For Vayle’s fifth birthday, I set out on my most ambitious cake yet. Full sheet size cake pan, check. Four dozen eggs, check. Three pounds of butter, check. A quart of cream, check. You get the picture.

I decided to experiment with my caramel recipe, I have this lavender grey sea salt that is lovely in my shortbread. Somehow I got my measurements wrong and ended up with some really salty caramel. I kept tasting, and wondering if it was me or the caramel, with all the aforementioned butter and cream, I really wanted it to be delicious. In order to figure it out, I opened the perfect thing that goes with salty, a sparkling brut. The only thing we had on hand was the Scharffenberger a really good value, at Wines and Makers for $20, but I have seen it elsewhere for $15-16.

The match saved the caramel, but unfortunately it deceived me into thinking a really salty caramel would be good on a five year old’s birthday cake. There was a lot of birthday cake left on the table, I guess this is a good thing as any of you parents out there know.

Lesson learned. Next year, I promise to keep my adult tastes out of my daughters birthday cake and make something that gets entirely eaten up and all the kids will remember, Vayle’s mom makes the best birthday cake ever!

Last night was the Wines and Makers christmas party and this morning I woke up with some cream puffs and man fudge. Man fudge happened when I left the duties of the chocolate fondue to a man who was not one with the creamy chocolate gananche needed for fondue. What we ended up with was burnt, spicy man fudge. Which was loved or hated.

I intended to pair them with some of our stellar sparklings for the party. But this afternoon when Kevin had a hankering for some sweets I whipped up some ganache to make some mini Chocolate Eclairs, one of his very favorites. I was also enjoying some of my favorite tea, Rooibos (which you can get at my favorite tea shop on the web, Rishi). This is a full bodied tea that is good with cream added, but before I added it, I took a bite of mini eclair, and then drank some tea and realized I just came across something very special. I no longer needed cream for the tea and its toasted flavor enhanced the chocolate and pastry.

All in all a good match, I highly recommend it.

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We always talk about pairing wines with cheeses, meats, white sauces, chocolates, and even music

, but what about conversations or writing? What about matching a wine with one of those therapeutic rants at the end of a hard day? I just had one of those crazy days that I’ll probably be able to look back upon and laugh about, but right now it’s helping to try and forget it with a nice 2006 Syrah by Duxoup

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(pronounced “duck soup”) of the Dry Creek Valley. And…

The juiciness erases getting caught in the rain betweem the dentist office and the coffee shop.

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The smoothness dulls the sting of my hard drive kicking the bucket.

The silkiness smooths my ruffled feathers from a roofing debacle (during rainstorm).

The fruitiness sweetens my perspective on a writing project gone sour.

The warm prickle on my tongue leaves a good taste in my mouth.

The slight buzz after a glass gives me a newfound optimism for tomorrow.

Thanks to a two-person winemaking team who pride themselves on small production and gentle, gravity-flow methods, Duxoup has made my beaucoup bad day all better again.

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Here’s a nice quote to enjoy a glass of Syrah with too:

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Disregard all my “productivity” tips, then.

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It is a conversational piece, it needs love, lots of stirring and is one of my favorite things to make. The other night we had the Pendletons over for dinner and decided to make a butternut squash risotto with chicken, mushrooms and swiss chard Terror by Night buy Halloween II dvdrip *batteries not included film Birthday Girl

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. They brought over some of their yummy red wines but I was a little unsure of the paring as I had a bottle of Balletto Pinot Gris

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open to go with the risotto, as white wine always seems to be the traditional pairing in my book. So I asked Michall which bottle of red he brought would pair the best with the meal, he said the cab would work great and to my pleasant surprise, he was right! I guess that catering background of his really comes in handy as a winemaker.

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Okay, who doesn’t love cheesy bread, or more accurately, pastry? I am always looking for an excuse to bake something, as well as a reason to drink some sparkling. So what happens when I get a chance to combine the two? Heaven. This is a pretty easy recipe for Gougere

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and it looks fancy for when your friends come over for some Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs.

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Today was one of those days that makes us feel lucky to live in sonoma county. We spent the day gleening the vines around Wines and Makers with good friends, the Turk and Cypher families. The girls stomped the grapes and my old friend Miles (along with his lovely gal Elizabeth) made this video to share with you all.

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The other night I was short on time and wanted to make an impresssion. Trader Joes to the rescue. I got 2 boxes of Vegetable Samosas and served them with some major grey chutney from the english food section at Big Johns, here in Healdsburg and viola! I wanted to serve the Hawley Viognier

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, not only because I adore it, but it is amazing with Indian spiced food. We also had some of the Anchor Steam Summer Brew on hand, which was also a stellar match.

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It is one of those perfect comfort foods. Mushrooms, scallops and cheese, Coquilles St. Jacques looks elegant and is easy to make. You can get everything you need to make it at Trader Joes, it looks perfect in a scallop shell, but a ramekin will do. The wine to go with it is a no-brainer, I chose the Hawkes Chardonnay, a favorite around here, it is a great bottle to have around because of its versatility (which also makes it a good choice as a hostess gift). You can also pour a brut sparkling or even a sauvignon blanc with this dish, plus if you have a beer drinker in your midst, they will be happy with that pairing as well. Try it, you can’t go wrong.

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It’s 102 degrees in Portland, Oregon today and I don’t have air conditioning. What a perfect time to open two Sauvignon Blancs! Let’s do something different this time… It’s fight night!

In the American corner, we have a bottle of Kelley & Young 2007, hailing from the Alexander Valley in California (home of Wines and Makers).

In the Kiwi corner, we have a lean, mean bottle of Nick Goldschmidt’s Boulder Bank 2008 straight from the vineyards of Marlborough, NZ.

I pop them both at the same time (unscrewing the Boulder Bank) and pour about three fingers of each into white wine glasses. I didn’t want to give any height advantages in this four-round bout.

Round One
Starting the round with a customary clinking of glasses, I notice that both appear to be quite similar in color: they are a light straw shade that is beautiful, soft and crystal clear.

Round Two
Kelley & Young comes out swinging when spun in the glass. After the wine surface lowers, the legs reveal themselves evenly as they run down the glass. The Boulder Bank has less distinguished legs that take slightly longer to form.

Round Three
Things are starting to warm up. Both wines are perspiring heavily, ready to be smelled. The Boulder Bank is more aggressive here, with a scent like a basket of fresh-picked green apples, complete with straw undertones. The K&Y is more subtle in this round, reminding me of sniffing the navel of a honeydew melon.

Round Four
In this fourth and final round, no punches are pulled. We dive straight in: The K&Y begins with a ripe grapefruit jab, followed by a lingering and powerful undercurrent of vanilla. This “creaminess” is unexpected and makes me think of oak barrels and flavors I normally associate with California chardonnays, but in an understated delivery that’s quite welcoming… The “sweet science” indeed. I came close to calling it a knockout…

…But then, not to be outdone, the Boulder Bank comes on strong in an explosion of tangerine-like citrus. There’s also a little spiciness there that keeps you on your toes. It’s both crisp and refreshing, without getting so dry that it threatens to dehydrate. This is a serious contender with a completely different style than its Californian counterpart. The bell sounds. We await the judges…

The Decision
The bottles stand side by side; the glasses are empty. These wines left it all in the ring. And the winner is… the winner is… It’s a DRAW, ladies and gentlemen! The contest is too close to call.

Both wines are amazing and exhibit the vast range of flavors that one varietal can exhibit in different parts of the world. My suggestion is to pit them head-to-head against each other for yourselves and make your own call. There are no losers when it comes to good wines!

Time to hit the showers.

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Drew Padilla, an architect with SmithGroup in San Francisco, and good friend of Wines and Makers can often be found on weekends racing his 2004 VW R32 at Laguna Seca, Thunderhill, Infineon Raceway and other tracks throughout the state.  Shortly after purchasing his R32 in May 2004, the vehicle was placed in the capable hands of Streetwerke in Palo Alto to begin making modifications for enhanced performance and safety. In April of 2006, Drew saw his first track at the Streets of Willow in Rosamond and this experience would reinforce Drew’s interest/passion for racing.

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On weekends, when Drew is not racing his car, you may find him in one of the local Bay Area pubs performing with the punk rock group, the Grannies. Drew has alot of passion for everything he does and Wines and Makers is thrilled to be associated with him.

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