Dale and I went to one of our favorite wineries yesterday mainly to purchase replacement Barbera but also to sample the tasting menu and see what’s new. All of it was delicious and on sale if you bought at least half a case, but we stuck with our plan and purchased just two bottles of Barbera, a full-bodied red wine that is a signature wine of the Sierra foothills.
While we love quality wine, we don’t think of ourselves as wine snobs and don’t really know much more or want to know much more than, yum, I like that. It was just our luck to be standing at the wine bar next to a group of sophisticates discussing the merits of various wines.
I detect a hint of hot tar from a freshly paved road.
Oh, is that lemon meringue pie I taste on the back of the tongue?
Hmmm, laced with wood and deep notes of tobacco …
Dale and I were dying. I mean, we know detecting all these flavors in wine is a real thing, but it was starting to sound ridiculous. I whispered to Dale, “Is that ripe roadkill I’m tasting?” He said, “No, perhaps a hint of just-mowed sod with a backdrop of goose poop.”
All that said, we love being close to the wineries and find most of the wines in El Dorado and Amador counties to be just as good and less expensive than anything you might find in Napa or Sonoma. The tasting rooms are usually in beautiful settings, and the experience is completely unpretentious if you don’t count local wine snobs. It’s a lovely outing for us, and we never buy wine from the grocery store anymore. Maybe we are snobs.
Two popular wines that are typically not grown in the foothills are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. However, some of the wineries partner with growers in other areas and bottle it locally.
To accompany our Thanksgiving dinner, we’re having a bottle of Pinot Noir from E16, a winery in Somerset, which is about a 30-minute drive from our house. The grapes are actually grown in the Russian River Valley. E16 wines are spendier than some, so we save them for special meals but not necessarily special occasions. It just depends on what we’re cooking and how we feel.
We don’t follow rules about what to drink with what. For example, some say you should only drink white wine with fish. We had sautéed Petrale Sole the other night, and we did enjoy that with a nice Sauvignon Blanc ($9.99 from a bottle-your-own event at a local winery). However, we usually have red wine with salmon … and turkey.
Just for fun, I included a picture of a wine purchased 30 years ago, when we lived in Egypt. We’ve been hauling this thing around for a long time. It was pretty awful even then, but you know, you make do with what you have. We called it EBD wine. That stood for Egyptian Bathroom Disease. I’m sure it’s even more awful now, but aside from the wine, we loved Egypt and seeing Gianaclis in the rack brings back fond memories.
That’s the thing about wine. You don’t have to be an expert. I don’t know tar from tobacco, but I know to start with what tastes good and focus on the people, the food, the conversation and the scenery – the whole experience.
Our Pinot Noir will accompany roast turkey, Maine potato stuffing, green beans almondine, mashed potatoes and gravy, and homemade cranberry sauce. Dessert is pumpkin cheesecake.
What’s on your menu?
I’m far from being a wine snob but I know the kind of people you’re talking about. I haven’t had any for almost four years now, since my vertigo started. I’m not about to risk it by having some either. I’ve always liked wine, primarily white but I do like Pinot Noir. Members of my family will definitely have some wine on Thursday.
I don’t know what we’re having for dinner as my sister and brother-in-law are the cooks. All I know is we’re having gluten, dairy and soy-free pumpkin pie and french silk pie, because I am making them. As awful as the pumpkin pie might sound, it got rave reviews last year. Let’s hope it wasn’t a fluke. 😊
I believe my vertigo was a different kind than yours, but I know how awful it is. I haven’t had an episode in over a year, and here’s hoping to many more without it. Wine was never an issue for me, so yay! I’ll bet the pie is delicious, but hearing about it makes me grateful I don’t have to worry about being gluten, dairy and soy-free.
@Linda – I’m interested in what wine has to do with vertigo – other than the obvious. Still fighting vertigo after many years. Thanks.
As a precaution to avoid vertigo, I no longer drink alcohol or consume caffeine (except for a little chocolate). Alcohol could potentially be a trigger and I’m not ready to test it yet to see if that still holds true. Almost two years without an episode and if that means abstaining, then I’ll continue to. Even though it’s really tough at times.
Another occasional vertigo sufferer here–it’s awful. Really chuckled at your wine comments. The whole article, however, made me want to open a bottle of wine. My oldest daughter works for Gallo and used to send us four bottle of wine for Christmas, but the company stopped letting employees get it for free. She’d send me the list, and then I’d research the wines and get the ones that had the best reviews. Got some good wine that I would never pay that much for myself. Since it’s only three of us, we’re doing mostly a Trader Joe’s dinner–turkey en crote, cauliflower tot casserole (never had it, good reviews), green beans from a Barefoot Contessa Recipe and Brussels sprouts from a BC recipe and a TJ’s pecan roll for dessert. The other day for our supper club I made a Apple Crisp Cheesecake bar topped with caramel sauce and whipped cream. Will never make it again, I’m sure, but so delicious.
That sounds great! As Food Network junkies, Dale and I differ on the BC. I like her, but Dale thinks she’s snotty, talking about Jeffrey coming in from the city and all that. But she can cook! Last year I made Ina’s apple crostata, which was fabulous and smaller than a big apple pie.
Oooh, those Connaisseurs. Who doesn’t know this species.
Has anyone tried “Vertigo Heel”, a homeopathic product from Germany? My husband suffers of vertigo occasionally and he finds it helpful.
Haven’t heard of that. The medication I take is used widely in Europe but is not FDA approved so I can only get it through Mayo Clinic. It’s worked well for me so I’m hesitant to try anything else. It’s called Betahistine. My vertigo has been diagnosed as either Meniere’s Disease or vestibular migraine.
Sorry, Donna. Didn’t mean to start a vertigo discussion in your post!!
No apologies! This is great. I just hope it isn’t spread through word of mouth. I am happy to be vertigo-free these days.