Springfield Grille is holding a Wine Dinner honoring the 100th Birthday of Robert Mondavi ( June 18th,1913-May 16th,2008). The dinner will be held Monday June,17th beginning 6:30 p.m. at 1226 Perry Hwy Mercer, PA 16137. The cost will be $50 per person and for reservations please call 724-748-3589.
It is Day 6 and our trip is nearing it’s conclusion but not before we take part in a wine blending lesson at the Franciscan Winery followed by lunch at the Culinary Institute of America. During the drive on Highway 12 I noticed rose bushes at the end of the rows in many of the vineyards and I was told the reason is they are effected by the Phylloxera louse before the vines get infested thus providing an early warning alert to the presence of this dreaded pest, in essence they are the “Canary in the coal mine” for wine country. We arrived at the Franciscan Winery and were immediately taken with the beauty of the winery and an it’s neatly manicured grounds. Inside the main building we divide into four teams and begin to blend our wine under the watchful eye of Fred, our instructor. Our 45 minute assignment is to blend a wine, set a price that we think the wine would sell for, design and make a label, bottle, cork and label our wine then make presentation to the group stating why our wine should be judged the winner. After sampling each blend and laughing a lot, we realized we were all winners that day. Our next destination is St. Helena and the Culinary Institute of America for lunch and a brief history lesson of this magnificent building that had served as the Christian Brothers Winery for so many years until an earthquake left it unstable, only to be saved from demolition by the C.I.A. for future generations. Everyone was seated for lunch around a very large table in a cavernous room on the 2nd floor directly across from the bustling teaching kitchens of the Academy. During our meal an Executive Chef from the school conducted a presentation on the preparation of a Galette, which by no coincidence just happened to be our dessert . Upon returning to the hotel we pack our bags for the trip home tomorrow, then we got ready for our last night together with our friends at the “Wine Maker’s Dinner”. At dinner that evening we would laugh, eat and drink as we enjoyed a superb meal of Beef Short Ribs prepared by Chef Andrew Wilson of the Carneros Bistro and wine pairings by Highway 12 Winery. The one consistent message I got throughout Sonoma and Napa Valley was that California winemakers are expecting the 2012 vintage to be exceptional and that it will be a year that we will remember. The evening winds to a close and we all say our goodnights knowing that tomorrow we will be saying our goodbyes.
Rose Bushes In The Vineyards
Fountain At The Franciscan Winery
The Bottles Of Wine We Blended At The Franciscan Winery
Dining Car Photo Courtesy : The Napa Valley Wine Train
Today we will be boarding The Napa Valley Wine Train for a 3 hour trip that will depart for Napa carrying us on a journey through Napa, Yountville, Oakville, Rutherford and St Helena while passing by some of the world’s most famous wineries along the way. Before we leave the hotel we gather in the lobby for our group photo that will serve as a lasting memory of our time together. The Napa Valley Wine Train is made up of meticulously refurbished Pullman cars from 1915-1917 and a vintage diesel locomotive that travel on tracks originally constructed in 1864. We board the train and are seated in the lounge car where we are led through a tasting of two white wines and two red wines by the trains wine steward A small plate of cheese, fruits, vegetables, and a huge prawn is served for pairing with this flight of wines. After the tasting we sit back and relax as vineyard after vineyard pass our window until we are called to the dining car for lunch. The walk through the turn of the century railroad cars traveling over mid-1800’s track proved to be very interesting and amusing to say the least. The meals are freshly prepared onboard in the kitchen car adjacent to the dining area. Everything is prepared using environmentally responsible ingredients; humanly raised, hormone-free meats and fresh line-caught fish, which is no surprise considering the commitment to excellence that Executive Chef Kelly Mac Donald and his staff strive to achieve everyday. Our meal and service were of the highest quality from start to finish with no aspect of our dining pleasure overlooked. With the rest of the day left free we chose to explore Sonoma Square with it’s small shops and local charm. After seeing all that Downtown Sonoma has to offer we walk the 1 mile back to the hotel taking in the wine country’s unique sights and sounds every step of the way.
Wine Tasting on The Napa Valley Wine Train
City Hall Sonoma California
Golden Gate Brigde on a sunny day.
Today we will be moving to the Lodge of Sonoma in Sonoma and if I had any doubt we were leaving San Francisco today our departure was confirmed when we passed the bellman in the hall with our luggage as we returned from breakfast. As I sat looking out the coach window we drove down familiar streets passing by many of the sights Julie had pointed out just days before. The trip out of the city is punctuated with the crossing of the Golden Gate Bridge under a sunny blue sky, a much different view of it than the one I had from below in the fog. The landscape quickly begins to change from a modern urban plan to one of sprawling suburban streets and then finally to the rural agricultural setting of Napa Valley and Sonoma County that we are seeking. Land prices here have skyrocketed over the years to the point that today prime vineyard land is going for about $250,000 an acre leaving little room to grow any crop other than grapes because doing so would be economically infeasible.
Before checking into the hotel we will be visiting the Benziger Family Winery where we will learn how they practice Bio-Dynamics in the production of their wines. Nathaniel, a 30 year employee explains how Bio-Dynamic agriculture takes the idea of co-existing with the land to a higher level. They use beneficial insects, bats and owls to control pests while bottling and racking with the correct phase of the moon just to name a few of their environmentally compatible techniques. Existing in harmony with the land is paramount in this farming discipline and it is best expressed in the belief that wines produced using this method are not necessary better wines but wines that more accurately reflects the true character of the property. This can be tasted in the Benziger wines as the complex flavors imparted by the deep root penetration of the vines into the different soil layers or the different tastes due to the amount of sunlight exposure the vines recieve. With less sunlight the fruit will develop with more of a herbaceous flavor but if the light is increased a palate of red fruit and cherries will be prominent. After a wine tasting we gather in the wine cave for a gourmet lunch which used vegetables grown on property.
Our next stop was for a wine tasting at Sebastiani Winery, the most recognizable winery in Sonoma that pioneered the modern wine industry in the area. After the tasting we are walked through their production facilities allowing us to get a close look at the presses and the fermentation tanks. That evening we met the hotel’s sommelier Chris Sawyer at his wine education class. Chris was very knowledgable and entertaining as he took us through a tasting of four examples of Merlot produced locally. Later we enjoyed dinner at the Caneros Bistro with our new friends Kevin and Lucy:-). The emphasis in California cooking is on fresh whole foods that are organically grown. This was certainly the case for the Carneros Bistro whose gardens were just outside the restaurants windows.
Vineyards at Benziger Family Winery
The Presses At Sebastiani Winery
Wine Cave at Benziger Family Winery
The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries on the San Francisco Bay and an upscale shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. The Bay Bridge can be seen in the background. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Ferry Building Marketplace on the Embarcadero
Day 3 begins like everyday on tour with us rising early, preparing for the days activities, enjoying a
Cowgirl Creamery in the Ferry Building
good breakfast then it is to the coach because we have places to go and things to see. Today we will be going to the Ferry Building to take an epicurean walking tour of the shops in the market. Our guide for our Edible Excursion tour was Joshua, a young chef that will be sharing his passion for delicious fresh organic whole food that is locally grown and raised. It is called the Ferry Building because this is where the ferryboats that ply the waters of the San Francisco Bay dock to on and off load their passengers. The shops inside the building are open daily but the area around the main structure is the site of a Farmer’s Market several days during the week. Joshua leads us on a walk from shop to shop where along the way we taste gluten-free baked goods at Mariposa, chocolates at Recchiutti Confections, Blue Bottle Coffee, fresh Vietnamese spring rolls at Out The Door the take-out only site for the Slanted Door restaurant plus several others before coming to our favorites Acme Bread Company and Cowgirl Creamery. The two soft cheeses we tasted were the Mt. Tam (our favorite) made with triple cream and the washed rind Red Hawk (also very good) both were great with the Acme Bread Company’s French Baguette! We wisely loaded our purchases into our reusable shopping tote, because if you need a bag it costs 10 cents. This token charge is a gentle reminder for shoppers to use their reusable totes and help reduce the stress put on the environment by the massive amount of plastic bags discarded everyday. The rest of our day is free for us to explore, shop and sightsee the distinctive neighborhoods of San Francisco up close, an experience that is only possible when done on foot.
As morning dawns on day two of the tour the city is wearing her usual robe of fog. Breakfast starts at 7 a.m. and the coach wheels roll at 8 a.m. as we head out on a full-day of sightseeing. I don’t think sightseeing does justice to what Julie showed us not only on this day but everyday. I will give a short list of what we were shown in San Francisco and if you plan to visit the city it could easily be used as a guide for you to see some amazing sights. Let’s begin with the Union Square Area, North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, The Embarcadero, Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Viewpoint, Golden Gate Park, Chinatown, The Financial District, Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, The Presidio, Mission District, Haight Ashbury, Grace Cathedral, Civic Center, Alamo Square and the Victorian row houses that were featured in the TV series “Full House, the church steps were Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe took their wedding pictures because they were not allowed to marry in the church because they had been divorced, wait a minute let me catch my breath and say that you get the idea that we saw everything! At mid-day we boarded a private catamaran for a 2 hour cruise on San Francisco Bay with a lunch provided by the iconic Boudin Bakery showcasing their signature sourdough bread. We sailed around the bay on a beautiful sunny day passing by Alcatraz Island, Sausalito and then under a fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge. After docking we take time to enjoy the Sea Lion colony at Pier 39 as they bask in the afternoon sun. Then it is back to the hotel at 2:30 but only for three hours to recharge before it’s off to an up and coming neighborhood called “Dogtown” for an evening with “Hands on Gourmet” where we will all participate in preparing our dinner. We split into four groups after starting the event with a “little” wine. The theme for tonight’s dinner is a 5-course Spanish meal featuring Paella and I must admit even with this many cooks in the kitchen it turned out great. We ride back to the hotel while taking in the city at night and stop near the Bay Bridge that an artist has covered with LED lights producing a display of changing designs covering the entire length of the span. More photos can be found in the preceeding post “San Francisco Photos”
The Coach
Chinatown
Alcatraz Island
Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.
Chinatown Gate
Foggy approach to the Golden Gate Bridge
Sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge
Sea Lions at Pier 39
When my wife and I were contemplating a vacation destination earlier this year we examined all the usual suspects and each was met with an overwhelming lack of enthusiasm. As we pondered the question my wife suggested a totally different type of vacation than we normally take and immediately we were intrigued by the idea of trying something new. That is how our Tauck tour of San Francisco, Sonoma and the Napa Valley came to be and how sometimes when fate deals you a hand it turns out to be all aces! I am not going to do what your crazy Uncle Fred did when he used his Kodak Carousel slide projector to show two hours of photos documenting his trip through the Mid-West culminating with the money shot of Aunt Mable posing with the “World’s Biggest Ball of String” in De Kalb, Iowa. No, there will be none of that because we were lucky enough to have Julie, one of Tauck’s very best directors, who made our time together more like traveling with a good friend that knew the area very well and wanted to make sure that you were enjoying yourself while getting to experience everything the area had to offer. Our driver Mark handled the coach with a calm ease that came from his understated confidence in his superb driving skills which provided a relaxing environment for his guests. The one other unknown in the equation is who will be your traveling companions and on this trip we were blessed to be accompanied by twenty of the most warm and friendly people we could have imagined and for this we are extremely grateful.
In the following posts I will try to share some of the highlights of our trip but it will be impossible to relate the true experience of the journey because as they say ” You would’ve
The Garden Court Restaurant, The Palace Hotel San Francisco, CA
had to been there”. I hope that this series of posts will prove to my friend and fellow blogger Jeff a.k.a. “the drunken cyclist” that wine bloggers are capable of addressing the broad subject of wine and life:-).
We arrived at San Francisco International Airport and were greeted by our limo driver (Yes I did say limo) who took us to the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery St. in the heart of the Union Square District. A Welcome Reception and Dinner was held that evening where we all enjoyed plenty of wine and a good meal while getting acquainted with our newest friends. To be continued!!!!
Photo Courtesy: Stone Villa Wine Cellars
Stone Villa Wine Cellars will be holding their Spring Open House Weekend on Saturday, May 18th and Sunday, May 19th lakeside on the rustic grounds that surround the winery at 1085 Claypike Road in Acme, PA. The event will feature hor d’oeuvres, door prizes, music, wine tastings, and special discounts for guests. This will be the kick-off to this summers calendar of entertainment beginning on Saturday with “Back in Time” from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. followed on Sunday by “Back Streets Unplugged” from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you would like more information please visit www.StoneVilla.com or call 724-423-5604.
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