mary Colhoun, proprietors of Landmark Vineyards, for Sante’s award-winning cuisine and the award-winning wines of Landmark Vineyards. Using fresh ingredients Sante Executive Chef, Andrew Cain, has created a menu perfectly suited to each Landmark Vineyards wine.
Sante Restaurant at Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa
The evening begins with a Canape Reception featuring Dungeness crab cake “Poppers” with Chipotle aioli; marinated Feta with English cucumber, mint, and Kalamata olives; and curried Fulton Valley Farms poached chicken salad served in Pate a Choux “Puffs”. The Landmark Vineyards wine served during the reception will be the Landmark 2008 Overlook Chardonnay which received 90 points from Robert Parker and 92 points from Wine Spectator. The second course will be a delicious salad of Maine lobster paired with Landmark 2007 Heintz Chardonnay.
The evening continues with a unique course that changes the wines for the evening from whites to reds – grilled “Minute Steak” of Squab breast with truffled Squab Jus. You’ll enjoy Landmark Vineyards 2008 Grand Detour Pinot Noir, awarded 90 points from Robert Parker and 93 points from Wine Enthusiast, with this tender course. The next course is an adventure in red meat – roasted saddle of natural Cervena venison with Forest mushrooms, braised swiss chard, butternut squash puree, and Oregon huckleberry sauce. The velvety tannins of Landmark Vineyards 2008 Solomon Hills Pinot Noir will be the perfect compliment to this special dish.
Mike & Mary Colhoun, Landmark Vineyards Proprietors
The evening comes to a rich, decadent, luscious end with Pierre Robert triple-cream style cheese with Tellicherry black pepper shortbread, Black Mission fig marmalade, and a Syrah reduction. This final course will be paired with Landmark Vineyards 2008 Steel Plow Syrah – the recipient of 94 points from Wine Spectator and winner of position 19 on Wine Spectator’s list of top 100 wines of 2009.
Remember to pace yourself to experience everything this evening has to offer! As a proud partner of both Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Landmark Vineyards, Pure Luxury is confident you will enjoy this incredible and delectable adventure. Make your evening most memorable by making a reservation for your private chauffeur from Pure Luxury.
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I was a young girl when I entered my grandmother’s bedroom without knocking. She was getting dressed and I noticed there was something missing from one side of her bra – it was empty. She gently chided me and told me to wait for her on the other side of the door. Confused, I searched for my mother, and received my first lesson on breast cancer. My grandmother is in her 80′s now, one of many of breast cancer survivors in the United States.
Domaine Chandon's Pink Party, 2009
Since 1985 October has been recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Companies of all sizes and types, nonprofit organizations, state and federal programs, and private citizens, make an extra effort for fundraising and awareness during this month. One Napa Valley winery committed to this important cause is Domaine Chandon. This year Domaine Chandon will host their 5th Annual Pink Party. The Pink Party benefits breast cancer treatments at Queen of the Valley Medical Center located in Napa. Last year’s Pink Party raised $16,000 for breast cancer research at Queen of the Valley!
Pink Party Signature Appetizer
This year’s Pink Party on October 21, 2010 promises a celebration featuring pink Domaine Chandon champagne cocktails, pink appetizers created by Executive Chef Perry Hoffman of Domaine Chandon’s Etoile Restaurant, and plenty of dancing to music presented by DJ Dukes. There will also be a Silent Auction offering Napa Valley wine and more.
Pink Party Silent Auction
Pure Luxury is donating two free shuttles for the evening to safely and continuously transport Pink Party guests to and from the event from select Napa Valley hotels. If guests prefer their own private transportation from any location of their choice, they can contact one of our Reservations Agents for a private, chauffeured vehicle. Cheers to everyone for all their efforts during this month and all throughout each year!
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