Back from Napa!

Hi everyone! (Dave Here) I finally went to California and it was amazing. The wine and the food are some of the best in the world. I had a fabulous time tasting all kinds of wines from sparkling whites to rich Cabernet and everything in between. I started out in Napa County and then drove out to Sonoma where I tasted some great wines at Ferrari Carano Vineyards. One of the wines I tried was a chardonnay called Tre Terre (2009). The Ferrari Carano Estate is surrounded by vineyards, but they source grapes from several locations. They have a house chardonnay but I wanted to try the Tre Terre as all the grapes for this wine come from the Russian River Valley, one of the most ideal areas for wine production. This wine was fabulous, rich, fruity and full bodied with notes of toasted pear, caramel, vanilla and spice. The wine was aged in both new Burgundian and older French oak giving it depth and complexity. It is a big wine but incredibly well balanced with bright fruit. A big oaky chardonnay like this is one of Tricia's favorite wines, as well as mine. Ironically enough I thought how delicious this wine would be with crab cakes before knowing that Tricia had a great recipe for them. I recommend the Tre Terre with Tricia's crab cakes (see her latest post). This particular chardonnay is hard to find outside of California, but their house label is readily available all over the country. The styles of both are similar but I will admit, the Tre Terre is more complex. Try a Ferrari Carano chardonnay and Tricia's crab cakes and let us know what you think! Here are some photos of beautiful California.

Cheers!

Dave

Ferrari Carano Tre Terre Chardonnay 2009

The Ferrari Carano Estate

Castello di Amaroza in Napa

Fog over Marin County

Tricia and me in San Francisco

Beautiful Lake Sonoma

Anchors Aweigh

Sorry I've been away for so long, I've been locked in this "secret summer" here in San Francisco enjoying the weather. I can't speak for Dave, your guess is as good as mine where in blue blazes he is, and he owes us a whole write up on Napa and Sonoma! If anyone in Providence sees him please grab him by the shirt collar out of whatever bar you're likely to find him in and drag him back to his laptop.

I'm not a huge beer drinker for various reasons, the biggest that I tend to get too full from having one or two and can't properly enjoy my food or more drinks (always the goal). I have, however, enjoyed on more than one occasion the locally brewed and bottled Anchor Steam beer that is widely served in this city.

My brother was in town over the weekend and I whipped up some great baked pasta for us for dinner one night. That has nothing to do with this post, I have no idea why I mentioned it...but we did head for lunch down at Fisherman's Wharf and I had a delicious crab sandwich that I washed down with a couple of Anchor Steams while I gazed out the window at the Pacific Ocean and the line of fishing boats docked along the side. Looking at the boats docked and the ocean always reminds me of home. New Englanders are known for their lobster and clam bakes and boils, and this beer would go perfect with that. It would also go mighty fine with my crab cake recipe below. I know the secret summer in New England is nonexistent and you're all into that gorgeous fall weather by now. I recommend throwing on a big fall sweater and savoring some seafood and beer:

1-2 lbs lump crab meat (no imitation stuff here, it's gotta be the good stuff)
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 medium purple onion
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg to bind
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1/4 cup mayonnaise
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the wet ingredients, then add the dry ingredients and mix (use your hands here). You should be able to form small cakes in your hands and then fry them up in some olive oil in a saute pan until golden on each side, about 4-5 minutes on medium to high heat.

Cheers,
Tricia (Dave is MIA)