Home sweet home, California

Pardon the hiatus but I was catching up from a week back home. Getting back into the flow of your usual routine is hard when you spend over a week in another time zone.

I was fortunate to get to spend a lot of time with my family and take a stroll through memory lane with them.  I got to see some friends as well, which was nice too. It's hard making friends in new places but it's nice knowing your life long friends will always be there for you.

I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder lately. Fresno gets so much trash talked about it. I recently spoke to someone who was from the Central Coast area of California who replied "I am sorry" when I mentioned I took a trip home to Fresno. Well, I am not, and I don't think he should have been sorry for me either. 

Every town has it's ups and downs, crimes and beauties. I think it's the beauty you take from it that speaks volumes of personal character.

In any case, returning home in April when the citrus and jasmine blossoms were bursting in bloom, roses scenting the air with their fragrant scent, and hyacinths and narcissus bursting into color, is almost other worldly. I left Minnesota while it was layered with snow and came to a land that was fully immersed in spring.  And the lucky part? Now that Minnesota is budding I get a second spring all over again.  It is absolutely glorious. 

So let me share with you what makes Fresno such a special place.

The Chaffee Zoo

A few years ago, or more than a few, Measure Z was voted into effect to take a portion of tax dollars and allocate them to the zoo. I got to experience the new Sea Lion Exhibit that was opened in 2012. It's nice to look forward to more exhibits in the future and to see the fruition of those measures that were voted on a few year back.

Baby tigers

A cute sea lion

Some Hungry Giraffes

Nonini Winery

My sister and brother in law indulged me. They took me to my favorite local winery and tasted the wines with me. The owner, Jim, is such a personable man and so passionate about his grandfather's vines and wine making techniques. It's hard to not be enthralled. He ages his wines in oak and/or red wood. He makes good wines from 60-80 year old vines that warm the body and the soul.

Nonini Tasting Room Sign.

Grandma's House

Going to grandma's house rekindles so many memories. Farmland childhood memories. Making mud pies with my sister, or playing on the swing. Eating home cooked meals. Fireworks off by the vineyards.  And her garden, which was full of so many flowers. Naturally, it has reduced in size because of the lack of upkeep that occurs in aging, but it's still a place of memories. And it instills a need in me to cultivate those plants myself, to create a little bit of "home".

Roses

Geraniums

Baby Grapes!

Orange Blossoms

Art Hop 

I have a ton of memories of going to Art Hop in downtown Fresno with my girlfriends; we drank wine, ate a lot of hummus and pita chips, admired local artists while keeping an open eye to  cute guys. There was never any cute guys, but there was great art and the beginnings of a strong appreciation for hummus. I took my mom to her first Art Hop experience recently.  In your late teens and early twenties you are finding yourself. You blow off family to hang out with your friends. You search for love in all the wrong places. And then one day, all the puzzle pieces fit. You marry. Your friends marry. You start your family and they start theirs. But you also remember how special family is. And you savor it.  And you just savor life.

The Grand

Warner's Theater and the Grand

Down Town Fresno as the Mural District

And at some point you realize that "home" is not a place. Home is where your heart is. Mine is spread over California, from the Central Valley to the North. But a big chunk of it is in Minnesota, with my Husband.  Home isn't a place, it's a feeling.

My Mom, myself, and her '73 Chevy Malibu

Wine: Hess Select Treo 2010

We made trip to the Hy Vee Liquor Store on Saturday. There are Alcohol Restrictions in this state that I am just not used to. Alcohol (more importantly, Wine) isn't sold in Grocery stores. You have to buy it from a liquor store, which is adjacent to the grocery store.

I was pleased to see the familiar names of La Crema, Two Vines, Columbia Crest, Seven Deadly Zins, and Gnarly Head. Even more pleased to see a good selection of Hess; we shared a bottle of Viognier with some friends a while back.

So, looking at me dead on was a Treo, a Merlot, Syrah, and Petite Syrah blend. And I made the choice, at 16.69 a bottle (very reasonable in this region even after shipping costs, don't you think?). And it was a good choice. I mean, I am feeling homesick for California, and how much more California can you get than a wine from Napa County?

This blend was magnificent. It has a very peppery nose. But surprisingly, its finish isn't so dry: cherries and blackberries coat your tongue and throat and give a nice mellow, rich fruit finish. No, it's not sweet or jammy (although I akin jammy wines to the Shiraz Varietal specifically). But it does pair amazingly well with dark chocolate chips (cacao!, more specifically Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Baking Chips. Don't judge me! I eat chocolate chips out of the bag. a lot.), and dulche de leche ice cream. And a good movie [The Perks of Being a Wallflower ].

The equation for a good evening in?

A little bit of Napa + Chocolate + a Good movie

Wine: Tobin James Ballistic Zinfandel

Nothing gets you back in the swig of things like a good Zinfandel- one of my favorite varietals.

We waited a week or so for the wine to settle (wine that has traveled shouldn't be opened for awhile) then I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to have a glass of home, of California, and a taste of my honeymoon.

Wine, a movie, and small bowls of snacks (wheat thins, chocolate chips, and fresh and easy sea salt crackers) mixed with a bunch of cozy throws and puppy cuddles is a good night.

The Zinfandel had a strong berry nose, and was full of spice and leathery notes. It still probably should of rested more, some notes were a little too leathery. Nonetheless, the rich, warm peppery berries that characterizes a zin were there. Maybe that's just what makes this zin, "ballistic".

Vino Travels: Day 2 on the Road

Driving for over 12 hours is exhausting, but I can't complain; the Husband is doing all the driving because he doesn't approve of how I drive.

[Grumble]

This drive was scenic and lovely.  The drive through Nevada was quick, quicker through Arizona, and we stopped in Utah for a staple Western Lunch: In n Out burgers.

We stayed on the road until we reached Golden, Colorado, a full day of driving, the dogs exhausted, but so much beauty seen in driving through the states instead of flying over them.

Vino Travels: Day 1 on the Road

We loaded up our car and the moving van yesterday. The loading for the van took all day.

It's amazing to see your home empty after you spent years filling it with junk.


By 7:00 pm we were on the road to say goodbye to family one last time. Good byes are hard. My mom, sister, and brother-in-law saw us off, hugged our pups, and wished us well.

And under the cover of darkness we left Fresno.

The dogs were super confused at first but now they have the hang of chilling in the car, and love the extra biscuits they are getting.

I have been using the App Travelgram to document out trip.

We drove up to Barstow last night and through Mojave was lovely. A super bright moonlight shown (the iPhone was unable to capture that beauty and I was too lazy to search for my camera in the back)

More pics of day 2 to come!

The Vino Is Moving

What? When? Where? How?

Well let's rewind to Early January.

I spent that month in a whirl wind.

We went on a cruise to Belize and Cozumel. There was much booze, (RUM) and seasickness, great food, and adventure. We returned home for my grandfather-in-laws funeral and services and spent time with my husbands family.

Somewhere in the middle of that my husband recieceved a phone call from his employer with the offer of a promotion and a transfer.

Where?

To the great Mid West!

We had just settled. I was promoted at work 3 months ago, and to be honest, I am a spoiled Californian.

I have never known cold. Cold days here are 50-55 degrees.

Soon we were back on that whirl wind, flying to Minneapolis. We met with a realtor (and decided he was awesome!) and looked for our future home.

So now I am finishing up my last week(s) of work, spending time with friends, family, and running around like a loony bird taking care of last minute tasks and hiccups.

I have had little time to muse over the wonders of local wine, but boy have I been drinking!

We needed to downsize our wine fridge for the trip ahead. It was a hard task but someone's gotta do it and I was unquestionably the girl for the job.

By early March I will be a Midwestern girl.

Wine: Derby Pinot Grigio

This wine is Ah-maz-ing. I can't remember the last time I was excited about a Pinot Gri (more of a Chardonnay kinda gal).

It's a beautiful crisp white with subtle fruit notes, most notable to me is apricot. It's not a sweet wine but on the sweeter end, definitely not dry. We paired it with a salad, linguine and salmon.

Derby 2009 Pinot Grigio is definitely a diverse crowd pleaser, a definite white table wine.

Salute!

Wine: Quady Winery & Quady North

Quady Winery is a Madera, CA winery that specializes in desert wines and has been producing since 1975. I recently went with a friend to their tasting room to sample their wines. Quady was also represented at the 2012 Fig Festival at CSU Fresno in early August.

We were pleasantly surprised to experience what I liken to be the "Nose to tail" drinking experience of vino.

We sampled all three of Quady's Vya aperitifs: extra dry, whisper dry, and sweet vermouth. The whisper dry was excellent, medium dryness and invoked the reminiscent flavored of a martini with herbaceous notes. I think it would pair nicely with salty crackers and olives. The sweet vermouth was delicious and rich, sweet, and had notes of orange, orange zest, cinnamon and clove. It's definitely a nice desert wine to finish a meal but is very robust.

We then tried a blend of the extra dry and sweet Vya. It was an amazing combination of spice, sweet, and dry. It literally tasted like autumn, like being wrapped in a blanket, sitting in candlelight during a thunderstorm. Okay, so maybe that's the ideal way I would drink this wine, because it invokes that sort of mood. But it had nice notes of spice and caramel and was deliciously dry and smooth.

From there we tasted the wines of which included the 2010 Viognier, 2011 Rosè Grenache, and a 2009 Syrah.

The Viognier was very smooth and fruity, with subtle melon and apricot notes. It was more sweet than dry.

The Rosè was dryer than the Viognier and had pronounced rose flavored and aromas. Definitely a nice dry summer wine.

The Syrah was nice red with spicey pepper notes, blackberries and cherry with a smooth finish.


At this point we moved on to sweet wines that we hadn't tried at Quady.

Purple, a concord grape wine, lives up to its description: a sweet burst of grape jolly rancher flavor. I likened it to grape juice for adults.

Deviation, a sweet wine made from orange muscat with geranium and damiana. This wine was truly special. It had amazing notes of orange blossom honey and small notes of pineapple. Its smooth, and in a desert wine league of its own.

We finished off the tasting with Electra Slushies. Omg. Wine slushies, so delish! Why wasn't this invented sooner?!

When we left I felt I had been given a "three course meal" of wine, with an appetizer (the aperitifs), a main course (Quady North), and then of course, desert (Quady's desert wines of course!).

I don't normally give ratings but maybe I should start. 5/5 hands down. I think the thing that makes me truly give that rating is the friend I taste with never purchases wine when we taste, when I on the other hand throw my wallet at people. They actually purchased 6 bottles this time around. Actions do speak louder than words!

Wine: 2012 Fig Festival

Fresno State hosts the annual Fig Festival. This was my second year in attendance, and the 9th year running. For 10$ you can sample fig inspired eats from local restaurants and eateries, and for 15$ you can sample those eats and delicious local wines with a bonus fig fest wine glass!

This year we sampled delicious bites from Fleming's (a fig, artichoke, onion, and mushroom flatbread), P*DE*Q (amazing mini pão de queijo BLT's with crumbled bacon and butter leaf lettuce and a cream cheese fig jam that was out of this world with the bacon), Whole Foods (vegan fig and date brownie with a cashew cream and raspberry garnish), Dusty Buns + Enzo Olive Oil ( crostini with figs, olive oil, and duck), Love and Garlic ( ah-MAZ-ing fig spread) and lastly, some sweets with Rosetti Fine Foods + Biscotti House ( mission fig with white chocolate and biscotti crumbs).

Oh yeah, Trelio made some BOMB fig glazed pork tacos with pickled jalapeños.

It's local festivals like this that showcase local eats and major creativity from these restaurants and eateries.

Paired with wine, and it's an experience out if this world.

We stopped at the Birdstone Winery booth where they were tasting the Syrah, Tempranillo, and Pinot Noir. While the folks at Birdstone know what they are doing with their wines, and you really can't do wrong with any, the Syrah was my favorite. Slightly sweet, with berries and a little bit of spice and leather, the Syrah paired extremely well with Fleming's flatbread.

Cru is another Madera winery that does it right. I sampled a nice dry Rosé of Pinot Noir, a Albrino that was crisp and smooth, and a delicious Chardonnay.

Quady is hands down my favorite moscato-maker. It may be the sparkle, but red or the signature orange blows me away every time; sweet, bubbly, with that Thompson grape sweetness and light citrus notes. I was floored to try Quady's Essensia, a syrupy, orange & apricot bomb. But the Elysium, a black muscat wine, sweet and berryish, may have blown the others out of the wine barrels so to speak: it was delicious and decadent.

Lastly we sampled San Joaquin Wine Co. They make a mean Green Eyes Moscato, and a pink version as well. Moody Press Cellars is their other label , so we sampled their Cabernet Sauvignon. OMG. I wish they were selling, I would have bought a bottle. I think it was the pomegranate Sangria that won my heart though. It was the best pomegranate wine I have ever sampled.

It is unfortunate they don't sell wine at this event. But I guess it is safer for my wallet...

Living in the Central Valley, we are fortunate to have Vinters of two wine trails (Fresno & Madera) so close together, growing & producing so many different and delicious wines.

Wine: Nonini Zinfandel

Nonini is a local winery, my favorite to be exact. Of all the Fresno wineries, Nonini has rocked my socks off on several wine trail occasions. The Husbabd and I adore Nonini so much, we had their Barbera and Burgundy served at our wedding.

It's hard to pick a favorite but the Burgundy would have to be it, hands down.

There are so many robust reds, the Barbera, Burgundy, Zin, Chianti, Alicante Bouschet, and a Sweet Zin so anyone can find a favorite.

These vines are local grown and 60-80 years old, and fermented in the same oak and redwood barrels that were used 3 generations ago.

This Zin is warm, with berry notes and a subtle spice, with a velvety mouth feel and a smooth finish.

Nonini is a staple in our home, a go to wine for any night, any occasion.

Wine: By mail!

Recently, the Husband signed up with a wine website so we can earn more miles. Of course, when he told me wine was on the list of websites I said "do that one, do that one!" - I have no shame, if I can earn miles exploring the world of wine, sign me up baby!!!

Today we received our first shipment of Vino: a 6 bottle assortment from American Cellars Wine Club.



Chalkstone Vineyards 2011 Pinot Gris
Bridge Trail Vineyards 2010 Chardonnay
Iron Rock Cellars 2010 Sauvignon Blanc
Knoll Haven Winery 2011 Merlot
Doña Paula 2008 Cabernet Franc
XWinery 2009 Pinot Noir


5 of the 6 wines are from California: (Paso Robles(1), Napa(1), Santa Rosa (3). The Doña Paula is from Argentina.

I think it is a good assortment but I will be interested to see what future assortments carry as far as regions. It's at least diverse in the sense of grape varieties.

Vino Travels: Point Lobos State Reserve

Back in January sometime the Husband and I took a road trip to <i>Point Lobos State Reserve</i> which is about 45 minutes north of Monterrey's Cannery Row.

It was a warm and  sunny day, no overcast; clear blue skies and lush turquoise waters. Point Lobos is a beautiful reserve that marries the woods and the sea.

It was also the starting point of inspiration for us to travel California, my home state, in search of other beautiful State Parks and Reserves (and wineries near by... I can't resist the California grapes!).

a view from the Sea Lion Point Trail

 Gorgeous Blue Waters

 Down in the Sea Lion Cove

 A view from  Whalers Knoll Trail

another couple of lookouts from the Whalers Knoll trail

We started off on Sea Lion Point Trail, and in the distance we saw a rock of fat and happy sea lions bathing and "owk-ing"  throwing their chubby little bodies against rocks as waves crashed into them. Later we realized they were using the waves as momentum to mount the rocks and sun bathe.


After the Sea Lion Point Trail, we made our way up past the Lace Lichen Trail to Whalers Knoll; a steep incline that led to breathtaking views out to Bluefish Cove, Guillemot Island, and eventually to Cypress Cove.


After a morning of hiking, we met up with friends in Cannery Row back in Monterrey and tasted at Bargetto Winery's tasting room, and Carmel Ridge. Bargetto serves several delicious Meads from Chaucer's - but also has an amazing 2009 Dolcetto, and 2010 Pinot Grigio (and other good reds and whites!). Carmel Ridge, however, won my heart with their Syrah and Cabernet.

A wonderful way to spend a Saturday - walking amidst nature and drinking great wine!