Excuse me, did you say spice?
If I had a dollar for every time I tried a new Gewurztraminer - the varietal popularly held to be "the spicy white" - and didn't find it even remotely spicy I'd be quite a bit better off than I am now. The fact of the matter is that Gewurz, which literally means "spice" in German, isn't usually all that spicy. It's super aromatic, to be sure: I almost always detect pronounced aromas of lychees, flowers and canned fruit syrup, amongst other things, but rarely the token spice I'm looking for. So imagine my excitement when I came upon what I've affectionately dubbed a Gewurz's Gewurz - one that tastes and smells exactly like the varietal's supposed to! Even better yet: this beauty hails, of all places, from little-known Tasmania.
Spring Vale Vineyards' 2004 Tasmanian Gewurztraminer is off the hook.
The lovely medium-bodied white offers up assertive aromas of - you guessed it - baking spice, but also bright flowers, canned fruit syrup, lychees, anise seed, herbs, peach and orange juice. Those are my tasting notes just about verbatim, so that's pretty much exactly how the wine struck me! That the spice note came first on the nose means that this wine was vibing spice pretty intensely.
The palate was dry with moderate ++ acid and really pretty lemon squirt, apricot and mineral notes. There was also an unexpected creaminess at the conclusion I can only attribute to Gewurz's typically high alcohol, which can create a broad mouthfeel particularly on a wine's finish.
Really good wine coming from way down under
But enough of this techno mumbo-jumbo. The wine's combination of dryness and lively acidity (atypical for Gewurz, known for being a dangerously medium-acid (READ: Flabby) grape!) make this a simply fabulous food wine. Again, this is not usually the case for Gewurz, so I was beyond thrilled. With its spicy nose and lively palate this wine is, at long last, the PERFECT wine for Thai food.
Tasmania, situated to the south of the south eastern tip of the Australian continent, is a relatively new and very exciting wine region. While some vineyards were planted there as long as ago as 1823, things didn't really kick into high gear there in terms of wine production until the 1950s. Spring Vale Gewurz is made by the Lyne Family, a long line of farmers on Tasmania's East Coast. Kristen is the only daughter of the patron and patroness Lyne and she makes the wine with some help from her husband. They also make a Pinot Noir (largely held to be the best varietal coming out of Tas), a sparkler, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier.
I definitely recommend checking out the Spring Vale site and looking for the wine, which I understand will soon be available stateside for around $30/bottle. Personally, I can't wait!
FACT: San Franciscans spend more on books and booze (love that combo) than any other city in the nation according a federal survey released in 2003 (as reported by 
A couple of Saturdays ago my sister and I took an impromptu trip to Santa Cruz. It was one of those Saturdays where you find yourself, surprisingly, with some free time on your hands, and so we thought "why not?!" I'd been itching to check out the area, and harvest time seemed the perfect time to do it. All I can say is that we had a simply fabulous time, particularly at very laid-back 
False Start
With no formal education in running a winery or growing grapes, the two candidly sum up their first go at things as "a big failure." Now, more than 30 years later, the Moultons still live in the school house, and they've improved considerably in their winemaking prowess. So considerably much that they're now considered one of the preeminent producers in the Santa Cruz region and make a deliciously varied lineup of wines that I was lucky enough to taste last weekend during a delightful harvest-time visit to the winery. (Pictured with Anne & Dave.)
My sister and I were greeted warmly by the Moultons and members of the Burrell School Vineyards crew when we arrived for our tasting and tour. It was a Saturday, one of the three days of the week when the winery is open to the public (it's also open Fridays and Sundays), and the place was teeming with visitors. But not in a commercial and crowded way like you can sometimes experience in the state's more popular wine regions. Instead, it was in a convivial, country picnic sort of way. 
The tasting room is located in the old teacher's carriage house situated adjacent to the school house, and visitors amble up the stairs to the interior tasting room in groups, then flow out onto the deck to taste their wine and enjoy the magnificent view. There's absolutely no sense of urgency at the place - folks, in fact, seemed to feel right at home spending a half hour or more relaxing in the early autumn sunshine with their feet up while sipping leisurely on the good stuff. It was exactly what a winery ought to be: chill. 
As I mentioned, we had the opportunity to chat for a good amount of time with Anne and Dave, whose entrepreneurial spirit and passion for their operation is clear and inspiring. After their initial failure at the place, the couple did their homework. 
A stint at Davis for Dave and research on Anne's part helped them avoid mistakes they'd made the first time around, when they admittedly botched everything from root stock selection to irrigation system design. Their efforts and commitment to Burrell School Vineyards paid off: their wines have lately been showered with awards and recognition, including gold and silver medals from the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, Best of State @ the California State Fair (Cab Franc) and many, many more. 
Here's a great story: Anne told us about how she planted 3,200 vines on the property in one run near the beginning of the operation, with each vine taking approximately 10-15 minutes to plant. I did the math and WOW - that comes out to about 40,000 minutes of planting, which is the equivalent of about 16 weeks of labor (assuming a 12.5 minute plant time and 40 hour work week). That's sort of like if you took an internship for 4 months and all you did was ONE THING the whole time: plant grape vines. Can you imagine the back pain?! The montony?! Just goes to show how much you have to love something to breathe life into it and get it off the ground.
Dave's dedication to the place was apparent in his attention to just about everything going on at the winery. It seemed every time I looked up he'd scurried off to attend to something new, such as adjusting the rock art they have on display in the shape of the Burrell School Vineyards schoolhouse; or tinkering with one of the vintage tractors they use in the vineyards; or adjusting the doorstopper on the patio of the tasting room (great Hawaiian shirt, Dave!). As an entrepreneur myself, I can absolutely relate to this desire to make everything "just so." 
It's their baby, after all. Anne echoed my sentiments at one point, admitting that "it's hard to let go." She was referring to their increasing need to delegate responsibility for various operations at the place since they're growing so quickly. Clearly, HR and management issues aren't just isolated to the "traditional" businesses: even winemaker/growers have to cope with the blessings and curses of business growth. 
All in all, the visit was really lovely, with a nice spread laid out for us by the Moultons and Laura Ness, the operation's Director of Marketing. Laura is incredibly knowledgeable about the Santa Cruz Mountains growing area, and she was a big help to my sister and me in planning our trip. She asked me to PLEASE tell everyone about the upcoming 
Passport, a really big event in these parts, is a day when a ton of local wineries (including some that are ONLY open for Passport events) throw mini parties for tasters who weave their way through the mountains tasting at various spots. Local restaurants get in on the act as well, offering discounts and waiving corkage fees on Passport day, contributing to the general sense of festivity that - apparently - is felt in the area. I've never been to Passport but after this trip I can see why a lot of folks rally for it!
As for the wines we tasted at Burrell School, there were many and lots of them very good. Besides the Cabernet Franc, which is a total treat and the winery's specialty, my favorite wine was the Verandah Vineyard Pinot Noir, which is one of the few wines sourced from vineyards outside the Burrell School estate vines. The fruit hails from, quite obviously, the Verandah Vineyard, a spot that's located at about 800 feet in the southerly portion of the Santa Cruz Mountains growing area just about due inland from the town of Aptos. The Pinot was really lovely and boasted a deft balance between the structure I've come to love from mountain fruit and pretty oak. 
After lunch we had the opportunity to "play" for a while at the vineyard, and that's exactly what we did. First, we cruised into the barrell room with BSV sales guru Anthony Kresge for some more tasting. Yum. 
Then we headed outside to walk in the vineyards and take a look at the late-harvest Chardonnay that was still hanging on the vine in early October. It's the first time BSV is doing a late-havest Chard, and the berries were super golden and concentrated-looking. We wish them luck with the stuff.
Next, we arrived at an out of commission tractor on the property (BSV still uses heritage Cletrac tractors; pruning and picking are done by hand) and decided to use the opportunity to ham it up for some pics (including the one at the beginning of this entry). We hope you enjoy! The day was just beautiful and the earlier pic of us chilling on the tractor perfectly captures the laid-back atmosphere at BSV. 
We eventually circled back towards the school house and tasting room and said our good-byes. But, we couldn't leave without taking at least a quick try at punching down the caps on the just-picked berries sitting in bins on the way out to the parking lot. Here are some more snaps of us giving that activity a try (hint: it's serious manual labor - definitely consider sticking to your day job if you think this looks romantic and escapist - it's really not). 
Sufficiently sated with enchiladas, prosciutto, freshly picked figs and lots of vino, we took our leave. But we weren't going home! At least not yet. 
We'd been roped into heading to at least one more winery by Anthony, who assured us that Christine Slatter, owner of 
Turns out Anthony was right: Christine proved to be a total peach and allowed us to taste lots of her delicious wines and linger even though the sun was on its way down and her last customers had left. Not that I was surprised: the hospitality in the Santa Cruz region is really superb. Folks are down to earth and warm and - the best part, perhaps - they're more than happy to share their fanastic wines with curious visitors!
Speaking of which, Christine makes a DYNAMITE Syrah that I simply LOVED. Here's a picture of it - the 2003 Hunter Hill Syrah Arroyo Seco Mesa Del Sol Vineyards. WOW! Peppery and subtley gamey like a Syrah ought to be, this wine was simply fabulous. In fact, I was later photographed cradling a bottle of it like a baby. Odd? Absolutely. But, if you've ever had a wine that really struck an emotional chord, you might find yourself doing this too. That, or I'm officially a wine nut.
Following are some more pics at Hunter Hill, including a view of the inside of their tasting room and some shots of the grounds outside, including one of a curious gnome in a flower pot that struck me as "tres Santa Cruz." Also, some pics of apres-tasting activities on the beach in Santa Cruz and a fun dinner out with the locals (yes, we switched to margaritas - even a sommelier has to take a break sometimes!). We're already looking forward to our next visit. Thanks, Santa Cruz! :) 
For those of you who find traditional wine events a big yawn, consider coming out this Wednesay to Nightlife Napa Valley here in San Fran, where, besides a bouncer, a DJ and sundry other accoutrements usually reserved for the club scene, you'll find fantastic wines from more than 60 Napa Valley vintners to sample. Word on the street is that Kirsten Dunst made a cameo at the sister event held recently in LA at the Roosevelt, so if this one's at all similar it should be a stylish affair. 
Plus, it's put on by Napa Valley Vintners, the folks behind the fabulous 
The impetus for the event is recent market research that reveals that Millenial-era wine drinkers (folks in their 20s) are the biggest wine fans ever. This group, now fondly referred to as Echo Boomers since they're having the same impact on driving trends as the Baby Boomers did in their day, is being aggressively marketed to in all sorts of ways and with varying effectiveness, as can be expected of any sort of marketing. 
Nightlife Napa Valley is the Napa Valley Vintners' first effort at reaching out to this group and I'm very interested to see how it turns out. I absolutely LOVED their Auction Napa Valley earlier this year, which I dubbed 
For the longest time I've been hankering to go to 'Wichcraft, the well-known NYC gourmet sandwhich outlet that's chatted up in seems like every NY food blog I read. So imagine my excitement when I heard the spot was opening a location in our new monolith mall, the 
Seriously, the sandwiches are truly mind-blowing. Well, some of them, at least. I actually had a funny thing happen in that I ordered a roasted pork version and wound up with a fontina/trumpet 'shroom/truffle one that was HEAVEN. A manager type came around to ask me what I thought and, when I told him it was ridiculously good but, unfortunately, not what I'd ordered, he let me keep it and then fixed up my original order. 
Should I be embarrassed that I ate the whole thing while waiting for my "real" sandwhich? Followed by half of the pulled pork one a few minutes later? Probably not, unless I'm talking to my personal trainer (wait, I don't have a personal trainer, so I guess that's an unequivocal 'no'!). I mean, aren't carbs coming back? If 'Wichcraft has anything to do with it, they will be soon enough.
The pork sandwich (specifically: roasted pork with coppa, pickled pepper relish & fontina on grilled country bread) was good and definitely qualifies as an above average lunch, but the glorified grilled cheese that I got by mistake qualifies for something much better: an orgasmic lunch. Don't laugh! It was seriously out of this world good. The kind of lunch you rave about to your friends later and daydream about while plucking absentmindedly at your computer keys circa 2pm. 
In fact, the sandwich was so good it reminded me of similarly stellar treats I used to devour at 
Plus, the credit card machines weren't up and running (they used an old school card imprinter and I couldn't leave a tip on the card), but they apologized and said that this would be resolved in short order. The main room also seemed a little bit too large and sparse, something I expect will also be resolved as they get into their groove and warm the place up with some more ambiance. 
All sandwiches (arranged under "breakfast," "cool" and "warm" categories) are around $9, and there's a soup & half sandwich option at $8.50 that seems like a good deal (and great way to cut down on your carb intake, as ordering a whole sandwich puts you perilously at risk of eating the whole thing). Soups a la carte are $4, side salads a reasonable $3. The breakfast sandwich of fried eggs, bacon, gorgonzola and frisee looks right up my alley and will probably be my next conquest, be it morning or noon (bfast 'wiches served all day).
Bonus: ingredients are sourced where possible from small producers and green markets and 'Wichcraft is dedicated to using antibiotic and hormone-free meats. Size: 'wiches aren't huge, so even if you DO wind up eating the whole thing you don't feel like a rock just settled in your stomach. And, the SF location is ultimately supposed to offer beer and wine, a definite bonus in my book (although didn't have it when I was there). 
Need another reason to go to 'Wichcraft? San Fran's first Bloomie's is there, in a big way, to tempt your wallet after your reasonable lunch at the sanchwich shop. Plus, I hear there are lots of goodies inside the new mall, pictured here. I've still not ventured in, as am a little intimidated. I'll probably make it inside when provisioned with adequate funds and a lot of time. Til then!
Where it's at:
The Wine Spectator reports that Italian road safety authorities are enraged that hotel heiress and debauchery-prone party girl Paris Hilton is promoting a new Italian bubbly called Rich Prosecco just after she was nabbed for DUI in Hollywood. USA Today counters that the latest in Paris' slip-ups just functions to boost her popularity, and probably won't hurt sales of the bubbly either (may even give 'em a little boost, much as her now famous video did for her own image not long ago). So, which is it - good or bad? Let's weigh in, shall we?