Time for Wines and Wagons - Lessons in Russian River Valley

Fog-omenal!  Is a descriptor I love...especially when it means perfectly cool, chilling fog after too-hot days anywhere else, or the effect that produces such yummy cool climate Pinots in the Russian River Valley.  But a lot of other factors contribute to the deliciousness.  Geology, viticulture and the art of winemaking.  I am thrilled to be able to get a glimpse into a "Day in the Life" of wine grape grower, Nick Leras.  We always hear that great wine is "made in the vineyard", so getting to see the art of grape growing from his perspective will be educational.  I plan on getting in touch with my pioneer ancestors during the covered wagon portion of the tour as well as working up an appetite for delish BBQ.  A better knowledge of how great wine gets made this weekend can be yours too.  Wines and Wagons . 

In addition to Leras, folks from Ancient Oak Cellars and Sandole Wines will be on hand to share their stories and their wine.  Ancient Oak is meant to have a wonderfully fogomenal Pinot Noir, which I am looking forward to try as well as the Sandole wines.  Sandole offers a Zinfandel too! If you have the time, make plans to join in as tickets are still available Click here...

Later in the day, a preharvest barbecue will bring more opportunities to meet all the talented, dedicated folks who bring wonderful wines to market. 

Drink Wine with Dinner #Dw2d2

If she had still been with us, Today would have been Julia Child's 99th birthday! To commemorate, the fabulous Rosina Wilson, (who actually met Julia), is suggesting we all drink wine with dinner tonight and honor Julia in personal ways. So we BrixChicks are getting together and celebrating with paired wine and dinner. With the Dow giving us all whiplash and the days getting shorter, we thought what more fun way than to challenge ourselves, by focusing on paired course where all the elements come from Trader Joe's.

We used some of the principles from Rosina's cool mini eBook, which she summarized for us here:

1) Geographic ~ where food & wine evolved together: Chianti and Tuscan game, steak, pasta; Alsace/German whites with quiche, trout, sausages; Oregon Pinot with alder-planked salmon...


2) Similarity ~ where food & wine have *matching* flavors, textures, etc.: A herbaceous Sauvignon Blanc with herbed goat cheese; a malolactic Chardonnay with a butter sauce; a berry-like Zin with duck/berry sauce; Champagne/sparklers with caviar (texture: "tiny bubbles")...

3) Contrast ~ where food & wine have *different* characteristics that you know will work well together (like harmony in music): Acidic wine (e.g. sparkling wine or Sauvignon Blanc) with butter/cream in food; sweet/fruity wine (e.g. Riesling, Grenache, Zin) with spicy food (e.g. curry, BBQ)...



4) "Equal Intensity" ~ Food & wine have approximately the same strength. Pinot Grigio with sole; Cabernet with roast lamb. (If one partner is slightly *less* intense than the other, it will play "supporting actor" and make the other partner the "star.")

5) Personal Preference ~ Whatever you like! Traditional: Champagne/sparkling wine with caviar; Burgundy/Pinot Noir with roast beef. "Daring pairings": Champagne/sparkling wine with KFC or popcorn; Burgundy/Pinot Noir with BBQ ribs/pulled pork.

Here is the menu so far:

Julia's potato Leek Soup

Mastering the Art of...Monday Dinner!

Happy Birthday Lambrusco Cupcakes!

We will be interested in reading about what you plan at #DW2D2. Stay tuned for our updates later this week and

Happy birthday, Julia!

Bon appetit!

#wbc11 Last of before...

After a great experience at Chrysalis, the bus took us to a fun restaurant in Middleburg.  Even though the mercury said stay inside,  most of us ventured out to explore the town.  I don't think Middleburg got the memo, as the snark factor was almost as high as the humidity.  Stacey and Wendy are so awesome, I will forgive them for taking us to the Jan Brady of the 'burgs. 

Next stop, Boxwood Winery.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I tumbled from the air conditioned coach into the bright sunshine.  Now I know, if I find myself stuck in the Middleburg again, I will head straight to 16 East Washington Street and knock back some tasty rose.

Everything about Boxwood was manicured and gorgeous.  And miraculously welcoming and not the least bit "horsey" in feel.  Whew!  The property is after all an historic horse farm.  We explored the facility where no expense was spared in providing all the accouterments to control every facet of the production.  Even the bottling line had a jewel box feel. 

Later we found that Stephane Derneoncourt consults to help them create the best expression of Virginia in a distinctly Old World feel.  We tried all the wines, which were all red and based on a Left Bank and a Right Bank iteration of red and rose.  The Boxwood was my favorite.

'07 Boxwood, Boxwood, Virginia A blend of Cab Sauv with Merlot and PV, it's a dark lovely wine with black fruit and a smidge of tobacco. And at only $25 a bottle, awesome QPR!  

'07 Topiary, Boxwood, Virginia A blend of mostly Cab Franc blended with Merlot and Malbec in the Right Bank style.  I got a lot of nice blueberry in this.  The finish was nice.

I am looking forward to opening up these wines with some Bordeaux loving pals to initiate them into Virginia wines. 

It was a fun visit thanks to a ton of attention from EVP Rachel Martin.  If you find yourself in the area, be sure to make an appointment to visit:

So, the preconference ended and the bus headed up to Charlottesville.  I can't say thank you enough to Stacey and Wendy from Visit Loudoun for making this introduction to Virginia so fun, comfortable and informative.  Thanks again for a great orientation!  And to the other overachievers on the Preconference tour!  It was a great group of intrepid bloggers. Cheers to:

@annuncorked

@joewinetraveler
@thewinehub
@WineFashionista
@wineormous
@chezvino
@handofgodwines
@SFDoug
@winesoiree
@winebizwiz
@sierrafoothills
@cork_dork
@melanie0