Time to change gears with a different topic. Let’s see, no San Francisco, no trains, no Disney, no Nevada, no cranky pants…
Okay, so that’s a challenge. Trying to go back to the idea of exposing you to something outside the entertainment/animation/theme park world. My problem is that I like what I write about, and hence I share things with you, the loyal readers of this space.
Can you tell that the fluff level is set for eleven today? After all, we did sugar last week.
Oh, all right enough stalling.
Wine.
Something I can’t enjoy, thanks to my new medications. None the less, it is an interesting topic. Most of us enjoy a glass or three now and then. Maybe you’ve become accustomed to a good Cabernet with your favorite cut of beef? Or that afternoon glass of Chardonnay helps make the events of your day seem a bit less important? Something about the grape that’s hard to explain?
Don’t bother. If you enjoy it, that’s good enough.
I don’t consider myself a wine snob. I am lucky enough to have enjoyed more than my share of good or better vintages over the years. In large part that is thanks to my maternal grandfather, who discovered wine as a hobby in the later years of his life. Good bottles from around the world found their way into his cellar (basement actually, in San Francisco’s Richmond district, just outside Seacliff). Stored in what was a great climate controlled space (I doubt the temperature changed more than 5 degrees year round in that basement), his collection only improved over the years.
It got to the point where almost any trip with him would include a stop to sample a vintage. Case in point was a visit to the railway museum I later got so involved with. Passing through Fairfield, we pulled into what looked like the driveway of any rural house with an orchard out back. Yet down in the basement was the tasting room of the Cadenasso winery. He must have enjoyed the offerings as he came out with several gallons of their jug red wine. (Things change, as the winery moved to bigger and better things, where the home was is now a shopping center, and I can report that the wine is bottled in the more traditional wine bottles, and at last taste, quite acceptable!)
It was not uncommon for him to buy a bottle or two to sample and then invest in a case or two if he really liked it. When he passed away, the cellar was full of them, and I regret that much of it was sold off to a neighbor at less than it was probably worth. But, not to worry as on my 21st birthday in 1979, we consumed three bottles that today would easily sell for more than $500, if you could find them.
So, would it be any wonder that I would also come to enjoy much of what he did?
Here are a few links to some of the places I’ve sampled a glass from now and then:
Schloss Johanisberg is the home to the Johanisberg Riesling. If you enjoy this sweet wine from any of the California vineyards, the grapes have this place as their ancestral home. My grandfather enjoyed a variety of vintages from this winery over the years, and when we went back to Germany in September of 2001, this was a highlight. The Rheingau produces some of the best German wines, and was a favorite of the European elite from medieval times on.
We had a great lunch at the restaurant at the winery with a great view looking to the west across the vineyards and the Rhein. Even great train watching, too!
We brought back six bottles from here. They do have importers here in the U.S., but it’s not easy to find. Well worth the effort though…
California’s Mother Lode is well known for the tourist destinations. The history of the area tells a good story or more with Mark Twain and Bret Harte among the legends. But the area also has a booming wine economy. Imagine my surprise when my in-laws took my wife and I off to explore the Ironstone Winery complex in Murphys late last year. In addition to some fine wines and an interesting apple brandy, the complex has a good museum of local history (complete with the single largest gold piece ever mined), an amphitheater, and the mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ from Sacramento’s Alhambra Theater. Events year-round make this a busy place!
The Napa Valley gets the lions share of interest when it comes to California wines. Some great places there. One in particular, Beringer Vineyards, traces it’s history back to Germany in 1868 when Jacob Beringer left his home in Mainz and came to the valley. During a visit here, I mentioned having been born there (well, okay, across the river in Wiesbaden, but lived in Mainz – Gonsenheim for six months) and was treated to a free bottle of their Cabernet. The Johanisberg Riesling from here is another favorite of mine.
And not to resist the temptation, how about the Napa Valley Wine Train? Would you believe it has a Disney connection in it’s past? The line was once the Calistoga branch of the Southern Pacific, and in 1960 was used during the filming of “Pollyana”. That locomotive seen bringing the train with Haley Mills aboard in the opening scenes? Western Pacific number 94, the locomotive I was part of the crew for at the railroad museum once upon a time. And on the rear of the train was the “Gold Coast”, once the private railroad car of Lucius Beebe and partner Charles Clegg. It’s on display today in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.
The Wine Train offers trips with fine dining aboard the train as the hook. Meals do not include wine but it is for sale with a great selection of Napa vintages to accompany your choices. I may have been spoiled by other dining experiences on the train, but I didn’t find the meal anything to rave about. It was good, but not outstanding. I’ve only done it once and that was about 10 years ago. Michele and I shared the event with another couple, Michael and Susan, whom we also enjoyed many trips to the Park with. Sadly, Susan passed away unexpectedly, but that bottle of Beringer Cabernet was enjoyed at her wake.
The Wine Train has not had an easy time of things from some of the locals. Dire predictions of too many people coming into the valley and overtaxing the infrastructure have yet to come true. If anything, the train has increased interest in the local wineries, which objected so much to the concept. Had things gone as planned, folks would have taken the train up and down the valley, eliminating a number of cars (and maybe more of a threat, busses!) from the already over crowded highway.
Still, I would recommend it as a must do, if you get the chance.
On our last trip to Disneyland (back in March when Jim and Chuck ran the first round of tours), Michele and I enjoyed the Wine Tasting at DCA’s Wine Country Trattoria. For all of $7 each, we were treated to tasting of three different California wines — a Chardonnay, a Zinfandel and a Riesling. That’s about the cost of a single glass! It was a very enjoyable way to spend about thirty minutes on a sunny afternoon.
Okay, so I snuck in trains and Disney. But I hope you enjoyed this small glimpse into the world of wine. I wish I could!
In my humble opinion, there is really no such thing as the wrong wine. Maybe if a bottle has turned or just outlived its prime, but there are many good choices awaiting anyone — no matter what your budget. Drink what you enjoy, not what someone else tells you that you should.
Even if it is Kool-Aid like Fetzer’s White Zinfandel… Just something galling about a wine that sells for $3.50 a bottle at Costco being sold by the glass for $7.50 or better at snooty bars and restaurants everywhere.
Next time? It’s a matter of perspective as Roger shares before he’s off to spend the long holiday weekend at the Grand Californian. Oh, the pain!
But, it would be darn nice of you, if you could show your support and click on the link for his Amazon Honor System Paybox and throw a few thousand Zambian Kwacha (1 dollar equals 4,726.30 Kwacha) his way to keep him plugging along at the keyboard. To quote Homer Simpson, “Oooooh, how convenient.”