Monthly Archives: December 2008

Part of our San Francisco trip was spent in wine country (duh!) We were lucky to be traveling with a rock star — Gracie. Between her industry discount and St. Michele contacts, we got discounts galore. All hail Gracie!

We started the day off getting breakfast at the Oakville Grocery. I had a delicious berry scone.

We sat outside enjoying the sunny weather and looking at the Opus One vineyards. Soon after, we made a quick stop at Opus One so that the Diva could pick up some wine — we did not have any interest in a $30 tasting, however.

While driving, we saw a sign for a chocolate and wine tasting at Rutherford Hill Winery – needless to say, I quickly turned into the parking lot. The “chocolate tasting” wasn’t the best (a nibble of chocolate with one of the reds), but Sean and I did enjoy the muscato enough to buy a couple of bottles.

Next up, Conn Creek Winery where Gracie knew the pourers in the tasting room. Amy was really good and knew her stuff — plus she extended the employee discount to all of us. We bought some really delicious reds and learned a ton about the immediate growing region in Napa.

We could have stayed at Conn Creek all day, I think, but we had to get on the road to El Dorado…Kitchen. El Dorado Kitchen is in Sonoma and we had a very enjoyable lunch that included truffle fries and, for me, mussels in a beurre blanc sauce. No dessert though because we had to go cheese tasting at the Sonoma Jack store!

From there, we headed to Gloria Ferrer for a fabulous bottle of bubbly on the terrace, Cline where we got a great deal on some rose, and Domaine Carneros for a sparkling wine flight which was fantastic. Oh yeah, in between there somewhere we *had* to make a pit stop at Angelos for beef jerky.

Finally, our VIP was lucky enough to get us a table at Chez Storms where we enjoyed pizza, conversation, and, of course, more wine. Our day in wine country was full but still relaxing and enjoyable. I might never take a trip to wine country without Gracie ever again!

On a recent foodie trip, Sean and I met up with Gracie and Armida in San Francisco. The last time I’d was in San Francisco, Gracie took me to the farmer’s market at the Ferry Building. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip, so we had to go back!

The market was bustling with pre-thanksgiving shoppers, but we still got to sample lots of great products. Highlights included purchasing some Rancho Gordo beans (cranberry and Christmas lima beans), sampling a couple types of super fresh dates, slurping down some Pacific oysters, and seeing brussel sprouts on stalks (who knew!)

Farmer’s markets always make me want to fill a whole suitcase to bring home local stuff and this one is no exception!