So excuse me, but my ignorance is going to show a bit here… this is how we learn, right?
At first I wasn’t going to try to join this month’s French Wine and Food pairing challenge on Jura. Continue reading
Author Archives: Gwendolyn Alley aka Art Predator
Oxnard Steampunk Fest Celebrates Whimsy with Beer, Wine Tasting
Jump on your airship and cast away to Oxnard CA for this weekend’s Steampunk Festival as Heritage Square celebrates the 25th Anniversary of Heritage Square with all that’s whimsical: music, costume contests, workshops, vendors, and more PLUS beer and wine tasting!
The Oxnard Steampunk Fest Crew, Continue reading
We say #MerlotMe with savory squash soup, salad, grilled cheese sammies for #WinePW
This October for Wine Pairing Weekend we say #MerlotMe!
To help us out, a number of wineries in Washington, Oregon and California, including Napa Valley, have sent select wine bloggers bottles of Merlot so we can #MerlotMe all month and pair them with food.
Clearly this was a challenge for Que Syrah Sue and I were happy to undertake!
Santa Barbara County Wine Country Celebrates Harvest 2016
Silent auction items at Santa Barbara Wine’s Celebration of Harvest 2015
We are in the midst of a four day Celebration of Harvest in Santa Barbara Wine Country this weekend from today October 7 through Monday October 10. While Santa Barbara is getting famous for its grapes, it offers much more agricultural wealth than just the kind you drink!
Special Santa Barbara Wine Country Events this weekend include dinners, open houses, seminars, Vintners Visa, and the highlight of the Celebration of Harvest Weekend, the Festival’s Grand Tasting on Saturday, October 8th with noon for early entry ($125) and 1:00 for general admission ($90).
Saturday’s events begin Continue reading
Regenerative Agriculture: Now in a beer can near you!
Did you know Patagonia, the revolutionary clothing company, is now trying to revolutionize food?
Just as Patagonia got people to think about the life cycle of clothing, and to get businesses to donate 1% of profits to the planet, Patagonia is now taking on FOOD. Because, as Yvon Chouinard shared last spring in Ventura, clothing companies are too slow in changing and the planet needs our help desperately. He argues that since food production is causing so many problems for climate, we need to change what we eat.
And not just what we eat, but what we drink too! Continue reading
Easy Fall Fun Flavorful Food with Italian Wines from a Castle!
Fall is harvest, and that means bountiful, hearty foods and flavors. As the temperatures drop, people are drawn to warm flavors that make you feel good inside. Hearty Italian wines pair wonderfully well with these hearty foods and flavors.
But you don’t need to do a full on complicated meal (like we did here) to take advantage of the plentiful fall foods like squash and tomatoes.
For this month’s “fall” theme for the Italian Food Wine Travel prompt, we decided to take an easy uncomplicated route because our schedule was just too hectic to do anything more! On a recent weeknight, Sue dropped by Trader Joe’s for raviolis and she made a sauce (recipe below) which we paired three wines from August’s #WineStudio that I was too sick to taste (plus a Prosecco!)
- Castello di Magione 2013 Monterone Grechetto Colli del Trasimeno DOC
- Castello di Magione 2014 Sangiovese Umbria IGT
- Castello di Magione 2008 Morcinaia Colli del Trasimeno DOC
But these weren’t just any Italian wines. As this is a post for #ItalianWFT, I wanted Italian wines that had a nice travel story. And these do–they come from a CASTLE! And they have a great story that includes the Order of Malta which is active in 120 countries and is working hard on various relief projects including recovering from the devastating August 2016 earthquake.
Happy Hallowine and A Toast to Ghost Wineries
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You might think of the month of October as Ghost Hunting Month, with the penultimate night of the month the perfect day to go out hunting for ghosts.
But actually the first day of October is National Ghost Hunting Day. (Who knew?)
Goals of National Ghost Hunting Day include raising public awareness of best practices and professionalism in paranormal investigation, increasing appreciation of local history and landmarks across the nation, and uniting and organizing a network of ghost hunting teams in common cause to benefit local Humane Societies and non-profit animal shelters throughout the country.
When I saw that haunted pumpkin wine label (above) for Flora Springs on Twitter, I was instantly entranced and knew exactly what wine would be perfect for Ghost Hunting: one from a Ghost Winery!
A Ghost Winery? What’s a Ghost Winery?
By 1920, California wineries numbered 700; by the end of Prohibition, in 1933, we had only 40. The wineries that didn’t make it are known as “ghost wineries” as all that was left was the ghost of the winery.
Flora Springs is one of those “ghost wineries” that was built between 1860 and 1900 but abandoned in the early 20’s due to vine disease, the Great Depression, and Prohibition. What is now Flora Springs was originally planted in 1885 by the Rennie Brothers, but a 1900 fire along with the other challenges turned the property into a ghost winery from 1904 until 1933 when Louis Martini bought it and lived there until he died in the 1970s. In 1977, Jerry and Flora Komes bought the property, and renovated and restored it. Since 2010, Flora Springs has offered a special bottling with distinct labels on small amounts of estate-grown wines to highlight the winery’s unusual history.
On Saturday October 1, celebrate Ghost Wineries and Ghost Hunting Day at the Ojai Library, 111 E. Ojai Ave from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at a CSU Channel Islands free public lecture that will discuss Southern California’s Ghost Wineries, part of a series from September through December at libraries throughout Ventura County, as well as the Channel Islands Boating Center. Here’s the list of what, where and when of future lectures.
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 