I have been doing a lot of travelling lately, visiting several of our fine American cities. It’s a great country, but New York city is my kind of place. That is to say it is totally opposite of the kind of place I live in, but it is one heck of a bustling, breathing, energized city that you just have to love. What confirmed this for me was after a long day of metropolitan frolic, I was kicking back with some friends in the lobby bar of the famous Warwick Hotel. The Warwick has been around the block a few times, being the hotel of choice for the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and it was Cary Grant’s Manhattan home for 12 years. There I was, (and you know you can take the boy out of the country, but not the country out of the boy) munching on the spicy-salty bar snacks, and wishing I had something refreshing to sip on, and guess what? The next thing you know, we were all sipping on delightful glasses of Sonoma Vineyards chardonnay! What a city!
Redd on June 11th 2008 in Uncategorized
For those of you into this sort of thing (and I am), there is a new book out called “Wildflowers of Northern California’s Wine Country and the North Coast Ranges” by Reny Parker. It covers 358 species in fabulous color photography, most of which were taken by the very talented Parker herself. I typically use a Peterson guide, which is drawings and only some of them are in color. Also the Peterson guide covers the entire west coast, which can be confusing sometimes with species that look very alike from broadly different regions. A bonus is that there are some extrememely rare endemic species specific to Sonoma county that one may never actually get a look at, but Parker has captured for you in her lovely guide. So if you’re a local, or even if you’re just visiting, a copy of this book on the car seat or in your daypack or pannier can make a great day outdoors a lot more fun! Fetid Adder’s Tongue anyone?
Redd on March 26th 2008 in Uncategorized
Well, the clocks go back this weekend, and there’s reports of bud break in the Alexander Valley, so can Spring be far behind?Manipulating the time on the wall has always been a love/hate thing for me. I grew up in a more northerly lattitude, where moving the clock forward meant actually having some daylight after work, and it really put a spring in my step. On the other hand, moving the clocks back in the fall was downright depressing, with brighter mornings but darkness came especially early.
It’s really all the same, just what the clock says is different, and we change our daily rhythms to match the clock, not the sun. Always seemed kind of strange to me. I am in favor of letting things like nature tell us what time it is. For instance, I’ve always appreciated how the Hopi used to record history by events, not by years. So right now it’s the beginning of bud break, not March 7th. The sun will come up tomorrow regardless of what hour we assign to it, and the acacia will continue to flower, along with the tulips, the plums, the quinces, the trilliums, the shooting stars, and most important, the vines will do their thing in their own time. And now it’s time for a glass of wine.
Redd on March 7th 2008 in Uncategorized
As much as I love the deliciously un-oaked chardonnay of Sonoma Vineyards, I have to admit I am a huge fan of of the many friendly faces of sauvignon blanc. So I was quite pleased when I learned that the associate winemaker for Sonoma Vineyards was dabbling in sauvignon blanc this harvest. The result? A really yummy style of sauvignon, full of really ripe grapefruit flavors, along with some tropical fruit that reminds me of guava and passionfruit. He is using no oak whatsoever, and he thinks the wine will be ready for release in March 2008, so heads up, and prepare for a lively new wine to enjoy this spring! I, for one, will find it hard to wait.
Redd on December 19th 2007 in Uncategorized
Well, in the end I used Lapsang Suchong, another smoked tea. I also added a sliced lemon, a bay leaf, a stick of celery, and a couple cloves of garlic. I left Mr. Turkey in the brine for almost 24 hrs (a 14 pound bird).
I forgot to take the cheesecloth off of the breast before my meat thermometer registered the temperature I wanted, but the skin did color up just fine, and the meat was…juicy. Yes, juicy and delicious, with just a subtle hint of smokeyness, much less than a smoked turkey. I must admit, I am still eating the leftovers, and I continue to crave them each afternoon.
So, the verdict is: success. I recommend you try this, if you dare.
Next year I am going to try to get a heritage turkey. Now that thanksgiving is over, I have discovered that the local chapter of the Slow Food Movement has a heritage turkey auction for 4H club local farm grown turkeys of older “original” breeds. More on this next year!
Redd on November 28th 2007 in Uncategorized
I hope you all have a nice thanksgiving this week!I’m working on a little experiment, and I thought I’d tell you about it in case 1) you dare to attempt it for thursday as well and 2) if not, I will let you know how it went in case you want to do it for a future holiday meal. Last year I brined a turkey and it worked well. The theory is that the salt concentration causes water to be absorbed into the meat of the turkey, and makes it both juicier and less likely to be overcooked. It does also carry some salt into the meat, so you must be careful not to add additional salt willy-nilly. Anything else you have in the brining liquid can pass as flavor in to the turkey as well.
When I’m not enjoying Sonoma Vineyards wines, you’ll usually find me drinking tea. Tea and wine share a similarity in that they both reflect the place where they’re grown, and there are many places where tea is grown, and it all tastes different. Tea is made from a type of camellia bush, Camellia sinensis. I have two of these bushes in my yard, but I must admit my tea making skills leave a lot to be desired.
My idea is to make my brining liquid out of tea, specifically a very smoky kind of tea known as Russian Caravan. Not only will the turkey taste of tea, it will hopefully pick up the smoky flavor much like a smoked turkey! First I will make a couple of gallons of the tea, and then add one cup kosher salt per gallon. I will make sure the brine is cold, and put the bird in cold. I will keep it cold for 24 hours, the bird completely submerged. That’s it for the brining.
I like the Julia Child method of roasting, including her trick of covering the breast meat with some cheesecloth that has been soaked in olive oil. That way when you baste, the liquids hang out on the breast rather than just running off.
I’ll let you know how it goes. Oh, and guess what wine I’ll be serving with this experiment!
Redd on November 20th 2007 in Uncategorized
Where I grew up, there are four clearly defined seasons, winter being the one where nature pretty much shuts down, birds migrate away, and the snow flies. Here in beautiful Sonoma, one could easily argue there are only three seasons, with Autumn kind of blurring into Spring right about this time of year.
In New Hampshire these days, there are no narcissus leaves emerging from the ground, soon to be flowering. The lawns are not green, the peas and lettuce and brocolli are not growing feverishly, and no one is still harvesting tomatoes. There are a few things that are the same, and one of them is the end of the summer season is clearly here, with shorter days and a beautiful progression of leaf color from green 
through yellows, rusts, and reds. It’s happening all over the county, in all manner of trees, but nothing is quite so stunning as a Sonoma vineyard going to sleep, with all the color you can imagine. In New Hampshire, a long drive down the Kancamangus highway in early October is practically obligatory, and is known to locals as leaf-peeping. As far as I know, here in Sonoma there is no special name for enjoying the awe and artist inspiring colors of this time of year; just grab a glass of chardonnay, lean back, and take it all in.
Redd on November 15th 2007 in Uncategorized
Well folks, if you’ve been paying any attention at all to the wine country weather, you probably have noticed it’s been just a bit wet around here. The good news is that all of the Sonoma Vineyards merlot has been picked, and the chardonnay came in quite some time ago. So I say let it rain, let it pour!
Maybe I’m just being selfish, as the rain will be followed in no time with another Sonoma pleasure: wild mushrooms. Mmmmm, I can taste that first grilled porcini now…
Hunting for them is another matter, however. There’s a LOT of competition, starting with those pesky little worms that start at the base of the stem and eat their way up to the cap, turning the entire shroom into mush. There’s wild pigs and curious deer, and there’s those incredibly early risers that know the “spots” like the back of their hand and have cleaned them out by full sunrise. But, it’s a real treasure hunt that, with a little bit of stooping and whole lot of luck, can yield a genuine treasure: a beautiful, firm, and hauntingly delicious Boletus edulis.
Great with Sonoma Vineyards merlot, by the way!
Redd on October 15th 2007 in Uncategorized
Well, harvest 
is going at full steam, and it came mighty early this year, probably about three weeks earlier than “normal”. Of course, with climate change, early harvests may turn out to be the norm, and winemakers couldn’t be happier. Late harvests bring with them a certain amount of risk: ever shorter day lengths, vines dropping their leaves and shutting down (think raisins), and the inevitable threat of rain. Just the opposite is true of seasons like this, and winemakers can take their time with harvest, letting certain vineyards “hang” to intensify flavors.It’s difficult to predict what the quality of any vintage will be like this early into the harvest, despite the fact that early harvests are usually good ones. But most of the “wine guys” around here are just busting with excitement at what they’ve seen so far. So here’s to the hard working crew that must wear the mantle of stickiness so that we may enjoy a glass of Sonoma deliciousness. Cheers!
Redd on September 4th 2007 in Uncategorized
Just had a lovely vacation up near Mt. Shasta. I was backpacking in the Marble Mountain Wilderness for a few days, and it was incredibly beautiful. I really did not want to leave.
But all good things like vacations must come to an end. There’s always a bit of a letdown when it’s time to go back to reality, and after four days and thirty six miles of paradise, I was wondering what home would feel like.
After five or so hours of tiresome driving, Sonoma revealed itself with rolling hills covered with vines, peppered with cows, and studded with live oaks. The breeze was mild, and in the western distance, the low afternoon sun caught a bright sliver of fog at the coast, a promise of a cool night to come. It almost made me wonder why I ever leave Sonoma. After all, I am lucky enough to live in a place that attracts other people on their vacations, and I can easily understand why.
It’s just one of those things, like the old Tom Waits song, San Diego Serenade; “never saw the morning til’ I stayed up all night” and ” never saw my hometown ’til I stayed away too long”. Sonoma county just sticks with you like that. By the way, Mr. Waits is a Sonoma county resident as well!
Oh, and I am happy to report that veraison is happening all over the county. Veraison is the old French word we still use when the grapes turn from green to either red or golden, and the sugar begins to rise. It is the beginning of ripening, and any winemaker worth his or her salt better be making final preparations for harvest now. Looks like it will be a week or two early this year!
Redd on July 23rd 2007 in Uncategorized
