World Wine Adventure Coming to the North State

We’re bringing the World Wine Adventure to Northern California and sharing the experience with our customers at Vintner’s Cellar. On March 28th were starting California Wine Tours. Our first trip will be to New Clairvaux. This winery has quite a history starting in the 1800’s with Leland Stanford, becoming one of the largest wineries in the world, helping fund the up start of Stanford University and then having 4,000 acres of vineyard ripped out just before prohibition. Join us as we discover how the Monks have rebuilt this winery to become a well known producer of some of our favorite Spanish and Italian varieties! We will be taking a 47 passenger bus from our winery, in Downtown Redding, to New Clairvaux in Vina, just 1 hour south, on Sunday, March 28th, 2010. Call (530) 222-WINE for more information or visit www.222wine.com/winetour.

For more information about New Clairvaux visit www.NewClairvauxVineyard.com

Tags: New Clairvaux

What we learned about wine

The goal of our trip was to learn a little more about wine and how it is produced, sold, and enjoyed in the Old World. Through our trip we tried wines from all over Europe of all different types and if there was one main thread that carried through them all it would have to be a consistency of quality. We did not have a bad wine on this trip, whether it was a bottle for 3 euros or a bottle we couldn’t afford, they were all well structured, well produced wines. This, I believe, is due to two main factors. The first is the AOC and DOC regulations that determine not only what grapes can grow where, but who gets certified, and even how much they are allowed to produce. These controls over winemaking, which would never fly in the U.S., create a standard of quality that everyone benefits from, especially the consumers.

The second, more interesting factor that I believe contributes to the quality of the wines in Europe are the winemakers. Every winemaker that we interacted with throughout the trip had a passion for what they were doing. It wasn’t about just making wine, it was their life and their families life. This was what they did, and in most cases what their father did, and his father before that. Wine was in their blood from childhood and now they are passing it to their children. They all belive in their soil and treat their land as a part of they family. “Soil is everything” they would say, and they all loved their land. Every year they receive what the land gives them and it is their job to do the best they can with that harvest. Every year is different and no wine is ever the same. One quote that still stands out that I heard at the Sancerre Museum of Wine is “We strive to be great winemakers, the minute we become wine manufactures, we have failed.” Wine making is an Art not a Science. The best Barolo I tasted, the winemaker didn’t know what Brix level he harvested the grapes, he only knew when they tasted right to make a great wine. These people are making wine because it is what they love and they are passionate about their product.

I found it interesting that not one European would tell me what they considered their favorite wine. They couldn’t have a favorite because every wine is different and unique. Each experience depends on the year and how it was grown, exactly how long it has been in the bottle before you open it, what foods you choose to have with it, and even the people you share it with. These all change the experience of a wine and although wines may be similar, there is never one bottle that is exactly the same as the bottle before it. Europeans all seem to understand this and embrace the fact that every bottle of wine will create a unique experience; So how could they have one favorite?

Winemaking is an art, and the winemaker is the artist. They create something unique and beatiful and then put it on display for the world to enjoy.

The World Wine Adventure

We hope you enjoyed following the World Wine Adventure. It was an amazing trip and we learned a lot from it. We did our best to share a piece of the trip with you and hopefully you enjoyed following along. Come join us at the winery for a glass of wine and we will share even more about our trip, the people we met, and the wines we drank.

Vintner’s Cellar Custom Winery
1700 California St.
Redding, CA

(530)222-WINE
http://www.vintnerscellar.com

17 hours and 3 bags later

So the time has come for our adventure to end and although it has been a great trip, we are ready to come home. With a our last cappucino and a Roman sunrise we boarded our flight and began the trip. 17 hours later we landed in Redding and welcomed the warm dry air. Our bags however were not so fortunate. They were still in Frankfurt, Germany. The airline had forgotten a bin and our bags were in it. Not to worry, they will be delivered to you house tonight, we were told. 24 hours later and several phone calls, we finally saw our bags again.

Meats in Italy

One of my favorite parts of Italy was the meats. They seem to eat a much wider variety of meats all prepared in different ways and I loved it. Of course prosciutto was at the top of my list, but I learned the difference between Cotto and Crudo. Two different types of “prosciutto” in Italy but in the U.S. we would call them prosciutto and cooked ham. What we know as prosciutto is “prosciutto crudo” and ham is “prosciutto cotto”. Both salami and prosciutto come in various ages which determines how dry they are as well as the flavor. Of course the older the meat, the more expensive it is. All of the local markets have a large deli area with all sorts of meats. From different cuts of beef to a variety of styles of pork, the options are endless. Once the meat gets home it seems as if they have 1000 unique ways to prepare each one, and they like to combine different meats for preparation. We had several roasts that were amazing. One had beef rolled with both prosciutto crudo and cotto then garlic wedges stuffed inside with a pesto gravy glaze over the top. Meat is served with every lunch and dinner in some form and it was great!

Marco and the 3 hour tour

The day before the end of our trip Marco had to work in the morning but as soon as he got home he was ready to show us Rome. We got in the car and began an amazing tour of Rome that only a local could provide. The two sites that we still wanted to see in Rome were The Mouth of Truth and The Catacombs. We knew that we would get to The Mouth of Truth but thought there was no way to see the Catacombs before they closed. Marco took the wheel and showed us how the Romans drive. From the apartment to The Mouth of Truth, a quick stop for a couple of specific gifts, around Rome to show us the gates to the city, the Emperors Palace, the Vatican, and then a suprise visit to the Catabombs 10 minutes before the last tour. PERFECT! We thought the compromise would be the Catacombs but he made it all work and we still made it out to Sacrafano for dinner with the rest of the family. It turned out to be a great last day all because of Marco.

Roman Catacombs

Marco took us to the Catacombs of San Callisto in Rome today. It was a last minute decision to go on our last day in Italy. We only walked 200 meters out of the 20 kilometers of catacomb tombs underground. They were 4 stories deep and held the remains of 400,000 Christians. We saw ancient carvings in marble and original wall art of religious meanings. They held several seperate family catacomb rooms and the whole space was lit by hand crafted sky lights everywhere. Several popes laid here to rest until the catacombs were excavated and the bodies were moved in the 9th century. We also learned that when someone died, others would celebrate with a feast in the catacombs. The deceased person was also included in the feast by sharing in food & wine; the family would pour wine over the tomb or into the tomb through a channel. The tour was totally worth while and we truly gained respect for the ancient Christians and their desire to preserve the religious souls of those who have passed.

Meet Mario & Fiorella

Mario and Fiorella joined us for dinner the night we arrived in Rome. Fiorella is the direct cousin of my mother and the mother Francesca. She lived with my mother from the time my mom was born until she left for the U.S. at the age of 4. Mario and Fiorella live in Sacrafano, about 20 minutes outside of Rome. Mario is a painter and has been painting as a profession for most of his life. He has created movie posters, book illustrations, and large paintings. He painted the mural in the picture below which is in the entry of Marco and Francesca’s house. Today Jana and I will visit the Sacrafano house.

Meet Marco & Francesca

Marco & Francesca live in a beautiful apartment in the center of Rome. Francesca is another cousin of mine and she has been married to Marco for 15 years. The were recently in the U.S. for about two weeks when my sister was married. Marco is a Doctor and Francesca is an editor. They both work in Rome. This is Francesca’s second career as before she became an editor she was a dancer for over 20 years. She performed Ballet all over Europe and studied in Paris.

They have both been very generous while we have been here.

Florence in 16 hours

We arrived in Florence by train at around 8pm. We quickly checked into our hotel and immediatly were off to the streets to enjoy Florence by night. This was really the first city that we seemed to be completly surrounded by American tourists. The end of May seems to be the beginning of a large travel time for college graduates and the start of a lot of family vacations. We found a little pizzeria for dinner and walked over to enjoy the view from one of the many bridges in the city. The next morning we woke up early to go explore more of the city. Since our train to Rome was leaving at noon we planned our route so that we could see as much of the city as possible. We saw the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Church of San Lorenzo, the Church of Santa Maria Novella, and Ponte Vecchio among several other sites. I think we did pretty good for only 16 hours in Florence. This would definetly be a place to enjoy for another 2 days or so.