Apple Hill Hidden Gems: Part 3 So, we’d had a great first day in the Camino / Placerville area with two prior stops at wineries, both absolute finds! Could this day get any better? Well, turns out it it could. We ended up at Jack Russell Farm Brewery because my friend Rich really wanted to […]
Apple Hill Hidden Gems: Part 2 Our next stop is Lava Cap Winery and it was both a surprise and delight. The tasting room was more of what we’re used to seeing with personal and local nuances reflecting the earthy and artististic feel of the Jones Family. The volcanic-rich soil is perfect for grapes and […]
Apple Hill Hidden Gems: Part 1 “Let’s go to Apple Hill.” Rich and I have known each other since our Napa High days back in the late 70s and early 80s. Our birthdays are five days apart, my own falling on September 1st and his on September 6th. We’re both Napa Valley natives, who are […]
Apple Hill Hidden Gems: Part 4 Back in the late 1980s I was wooed and won by hard apple cider, in England, Minnesota, and Washington state. What started for me as a Tolkien-inspired libation, which I deeply enjoyed while playing Tolkien-inspired Old-School Dungeon & Dragons (don’t judge, it was hella fun!). this novel inspiration morphed […]
Captured Fragrance: G.E. Massenez Poire-Williams Prisonnière, An Unexpected Elegance from European Alchemical Traditions I first encountered French Pear Brandy back in 1994. It was served to me slipped into chamomile tea as someone’s grandmother’s secret vice. As I held this gently steaming cup of tea, the fragrance wisping up was a pure headiness of floral fruity […]
Let’s go to Mumm Napa for a Sparkling Wine Tasting We’d been lured to Mumm once before by an acquaintance who works for Compari. It was a great suggestion and a delightful discovery. We’d heard of Mumm, knew it was excellent champagne and loved the excuse to try it while visiting family in Napa. Europeans […]
When I was in college, I had a very bad episode of food poisoning (sidenote: do not eat a Jumbo Jack burger after leaving it in room temperature for 5 hours). Ever since then, my iron stomach had been a squishy one. Even a minute amount of irritant will cause me to have stomach pain […]
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