It happened like this: I planned to attend the trade portion and skedaddle home afterward to catch up on some work. Work earlier in the day pushed my arrival at the trade portion later and later, however, until I barely caught an hour's worth of the early session.

With my sister en route to the public tasting after work it only made sense for me to stick around and taste some more wine, I reasoned. We could do family time and wine time AT THE SAME TIME. Talk about killing two birds.

And so. The tasting was very nice, as I said earlier. I'd love to tell you about my favorite wine which, as you may have guessed, I had the opportunity to try twice since I was there for, ahem, quite a long time. But first, here I am with Greg O'Flynn , proprietor of the California Wine Merchant in the Marina and someone I run into at lotsa these events. I always enjoy chatting with Greg about the wines and the crowds. I actually ran into Greg again today at another tasting, but I digress...

My absolute favorite was a Chardonnay from Medlock Ames , a winery I'd never heard of. Here I am pictured with Ames Morison, the winemaker, and Kenneth Rochford, "the marketing guy". Medlock Ames is a small winery located at Bell Mountain in Sonoma's Alexander Valley. Not only were these guys a lot of fun to talk to, they pursue something called "environmentally sustainable" farming, which immediately caught my ear as a responsible-sounding way of making wine.

Indeed, beyond the vineyard (where they farm organically), Medlock Ames takes their unique philosophy into the winery, where they use native yeasts and gravity flow winemaking techniques. Plus, look at the very cool frames Ames is sporting. Hip as well as responsible. Now we're talking.

And the wine! The 2004 Alexander Valley Chardonnay was hands down my favorite of the tasting. Made with 70% new French oak, the wine was rich but still smooth and had a healthy dose of acidity like so many of the Alexander Valley Chards I've been enjoying lately. It was a sheer pleasure. I enjoyed their Merlot as well, the last vintage made from 25 year old vines about to bow out from phylloxera infestation.

Time for a food break. There was some very yummy food at TASTE, although not as much in terms of quantity as I might have hoped. And, the hot prep food was crowded together in a corner of the outside area, making for a serious bottleneck when the tasting was at its most crowded.

The purveyors made up for the crowds with excellent eats, however. The best to be had were the delicious salumi and sausage offerings from Geyserville's Santi Restaurant. Here's a pic of Dino & Ari from Santi, clutching their good stuff. An Italian friend of mine assured me this was "the real deal" - so good he's considering having it shipped to him on a regular basis just to get his fix.

Tripe! Also from Santi. When was the last time YOU had tripe? Love the weirdness of it.

Fritz and Frick. I love the way that sounds. Luckily for me I loved both their wines, so I get to use them together now in the same sentence. Here's Clayton Fritz, the head of the operation and a really nice guy. His 2005 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc was excellent - very crisp with good mouthfeel - as was his 2004 RR Pinot Noir. Both are highly recommended.

Frick's 2002 Mendocino County Carignane was my second favorite wine of the day after the aforementioned Chardonnay. Made from vines over 100 years old and just $16 a bottle, this beauty was redolent with earth and dark fruit. I would enjoy sipping this with all sorts of foods, although the handy notes they had at the table suggest pairing it with duck pate, pasta marinara, salami sandwich and sharp cheeses, amongst other things. Covers a lot of territory, apparently.

Frick's 2000 Estate Syrah from Owl Hill Vineyard in the Dry Creek Valley was also delicious. They recommend pairing it with lamb shank, grilled squash, turkey and goat cheese. Hmm. Not sure I see the goat cheese thing but everything else sounds spot on to me.

Also of note: there were these cute signs reminiscent of street signs pointing out where wines from the various sub regions could be found. I was oblivious to them until my sister said, "I'm tired of Dry Creek, I want to go to Russian River." And I thought, "what is she talking about?? We're in San Francisco, for christssake." Then she pointed at the sign, and I had to smile. Apparently I was so seduced by the wine and salumi I hadn't thoroughly cased the decor, including these signs.

Quickie: There was some fashion on display at TASTE. Just a little reminder that we were, after all, in the big city.

Humboldt Fog. Was ever a cheese this good? Every time I see the stuff it's in some sort of nearly demolished state, as this example is here. This display must surely confirm the enormous popularity of the Fog. It's the BOMB, in my book. Too bad I didn't get any here.

And finally: Inman Family Wines. I really enjoyed their 2004 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris. It was beautifully balanced and had zippy citrus notes underpinned by a pleasant almond note I found really appealing. This is a wine I could drink every day. Gris doesn't get much attention around here, but if this stuff is an example of what's possible in cooler parts of California, I hope I'll be seeing more soon.

A few more pics, including Claire with Dan Glover (love the name), the new assistant winemaker at Dutcher Crossing and previously of Clos du Bois, guy tasting in the crowd, more good eats and more Medlock Ames. Until next time.

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