Wines and Makers is very pleased to be able to represent and sell MoniClaire Vineyards wines. Peter and Mary Beth Smiderle’s home and vineyards set on 10 acres of beautiful benchland just off of Lytton Springs Road in the Dry Creek Valley. For the most part, their vineyards are sloping west which, some suggest, lends itself to a certain voluptuousness-big ripe fruit-characteristic in the wine. This certainly proved true after tasting the MoniClaire Petite Sirah-this wine has great fruit and spice nuances and is not, in my opinion, overly tannic. Peter and Mary Beth also produce a classic, ageworthy Dry Creek Zinfandel and a crisp, citrus nuanced Sauvignon Blanc (sold out). Total production for these three wines is around 300 cases. The Smiderles have all the passion in the world for MoniClaire (named for their two daughters, Monica and Claire) and it shows in their wines. Peter has been around winemaking all his life and is now fulfilling a dream, while Mary Beth’s eyes sparkle whenever she is speaking of MoniClaire.

See our MoniClaire wines here

I have been putting together the menu for our Christmas party next week and have been researching and scouring my old recipes and looking for inspiration in my many cooking magazines. I came across an oldy but a goody that always impresses and wanted it to share it with you all.

Here is the link:

Cream of Mushroom Soup served in Baby Potatoes

If you are short on time just buy already made cream of mushroom soup and viola no one will know and be equally impressed.

This recipe is great because you can pair it with chardonnay (not to oaky, any of our chardonnays would work great) or a Pinot Noir (again all of our Pinot’s would be great, but I would say the Balletto would be the best).

For more Appetizer recipe and wine pairings check out our recipe page.

By the way if any of you are in town next week, we would love to see you at our Christmas Party, so please come!