Tim, Jenn and Doris enjoy a taste of Bargetto Winery in the Santa Cruz mountains. (5/28/05)
So to make up for those years of neglect, we decided to spend the entire weekend with Doris and Jenn (my dad is out of town this weekend anyway). In fact, in the 16 years that I’ve been friends with Doris, this trip marks the very first time I’ve ever been to her home.
After a long night of driving, we finally arrived at about 2:30am this morning. After getting a few hours sleep, we were up by 9:30 am to enjoy a fantastic breakfast of toasted bagels, cream cheese and chives, smoked salmon, sliced cucumbers, sliced onions and capers.
After showering up, we headed out for a day of wine tasting. First stop: The Bargetto winery in Soquel, which is just minutes away from Doris & Jenn’s home. Of the wines we tried, only the cabernet sauvignon stood out. At the very least we had fun talking to the old guy who was pouring our samples.
Afterward we headed to a fancy cheese store, where we sampled (and subsequently purchased) some fantastic cheeses, olives and gourmet crackers.
Tim and James enjoying the wine at Hallcrest Vineyards in Felton. (05/28/05)
Next we headed to a quirky little winery in the hills: The Bonny Doon Vineyard in Bonny Doon, which was a blast. The wine labels on the bottles alone were worth the trip. We had some fantastic wines here, including my five-star favorites: Muscat Vin de Glaciere, Grenache Blanc and Angelica. Honorable mention goes to the Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc (of which we bought a chilled bottle for the picnic) and Bouteille Call (pronounced Booty Call).
Our third and final winery stop was the Hallcrest Vineyards in Felton, where we tried a number of their organic and conventional wines. While there we purchased a fantastic Pinot Noir from the Belle Farms Vineyard. Afterward, we took our wine and had a gorgeous summer picnic on their terrace overlooking an open field.
Doris samples some of the many delights we had at our picnic. (05/28/05)
We had mozzarella and tomato salad, prosciutto and cheese rolls, a variety of cheeses (including a fantastic lamb’s milk camembert) and crackers, an organic sunflower seed rye bread and our wine.
We headed back to their home, watched the Aviator on DVD, and then ate a fantastic dinner of barbecued chicken, fresh veggies, cheesy potatoes and cucumber salad. For dessert, we had a very refreshing dish of baked nectarines a la mode. It was the perfect ending for such a pleasant day.
2 comments:
Sounds like you guys had a great time. That food sounds delicious!!
-Christine
Again with the food!
I know what you mean about not having enough time to visit people when you're in another town. I have the same problem when I'm in Los Angeles.
That said, I'm in Los Angeles at the beginning of July (July 4th weekend) -- this time for sure. So, if you're in town, we should carve out some time for coffee or a meal if you're available.
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