Bubbly, bubbly.

Its taken us over a year-and-a-half to FINALLY make it to the one vineyard that was highly recommended by multiple friends from around the country - Shramsberg, Napa Valley's claim to fame in sparkling wine. (And sadly, its taken me another month to share our photos with you. I do realize how inconsistent my blogging has been...and I'll work on doing better!)

At my 30th birthday request, Mark made the reservations for a private tour of the estate, the wine caves, and a delicious tasting. We learned a thing or two about the rich history of the winery which began in 1862 when Jacob Schram, a young German immigrant, became one of the first vineyard owners in the Vally.

We especially enjoyed the cool and musty caves, perfect for producing complex sparkling wines using the traditional méthode champenoise. Deep in the tunnels, we observed the riddling process at its various stages, the perfect technique used to clarify and remove sediment from Champagne or sparkling wine.

For trivia lovers out there, Who created the riddling technique, you ask? If you enjoy this famous yellow label, you'll be pleased to find that it was, in fact, Madame Nicole-Barbe Clicquot who developed the method in the early 1800's that is still used today.

Saving the best for last, we sampled four delicious wines at the end of our tour, and now know exactly why Schramsberg came so highly recommended. If you ever have an opportunity to enjoy a bottle - or even a glass - of the Reserve, I would encourage you to take it!

Cheers!

Making Great Use of our Guest Room

Its been a full year since we moved out to California - doesn't it feel like its been longer than that?

One of the biggest lessons we've learned is to truly appreciate the things we miss most about home - especially being able to get together with our family and friends on a regular basis. Admittedly, it has been sad to not have the usual traffic of visitors stop by for dinner, to watch a sports game, or just hang out with us from time to time.

When we do get the opportunity to host our families or friends that come to visit, we just love it!

A few weeks ago, Mark's dad came to visit for the third time this year, and stayed to relax with us for a full week. Although we never once made it into San Francisco, we spent a fair amount of time in Napa and Sonoma enjoying - you guessed it - wine, food and more wine!

On one of the afternoons, we decided to venture all the way up Napa Valley to a try our hands at some blackjack at a local casino. Neither Norman nor I had ever been to one before, and we decided it might be fun to see what they're all about. After a few hours of smoke and not a lot of winning, we took off and stopped at Beringer for a late afternoon tasting.

Although not my favorite, I do give the company a lot of credit for successfully commercializing both inexpensive and very accessible wines, such as their white zinfandel, while also having an excellent collection of high-end reserves. They are one of the few wineries that has been successful on both fronts.

Another afternoon and evening were spent enjoying Russian River Valley varietals, including a special food-and-wine private tasting at our all time favorite tasting room. We weren't a bit disappointed, and even got Norman to join the wine club!


I'm telling you, its a good time out here! When are you coming to visit?

Quality Friday: Bag It!

Lately, I have been very conscious of how many plastic bags we bring home with us. A few months ago, while at the local Safeway, I picked up one of their reusable bags, and we have been making an effort to use it regularly. In instances when one bag isn't enough, we've opted for paper over plastic, but I recently learned that paper bags aren't the answer, either.

On a recent grocery shopping trip, Mark mentioned that we might want to buy a second bag for $1, but I pushed back, saying that we didn't really need it. What I probably meant was that I hadn't yet found the right bag to purchase.....

Last week while in Vancouver, I decided to stopped in at a fun home and housewares store to browse a bit during one of my lunch breaks. (Downtown Vancouver has GREAT shopping, for those of you who like that sort of thing. Yes, Why I Love Vancouver, Part 3.)

What I found was a fantastic bag by Reisenthel that I just couldn't resist!

This City Shopper is larger than the Safeway bag, and made of sturdy polyester with a reinforced bottom that I'm convinced will NEVER break. Its the perfect shape for me, because it carries like a large purse (and even has an inside pocket for your wallet and keys, and a small cell phone pocket). Notice the little rectangle clipped on to the handle? This is a second bag that can be unfolded to use when the larger one runs out of room!

Have I mentioned that its also cute and stylish? Why would anyone want to carry plastic bags, when they can carry this? Admittedly, Mark laughed at me when I came home with it. "The $1 bag wasn't necessary, huh?" he commented. ;)

I know it sounds silly, but I realize that I'm just more likely to use it for multiple purposes because I actually enjoy carrying it around. My new bag has made its way with me on two quick grocery trips, to Target, and even to the pet store. And the old grocery bag now lives in Mark's car for when he needs to pick things up on his way home.

Last week, we also made great use of another reusable Reisenthel bag, given to us by dear friends as a Thank You after their recent visit. We took it wine tasting with us, and in addition to saving from having to toss two more cardboard carrying cases, also got many a compliment along the way.


I know its just a start, but I hope that in this small way we can help to keep from generating more unnecessary waste - one bag and box at a time.

Okay, time for an update

I've been battling the longest cold that I can remember in recent years (12 days and counting), and I am sick of being sick! My cough is starting to die down, my voice is almost back to normal, the eye infection is gone, and hopefully I'll be rid of what remains, soon.

On top of being sick, a recent promotion at work has kept me more than busy. I feel like all I've done in the past two weeks is work and sleep. And work. And sleep.

As a result, I realize that I've failed to share some of the fun we've been up to. So here you go:

Two weekends ago...
Melissa and Steven came to visit us, and we had a great time catching up with dear friends. Wine tasting was at the top of our list of things to do (surprise, surprise!) and we enjoyed our first introduction to Sonoma County wines. We discovered that the feel of the Sonoma tasting rooms is different from Napa - more relaxed and laid back, generally providing more personal attention, and often the tastings are free!

Our first stop in Sonoma.

We were all quite happy with many of our findings, including a newfound favorite. Honestly, every SINGLE wine we tasted at Williamson was delicious, prompting us to join our first wine club!

Other weekend highlights included a trip to Bodega Bay on the California coast, enjoying Mark's performance in a concert at school, more wine tasting in Napa, and visits to Muir Woods and other San Francisco highlights.

For once, I didn't take a single picture on my camera, letting the true photographers do all the work. Melissa has posted a few more photos here (and I'm looking forward to getting a hold of the rest sometime soon!).


And last weekend...
The temperatures soared into the 80's - even in San Francisco! As much as I love warm weather, I was feeling sick enough to want to simply sleep all day. Thankfully, my husband rescued me and suggested a leisurely afternoon drive into SF on Saturday, where we enjoyed walking along the bay, soaking up the sun, and some of our favorite San Francisco eats.

Yes, it was even warm enough to head to the pool for a few moments on Sunday (or, rather, sit by the pool as I tried to catch up on work)!

and a lovely thanksgiving weekend, it was.

thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.

it captures the essence of family, to me. time spent together, the aromas and flavors of wonderful comforting foods, and all without the commercialism and pressures of gift-giving that christmas can sometimes become. it really is the perfect time to give thanks.

growing up, i enjoyed this one time each year that my mom's family would gather together. i remember the food was always delicious, lovingly prepared, and more than filling. but it was the company that made the day special - i loved the time with my cousins, aunts and uncles - playing games, catching up on the events of our lives, and cherishing each other.

when mark and i started dating, i remember him coming over for thanksgiving dessert to meet the family, and at then end of the night, my aunt pattie told me that he was "a keeper"! and after we were married, i'll never forget the year i spent 48 hours taking the greyhound home from a trip to visit my nanay who had just suffered a stroke, arriving on thanksgiving morning just in time for a huge celebration at mark's parent's home. it was the last time i saw my grandma before she died. and it was also the last thanksgiving that mark's mom was here with us.

just last year, we finally decided that we were going to stop "splitting" the day between both families. we spent thanksgiving day with mark's family (enjoying a meal at maggiano's), and invited mine over for homemade Greek food on saturday, and planned to reverse the time in years to come. looking back, who would have guessed that this year we'd be 2000 miles away?

when mark's dad and sister decided that they were going to travel to visit us for the weekend, we were thrilled! not only would we have family with us for thanksgiving, but we were also looking forward to having guests for the long weekend, and this being leslie's first trip to visit us in san francisco, we wanted it to be extra special. and it was.

thanksgiving weekend, 2007

thanksgiving day was spent cooking the perfect [both in size and in quality!] meal of turkey, gravy, carol's (mark's mom) famous dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and spinach gratin. once we were all positively stuffed, we settled in for naps or for a viewing of the princess bride.

friday we took off for some light shopping, lunch of the best burgers california has to offer, and then an afternoon of napa valley wine tasting! we came home and enjoyed an evening of grilled seafood and bacon-wrapped fillets, cheese and more wine:)

saturday, we rounded out the weekend with two trips into san francisco! we drove in over the golden gate bridge, marvelled at the palace of fine arts, had lunch at pier 39, curved down lombard street, stopped for a wade in the ocean, and toured the presidio before heading home to get gussied up for a night of jazz and fine dining.

thanks for joining us for a memorable thanksgiving, norman and leslie! we love you!

madonna estate's reserve tasting room - where mark's favorite was the dolcetto, norman's the cabernet sauvignon, leslie's the muscat canelli, and my favorite the gewürztraminer

enjoying château service at domaine carneros, where we sampled flights of sparkling wine (the Le Rêve was pheNOMenal), pinot noir (mark was dying to leave with the famous gate), smoked salmon and an amazing cheese tray

leslie was determined to touch the ocean...but didn't expect it to be as COLD as it was when it lapped over her feet!

the four of us, thoroughly enjoying the ambiance, cuisine and jazz trio at BIX. i must recommend the following menu items - truffle cheese and sweet onion "croques", tuna tartare, smoked trout salad, grilled hill ranch pork chops, and the american kobe "bavette" steak. the only dissappointment, in my opinion, were the specialty drinks. why make a cosmo with rum, or a gimlet with vodka, when the originals are wonderful the way they are?

discovering wine country

Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilized pleasures.

- Michael Broadbent

in the three weeks we have lived in the north bay, we have already visited napa three times. on a whim during our first week here, we jumped in the car at 4:30pm and headed 12 miles up the road (i know, its a tough life being so close to this fabulous location) in an attempt to get dinner and perhaps, try some wine. what we learned when we stopped at the wine tasting and concierge service in downtown napa, is that wineries and vineyards keep normal business hours, and were consequently already closed. although we were disappointed, the trip was not completely in vain. upon expressing that we had never wine tasted before but that we were eager to learn, we were presented with a wine tasting guide as our "homework", and invited to come back soon.

the following sunday, we did just that. wit a brand new journal in hand, and began our tour of the downtown wine bars at that same shop, where we discovered what promises be a new hobby! if truth be told, neither mark nor i was sure that we would actually like wine tasting, but we were excited to try something new and found ourselves absolutely loving it! taking the time to appreciate the many dimensions of wine - to study its clarity and aromas, to learn that the complexity of flavors tells a unique story - was fascinating. my favorite of the day was goosecross 2006 chenin blanc - slightly sweet a first, and the perfect compliment to cheese and fruit. a close second was girard 2003 artistry - a delightfully complex red blend.

we made only one more stop that day, where mark found his favorite wine - mandolin 2006 pinot noir - of which we've already enjoyed two bottles!

our most recent visit to napa was during mark's dad, norman's, visit this past saturday. nancy hawkes miller, of goosecross cellars, teaches a wonderful wine basics class, which we found incredibly insightful, and i recommend to everyone - whether you are new to wine tasting or would simply enjoy learning a bit more about viticulture. norman described the merlot we studied as "the smoothest" he has ever tasted, and we found the chardonnay to be unusually fruity and crisp, a signature combination of winemaker geoff gorsuch.

in front of rows of cabernet

an additional note: if ever visiting napa, we highly recommend stopping for a bite to eat at buckhorn grill, where the tri-tip sandwiches are absolutely delicious!