nucci's wine tasting extravaganza

This past Saturday, we hosted a wine and food pairing party for my roommate Diana's birthday. Long story short, I ended up being the sommelier, with the assistance of good old Adam. In the end we had nine girls and tasted 10 wines:

2007 Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio – Prosciutto
2006 Hogue Riesling – Spinach Quiche
2007 Kim Crawford Unoaked Chardonnay – Smoked Salmon w/Cream Cheese on Crackers
2006 Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fuissé Burgundy – Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Crostini
2005 Cune Vina Real Rioja Crianza – Manchego with Membrillo
2006 Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenere – Chorizo
2006 Fairview Pinotage – Gouda
2005 D’Arenberg Shiraz “Footbolt” – Dubliner Cheese
2006 BenMarco Malbec – Cornbread Crust Sausage Pizza
2005 Foxen Fortified Mission, Rancho Tepusquet Vineyard – Flourless Chocolate Cake

The night was a definite success, although by the end of it, I believe we were all chugging the Foxen port ... my mind is a little fuzzy on the details!

The table ... with Rachel Ray centerpieces.

Champagne to start the night off right!

Awesome (because I created it) Tasting Sheet

Whites go first ...

Manchego con Membrillo

"Blind" tasting bottles - my pouring got a bit sloppy as the night went on ...

Our TV the morning after, apparently someone was making out with Mike Rowe.

whole lotta shakin' goin' on ...

yes there was an earthquake. no i wasn't scared. yes everyone is fine. no i do not get to go home from work early.

new addition

Katharine Ann Hunt Simmons

Born July 18, 2008

Proud Big Brother Jack Henry

patience is a virtue

I'm in the process of updating the look of my blog ... you know, to reflect my 30-year old sense of style.

Stay tuned, it's definitely a work in progress and I have never professed to be a graphic designer. Okay, well, once I did, but that was just to get my foot in the door!

you know you're 30 when - vegas edition

You check out the female, go-go dancers in a club and not the guys.
You exclaim "Wow! It's almost 2am. We made it out later than I thought!"
You sip your shots.
You dispense advice to a 21 year old (and they walk away).
The best part of your night is eavesdropping on your neighbor at the cafe.
You are content people-watching at a club instead of dancing.
The 21-year olds in the elevator, shrieking while wearing matching tiaras, annoy you.

You ask your friend "Is this a mini dress or a shirt?"
You have to buy your own drinks.
You shamelessly walk barefoot throughout the casinos after a long night because your feet hurt.

You don't 'get ready' to go to the pool, you just go.
You reminisce in your hotel room for 4 hours before even going out.
Soup hits the spot at the end of the night.
You can afford a luxurious hotel room with flat screen TVs and a jacuzzi tub.
You're reading "O" magazine at the pool.
You don't care about carrying your pool items in a plastic Walgreens bag.
You have a tripod for your camera.
You pack your breastpump.
You score at the end of the night by soaking your feet in the jacuzzi tub with your girlfriends.
You crave a glass of wine, instead of a sugary cocktail.

You buy 'going-out' clothes at White House/Black Market

girls just wanna drink wine, part two

Sunday morning, we woke up early and although it was difficult to tear ourselves away from the palatial complimentary breakfast buffet (sarcasm), we headed up the 101 to Santa Maria. Back in February, Diana, Allison, and I visited one of our favorite wineries, Rancho Sisquoc which is located just off Foxen Canyon Road. Although we were ready to get home after, we vowed to come back and take Foxen Canyon into Los Olivos ... so we did.

Once again, the Flood Family were amazing hosts at Rancho and we were able to dry quite a few new wines. They also recommended we pay a visit to Kenneth Volk, which wasn't on our way, but sounded intriguing.

Kenneth Volk is a small winery, just up the road from Rancho, specializing in Pinot Noir. Volk previously founded Wild Horse Winery, which is fairly well-known. The tasting room is not much bigger than my bedroom, but the grounds are beautiful, and the wines start at about $22. While there, one of the employees volunteered to take on a short tour, which was fun. I bought a bottle of the Negrette.

Our next stop was Foxen, which received a "must-visit" recommendation from Adam. If you are driving on Foxen Canyon, keep your eyes peeled because it is very easy to drive by, but their wines were great! The winery was founded in the mid-1980s and has a minimalist approach to winemaking. I loved everything I tasted, but most surprising was their Port. As a rule of thumb, I am not a fan of port, but Foxen's wasn't overly perfumy. Diana and I bought a bottle to drink with the flourless chocolate cake I am going to make for her upcoming birthday.

Next up was a stop at Fess Parker, which is one of the more-famous wineries in the area. I have been there before, and it is absolutely beautiful and the wines are tasty. However, somehow, I missed out on the fact that Fess Parker is the actor who portrayed both Daniel Boone and Davey Crockett. How I missed this in spite of the fact the their are coonskin caps and muskets all around, is beyond me. Once we made it into Los Olivos proper, we visited the Heather Cottage, which serves as the tasting room for Daniel Gehrs, a recommendation from Allison's brother-in-law. The winery was founded in the 1990s, and Gehrs was formerly with Zaca Mesa. Overall, nothing was outstanding, but they did have a good Rose and the tasting area is pleasant.

Our final stop was Sunstone ... Diana's request. Sunstone is another mid-1990s winery, but they are different in that their wines are organic and their grapes are grown without the use of pesticides. It is located directly next to Kalyra and the grounds are stunning. It was difficult to enjoy their whites as you tasted them outside and it was nearly 100+ degrees. Their reds were tasted inside, which made for a much-more pleasant experience, although again, I liked everything, but nothing stood out. I did buy another Rose ...

After some traffic in Santa Barbara, we sped home to Redondo ... with a pit-stop in Westwood for ... you guessed it ...

girls just wanna drink wine, part one

This weekend, my roommates and I headed up to Santa Ynez for yet another wine tasting weekend, although this time, there actually was a purpose! Back in October, Diana and I became Kalyra Wine Thieves (wine club members). Saturday was their annual Summer Member BBQ, and being the good members that we are, we grabbed the roommates and drove up the 101.

The BBQ itself was great ... we ate good food, tasted wines from the barrel, and tasted even more in the tasting room. Although it was 200 degrees outside, we managed to keep cool, and hung out with Noodle the resident dog. For those of you who haven't tried Kalyra, it's hard to find in the store, but Diana have quite the supply ... come on over!

After the BBQ, we drove into Solvang, which is a small, Danish tourist village. Being a recent Michigan transplant, Steph had never been ... and Diana and I didn't mind because one of the Kaylra employees gave us the name of a great wine bar in town, which we followed up with a trip to a bakery for cinammon bread.

After our pit-stop we continued on the 246 to Buellton, where we were staying. Coincidentally, Buellton has a Firestone-Walker Tap Room, which is one of Diana's favorite beers so of course, we had to sample there. The beer was good, although let's be honest, a 4-beer sampler doesn't even hold a candle to the 24 they pour at Sierra Nevada. I'm just saying!

At this point, we needed to dry out so we headed back to our hotel and took a dip in the jacuzzi before heading to dinner at the Hitching Post. For those of you Sideways fans, the Hitching Post is the restaurant where Miles and Jack have dinner their first night. Having now experienced it myself ... oh my god their steaks are fabulous! So tender and almost buttery. We all went to bed with very happy bellies.

So that was day one, and trust me, day two is even better! Stay tuned ...