Wine Road Podcast: Dustin Valette, Chef, Owner, Valette, The Matheson & Roof 106

Episode 172 | Dustin Valette, Chef, Valette, The Matheson, Roof 106

Beth and Marcy chat with local legend Dustin Valette about his three local restaurants, his history with food and wine, and how Sonoma County (and Healdsburg) has become such an important culinary hub in the United States.

Wine Road Podcast - What's New in Healdsburg with Talia Hart, CEO of Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce

Talia Hart, CEO Healdsburg Chamber of Commerce fills us in on everything that’s new, upcoming and happening in Healdsburg.

Wine of the Day: 2016 Selby Sangiovese
Book of the Day: Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine
Fast Five: Pepperoni Bread from Bobby Terrano from F. Teldeschi Winery in Dry Creek

7% Solution -- 100% Later

One of the best tasting events, in my opinion, is coming up again this week-- The 7% Solution.

The 7% Solution tasting is dedicated to lesser know wines made in California from just 7% of the acreage planted, as opposed to the other 93% of vineyards that are planted with mainstream varieties.

This is my kind of tasting: small, obscure, and focused. Sort of how I might describe myself.

Anyway, last year I attended the tasting at Bergamot Alley, but never got to write up my post as other obligations (read: paying gigs) got in the way of blog time. So here are my impressions of 7% Solution, 100% after the fact.

17 Winemakers poured last year. I can barely decipher my notes as my handwriting has gone on a bender of late, but my sense memory is still intact and I have not forgotten the following wines.

Faves ( in alpha order):
Arnot-Roberts --Yowza! The 2102 Rosé, Clear Lake, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Cao -- Dry and light as parchment with an honest and unpretentious flavor of strawberry and spice.

Forlon Hope -- Loved Everything! These wines are major characters-- vibrant and fresh much like winemaker Matthew Rorick.  The 2012 “Trou Grit” Trousseau Gris, Susina Valley practically bounced in the glass. 2011 “Que Saudade” Verdelho-- alive with minerality and crisp citrus notes that make you wanna cry.

Massican -- 2012 Annia-- 46% Ribolla Gialla, 36% Tocai Friulano, 18% Chardonnay, Napa Valley-- I arrived at the table to get the last taste of the last bottle and it was good to the last drop indeed.

Stark -- Buy. Drink. Repeat. I’m already a huge fan of Christian Stark and his 2011 Grenache Blanc, Sarloos Vineyard, Santa Ynez and 2011 Viognier, Daiano Vineyard Sierra Foothills. These two lovely wines are approachable but never predictable.

Two Shepherds -- 2011 Grenache Blanc, Sarloos Vineyard, Santa Ynez  has achieved a cult following and for a good reason. Crisp, light, and balanced with a lingering thought provoking finish. The primary thought being --“I need more of this, now!"

Wind Gap -- 2006 Nebbiolo, Paso Robles -- I love Nebbiolo and this California grown classic is reminiscent of it’s Italian roots with dark intense fruit and a touch of briny sea air.

Head Scratchers:
Dirty & Rowdy - I was excited to try Hardy’s wine and I must admit I was expecting a lot from this label based on the buzz alone. But unfortunately by the time I was able to get to their table the wine temperatures were not ideal. The Semillon was flat and hot and chalky. The Mourvedre was very restrained and subtle, too subtle for my palate. Dang!

But that was all last year-- back to the future now-- if you can nab a ticket to the 2014 7% Solution Tasting, do it. I wholeheartedly encourage you to go to either the SF or Healdsburg tasting-- see details below.

Side note: Loved the little tasting guide notebook they provided last year with room for notes and nifty pocket to hold business cards.

EVENT DETAILS:

SAN FRANCISCO / THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014 / 5pm-8pm

FOLSOM ST. FOUNDRY, 1425 Folsom Street, San Francisco

folsomstreetfoundry.com / 415-795-3644

HEALDSBURG / SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014 / 1pm-4pm

BERGAMOT ALLEY, 328A Healdsburg Avenue

bergamotalley.com / 707-433-8720

Clash of the Passions: Travel Writing & Wine

It’s great when you get to do the things you love and even better when you get the chance to share it. Although I have this nifty blog about wine, the majority of my writing is travel writing and thus the focus on wine tourism in my blog. This year I was very fortunate to be selected for inclusion in the Best Women’s Travel Writing 2011, and now my love of writing, wine, and travel will converge in a special event.

On September 15^th at 6:30 pm, I’ll be reading my story “In Lardo We Trust” at the newly opened Garagiste tasting room in Healdsburg. The event will include readings by fellow contributors Laurie Weed and Laura Deutsch with an introduction by editor Lavinia Spalding.

So come early, grab a glass of wine and enjoy a fun and inspiring evening of travel storytelling. Bring your questions about travel and writing too, as we’ll have a Q&A afterwards. Books will be available for purchase on site and of course all the great Cartograph and Stark wines are available by the glass.

Date: Thursday, September 15th

Time: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Location: Garagiste Tasting Room | Healdsburg | 439 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg CA

Contact: 707.431.8023

Cupcakes, Meatballs & Pinot

Any weekend that includes cupcakes, meatballs or pinot noir, is bound to be great in my opinion, but a weekend that includes all three is outstanding. I got to experience such a trifecta with cupcakes courtesy of Sift Cupcake Bakery in Santa Rosa. Meatballs from Serena Lourie and Alan Baker in Healdsburg at Pastapalooza! And Pinot at The Pinot Noir Summit produced by Barbara Drady and held in San Rafael. Albeit the last one was experienced vicariously via tweets because I was detained at a prior event and did not make it to the Summit in time for the grand tasting, but that’s the beauty of Twitter, it’s almost like the real thing.

On Friday, I attended the Grand Opening of Sift (@Sifted) in their new Santa Rosa location. We got a tour of the new facility from Shana Ray @sharayray and of course got to sample the cupcakes. There was a special sprinkle application zone and a custom frosting area where one could custom blend frosting with wine. The event was catered with small plates of food including some mighty tasty mini curry corn dogs!

I think I had a little too much fun with the photo booth that was brought in for the occasion and the props that were provided to enhance the photo booth experience. Who know feather boas could be so flattering?

Unfortunately we had to leave the party before the fortune teller began reading palms so that was a drag, but I’m sure the only thing she would have seen in my future was more cupcakes.

Next stop, Healdsburg for Pastapalooza at the home of Alan Baker @cellarrat and Serena @slourie. Alan and Serena hosted a pasta fest of epic proportions. Three kinds of sauces and 200 homemade meatballs! Serena claims she has no Italian ancestors but her meatballs say otherwise. At the party I finally met Deborah Kravitz (@whatdebpours) in real life and got to meet many other new folks as well.

In the meantime, I can't wait for Alan’s next wine release under the new label Cartograph. You can follow on twitter at @cartographwines , but you'll have to get in line behind me to buy some when it's ready.

On Saturday Barbara Dradys (@wineevangelist) annual Pinot Noir Summit took place. As I mentioned above I was unable to make it, but I almost felt as if I were there via all the great tweets that attendees were sending out. I'm marking my calendar early so I will not miss out again next year.

Plotting Pinot

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.