Read a book

The stages of reading in life is interesting. 

How the current state of mind determines the books we read. We are in a huge reading curve and seems like many friends are in the same mode.

                                       

Today I'm searching for inspiration in memoirs, personal stories and uplifting fiction. Chelsea Handler, Marc Benioff and Melinda Gates to name a few.

Currently we are both reading a lot of books in replacement of watching the news. Both Mat & I will prepare our morning beverage and sink back into bed or the recliner with our book of choice.

                             Mat loves the Dan Brown / Michael Connelly, keeps him distracted from                                                                          the Washington Post and the NY times.

 For years all I read was wine books and anything food, travel and wine related. Some of my all time favorite books. 

In my 30's, the bulk of my intense wine studies, I had 3 or more wine books open all the time. When Mat & I bought our home, we combined our books and of course we both had the Jancis Robinson encyclopedia, so I had to get one signed on my 3rd personal sighting of my mentor.

                                      

To spend a couple of days in Italy or France, as the book places your mind in the location ( sign of a really good book ) and definitely the best books for me. Head to the hammock and enjoy an afternoon away! Blood, bones and butter by Gabriel Hamilton is an all time favorite as well as all of Ruth Reichl and Julia Childs books!

      

                                               

   

Cork dork, Red white and drunk all over are super fun reads!

Cookbooks are another favorite, inspiration for many of our events. Chef specific, season or protein/ veg driven. Our cookbook collection is eclectic, focused and very personal. The Joy of cooking has always been Mat's 'go to' book and chef written are great for tasting room events. Like the Hog Island cookbook when we featured oysters for an evening. Charles Phan Slanted Door is a super popular one that we have done twice. Plus often our club parties feature a CP dish, Thomas Keller and many others.

  

     

Reading menu's is a combined love of ours too. If it's a dinner menu, a wine list and even wine labels, there is a conversation to be had. Both Mat & I clearly enjoy our chosen industry and have a shared passion.

                     

Sometimes silly inspiration for the tasting room is also needed!

We try to support local news paper especially when they mention us and give us high accolades on our wines!

     

I never thought of us as book people but this year has been the year to prove that clearly we are. In the current climate of life, it is so important to have time to remove day to day weight, pick up a book and read. 


                                       

Cheers to books and keep on keeping on!

Spring has SPRUNG

So much has happened already this year!!

We hosted our 'in memory of ' Charles Phan dinner, we had a very fun hands on pressed flower class, our Spring Wine Club party the 1st week of May, Green Valley Wine Festival in Graton and a trip to celebrate Mom's 90th.

All this mixed in with getting in weekly hikes, bike rides and work.

And I thought my life was kinda slow and boring but, when I put it down on paper, I feel exhausted!

Charles Phan dinner was not just a special night honoring the dishes of the Slanted Door, it was truly a celebration of food and wine.

Everyone seated had 3 glasses with 3 wines to taste with every dish, Rose' of Pinot, Muscat Blanc and Pinot Noir from library magnums.

It was meticulously prepared, perfectly timed and just an all round best evening! Plus the Muscat proved to be a favored pairing wine.

Chicken satay with peanut sauce, lemon grass soup, spring rolls and mama's meatballs.

His recipes are awesome!

  

Rose' 2024 released officially end of April. Only 135 cases which will go fast.

 This years rose' is 100% Pinot Noir from a single vineyard owned by our Bohemian Vineyard growers.

This means high quality, beautiful fruit flavors, a perfect rose'.

                                                                           Wine Club party

We served Goat Curry, Toma Rashi cheese biscuits and strawberry goat cheese crostini for the club party. Mat was so excited to serve goat as it is one of his favorite proteins, lean and flavorful, a huge wine, everyone loved it!

New Wine Club releases included the 2022 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, 75 cases produced. This will never be seen on the tasting room menu, there's just not enough and I LOVE this wine. Delicate strawberry fruit, wild raspberry, creamy texture.

Pressed flower class was a huge treat! Just happened that I discovered a local lady that does flower pressing as a hobby and started teaching. I thought it would be a great offering to our local wine family so I booked Jan and send the info to a group of artistic friends. The afternoon sold out and was so enjoyed by all, we're offering a Fall class. Look for it if you think you'd enjoy joining us.

 

The constant discussion of food pairings and trying new recipes. My love of salads was this inspiration. Easy, healthy and perfect for our Sauvignon Blanc and summer season coming up.

And then mid March we received this incredible painting of our Tasting Room by our friend and wine club member. Such an honor to have this on the wall in Graton.

Memorial Day weekend is here and it really feels like we're kicking off the summer spirit. Lots of fun will continue in 95444

cheers

 

2025

It's here and so are we. Not my favorite time of year and yet we have some really great stuff going on: our annual tasting room closure break, mushroom foraging, local Dungeness crab season and cold but often beautiful sunny days.

   

Our annual break lead us on the road to Palm Springs. We're looking for sun, warmth, good food and outdoor activities. This trip did not disappoint. We hiked part of the PCT, we took the tram up to snow and hiked the 1.8 mile loop, we walked all over the Palm Springs strip and had fun doing it.

Hiking on the Sonoma Coast on sunny days in winter is a true pleasure. There might be one or two people on the trails, can be wet and muddy but this year Red Mountain was already dried up from the December rains. The sky has been so crisp and clean that one can see all way to the Farallon Islands.

The warm sun can almost make us feel like it's Spring.

     

Crab season is especially favored because we have to wait for the season to officially open. We feast for the first few weeks on cold, hot, sandwiches, salads, cakes, you name it, we try it all with crab and the the seasons winds down.

   

Our annual crab dinner brings smiles, joy and laughter to the tasting room. A good thing for January.

The biggest news for our start to 2025 is a new POS ( point of sale ) system.

We finally made the BIG jump in technology. Anyone who visits the tasting room in Graton will see it. It is an obvious change and we're basically having to reenter every customer into the new software.

It is an incredible improvement and will pay off for all of us ( no more double charges ).

Although it is an adjustment for our old brains, I'm slow at it still.

Next up, we're looking at staying positive and joyful in February!

Tasting barrel samples of the 2024 wines.

Mushroom season can start in the fall but is totally dependent on weather. We expected this year to be amazing with all the rain fall in November and December. unfortunately it hasn't really happened. The weather from pretty much January 1st has been sunny. I do prefer the sun to anything so I'm fine with that.

cheers to making 2025 good for friendship.

1st puzzle of 2025 complete

 Holiday Dinner - Lobster

Our December Dinner tradition continues to thrill. It's the time a year we opt for the WOW factor, the ultimate treat.

Originally started in December 2007 at Mosaic Restaurant in Forestville, long before we opened our Tasting Room in Graton. The tradition has shifted locations, menu's, size but we still hold strong that our wine family celebration of food and wine and a toast to the good things in life.

Lobster Rockerfeller is a creation of Mat's. Over the top rich and oh so good all you need is 2 bites and that's all you get.

Lobster Bisque never disappoints, especially with a whole lobster claw and both Chardonnay and Pinot to pair. 75% of our guests preferred the Chardonnay pairing while 25% chose the 2013 TNT Pinot.

Risotto is a favorite in our home and Mat made this lobster version loaded with lobster!

It was so good! And both the Chardonnay and Pinot paired great. Not every Pinot will work with this dish. We chose a newer vintage out of magnum, our Bohemian vineyard. I describe the Bohemian vineyard as a Francophile wine, cool climate, higher acidity, delicate fruits. We pick this vineyard last and one year not till the 1st week of November.

Main course surf and turf. Butter poached lobster from the French Laundry cookbook, grilled filet of beef with béarnaise sauce. We don't get béarnaise sauce very often, in fact only once a year!

We poured 2 Pinot's, and older vintage and a newer.

2013 Horsehoe Bend Pinot magnum and 2019 TNT 750ml.

I think the noise leveled dropped due to the love of eating. No discussion needed, this was all just so good!

A we close the evening with a simple cookie. 

Till next time, cheers and Happy Holidays.

                                                                      We're in it!  

November flies by and it's already half way through December. Time flies is no joke when you have a small family business to run with no employees.

Wine club shipping starts mid October with the hotter States going last. And as always, requests for later dates and specific times go out weekly. We are flexible, it's our wine family we're trying to continue to appease. It literally takes 3 months for our wine club to run it's course. And then the Holiday requests start coming in.

November saw our 1st Wreath making class, which was a blast and all enjoyed getting in the 'spirit'. Already discussed next year doing 2 sessions as the dining room holds 7 enthusiastic decorators.

Mushroom Season started after we had big rains the week before Thanksgiving. three days and 16 inches later then we were back to sunshine. Incredible days to visit the Sonoma Coast, clear and clean views with the ocean calmer than ever. our drive back from Salt Point State park we could see all the way to Pt. Reyes Station and the rugged Farallon islands.

Thanksgiving weekend is fun as we see lots of club groups with family and the Christmas tree'ers needing to stock up. It was a beautiful weened late November right into mid December.

We did a very fun 'Taste West County ' event in the 1st Sunday in December. We offered special's including cheese bites paired with our wine which was a huge success. We brought in some local art, food purveyor products which will linger through the month. Great new exposure for PMV.

And now, here we are, counting down the days to Christmas and the close of 2024. Shipping wine final dates have passed and it seems to have slowed to a light litter patter.

Our final event of 2024, a Holiday Dinner, 5 course Lobster mid way through the month. It feels nice to have a celebration with our wine family when we're not crazy busy. We put a lot of energy into these dinners, we love highlighting our wines that show so well we food. I have been known to say 'I only drink Chardonnay with Lobster'. Well here it is, 2014 Chardonnay magnums from our library. 2 of the last 6 pack chilled to pair. Also magnums of older Pinot's to battle out the perfect pairing.

Plus, we take a small break early January which helps our momentum. There is a light.

We'll be closed January 5th through 15th. YAY, Palm Springs here we come. R&R to start 2025.

 FALL Wine Club

Twice a year we do our Wine Club shipments and pick up party.

Of course our 2 best months of the year but also our opportunity to toast our members with new wines, food pairings and a social opportunity to cheers each other.

Mat & I are huge foodies and our joy lies with creating perfect pairings and Mat researches recipes.

This Fall we are featuring our 2023 Dolcetto which is fermented with carbonic maceration creating a specific flavor profile. As well as 2 Pinot Noirs from the 2022 vintage that are not officially released in the Tasting Room. Both of these Pinot's are only 75 case production and with this small amount could easily sell out before ever releasing, the joy and benefits of being a Club Member.

In early August I had the inkling to try multiple food bites with our newly released Dolcetto. Two friend coming to visit we offered the task of tasting all these bites with the wine.

I was pretty amazed that all of my food bites did really well with the wine. I was happily surprised how well the wine stood up to some.

We tasted Potato Leek Soup, Smoked Salmon, Duck Liver Pate', Curried Deviled Egg, Smoked Oyster, they all were great together. So for the Fall party, I chose to purchase a local favorite Spud Point Chowder.

This Fall Mat & I were inspired by a day trip we took to Napa Valley. The newly opened bike path from Calistoga to St. Helena was the day's focus and lunch at the half way mark.

Gott's Road side is celebrating 25 years and both Mat & I were their in it's early days. Both our favorite menu item, the Ahi Tuna Burger never disappoints. So Mat was on a mission to get the recipe and make it for our club members.

Our home trials started a few weeks before the party for us to taste test and prepare.

The Day of party is the big work day. Lucky for me that included a drive to the coast to pick up the Chowder. before opening the Tasting Room. A beautiful morning coastal drive to Bodega Head. Stunning calm ocean views, very little traffic and the reward is getting the Chowder without standing in line. For those of you who also love Spud Point but hate the line ups, they open at 9 am, this is how to get the best experience!

Next up, closing harvest and welcoming Fall & Winter

HARVEST 2024

We all expected 2024 harvest to start early due to a warm June, July and August, and it did.

As many know, heading into harvest begins weeks if not more ahead of picking. Mat starts checking on vineyards in June and his visits increase as we get closer. Most people understand the search for the picker ripeness. Many winemakers do it by measuring the sugars with a refractometer. Not Mat, he looks for flavor by tasting the grapes and ripeness by looking at the seeds. He doesn't actually know the sugar level until the fruit is processing at the winery.

    

TNT Vineyard Pinot Noir was the 1st vineyard picked Friday September 5th which I'm certain is the earliest we've ever piked this vineyard. Two acres on Occidental Road about a mile west of our Tasting Room in Graton.

Mat planted TNT in 1999 with Tom of Tom'n Tanya. It is an awesome vineyard for us for many reason's.

     

Tom and Tanya live on the property which makes a huge difference!  They see and act on every daily need plus they don't want any unnecessary spraying, watering..... As vineyard owners, they are very proud and dedicated to super high quality. They farm it themselves. As dog owners, they literally wander through the vineyard every day at least once. When anything isn't perfect, they pull it.

A few weeks later, Mat is talking to our grape contacts, he's searching for Pinot Noir for Rose'. It has been spotty over the last several years where our Rose' juice will come from. Lucky us, this year Tom Cleary of Bohemian Vineyard had a surplus and offered us Pinot from a vineyard off Graton Road near Harrison grade. Super excited about the quality and the price, we committed. This fruit was picked the 3rd week of September.

                                               

Grenache came in that same week as did the Fort Ross / Seaview Pinot and Bohemian picked September 30th.

     

TNT was barreled down September 23rd and Fort Ross/ Seaview a week later.

As per the situation of the wine industry, the economy and the perspective of wine consumption. It appears everyone is being selective and careful of not over producing.

In 2024 we are making 3 vineyard designate Pinot's plus a Russian River Pinot blend, Grenache and Rose'. Keeping it 

I got a little taste test of Rose' which we're both so excited about. Mat is excited about the quality.

                                                         

Pump over and punch downs will continue twice daily for about another week and then harvest will be winding down for us.

We get excited when harvest starts showing us the actual product. Mat sneaks samples from the tanks and we taste them at home while discussing the days adventures.

Our harvest is at this point, mostly done. Bohemian Pinot is just starting punch down mode, Grenache will be going into neutral oak in the next few days and then the final step for 2024.....we're picking a couple of tons of Chardonnay for late harvest.

This opportunity came mid September when a grower we work with asked if we wanted Chardonnay. 

A few tons left on the vines not in contract. Mat went up to view and decided it wouldn't work for a table wine due to the state / condition of the grapes. But then he decided to keep looking at the vines and decided he wants to pick it for a dessert wine project.

We will be going up soon to pick with a group of friends that want the full experience.

After that, we'll keep you informed as best we can.

2024 harvest news, cheers to that!