Fabulous Fridays!!

I LOVE Fridays! I work hard during the week as a school psychologist for Emotionally Disturbed/Court School students but come Friday I am ready for a change of pace--and it is my day off. Granted I often do the errands, keep appointments, pay the bills-- all that necessary routine stuff to keep the place flowing. Plus, I happen to love the nesting stuff-reorganizing, rearranging, placing the flowers in the right vase, finding just the right linens. I even enjoy doing the laundry (to be sure this is because there are only 2 of us living here!). So I putter and plan meals and watch my HGTV or (when cooking) the food network.

Mostly, I love the freedom of my Fridays. Today I met my husband downtown at Pete's for coffee and later met a girlfriend for lunch at the Black Crow. Chico is a university town so it is always fun to see the hustle and bustle of students during lunchtime. Warm weather is here so the shorts and summer dresses are showing up all over-fun! I had an appointment that was cancelled at the last minute so I high tailed it over to get myself a pedicure since it will be nearly 90 here this weekend.

Then home to get started on our dinner poolside tonight-all with freshly painted toes.

Summer is coming--bring it on!

Go taste this!!!

Am I being unfaithful???

Living in northern California, we have the best American wine region within a two hour drive! Yes, we're talking about the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, and their various offshoots. So who would have thought I'd fall in love with a different California wine region? Sacrilege!!! Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top. It’s just wine, right?

First a little bit about a great trip, then the wine. Following a wedding, a visit to a beautiful newborn nephew, and time at the Getty Museum, we hit Buellton and Paso Robles for a couple days of tasting. If you’re not familiar with Buellton, think “Sideways”, the movie. And Paso Robles is just up the road a bit from that area. Wineries and vineyards are springing up as fast as the incredible purple, gold, blue and yellow wildflowers we saw on the hills. The best and most interesting wineries are in Los Olivos, Buellton area and on up toward Paso Robles. They tend to be small, family owned wineries. Although most charge a tasting fee, the tastes tend to be more generous than in my more familiar Napa… like 10 wines on the tasting menu.

So where to go? There are a couple of great back roads that take you through Los Olivos, then out Zaca Station and Foxen Canyon roads. There are many more wineries than can, or should, be hit in a day or two. We liked Fess Parker and Zaca Mesa. As I am always on the hunt for good reds, these two satisfied that need. We were okay with Tres Hermanas, except it seemed strange that the owners and servers do not particularly love to drink the nectar themselves. They did have a nice grouping of rose wines. Their reds were not nearly big enough for my taste.

So here’s the strange news: our favorite food AND wine was at none other than the infamous Hitching Post! It’s a down home funky place most of would not have stopped at were it not for Sideways. The steak was prime beef cooked over a fire of red oak, and the only steak I’ve had in years that was better than our local faves at 5th Street Steakhouse. Then imagine not one, but multiple really good Pinot Noirs! We ordered up three glasses—a “Corkdancer” (fruit forward), a St. Rita’s earth (you guessed it… earthy), and aaaah my new favorite wine, the Highliner. There is a reason you can only order two bottles of the latter nectar at a time. Check it out online, or even better, GO THERE!!!

Road trip!

Scott here-

Central California Pinot Noir. It took a couple of stops, but we found it! A great, big-bodied Pinot. In fact, we found three over dinner. More soon, but think Hitching Post. Think "Sideways", but also think there's a chance that movie really did present us all with some real finds. Think prime steak over a wood fire to go along with those amazing Pinots. Add some romance and verdant hills popping with lupine, poppies and black-eyed Susans, and you have Heather and Scott on a blissful escape from the routine. Details will follow in about 3 days.

Wine of the Day

Scott here... Okay, yes I like a little wine now and then. This pic shows a little taste we had at Mumm's in Napa Valley. Some good bubbly. Not sure what that cute little thing in my shirt pocket is. Probably my pocket protector. But where are my pens?

Wines of the day? '04 Blackstone Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir? Not so much. Drinkable, just not that interesting. '06 Fess Parker Santa Barbara Pinot Noir? Better, but I wish I had the patience to give it another year in the bottle. Had some good fruit, but also a touch of spice. Tanins (that's what makes your mouth pucker or feel dry) were pretty strong for a Pinot. I think Fess Parker's wines are generally as his portrayal of Daniel Boone back in my childhood. Judging by Heather's childhood crush on him, the wines are worth a try. Bottom line: the Fess Parker Pinot was much more interesting than the Blackstone, even if it should wait another year. Besides, Blackstone is a long, ugly and boring street in Fresno. Boring, that is, unless your on the wrong part of Blackstone at the wrong time.

As far as other recent wines, we had a Menage a Trois Red Table wine that is really okay, but if I'm going to go that inexpensive route, I'll stick with my Red Guitar (Spain). Check it out. It's tasty for the price and has a cool name. Yep, I play, so there's the emotional bias for me.

If you want to take a look at more sophisticated wine reviews, check out the folks at Snooth. They're my favorite wine blog of the day... or week., maybe even month.

Okay, I'll say again I'm not a 2 buck (up)Chuck kind of guy. I know some tasters like Chuckie's chardonnay, but I'm a fan of decent red, and the two dollar variety just doesn't cut it for me. I'm a big boy now and I think I should be able to drink an every day wine that costs in the two figure range. Big spender, right? Well, keep in mind "two figures" can mean anything from 10 to 99. I like the lower end of two figures most days, but get me out for a few tastes in the Sonoma Valley and I might end up buying a case of $50 bottles. Yes, it has happened. Though that is a bit extravagant for me, we had a great laugh when the VISA bill came. Really...

Want to go taste at a lesser known name with good reds in the $30-$40 range? Say hello here and I'll give you some cool places. Even if you're not used to buying in that price range, and most wine drinkers are not, it is definitely worth the splurge once in awhile if you're out tasting. Keep in mind, most restaurants mark their wine prices up by a big chunk. So, you can take your own nice $40 bottle to a fine restaurant, pay a $12 corkage fee and end up with much better wine than you would get for that price if you bought off the restaurant's wine list.

Also, let me know if you have faves in the Santa Barbara-Paso Robles realm. We'll be there in the not-too-distant future. Hitching Post for some Pinots will be a definite stop. They were serving great Pinots before Sideways made a mockery of the scene. Aside from that, my dear Heather likes a good Pinot, so Scotty will provide! Hasta...

Off for some R and R

We leave soon for a "whirlwind" trip. We start in SF with a stop at the school psychology conference (CASP). Scott will be receiving an award for national school psychologist in advocacy and legislation-quite exciting! We then head to Los Angeles for a Lindstrom family wedding weekend. Then off to Newport Beach to meet our darling new nephew, Beck. Finally, a few days just for us-a night in LA at the Hotel Angeleno and a couple of days winding up the lovely California coast, with a few stops in wine country (think movie 'Sideways' but with less angst).

Happy days and if it happens to be a vacation time for you-enjoy every minute! H and S

Sunset view from the terrace

All about the views....and the sunset tonight (enhanced by a lush little pinot noir).