“Sonoma Wine Tasting”
I flew to San Francisco on Wednesday. “The Duke” was a great airplane movie – Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in a fun caper about a bumbler stealing a very expensive painting of the Duke of Wellington.
Diana was kind enough to collect me from the airport and shuttle me to Clorinda’s home. Ken showed up with a salmon he had caught earlier in the day – doesn’t get much fresher than that.
Will and Christine joined us for dinner – not salmon but some delicious vegetarian dishes that Alicia cooked up for us.
Clorinda was enjoying dinner too much for the picture. That’s Caroline on Clorinda’s right and Yenni, Alicia’s friend, on her right. We had a very nice evening catching up with the engaged couple. They shared the album of their engagement pictures. Here’s a brief sampling – they have so many good ones.
Will also shared this picture of the new artwork that adorns the dance floor on the top of his festival Durango.
We picked up Tim and Dee at the airport on Thursday afternoon, stopped for a quick bite to eat in Sausalito (barely making it out of the San Francisco summer fog), and then made the drive up to Glen Ellen in Sonoma. Denny and Anne showed up a bit later – they took on an “overly adventurous” biking tour of some wineries.
Friday morning started with some special coffees from Barista Denny – it took him a bit of work to figure out the fancy machine – and pastries from the local patisserie courtesy of Tim and Dee and their early morning coffee expedition.
We bummed around the beautiful house for a while and then enjoyed an excellent Mexican lunch at El Molino, before making the drive up to the Russian River valley for our wine tasting adventures. I can’t say enough good things about the food at El Molino – delicious sauces, beans, tortillas.
Our first tasting stop was at Gary Farrell winery, situated right above the Russian river with lovely views. This place was first class – comfy seating, personalized menus, cheeses to match each different wine, and perfect service. We were off to a strong start.
The Chardonnay was a big hit with the group. Our next stop was at Sonoma Cutrer winery. A pleasant spot with okay wines – a bit of a let down from our first winery. Sheri gave up on waiting on quarantining Sean, and drove up to join us at this stop.
We enjoyed a casual dinner at Lo & Behold in Healdsburg, a charming small town, and then headed back to the house to relax.
Saturday again started out with Barista Denny and then some custom omelets from Chef K. We opted to stay local with wineries all within a couple of miles of the house. The first was Talisman – some very good pinots but nothing too exciting.
Diana had maxed out on pinots and so we opted to have lunch at the Jack London saloon while the group visited Lassiter family vineyards.
We enjoyed some local characters and learned a bit about the history of Jack London in Glen Ellen. The group came back raving about the Lassiter vineyard, and had arranged a tasting for Sunday afternoon so that we could experience it as well.
Dinner was at the Glen Ellen Star – a Michelin notable restaurant and reviewed as the best in the area. I really enjoyed my wild boar pasta and reviews from others in the party were less positive – I think they were tired from a long day of wine tasting and ready to relax at the house. The walk home was a bit daunting as there are no street lights at all. Tim and Denny encountered a skunk that was determined to have a stand off until they turned around – fortunately a car came by and scared it off.
Sunday was a wonderfully relaxing day. Hanging out in the pool and hot tub, playing ping pong and cornhole, fighting over the music – all the fun stuff of a group vacation.
We did take a break to visit the Lassiter family vineyard in the afternoon. I’m glad we did – their wines were very varied and all quite tasty. I love the label art work.
Sean made a socially distanced appearance and so we had all four couples together as originally planned.
Chef Denny cooked up a delicious dinner on the overly complicated grill.
What a wonderful trip and so nice to see Tim feeling well and enjoying life again. We’re all planning to reconvene in New Orleans for jazzfest next spring. I did find this picture of what would be an excellent next vacation rental – it’s in the Maldives:
My book this week was “The Guest List” by Lucy Foley. Not nearly as dark as “The Paris Apartment”, but similarly full of clever plot twists that I should have seen coming. You really needed to pay attention to the personal histories of the guests to find out who was the culprit.
“A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the New York Times best-selling author of The Hunting Party.
The bride – the plus one – the best man – the wedding planner – the bridesmaid – the body.
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
This was a quick and enjoyable read with an interesting setting – a very remote Irish island, mostly covered in peat bog that acted like quicksand if not traversed skillfully.
Something from my favourite Cracker album to kick things off:
And why not follow that up with one from perhaps my favourite band:
And finally an interesting song from a relatively new band:
Coexist peacefully with kindness and compassion for all!