Category Archives: Wine Regions

Doc and Troya Dinner Night 3/13

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After working like crazy before our departure, and then spending a week on

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vacation,Troya and
I could not wait to have a dinner night at home. We both love dinner nights at home when we get to make one of our favorite recipes or try something new and pair it with something in our wine cooler. Since we had done Caribbean food for a whole week we were looking for something different. None of our favorites were jumping out so we looked through some of our cook books and found a recipe for an Afghani lamb and spinach stew served over a middle eastern rice pilaf with dried fruit and pine nuts with a cold cucumber and yogurt soup on the side. A perfect blend of spice and sweet we thought. Now to pick the wine. I thought a Spanish style varietal would go great with these flavors and found an 09 En Garde Tempranillo from the Livermore, CA area. On its own this wine had great flavors with coffee and dark chocolate jumping to the front. It paired beautifully with the meal, becoming smooth and mellow but not lost or over bearing with all the flavors. Good to be back.

burger.-Aptos

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We just checked out the new burger. in Aptos.image

Troya has been to the main one in Santa Cruz, but this was my fist time. They offer all the classic burgers and a lot of interesting combinations. I decided to go basic since it was my fist time. I went with the mushroom and swiss (sub-ed out the swiss for cheddar). Troya also went clasic with the bacon/bbq/onion ring combo. The young one, still hold on to his vegetarianism, went with the house made veggie burger. All the burgers were great. The paties are thin style, but have a lot of flavor and are from grass-fed beef. The picky young one ate his whole
imageveggie burger without saying much other then “yeh, this is good”. The sauces the put on the burgers were all very flavorful without being too much. The only thing we universally questioned was the bun. They are small and hard, almost like an over cooked biskut. They they were to ask me, I would go with a different style bun. One last thing, yes they really do have this many beers on tap, and yes, we will be back.

Solis wine and cheese weekend

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Not sure how, but Vic and Michael at solis winery dialed up another perfect weekend weather wise for thier wine and c

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heese pairing event. With the sun shining and Mike Bastian’s Pentimento Jazz trio playing smooth jazz, the event could not have been planned any better. Paired with cheese from The Cheese Shop in Carmel (yes, our favorite) the 09 Chardonnay, 08 Cara Mia, 08 Cabernet and 11 Vino Roseo were outstanding. And not to be out done, the final pairing of Port with cheesecake was perfection. My only regret was that it had to end. Hats off to Solis for pulling off another great event.

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Santa Clara Wine Passport Weekend, Fall 2012.

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The Fan 4 took part in the Santa Clara Wine Passport Weekend.  We got a great deal for a limo from Garlic City limousine and we invited 10 friends to join us.  The first Winery we stopped at was Aver Family Winery followed by Martin Ranch, Solis and Sara Vineyards.

Our first stop was Aver Family. It always a pleasure to talk to John about hiswines. Aver Family had a band and they were pouring two of their wines; 2009 Family Album is a petite sirah blend, 2009 Hope is a Rhone style blend.  Hope is one of my favorites.  It has a fruity bouquet, flavors of black berry on the front, light tannins and a caramel finish.  If you like roses, you have to try theirs.

Our next stop was Martin Ranch.  Martin Ranch is only open on the third weekend of every month so, it was a treat to be able to taste some wines from their extensive list.    I favor red wines but I have to admit, their chardonnay got me all excited.  It is the perfect 50% from an oak barrel and 50% from a stainless steel barrel.  I bought a case of it.  I also liked their 2008 Sangiovese and J.D Hurley 2008 Zinfandel.  If you like Cabernet, they have six.  Ranging from their 2005 Estate Cabernet to the J.D Hurley 2008 Cabernet.  Martin Ranch wines are reasonably priced and a great value.

Solis WineryThen it was onto Solis.  Solis also has an extensive list of wines for sale.  Vic Vanni is one of the owners, along with his brother Michael, and he can usually be found around the winery and he is more than happy to talk to you about his wines.  They had a passport weekend special of a bottle of their 2007 Merlot and their 2009 Estate Sangiovese for $20.  That was a no brainer.  I stocked up.  If you like white wines, you will love their Fiano. Their Vino Roseo di Sangiovese 2011 is one of my favorites. For the passport weekend, they were serving sliders.  I paired that with their Sangiovese 2011 and it was delicious.  Solis wines are reasonably priced and a good addition to your wine closet.

Our last stop was Sarah’s Vineyard.  I enjoyed their 2010 Pinot Noir Estate.  It is a light Pinot that is good for drinking on its own.  They also poured their 2008 Cote de Madrone.  Being a Rhone blend fan, I enjoyed the blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with a hint of tobacco on the finish.

If you have never visited any of the wineries in Santa Clara County, may I suggest you start with these four.  There are a dozen other wineries that we will be talking about later, to give you an idea of what to expect.  Such as, Thomas Kruse.  The only winery I ever visited that paid ME to wine taste.  Thomas Kruse is a legend in the Valley and he enjoys everyone that visits his winery.  Fortino’s.  Just a fun fun atmosphere  and enjoyable wines.  Bertha is awesome.

After your visit, send me an email and tell me what you thought.  Parting shout out to Ed, our driver from Garlic City Limousine.  Thank you Ed for hauling us around and lugging all of our wine purchases.