That escalated quickly

So I'm the direct opposite of a fighting kind of person, but when I do go to the mat, it's usually when someone is trying to spread lies or take advantage of people. I just read a facebook post from a winery trying to sell its wine by scaring people away from other wines. They claimed their wines have no sugar and therefore no hangover (most wines do not have sugar, the sugar converts to alcohol in the fermentation process and THAT'S what gives you the hangover). They claimed most other wineries are actually, secretly owned by three large corporations (again, not true) and finally, claimed other wineries regularly add things like fish bladders, corn syrup and purple dye to their wines (nope).

Anyway, I fired off a snappy retort and then wondered if I should have gotten so riled up. Injustice is a big deal to me, and either presenting yourself as something you're not or presenting someone else as something they are not will usually get my blood boiling.

So to calm down, I'm going to come here and post some lovely pics of the late Oregon summer. We've been walking in the evenings, and a good walk in the vineyard, a park, or by the ocean will soothe even the strongest urge to sort someone out online.

I should probably go for walks more often -- for many reasons -- soothing the savage beast of injustice being just one of them.

Golden fields of harvested grasses.

These Pinot grapes are coming along nicely!

A little early fall color.

Sunset in the vineyard.

The Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Tillamook.

 

Tillamook Bay.

Rockaway Beach, Oregon.

Watch the skies, people.

A leak and a party

If you look at the mid-right hand section of our weather station, it indicates over 13 inches of rain just since last October! That is close to our yearly average and it's only 4 months into the season.

This last week has been one for the books as far as rainfall goes. We've basically received our yearly allotment of rain for the entire rain season already -- and historically February through March are also usually quite rainy, so it looks to be a banner year for this part of California as far as the wet stuff is concerned.

Greening up nicely.

Of course this does not really get us out of our drought since it's so entrenched and has gone on for so long, but it does help on a short-term basis. It will be nice to see our spring wildflowers in moist-enough soil to thrive, and there is standing water everywhere right now and creeks running that we've never even seen before. So I expect everything to stay greener than usual if we keep getting regular installments like we've just had. Fingers crossed.

So last week we had a leak, caused by a loose vent on the roof, which put a little spot in our bedroom closet ceiling and led me into the attic with a flashlight, a bucket and a tarp. Big Ag is having shoulder issues and can't climb up there but I wanted to make sure all my clothes and shoes stayed dry during the deluge. Luckily the leak was easy to find and fix, so now everything just has to dry out -- and our clothes are safe. 

Since our geographic area tends to relocate to the damn surface of the sun in the summertime I have no doubt that the drywall will air out with no mold issues, so that's good. And we already removed all the wet insulation.

Winter Table.

Dig in.

So the middle of the storms and leak, I did the logical thing one does in the face of terrible weather and decided to have a big dinner party at our house (on a night when we only had showers expected instead of a downpour).  We called it "The Essentials" and asked all our friends to bring a bottle of either red or white that they adored, and always made sure to have on hand when they were having wine at home. I made ribs and sous vide turkey breast, so you could sample appropriate food with your wine, as well as roasted potatoes, a pot of beans, and garlic bread. It was sort of barbecue meets elegant, or whatever passes for elegant at this homestead. I thought the brown and white table decor came out rather well.

I am also learning to not be afraid to use shortcuts in some areas when entertaining, in order to make myself more accessible to guests and so I don't need to start drinking at 4 pm to take the edge off my stress. I try not to fix things that need a lot of babysitting, instead doing some store bought things (like the garlic bread) but giving the main courses my full attention. 

Need to call the sommerlier to choose a winner from this bunch.

But even Yoshi the Somm is undecided.

So a lot of wine was drank, massive amounts of food consumed (so glad I don't have self-conscious friends who merely graze on stuff, this group really digs in) and a homemade apple pie, brought by one of my guests, for dessert. A spontaneous after-party ensued at my neighbors' house and featured slot machines, cards, beer drinking, popcorn and karaoke. 

No one even discussed politics, despite the inauguration being held the day before and the marches taking place that same day. Which just goes to prove good wine really does make everything (seem) better.

As you can imagine, Sunday was enormously quiet due to small but significant hangovers for both Big Ag and myself. Oh well. We watched a shameful amount of television, ate what we pleased, and expected nothing productive to occur.  It's been too long since we spent a day doing nothing. And unless you are sick or hung over, doing nothing is harder than it looks. Chores sing the siren song of the Puritan Work Ethic, but sometimes you just need to resist for the sake of resisting.

Without making a resolution of it, I've sort of decided I want to entertain a lot more in 2017 and think the enjoyment of friends, good food and wine may be what it takes to have a great year. Between my garden, my home and those people I most enjoy being around, I'm thinking "Make The Homestead Great Again" will be a mandate we follow through on.

Of course we all know the homestead is already great. But you gotta have a good catch-phrase.

Last Day

So I had my last day in the tasting room as a regular pourer on Friday. As usual, there were the awesome 99 percent of our customers, who I had wonderful conversations with and who were truly pleasant to be around.

And then there was the other one percent; two parties in particular who made my Last Day Memory List:

 There was a huge party of 10 who showed up without reservations, ate lunch and wine tasted and really seemed to enjoy themselves until the bill showed up and they started bickering between themselves over who owed what (this after we even split it up for them).

 Ultimately they thanked me profusely for my wonderful service (and it was, believe me) and left me a pile of money that "covers the bill AND your gratuity." As they drove away and I counted it up, they were short five dollars on just the food tab, which of course meant absolutely no tip on $240 worth of service. Ouch. 

Since they were very sincere in their appreciation and I really do feel I "clicked" with them, I do know it was not anything I did, but rather their own inability to get along with each other and fairly contribute to the bill that caused the problem. But for me and the lone chef who worked so hard to accommodate a totally unexpected party of 10 people, it was a little disheartening.

Then there were the last customers of my day, two older gentlemen who knew a lot about wine and entered into a really pleasant discussion with me about it -- although from the get-go, there was something about them that did seem a little "off." They were very interested in our Cabernet, in fact to a point where they requested not one but TWO re-pours of it (meaning a total of three tastes, or a little more than a half-glass of just that, plus the other six wines we sample), the general indication that someone is about to make a serious purchase of wine -- maybe a case or more. 

I happily complied and told them when I was considering buying bottles of wine, it was important to me that I knew what I was getting.  One of them then mentioned that he was getting on a plane in a couple of hours, so I explained our shipping policy as well as how we can bag up a few bottles so they can be safely put into checked luggage  

Of course when they came up to pay, they did not buy a single bottle, which means they occupied a table for the better part of two hours and basically asked for free re-tastes of wine instead of doing what most nervous flyers do and taking a freaking xanax or atavan.

And it occurred to me that pouring wine is not unlike teaching in this one way: while most of your students (or customers) are lovely and nice people, it's the no-good, horrible ones you remember. The student who throws tantrums. The customer who stiffs you on the bill or tries to take advantage in some way. 

And the hardest part is smiling and continuing to present a professional face through that. Most of us have to do that (occasionally or regularly) with our bosses, but to have to do it with both our bosses as well as the general public makes for a tough job.

The good news is that after a period of time, the awful stories somehow all become terribly funny, which is why I love reading hotel/classroom/restaurant exposé books ("Heads in Beds" is my hands-down favorite, from a former hotel worker, as well as the blog "The Bitter Waiter").

In short, I'm happy to be moving outside to the plants, who never stiff you on the bill or demand more than what you are supposed to offer them. Because while I do recognize how awesome 99 percent of my wine pouring customer base was, it's honestly the one percent that you go home and think about at night. 

Wine and little old ladies.

Running the world.

The wine dinner last night was wonderful, and despite all the great food and wine the best thing about the night was sitting next to a couple of elderly ladies (probably 75-80 years old or so) and getting to know them.

At first I was not happy to be seated at the "old folks" table rather than the younger set, since our table was definitely the quietest in the room. But as I talked more to these women, I discovered they were total badasses. One was a personal estate attorney who had, literally, just retired this month after an extremely long and successful career. The other was a former aide at the U.N., who told us tales of conflicts in Bolivia and meeting presidents and foreign heads of state.

Just goes to show that you should never count the little old ladies out before getting to know them. Sure, they might be grandmothers who bake great cookies and bounce grandkids on their knees, but they might also be women who have been busy running the world for the last half-century, kicking ass and taking names.

I only hope I can do the same as I enter my golden years.

Last of the Wine

Last night I opened the last bottle of the Dandelion Wine I made back in 2011. Since moving here to wine country I have not made a single batch of wine, mainly because between my job at the winery and the fruits of Big Ag's labor (he grows wine grapes), we need more wine like we need a hole in the head.

But dandelion, carrot, pear and other "country" wine is substantially different from commercially-processed grape wine in a couple of ways. Home fermenting and aging is more imperfect, and therefore country wine tends to be sweeter, with less alcohol. It's probably more like the wine our ancestors would have had on their dinner table. And it's a completely different taste. Rather like a full-bodied brandy, but with much less alcohol and therefore lacking that familiar alcohol "bite" brandy has to it. It's probably closer to a Maneshewitz-type wine, which will either thrill or revolt you, depending on your taste buds and preferences.

There are advantages to a lower-alcohol wine, the most important being that you can have a couple of glasses with dinner and not be under the table. Since I also add the bare minimum of sulfites, it's also much less likely to give you a stuffy nose. And the full and slightly sweet flavor really does pair well with an lot of different foods.

And you haven't tasted heaven until you've had pears poached in actual pear wine, I'm tellin' ya.

And so I've decided that this year I'm getting back into the home wine-making business, even if it's just a dozen or so bottles. I should have a good enough pear crop to make wine from, possibly even ollalieberries (I made some raspberry wine several years ago that was amazing, so I'm thinking this will be similar) and the cream of the crop, carrot wine, which tastes like the most amazing pinot grigio you've ever had....but at the same time, doesn't.

In vino, veritas is an old saying. In wine, life, whether it's cabernet or carrot. 

End of the Dandelion Wine. *sniffle*

One A Year

I was at a party last night where one of the hosts was extremely late. Since he works as a winemaker at a neighboring winery, no one was really worried because it's harvest and everyone works long hours at harvest. Sure enough, he showed up a couple of hours into the party....purple as could be. Yes, you are reading correctly -- HE was purple. From head to toe purple.

He explained that he'd fallen into a vat of Petit Syrah while they were doing punch-downs (when grapes first begin to be processed, they go through two processes called punch-downs and pump-overs in order to keep the wine and skins stirred and mixed up as they're being processed). He was punching down of a thick vat of wine (probably 10 feet tall) when he slipped on the edge of the vat and fell in.

Death by Syrah? Could happen!

After we got done giggling and teasing him as he peeled grapes off his ankles and arms and shook them out from the inside of his shirt, he explained that although he was absolutely fine and found the whole thing kind of funny himself, in California one cellar worker a year actually dies from falling into vats during punch down. Depending on how you fall, apparently once you are under enough of the grape skin/wine mixture (which can be extremely thick early on the process) it's hard to "swim" back up to the surface. So people sink to the bottom before they can be saved.  That's why at most wineries, cellar work is done with the buddy system, where one person will always watch another if they are punching down, for safety reasons. Which was proven to work last night, as my friend was able to be pulled back out of the vat after falling in.

At times my job in the tasting room is challenging, but I can honestly say it's never been life threatening. And up until last night, I would have said the same for winemakers and cellar workers. So the next time you hoist a glass of wine, remember that someone possibly risked their life "punching down" those grapes so they could be juiced, fermented and bottled for you to enjoy! Another "strange but true" tale from wine country: Death by Syrah -- and not from drinking too much of it. Who knew?

The Long Goodbye

"Late Summer" painting by Bev Bunker

The end of summer is always the same -- like a loud party guest who has overstayed their welcome and is the last person present, summer is the equivalent of that person -- sitting on the host's sofa at 2 a.m. relaying long stories about their trip to Europe last summer while asking if that vodka bottle they saw in the kitchen is empty yet. This is what late summer boils (literally) down to here in wine country. Summer has no dignity, and no clue when it's no longer wanted.

Summer, you were so much fun back in May. Now, if I may state things bluntly, you suck. Go home.

Harvest is in full swing out in the vineyards, and the 105-degree temperatures mess with the work schedules of all involved, since that's just too warm for anything to really do well out in the fields -- both the humans as well as the grapes themselves. And to have this kind of late-summer heatwave (a regular, normal occurrence around here) hitting when pumpkin spice everything is clogging up the shelves in the shops, and when the grocery aisles have featured products staged on clumps of fake fall leaves and hay bales, well, it's just depressing. For me anyway. It's like the best event is going on someplace, but not where you are, and you know you're missing out.

But at least there's a partial remedy for the frustration. And that is for me to take down the summer garden.  Because if I've had it with triple digit temps, it's a pretty good bet the squash plants I put in last spring agree with me. Oh, they're still producing squash, I'll be honest. I'm guessing squash plants will keep on producing after the last nuclear holocaust happens on Earth. The Bible is wrong -- it's not really the meek who will inherit the earth -- my bets are on the squash. 

But right now if I see another dish with squash in it I'll scream. Ditto for eggplant. Tomatoes are not high on my list of favorite foods right now either. They, like the party guest I mentioned in the first paragraph, have just spent too much time here and need to go elsewhere to continue their show.

 I hear spring is just getting started in New Zealand, so may I suggest there?

But as far as taking down the garden goes, some rituals are held not because of a season, but in anticipation of it. So although it feels nothing like fall here right now, I will take out the garden because I know, sure as the sun rises, that fall is coming (someday, hear oh Lord my prayer). 

But I will tell you that although I know the change in the seasons is most assuredly coming, it does nothing to decrease the resentment and restlessness I feel every late summer when I see all those hay bales and pumpkin-spice flavored crap in the stores everywhere. Because fall is my favorite season, and I know its happening somewhere. Just not here.

For now though, here in wine country we'll keep our shorts and tank tops on, harvest the grapes, and just dream of a place where pumpkin-spiced stuff seems right for the time of year. And maybe drink some wine to console ourselves. 

The News

So the big news I wanted to share was that Big Ag interviewed for, and got, a position here locally as a vineyard manager.  Finally he will be working and living in the same zip code!  When we moved here in 2012 he decided he wanted to keep his job, which was a 65 mile drive from our home.  For the most part, it worked out well, except on Fridays when the commute home was bogged down by the many tourists coming in to roost on the Central Coast for the weekend, and then it could end up being a two-hour haul stuck in back of a long line of recreational vehicles and people not used to driving through the curvy hillsides.

At the time we moved, we knew it was a sacrifice and one which he cheerfully made, in fact the commute was not why he left his other job.  But it did occasionally make life more difficult for him, such as if he wanted to schedule a dentist appointment on the same day as he was working, or if we had an event to attend here.  But more than anything, he wanted a new challenge, and I think growing grapes is going to provide that, as well as put him in a place with better air, better land and more water.

So starting next month his commute will probably probably 10 miles, tops.  There are several vineyards he will be managing, one of which we can even see from the house.

The thing I am looking forward to the most is having him around more -- to occasionally be able to meet up for lunch or for him to stop in at the winery during the day just to say hello. And of course with losing the 12 hours per week he was driving to and from here and work, he'll be around a lot more anyway, both in the mornings and evenings.

And now we can both say we work in the wine business; he in growing, and me in serving and education!

In other wine news, the other night we watched the documentary, "A Year In Burgundy," and absolutely loved it.  I highly recommend it, served with a nice Pinot Noir or Chardonnay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxoExRnzyaI

Harvest

So last week the large fruit bins began rolling across town and into the vineyards, meaning Harvest Season 2014 has begun.  This means, officially, the lazy lull that is late summer is over, and the busy season is beginning for the wine industry.

We're still in a lull as far as tourist season goes, which is nice after all the busy days of May, June and July. Traditionally, August and February are our slowest months for tourism in this area, which is always nice because we can spend a bit more time visiting with our customers and even heading into the barrel room ourselves to see how the wines already in production are coming along. (The '13 Grenache -- already CRAZY good!) But as harvest rolls along, things will pick up. October will be crazy busy in the tasting room, and so will the holidays.

But for the crew back in the barrel room and out in the vineyards, the next couple of months are when it all happens, and by the time we get busy, they will be mostly done in the vineyard.  There are grapes to be harvested, several times daily pump-overs to do in the holding tanks, and other tasks too numerous to mention. So all the winemaking staff that had been hanging out in the tasting room helping out because they didn't have much work elsewhere seems to have vanished overnight.  We'll probably see them again at the employee Christmas party.

Barrel room goings-on

Harvest begins with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, and then progresses through the other assorted red and white grapes, finishing with Rousanne, which has a reputation for being slow on the vine.  Sometimes it's kept folks out in the vineyards until the holidays, but this year we will probably finish up with our harvest by mid-to-late October.

Yet no post about Harvest would be complete without mentioning how early it's been recently....historically early.  With the earlier springs (and therefore earlier bud breaks on the grape vines) we've been seeing, the season then is shortened on the other end, which means mid-August -- not October -- harvests.  It's something of an alarming trend if you're sensitive to climate-change issues, but of course the wine industry is not alone in experiencing this. You probably have as well, in your own vegetable gardens.

Either way, ready or not, here we go.  Another year, another vintage, and hopefully another great group of wines.

Legal

My son turned 21 this month, so today we took him out for his first wine-tasting adventure.  

Just a tad overserved by the time all was said and done. Kid's gotta learn to pace himself and not be afraid to use the dump bucket on the bar once he's tasted something.  

I kept trying to tell him he didn't need to drink everything that was put in his glass, but since we had a designated driver that was his own lesson to learn I suppose.

Staycation

I took this week off from the winery thinking I might make a road trip to visit some family in Tucson.  But Big Ag is in a busy time at work and, since I didn't want to go without him, I decided to keep the vacation as a plan for the future and just have a staycation instead.

Of course since it's spring, this means I will be doing a whole lot of work around the property.  Including some big projects I'm excited to talk about!

The basic design.  Mine will be cuter. I hope.

First of all, I bit the bullet and went ahead and and ordered a big, well-made 10' x 8' chicken garden shed to be the new chicken coop, which will be delivered and built this coming Tuesday.  Right now Cleo and Chloe, our newest chicks, are living in a small cage because there is not enough room in the current set-up for them and I want to ensure their safety. An overcrowded flock is one where the little hens get picked on by the big ones. Ellen and Portia (my Buff Orpingtons) have been great with the little girls so far in limited visitation times, but I don't want to push it. 

Once the coop is complete and the new hens are ready to move in, Miss Red the Angry Rhode Island Red will go down to live at the winery with the flock there, or will maybe become so enraged at the idea of moving she goes into a permanent state of rigor mortis and I use her as a garden statue.  At this point, I frankly don't care which.  Chickens who try to kill other chickens and humans only get so many last chances.

Big Ag is also in the process of building a large shop for himself, which will mean relocating some of our raised beds. Since we knew this in advance the beds will be fallow by summer, so we won't lose any vegetables. But it will be exciting to see this project come to fruition, if only because a large amount of crap stuff that's in the garage now will be moving out there.

And we're still in discussion about sheep or goats, not sure when that is going to happen but at least it IS a "when" and no longer an "if."

And this staycation week will also see me going to an industry event at another area winery, so perhaps I'll snap some pics and take you all along with me.  The temperatures are going to be warm and it seems like it's going to be a perfect week to enjoy some wine with friends as well as friends I've yet to meet!

And did I mention I will also be painting this fancy schmancy chicken coop?  Gotta start collecting paint samples and trying out color schemes.  The coop has shuttered windows, giving it a cottage-like look, and I will be landscaping in front of it to give it some nice "curb appeal."  It may be only chickens living in it, but we have to look at it, since it sits more or less outside the dining room window.  Any way, that will be a fun project I'm looking forward to in the weeks to come.

Hopefully, this staycation will be the right amount of work and rest.  It's so easy when you're enjoying the merry-go-round of modern life to remind yourself to occasionally step off the ride and take a break.

Some more about Spanish wines

As promised, I'm going to do a little write-up on the wines we had at our Spanish Varietals tasting party last week, and provide some brief descriptors on each.  ALL of these wines are relatively inexpensive, and ALL were outstanding.  Honestly.  Usually when we have these parties there is at least one wine where I will seriously say "hmm...not my favorite," (being kind) but this time each wine was a hit for both me and Big Ag.

Spain is a country known for its wide variety of climate and therefore the quality of their wines varies widely from region to region.  In general, the central tablelands and southeast areas of Spain are known for making the best wine, although due to the hilly terrain, great microclimates for growing can be found throughout the country. 

The first wine we sampled was a Cava, or Spanish Sparkling White Wine.  Unfortunately, I did not see the bottle, but I was impressed with Cava if what we had was typical.  Not overly sweet OR dry, it was balanced, bubbly and exactly what you want out of a sparkling wine.

Our first red wine was Garnacha, made by Tapena, 2010.  Although this is a grenache (despite the spelling being slightly different), it was actually a heavier wine and therefore should probably have been served further down on the list with the bigger reds, but no matter.  Garnet colored, smooth, with strong notes of blackberries, it is a full-bodied wine with a lovely finish.

The second wine was the one we brought, Encanto (Charm) Seleccion 2008. (It was a steal at $20!)  This wine was made from 100% Mencia varietal grapes. A clear, ruby coloring, medium bodied wine which would pair well with almost anything you'd normally have a Pinot, Zin, or Grenache with, it had an awesome bouquet of fruit blossoms, and lots of black cherry notes on the palate.  We will be buying this again.

Third up was the Bodegas Vaca Rojo, 2009.  It had a more orange tint to it, a lot of soft lemon in the bouquet, and some nice lemon and orange notes on the palate.  Of all the wines, this was probably my favorite, and I'm thrilled that it is made right here in Paso Robles and on sale at the winery's tasting room downtown. I can't wait to go in and try their other Spanish varietals as well.  And gorgeous label artwork, don't you think?

The last was Romanico, Bodega Teso la Monja.  Made from Tinto del Toro grapes, this had a strong bouquet of cloves, tobacco and french bread.  Lots of oak and smoky notes on the palate, with a lovely, strong finish.  This would be great with pasta,  paella or just a great loaf of bread and some cheese. It's a big red wine.

I should note that at least 4 out of 5 of these are available at BevMo, even though I'm loathe to recommend them because I think it's better to buy direct (but know that's not always possible).  And the Bodegas Vaca Rojo is probably available on Bodegas' website, so you could buy it there since it's from a small boutique winery and probably not in BevMo's huge system.

Either way, Cheers, or as they say in Spain, Te Brindo!

Spanish wines and strawberry jam

Last week was a social whirlwind, so this week will be a homesteading one.  

Bodegas "Vaca Rojo." Yum. Just Yum.

We had two parties to attend this last week, the first being a full paella dinner with wine tasting, featuring Spanish varietal wines.  We all bought a wine, no one knowing much about Spanish wine beyond Tempranillo, all of us hoping for the best.  The results were amazing.  From Cava to Mencia to Monastrell, each wine was amazing, complex and delicious, capable of pairing with foods far beyond just Spanish dishes.  We will be buying more, especially since a couple of local wineries actually produce great wines from Spanish vines.

The second was the pick-up party at the winery, where we were again wined and dined and where I get to take off my "employee" hat and put on my "wine club member" one. Lots of friends, lots of wine and great food. 

So as you can imagine, between preparing for parties and working, not much got done on the homesteading front other than planting some lettuce transplants.  This week, I will be hitting the ground running.  I have horticultural vinegar to spray on weeds, chickens to attend to, strawberry jam to make and banana buckwheat pancakes to serve. I even have a container of shea butter so I can make some lotions, to soothe my hands, which have become a little dried out from digging in the dirt. 

I may even make some hot cross buns, because, well, hot cross buns. (They need no other reason.)

Sometimes being out and about actually inspires me to get back to this good and simple work I do here, proving the theory that we're better at whatever we're doing when we take a break and do other things for awhile.

I'm happy to be heading back to the kitchen, the chicken coop and the pasture, full of paella and wine, grateful for spring and the good life on the land we have here.

My inner homesteader's idea of a shopping spree

Success

The dinner party for 10 last night went off without a hitch, which was no mean feat, considering my relative inexperience hosting large groups for sit-down dinners and wine tastings.

At each place setting were wine analysis sheets, rating the wines' appearance, bouquet, and taste/texture.  We do our wine tasting first, and then share a meal, and since the theme for this tasting was "Big Reds," I served a Prime Rib with Yorkshire Puddings, mapled yams, a large salad, and chocolate mousse for dessert.

One of my neighbors is an enologist for a westside winery, and since he's in our winery's Wine Club, I invited him and his partner to join us for the festivities.  There were some interesting discussions on corks, winemaking, and Old World vs. New World wines, which I found fascinating. The great thing about wine is that, when the conversation turns to "industry talk, " it's still always happy and enjoyable conversation, filled with laughter and learning.

In order to keep strong smells out of the house (essential when doing sensory analysis of wine) I used the propane barbecue outside to cook the prime rib, and luckily was about to get it to a steady 325 degrees and cook it perfectly.  The Yorkshire Puddings were the big hit of the night, I think mainly because people were pleasantly surprised to learn they were not going to be forced to eat actual pudding at dinner.

An the chocolate mousses were devoured as well, including the vegan ones I made for my guests with dietary restrictions (who bought an incredible grains and mushroom casserole as their main course, which was absolutely delicious -- I snuck a bite!).  I actually enjoyed the vegan mousse as well, especially with the coconut milk whipped cream I used as a topping.

And the big wine winner for the night was this beauty:

Unbelievably soft and full-bodied, full of lovely fruit notes but with enough tannins to perfectly balance the wine.  I am not exaggerating when I say this is absolutely, hands-down, the best Pinot I've ever had the pleasure to taste.  Ever.

Brrr!

O.K.,  O.K.  I'm sure you get it by now.  I am obsessed with the weather.  I once even started a novel where the character who saved the day was going to be an elderly man in a rest home whose main pleasure in life was watching The Weather Channel and checking regional radar every 10 minutes.   They say every author puts a bit of themselves into each character they create, so there you are. Here is what we will have in store for us tomorrow:

This may not be cold for many northern places in the United States. But honestly, 16 degrees is cold for this part of Coastal California.  Our homes are not even designed for weather this cold. I already know our water will freeze at the well pump, so am planning on taking my shower and getting my water poured for my morning coffee tonight.  It won't last forever, but it will be a cold day in hell (colder than this) before the weather stops me from having my morning Joe even if it is Decaffienated-Joe.  A warm drink in the morning is still the best way to start any day.

At the winery where I work, it's ding-dang cold, too. Customers blow into the tasting room with the chill winds, in all bundled up, eschewing the outdoor views from the patio (despite the awesome scenery) in favor of a warm place inside at the bar.

The vines are asleep; the cold will not hurt or affect them in any way, and all the fruit was harvested long ago.  The smell of fermenting grapes, the fruit flies, and the excitement of bottles being put up or shipped out all went away, along with fall's leaves and balmy breezes.   Now we do everything at a slower pace.  We visit with customers longer, pause to take in the late afternoon sky as we polish glassware behind the bar, and talk of holiday plans.

I love working in a tasting room at this time of year, as I get to spend more time leisurely getting to know our customers, organizing and re-stocking wines and other goodies, and enjoying (literally) the fruits of our labor.  It's a time when I truly take stock and feel lucky to get paid for the work I do, because many days, it feels like pure pleasure.

Around the homestead, it's all about keeping warm in the hours I'm home, with less to do outdoors than usual.  I have a decent, carrot and onion crop in the ground right now, but only the lettuces need to be covered. So I just keep things watered, thaw the poultry's water each morning, and make sure everyone has what they need to keep warm, including us.  Last spring's carrots, peas and the pig we butchered go into hot soups and stews to warm us from the inside out.  

Wine and veggies are alike, in that they are little tastes of spring and summer weather, keeping us warm throughout the long winter's nights.  So have some hearty stew, have some wine, and look out the windows and dream of whatever makes you feel a little warmer.  It's cold out there.

Add and Subtract

The homesteader's dilemma

One of the basic tenants of homesteading is to turn one's home from a zone of consumption into a zone of production.  But it also means that if you use x amount of energy, you try to either reduce or at least maintain that amount as you go along in life.  Meaning you don't add appliances without thinking about their impact on your household bills and the environment.

Sometimes this is a challenge.  Right now, for instance, I have realized I am accumulating a pretty nice collection of wines, some of which are new and could do with a nice laying down for several years.

A laying down, you ask?  Yes.  If you know wines, you already know that this means.  Get a bottle of, say, 2010 Cabernet, and while its drinkable now, it will be even better in a few more years.  Laying it down means just that:  Setting it aside and, just as important, storing it properly, so you can hang onto it until it comes to the peak of its deliciousness, when it's truly ready to be opened and enjoyed.

Laying down on the job

The other day at the winery, for example, the staff sampled a 2009 Cabernet, which everyone thought was delicious, until the manager opened a bottle of the 2005 Cabernet, which had been stored in the temperature controlled wine library to age for four years longer than the 2009.  The change was remarkable; the "laying down" truly took a good wine and made it great.

Wine is an investment.  I have a coworker who collects new wines, allows them to age, then checks on a wine brokers website to see when it's selling for the most money. That's when the wine is at its peak, so that's when he opens his bottle.  He said usually a good wine will double in price by the time it reaches its peak, and some become more expensive even after that.  

So as I'm working for wine now and amassing a pretty nice collection of wines, I need something to store them properly in, i.e., a decent wine refrigerator (rather than the 8 bottle one we currently have), so I can do the same thing as my coworker and open no wine before its time.

Investment receptacle

But we're homesteaders, and so begins the homesteading thing of adding and subtracting  as far as our power usage goes.  When we get rid of the inefficient 8-bottle cooler we have now, that will save some wattage.  Moving the chest freezer indoors has saved us a lot of wattage also.  So now I can justify buying the wine fridge as we've created energy savings elsewhere.

These are not hard and fast rules; we're not energy-use zealots, but we do believe in not wasting finite resources, like those that bring us our power.  So we check and we balance, and we find a way to preserve our new and delicious investments.