I'll admit that I'm not the smartest guy in the world; pretty much anyone who knows me will second that emotion. However, I have had some small degree of success at food and beverage operations of many types and sizes, mostly because I was smart enough to hire good people and stay out of their way most of the time, so I feel that I have some basis for expressing my opinion oh this subject: Why the hell do so many people with perfectly good restaurants/cafes/diners/food trucks, etc, feel compelled to change or dramatically alter their format in some fashion, usually resulting in either abject and swift failure or a slow and lingering death that leaves everyone shaking their heads and mumbling to themselves? This, to me as an operator, is the absolute height of lunacy. I suppose that it has worked for somebody, somewhere, at some time, but I don't know when or where.
As you have probably guessed, something has happened locally to set me off (again). Specifically, the fact that a perfectly good little barbecue dive that was always busy (at least when I was there, which was frequently) and served up wonderfully tender, fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs, great burgers, and addictive fresh-cut fries, has been ruined, and for no apparent reason that I can see. The friendly little joint (maybe 40 seats inside plus an elevated bar area with seating for maybe 10 and a patio that could accommodate 15-20 in the right weather) has been abandoned for a "bigger and better" space on the other side of town left empty when another wanna-be steakhouse went belly-up a few years back; big, big mistake. The place is cavernous, cold, and rarely even semi-busy, at least when I've been there. The old crowd, made up of locals on their way home from a softball or soccer game, bikers passing through on their way to who knows where, hikers and kayakers heading for the mountains, old golfers like me stopping off to pick up dinner-to-go after an afternoon away, and a wide assortment of others just relaxing and enjoying themselves, has pretty much been replaced, but I'm not sure by whom, because I haven't really seen them. The menu, too, is "new and different". sort of like a Chili's, but not as imaginative. Don't know how long they'll last, and it's a shame, but when it goes it won't be a huge loss except to the people depending on it for a check. You'd think folks would learn to leave well enough alone, but they never seem to.
Some good news, now: I just stumbled upon a bottle of Matson Vineyards' 2012 Chardonnay (Trinity County), and the wine is remarkably tasty and well made. And, as a bonus, it actually tastes like chardonnay, which is a big step up from several of the varietal bottlings produced by other wineries in this part of the world over the past decade. Pale gold color with some green tints, a ripe meyer lemon and vanilla nose, and a medium body with fairly forward chardonnay fruit and a firm, slightly warm finish (which will probably soften after a bit of air in the glass) make for a nice pairing with light soups and shrimp dishes, or cold chicken salad with crusty sourdough. Nicely done. We'll be interested to taste some others from this Redding-area winery, and we're wondering why it's taken us so long to find them. A little embarrassing. You can check them out for yourselves at matsonvineyards.com.
Final recorded thought for the day: Why is there such a seeming lack of interest in far Northern California tourism? Seems so, anyway. And not only on the part of the tourists and vacationers, themselves, but there also seems to be a real absence of creativity and energy on the part of those who should be promoting it, meaning those who live here and sure as hell need the cash flow. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who recognizes the facts: high unemployment, low per-capita income, ditto education, no real industrial base (not a bad thing in some ways, but a real draw-back for those looking for work), lots of homeless and displaced folks wandering the streets, and on and on. Sure, we draw a fairly significant number of fishermen, kayakers/rafters/tubers/and other assorted water sports enthusiasts on a seasonal basis, or did before the drought really got a stranglehold on us, but not much more as far as I can tell. Why is that? Are we too damn lazy to do the work required? Are we just not smart enough or industrious enough or imaginative or ambitious enough? I think not; in truth, I believe it comes down to a fundamental inferiority complex that is pervasive in our part of paradise. Get a map of our state, then draw line from the Pacific coast just west of Santa Rosa to the east/northeast through Sacramento and proceeding gradually but certainly all the way to Reno, just over the line in Nevada. I firmly believe that everyone north of that line to the Oregon border (except Napa and Sonoma, of course) has a weird little inferiority complex, one based in the mistaken notion that because of the fame, glitter, and glory that has been heaped on all the kinfolk to the south, the San Franciscos and Santa Cruzs and Santa Barbaras and Malibus and Los Angeleses and San Diegos, that they are unworthy of comparison and unable to compete. This, of course, is nonsense, and has to be put right. The far North State has a tremendous heritage, one to be proud of, and is going to have to learn to blow its own horn very soon, before the depression sets too firmly to be broken up. Beginning with our next post we're going to take our own stab at the problem and begin exploring some shiny Norcal jewels; first up, Mt. Lassen and surrounds.
See you very soon...
Cliff
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
California rain: too much, roo fast, and mostly in the wrong places; another really good sauvignon blanc (I know, I know) for poor people like us, and more golf stuff...
Well, we got some of that rain we've been hoping for; however, as usually happens to us California sinners, it didn't happen exactly as we had expected. What we got was another demonstration that even though the rain gods do have a sense of humor, it's a little skewed from center. Southern California, where very few of the state's major reservoirs reside, got hammered: water fell out of the sky in truckloads, then promptly raced down the drought-and fire-denuded hillsides, gullies, arroyos and canyons and blasted through homes, across roadways (burying hundreds of cars on I 5 in a sea of mud), and generally wreaking havoc before making its way to the ocean and disappearing.
Here in Norcal, however, where all of the state's biggest lakes and reservoirs sit virtually bone dry, just waiting for a Big Gulp, we got sprinkles and mist and one three or four minute deluge early Saturday morning that vanished into the parched earth so quickly that if you hadn't been awake to see it happen, you'd have no way of knowing that it did. And, to top it all off, those forecasters who are promising us a powerful El Nino this winter are also now saying that the rains it brings will likely be concentrated in the southern part of the state rather than way up here in the lonely and forsaken north, where we actually have the capacity to store it as water or, in the mountains, as snowpack. Thank you, rain gods, for another good laugh. We can only hope that if you see how hard we're trying to change our ways and be better people maybe you'll give us a break on this and move a few of those storms north of the Bay. . Just sayin'...
Okay. Moving on. I'm reasonably certain that many of you are getting tired of reading about sauvignon blanc here, and I promise to lighten up after today. Problem is, sb is, like zinfandel, one of the few places to look in today's market for really good wines at honest prices, although I'm also seeing some new activity in petite sirah, tepranillo, pinot noir and gewurztraminer from developing (or not-yet-gentrified) growing areas in California and Oregon, as well as some very good, inexpensive reds from South Africa and Portugal. But, having said all that, I still have to congratulate the folks at SeaGlass for their 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Santa Barbara. Bright, fresh, aromatic, and lots of true sb fruit make for a nice white that's versatile enough to carry off cocktail duty before serving as an excellent accompaniment to everything from roast chicken to seafood gumbo. And, at $9.99 on sale, it's not only reasonable but a steal; I'd buy it up to $13 and feel good about it.
Back to golf for a minute. I ripped the good folks operating golf courses in Maricopa County, Arizona, in my last post for what was reported to be an unconscionable consumption of water in the maintenance and upkeep of those facilities. I'm not backing off that criticism, I want to be clear about that. However, I do want to mitigate what I wrote to a degree. After re-reading Ms. Shaffer's article, and trying to get all the details organized as best I could, I couldn't arrive at what I considered a fair idea of exactly how to interpret what I was seeing. For one thing, the article was written in such a way that it was unclear whether the 80 million gallons/day figure applied strictly to Maricopa County courses or to all those included in the "Phoenix area" which consists, apparently, of two other counties as well as Maricopa. Nor was I able to determine (or find anywhere else I looked) how many courses lie within Maricopa; according to the Arizona Golf Association there are 220 in the "Phoenix area", but exactly what that means, I don't know. Also, how many of that 220 are full 18 hole courses or equivalent? Again, don't know and can't find out without a lot of time and effort, which I don't have right now. One thing is certain: even though Arizona is a golf mecca for many, there ain't 220 regulation 18 hole golf layouts in any three counties, so we can put that aside. And, no natter how you try to explain it, 80 million gallons of water per day is an absurd number, and people need to get a grip on themselves. Maybe it's time for the operators in the area to give some serious thought to taking a more worldly approach to their management practices and begin looking at how many courses in other challenging climatic areas are maintained and presented. Sooner or later we're going to have to find a way to wean our playing population off the "Augusta mentality" that permeates American golf culture, particularly at the private club level. There are a number of designers, owners, managers, and superintendents who understand this and who have been trying to spread the gospel for years, but progress has been verrrrry slow, and resistance remains verrrrrrrry strong,particularly in most affluent clubs. The day of reckoning is approaching, though; water rights holders in California are already beginning to understand that they don't hold the sacred documents they always believed they did, and times are going to get tougher before they get better, if they ever do get better.
Time use our heads and get ahead of the curve, boys and girls. More to come...
By the way for those who have asked for off-site email contact, it's cliff@hutchinsongolf.us.
Here in Norcal, however, where all of the state's biggest lakes and reservoirs sit virtually bone dry, just waiting for a Big Gulp, we got sprinkles and mist and one three or four minute deluge early Saturday morning that vanished into the parched earth so quickly that if you hadn't been awake to see it happen, you'd have no way of knowing that it did. And, to top it all off, those forecasters who are promising us a powerful El Nino this winter are also now saying that the rains it brings will likely be concentrated in the southern part of the state rather than way up here in the lonely and forsaken north, where we actually have the capacity to store it as water or, in the mountains, as snowpack. Thank you, rain gods, for another good laugh. We can only hope that if you see how hard we're trying to change our ways and be better people maybe you'll give us a break on this and move a few of those storms north of the Bay. . Just sayin'...
Okay. Moving on. I'm reasonably certain that many of you are getting tired of reading about sauvignon blanc here, and I promise to lighten up after today. Problem is, sb is, like zinfandel, one of the few places to look in today's market for really good wines at honest prices, although I'm also seeing some new activity in petite sirah, tepranillo, pinot noir and gewurztraminer from developing (or not-yet-gentrified) growing areas in California and Oregon, as well as some very good, inexpensive reds from South Africa and Portugal. But, having said all that, I still have to congratulate the folks at SeaGlass for their 2014 Sauvignon Blanc Santa Barbara. Bright, fresh, aromatic, and lots of true sb fruit make for a nice white that's versatile enough to carry off cocktail duty before serving as an excellent accompaniment to everything from roast chicken to seafood gumbo. And, at $9.99 on sale, it's not only reasonable but a steal; I'd buy it up to $13 and feel good about it.
Back to golf for a minute. I ripped the good folks operating golf courses in Maricopa County, Arizona, in my last post for what was reported to be an unconscionable consumption of water in the maintenance and upkeep of those facilities. I'm not backing off that criticism, I want to be clear about that. However, I do want to mitigate what I wrote to a degree. After re-reading Ms. Shaffer's article, and trying to get all the details organized as best I could, I couldn't arrive at what I considered a fair idea of exactly how to interpret what I was seeing. For one thing, the article was written in such a way that it was unclear whether the 80 million gallons/day figure applied strictly to Maricopa County courses or to all those included in the "Phoenix area" which consists, apparently, of two other counties as well as Maricopa. Nor was I able to determine (or find anywhere else I looked) how many courses lie within Maricopa; according to the Arizona Golf Association there are 220 in the "Phoenix area", but exactly what that means, I don't know. Also, how many of that 220 are full 18 hole courses or equivalent? Again, don't know and can't find out without a lot of time and effort, which I don't have right now. One thing is certain: even though Arizona is a golf mecca for many, there ain't 220 regulation 18 hole golf layouts in any three counties, so we can put that aside. And, no natter how you try to explain it, 80 million gallons of water per day is an absurd number, and people need to get a grip on themselves. Maybe it's time for the operators in the area to give some serious thought to taking a more worldly approach to their management practices and begin looking at how many courses in other challenging climatic areas are maintained and presented. Sooner or later we're going to have to find a way to wean our playing population off the "Augusta mentality" that permeates American golf culture, particularly at the private club level. There are a number of designers, owners, managers, and superintendents who understand this and who have been trying to spread the gospel for years, but progress has been verrrrry slow, and resistance remains verrrrrrrry strong,particularly in most affluent clubs. The day of reckoning is approaching, though; water rights holders in California are already beginning to understand that they don't hold the sacred documents they always believed they did, and times are going to get tougher before they get better, if they ever do get better.
Time use our heads and get ahead of the curve, boys and girls. More to come...
By the way for those who have asked for off-site email contact, it's cliff@hutchinsongolf.us.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Visit from the relatives, venting some anger at certain of my professional family, a nice sauvignon blanc from Sterling at a really nice price, and the drought...
I'm back, if you missed me (and even if you didn't) after a long-awaited visit from my sister and brother, and their respective spouses, all the way from my (our) home turf in the great state of Texas, which I love dearly. It was good to see them; we don't see much of each other at all these days, mostly weddings and funerals, because of the distance from here to there, so we always want an opportunity to be well-enjoyed by everyone. Unfortunately, due to the significant level of chaos caused by the millions of fires (seems like that many, anyway) burning across Northern California at present, we didn't get to do the wine country tour they had been looking forward to, and I'm sorry for that. I hope we get a chance to do it for them sooner rather than later.
Moving on, I have to take an opportunity to vent some steam toward a handful of my professional brethren, who continue to put the golf industry in the crosshairs of environmentalists and conservationists (and lots of other people, as well) by way of their unconscionable waste of water during times of drought when tens of thousands of Westerners can't get enough water to perform some of life's most basic functions. I have in front of me an article by Brandi Shaffer published several days ago by Club and Resort Business magazine in an online posting, which highlights the fact that the Phoenix area golf community of courses (Maricopa County) were found to have used an average of slightly more than 80 million gallons of water per day in a 2010 US Geological Survey report, which is more than twice as much as the second place water guzzler, Riverside County (California), at least according to this article. I would tend to believe that Ms. Shaffer is accurately reporting the survey's findings, since C&RB has proven reliable in the past. This report is compiled every five years according to the AP so we should see an updated version in the near future, which will, we can hope, reflect a substantial reduction in that number as superintendents, boards, and management companie respond to the worsening crisis caused by the devastating drought impacting the western states.I feel certain that this will be the case, because at heart most professional property managers in the golf industry are responsible individuals who are conservationists at heart. Most of them will, if allowed to do so, and if funds are available, do as many of the things that they know will reduce their property's demand for water as possible and practical. Taking certain areas off the irrigation grid and allowing them to return to native grasses and other vegetation, installing more drought-tolerant turf cultivars, eliminating some "aesthetic" water features, increasing mowing heights in some areas, as well as at least a dozen other initiatives on the part of course owners and managers can have significant positive impacts on water consumption with absolutely no decline in playing conditions (and many times conditions are improved through these actions). I know that there are a lot of people scrutinizing the activities and actions of those of us in the golf industry each and every day, as they should, and articles like the one I've just highlighted only serve to enhance that scrutiny. Therefore, I urge each of my fellow industry professionals to do all possible, and to proselytize relentlessly, to persuade those controlling the purse-strings and making decisions regarding policy and planning, to find new, more, and better ways to manage our resources and be better citizens. Our game has struggled with image in the past, and still does at times, but it's changing as the public becomes more aware of the initiatives and day-to-day efforts of golf facilities to lead and innovate as we work our way through these times and position ourselves for the future, so let's turn up the volume.
On a different subject, I can,t remember the last time I tasted a wine from Sterling Vineyards that really impressed me until recently, when I picked up a bottle of their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley.This is really tasty stuff, especially at the price ($14.95 here in Norcal, which puts it squarely in the "workingman's wine" category that we love so much ($25-28 max); problem is, it may be drying up as I'm not sure how close they may be to a vintage change. So I urge you to get in touch with your Sterling wholesaler if you're an F&B type, or just hike on down to your friendly local wine merchant's place of business if you're simply a wine lover, and pick up a bottle or two before it disappears. Bright color, a mature citrus-and- wet stones nose, and lush, firm fruit that is typical Napa-ish in character, with Meyer lemon and a long persistent finish that is perfect with chicken any way you want it, but seems particularly suited to a curry dish.Try it, you'll like it...and take care not to overchill it...
The drought marches on. although most people continue to do what they can to be responsible and continue to reduce their usage. More next time...
By the way for those of you who jumped on Chef Dan's wonderful white cheddar meal-in-a-bowl soup a couple of weeks ago, we'll see if we can't persuade him to do another contribution in the next letter.
Cliff
.
Moving on, I have to take an opportunity to vent some steam toward a handful of my professional brethren, who continue to put the golf industry in the crosshairs of environmentalists and conservationists (and lots of other people, as well) by way of their unconscionable waste of water during times of drought when tens of thousands of Westerners can't get enough water to perform some of life's most basic functions. I have in front of me an article by Brandi Shaffer published several days ago by Club and Resort Business magazine in an online posting, which highlights the fact that the Phoenix area golf community of courses (Maricopa County) were found to have used an average of slightly more than 80 million gallons of water per day in a 2010 US Geological Survey report, which is more than twice as much as the second place water guzzler, Riverside County (California), at least according to this article. I would tend to believe that Ms. Shaffer is accurately reporting the survey's findings, since C&RB has proven reliable in the past. This report is compiled every five years according to the AP so we should see an updated version in the near future, which will, we can hope, reflect a substantial reduction in that number as superintendents, boards, and management companie respond to the worsening crisis caused by the devastating drought impacting the western states.I feel certain that this will be the case, because at heart most professional property managers in the golf industry are responsible individuals who are conservationists at heart. Most of them will, if allowed to do so, and if funds are available, do as many of the things that they know will reduce their property's demand for water as possible and practical. Taking certain areas off the irrigation grid and allowing them to return to native grasses and other vegetation, installing more drought-tolerant turf cultivars, eliminating some "aesthetic" water features, increasing mowing heights in some areas, as well as at least a dozen other initiatives on the part of course owners and managers can have significant positive impacts on water consumption with absolutely no decline in playing conditions (and many times conditions are improved through these actions). I know that there are a lot of people scrutinizing the activities and actions of those of us in the golf industry each and every day, as they should, and articles like the one I've just highlighted only serve to enhance that scrutiny. Therefore, I urge each of my fellow industry professionals to do all possible, and to proselytize relentlessly, to persuade those controlling the purse-strings and making decisions regarding policy and planning, to find new, more, and better ways to manage our resources and be better citizens. Our game has struggled with image in the past, and still does at times, but it's changing as the public becomes more aware of the initiatives and day-to-day efforts of golf facilities to lead and innovate as we work our way through these times and position ourselves for the future, so let's turn up the volume.
On a different subject, I can,t remember the last time I tasted a wine from Sterling Vineyards that really impressed me until recently, when I picked up a bottle of their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley.This is really tasty stuff, especially at the price ($14.95 here in Norcal, which puts it squarely in the "workingman's wine" category that we love so much ($25-28 max); problem is, it may be drying up as I'm not sure how close they may be to a vintage change. So I urge you to get in touch with your Sterling wholesaler if you're an F&B type, or just hike on down to your friendly local wine merchant's place of business if you're simply a wine lover, and pick up a bottle or two before it disappears. Bright color, a mature citrus-and- wet stones nose, and lush, firm fruit that is typical Napa-ish in character, with Meyer lemon and a long persistent finish that is perfect with chicken any way you want it, but seems particularly suited to a curry dish.Try it, you'll like it...and take care not to overchill it...
The drought marches on. although most people continue to do what they can to be responsible and continue to reduce their usage. More next time...
By the way for those of you who jumped on Chef Dan's wonderful white cheddar meal-in-a-bowl soup a couple of weeks ago, we'll see if we can't persuade him to do another contribution in the next letter.
Cliff
.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Chef Dan comes through, the new monster fire in Napa and Lake, and a box wine for zin lovers who know the difference (honest)...
Okay, as promised (or semi-promised, at least) here's a recipe to be copied, used, and cherished forever, at least by those of you who love and understand great soups. I warn you up front, however: this is not your grandma's gentle little creamy kinda-cheesy concoction that you remember from your sniffly-nosed childhood wintry stay-home-sick days that made you feel all warm and cozy. Nope, this is a rich, weighty, almost-a-full-meal-in-a-bowl version of an old-style Canadian rancher's soup that we fussed over for a number of days before we felt we had it right, and I still marvel at the level of perceptiveness that Dan Gilbert brought to this process: he was able to clearly understand how he needed to approach and solve the problem just by listening to me explain as best I could how I wanted it to taste and how it needed to work with the wines being featured on that specific night. It was perfect in the end, and was probably the most talked-about and discussed item on the menu, which was impressive. So, here you go, compliments of Chef Dan Gilbert...
Black Diamond Aged White Cheddar Soup
(serves 8)
1 leek, duced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 1/2 cups sauvignon blanc (a medium-weight wine with some grassiness is desirable)
1/2 gal rich chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of cayenne (optional, but preferred)
pinch of kosher salt and white pepper
16 oz grated Black Diamond Canadian White Cheddar
Roux (4 oz butter, 4 oz flour)
Method
Saute leeks and celery in canola oil for 3 - 4 minutes, add sauvignon blanc and cayenne pepper and reduce by half, add chicken stock and heavy cream, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes; add a pinch of kosher salt and white pepper and ehisk in half the roux (soup will become creammy and smooth); you may add more roux if needed. Whisk in shredded lack Diamond cheddar, making sure all the cheese melts and binds together (consistency should be a light to medium thickness and silky); strain with fine mesh strainer.
Return to low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently; if soup seems to be too thick, it may be thinned with chicken stock or sauvignon blanc; soup is ready to serve. Garnish with a whole wheat crostini. Serve with a medium-to-full sauvignon blanc albarino, or chardonnay
Those of you who are working on new fall and winter menus will want to look closely at this one...
Unhappily, Mr Fire is back among us and is currently kicking butt across wide swaths of wine country.including Napa (again), Lake (again), and Amador counties. The Valley fire (Napa) erupted late Saturday evening and has burned approximately 95 square miles as of this morning's CalFire report; it has already destroyed the little town of Middletown just north of Calistoga, and has burned more than 400 structures. CalFire is calling it a monster and Governor Jerry has declared Napa and Lake counties disaster areas again. Seems that Calistoga and Kelseyville have been designated as regional shelter centers for the hundreds of families that have been evacuated, and normal activities are in turmoil. No one can say what the impact of these fires will be on this years' winegrape harvest, but word is that a number of growers and wineries are struggling to deal with the labor crisis caused by the absence of workers who are looking after their families and property that may be in harm's way or serving as volunteer firefighters. How long this new disaster is going to be with us is far from certain; as of this morning CalFire says it's at 5% containment, but the winds are up and it keeps jumping their lines. As for the Butte fire (Amador), it appears to be almost as nasty as the Valley; one saving grace, I suppose, is that it's burning in an area that's less heavily populated (and tourist-travelled), but it doesn't appear to be any closer to containment and could do any number of things before it's all over. We wish the best for our many friends in the Napa area, and hope everyone stays safe and well...
A happy note to close this letter: we just picked up a copy of Bota Box's latest offering of their "Old Vine" Zinfandel ($18.95 for the 3l box), which is the 2013 vintage; not only is this a good, well-made red wine, which is frequently all you can hope for from a bulk package with a varietal label, but this one actually tastes like a pretty decent zin! Rich fruit, good color and balance, and a berryish finish that is old-time California through and through. It's worth your while if you like having a tasty red on hand that can be gulped down with burgers and pizza without feeling the guilt associated with uncorking a $25 or $30 bottle for your unruly friends to disrespect.
I think that's it for now, but more very soon...
Cliff
Black Diamond Aged White Cheddar Soup
(serves 8)
1 leek, duced
2 celery ribs, diced
1 1/2 cups sauvignon blanc (a medium-weight wine with some grassiness is desirable)
1/2 gal rich chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of cayenne (optional, but preferred)
pinch of kosher salt and white pepper
16 oz grated Black Diamond Canadian White Cheddar
Roux (4 oz butter, 4 oz flour)
Method
Saute leeks and celery in canola oil for 3 - 4 minutes, add sauvignon blanc and cayenne pepper and reduce by half, add chicken stock and heavy cream, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes; add a pinch of kosher salt and white pepper and ehisk in half the roux (soup will become creammy and smooth); you may add more roux if needed. Whisk in shredded lack Diamond cheddar, making sure all the cheese melts and binds together (consistency should be a light to medium thickness and silky); strain with fine mesh strainer.
Return to low heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently; if soup seems to be too thick, it may be thinned with chicken stock or sauvignon blanc; soup is ready to serve. Garnish with a whole wheat crostini. Serve with a medium-to-full sauvignon blanc albarino, or chardonnay
Those of you who are working on new fall and winter menus will want to look closely at this one...
Unhappily, Mr Fire is back among us and is currently kicking butt across wide swaths of wine country.including Napa (again), Lake (again), and Amador counties. The Valley fire (Napa) erupted late Saturday evening and has burned approximately 95 square miles as of this morning's CalFire report; it has already destroyed the little town of Middletown just north of Calistoga, and has burned more than 400 structures. CalFire is calling it a monster and Governor Jerry has declared Napa and Lake counties disaster areas again. Seems that Calistoga and Kelseyville have been designated as regional shelter centers for the hundreds of families that have been evacuated, and normal activities are in turmoil. No one can say what the impact of these fires will be on this years' winegrape harvest, but word is that a number of growers and wineries are struggling to deal with the labor crisis caused by the absence of workers who are looking after their families and property that may be in harm's way or serving as volunteer firefighters. How long this new disaster is going to be with us is far from certain; as of this morning CalFire says it's at 5% containment, but the winds are up and it keeps jumping their lines. As for the Butte fire (Amador), it appears to be almost as nasty as the Valley; one saving grace, I suppose, is that it's burning in an area that's less heavily populated (and tourist-travelled), but it doesn't appear to be any closer to containment and could do any number of things before it's all over. We wish the best for our many friends in the Napa area, and hope everyone stays safe and well...
A happy note to close this letter: we just picked up a copy of Bota Box's latest offering of their "Old Vine" Zinfandel ($18.95 for the 3l box), which is the 2013 vintage; not only is this a good, well-made red wine, which is frequently all you can hope for from a bulk package with a varietal label, but this one actually tastes like a pretty decent zin! Rich fruit, good color and balance, and a berryish finish that is old-time California through and through. It's worth your while if you like having a tasty red on hand that can be gulped down with burgers and pizza without feeling the guilt associated with uncorking a $25 or $30 bottle for your unruly friends to disrespect.
I think that's it for now, but more very soon...
Cliff
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Wine country and the drought, the (rapidly) changing face of residential landscaping in the West, and the coming of the El Nino monster...
Drought + hottest summer on record + fire ...what do you get? EARLY HARVEST!!!
So, pretty much everybody who grows wine grapes in California is now up to his or her butt in harvest, weeks and weeks early, due to the effects on vinifera of little water and a whole lot of prolonged heat. It's going to be very interesting, and a little nerve-rattling, to see what the overall quality of this vintage will be, because if, as many scientists presently believe, this growing season is a precursor of what climate change (yes, deniers, it's real, regardless of what Bush and Cheney told you) is likely to make commonplace, then we need to take note and begin learning how to deal with it as it will be. This 2015 harvest's final judgment is, of course, still a mystery to us all, even though most grapes destined to become sparkling wines are safely in,picking in Napa having begun as early as July22 (Mumm, I think) as are many of the aromatic varieties such as sauvignon blanc, gewurztraminer, albarino, viognier, etc., harvesting having begun during the first week of August. We will be spending some time in both Napa and Sonoma later this month, as well as the Shenandoah area, so will get a good look and feel for what to expect overall from some folks who are knee-deep in it, and will bring that back to you.
The pall of wood smoke that has been hanging over our end of the valley for the past month or so has been pushed to the east (temporarily, at least) by winds off the Pacific during the last week, bringing cooler temperatures (80s and 90s instead of 100 - 113) but no moisture, at least none that made it over the Coast Range. Many of us are now coming to the realization that lawns and gardens are the least of our worries: they're done. Now we're coming to understand that our trees are entering crisis territory, as well, and we're losing sleep over how to deal with that set of problems. We have several cherished trees on our property, most significantly a 60-foot beauty of a western sugarcone pine that shades the front of our house, and a hundred-year-old valley oak that anchors a big piece of our hillside between the house and the road. We have determined that we will do all possible to ensure that these two trees, in particular, survive this drought: we, like many of our neighbors, have for the past several months been re-purposing and re-using every possible drop of water that runs through our piping: dishwater, laundry water (when possible), even "stale" dog and cat water. We have taken landscape that had been irrigated for decades out of the loops, even to the point of allowing a space I had hand-graded and seeded to fine fescue with the intent of creating a backyard practice putting green go back to dirt and rock, all for the purpose of conserving additional water for our treasured trees. So each and every day we gingerly carry plastic tubs and buckets of murky dishwater or water gathered from other purposes, like washing windows, out to our trees and carefully pour it along their driplines in the hope that these extra few hundred gallons each month will help them weather this nasty experience. We'll see, I suppose, if we live long enough.
It's truly a fascinating new world here in the West: almost anywhere you go, whether it's the grocery, a gas station, the pharmacy, a bookstore, or standing on the practice tee at your local (dusty) muny, the conversations overheard will almost invariably turn to the drought and its challenges within a short time. You can bet money on it. People are attacking their particular concerns in different ways, and it's interesting to note that the folks who seem to be most actively engaged are the very ones you might expect to resist change: bless my soul, Jimmy, it's older Californians who are stepping up to the plate in droves...ripping out water-sucking lawns in favor of New Mexico/Arizona-style seriscapes or at the very least replacing thirsty turfgrass cultivars and ornamentals with more drought-tolerant varieties, and replacing outdated irrigation technologies with state-of-the-art systems pioneered by the golf industry. This is heartening stuff, as is much (though not all) of the data coming from Governor Jerry's office each month regarding how we performed during the preceding month in relation to the target reduction rates we've been given, which is generally pretty good. However, there are still pockets of resistors, mostly located in some of our more affluent areas (surprise!!!) who haven't yet gotten on the team, but they will very soon now that the heat is about to be turned up on their sorry asses...more soon on that.
The weather geniuses scattered around the world's brain tanks are still saying that the indicators are all still in place for the successful development of a powerful El Nino in the coming months, and that we here in California are likely in for a very wet winter (though it will not reach drought-buster proportions). This news is quite popular here in our little corner of the West, as you might expect. However, we've heard this song before, so no one is passing out the pointy party hats yet; we'll see.
In closing, a note to my good friend and former chef (twice, in fact), Dan Gilbert, who is presently living and working in beautiful Santa Cruz: Dan, I was thinking of that cream of Canadian cheddar (I think we used Black Diamond) soup that you created for one of our vintner's dinner menus at Del Paso a number of years back. That is one of the most strikingly-flavored culinary creations I can ever recall, and is one of the few dishes that some people still comment on from time to time. If you'll pass along the recipe we'll publish it here for the benefit of the F&B types (and anyone else who cares to try it) who check in from time to time. Let me know...
That's all for now...
So, pretty much everybody who grows wine grapes in California is now up to his or her butt in harvest, weeks and weeks early, due to the effects on vinifera of little water and a whole lot of prolonged heat. It's going to be very interesting, and a little nerve-rattling, to see what the overall quality of this vintage will be, because if, as many scientists presently believe, this growing season is a precursor of what climate change (yes, deniers, it's real, regardless of what Bush and Cheney told you) is likely to make commonplace, then we need to take note and begin learning how to deal with it as it will be. This 2015 harvest's final judgment is, of course, still a mystery to us all, even though most grapes destined to become sparkling wines are safely in,picking in Napa having begun as early as July22 (Mumm, I think) as are many of the aromatic varieties such as sauvignon blanc, gewurztraminer, albarino, viognier, etc., harvesting having begun during the first week of August. We will be spending some time in both Napa and Sonoma later this month, as well as the Shenandoah area, so will get a good look and feel for what to expect overall from some folks who are knee-deep in it, and will bring that back to you.
The pall of wood smoke that has been hanging over our end of the valley for the past month or so has been pushed to the east (temporarily, at least) by winds off the Pacific during the last week, bringing cooler temperatures (80s and 90s instead of 100 - 113) but no moisture, at least none that made it over the Coast Range. Many of us are now coming to the realization that lawns and gardens are the least of our worries: they're done. Now we're coming to understand that our trees are entering crisis territory, as well, and we're losing sleep over how to deal with that set of problems. We have several cherished trees on our property, most significantly a 60-foot beauty of a western sugarcone pine that shades the front of our house, and a hundred-year-old valley oak that anchors a big piece of our hillside between the house and the road. We have determined that we will do all possible to ensure that these two trees, in particular, survive this drought: we, like many of our neighbors, have for the past several months been re-purposing and re-using every possible drop of water that runs through our piping: dishwater, laundry water (when possible), even "stale" dog and cat water. We have taken landscape that had been irrigated for decades out of the loops, even to the point of allowing a space I had hand-graded and seeded to fine fescue with the intent of creating a backyard practice putting green go back to dirt and rock, all for the purpose of conserving additional water for our treasured trees. So each and every day we gingerly carry plastic tubs and buckets of murky dishwater or water gathered from other purposes, like washing windows, out to our trees and carefully pour it along their driplines in the hope that these extra few hundred gallons each month will help them weather this nasty experience. We'll see, I suppose, if we live long enough.
It's truly a fascinating new world here in the West: almost anywhere you go, whether it's the grocery, a gas station, the pharmacy, a bookstore, or standing on the practice tee at your local (dusty) muny, the conversations overheard will almost invariably turn to the drought and its challenges within a short time. You can bet money on it. People are attacking their particular concerns in different ways, and it's interesting to note that the folks who seem to be most actively engaged are the very ones you might expect to resist change: bless my soul, Jimmy, it's older Californians who are stepping up to the plate in droves...ripping out water-sucking lawns in favor of New Mexico/Arizona-style seriscapes or at the very least replacing thirsty turfgrass cultivars and ornamentals with more drought-tolerant varieties, and replacing outdated irrigation technologies with state-of-the-art systems pioneered by the golf industry. This is heartening stuff, as is much (though not all) of the data coming from Governor Jerry's office each month regarding how we performed during the preceding month in relation to the target reduction rates we've been given, which is generally pretty good. However, there are still pockets of resistors, mostly located in some of our more affluent areas (surprise!!!) who haven't yet gotten on the team, but they will very soon now that the heat is about to be turned up on their sorry asses...more soon on that.
The weather geniuses scattered around the world's brain tanks are still saying that the indicators are all still in place for the successful development of a powerful El Nino in the coming months, and that we here in California are likely in for a very wet winter (though it will not reach drought-buster proportions). This news is quite popular here in our little corner of the West, as you might expect. However, we've heard this song before, so no one is passing out the pointy party hats yet; we'll see.
In closing, a note to my good friend and former chef (twice, in fact), Dan Gilbert, who is presently living and working in beautiful Santa Cruz: Dan, I was thinking of that cream of Canadian cheddar (I think we used Black Diamond) soup that you created for one of our vintner's dinner menus at Del Paso a number of years back. That is one of the most strikingly-flavored culinary creations I can ever recall, and is one of the few dishes that some people still comment on from time to time. If you'll pass along the recipe we'll publish it here for the benefit of the F&B types (and anyone else who cares to try it) who check in from time to time. Let me know...
That's all for now...
Monday, August 17, 2015
California burning, but getting better (we think), foreign readers, Boeger 2012 Barbera is perfect, and Mt. Shasta as home base to Lemurian survivors (?)...
Yep. fires are pretty much everywhere you turn; so many, in fact, that the no-good environment-destroying asshole illegal marijuana cultivators can hardly breathe up there in the national forests while they're defiling our countryside, but what the hell,they've got to make a living, too. Right?
But, putting them aside, we are still on fire pretty much all over our state, but most particularly here in the far north end of the valley. Poor Trinity County is catching the most hell at present, with more than 40 individual wildfires (most caused by dry lightning in the mountains) burning, most of which are now classed as elements of fire complexes. The Fork Complex. located due west of us +- 45 miles near the mountain community of Hayfork, is burning slightly more than 34.000 acres now and is still only 55% contained after a month; the Route and South complexes, near the little town of Hyampom, together total 49,000 acres and are both at roughly 35% containment; the River Complex, in far western Trinity wilderness, is now burning 41,000 acres, having grown another 2,280 acres overnight, and is still only 18% contained, according to CalFire. These are most critical to us here in Shasta County because they're nearest, but they're only the tip of the proverbial iceberg: all-in we've got more than 145,000 acres burning here in the North State at present, while our friends and neighbors to the south, southwest, and east of us are battling their own blazes, and north of us in Oregon they've got a few of their own to deal with. Happy summer! Merry drought! At any rate, the several thousand firefighters in our part of the state are doing a hell of a job keeping the monsters away from homes and people, with fewer than 200 structures having burned so far, at least here in the north, and no more than a dozen or so injuries thus far. Unfortunately, 2 firefighters have died to date. They need a break or two, but there's nothing on the scope at present.
While we're on the subject of fires and firefighters, I do want to take a minute to vent my total disgust with the new breed of morons we're suddenly seeing flying their pieces-of-crap drones into fire areas and subsequently causing the grounding of helicopters and air tankers working in support of the ground crews due to the very real hazard these shit-for-brains clowns pose to the safety of the flight crews. Already this season, and I only know about California, there have been more than 20 drones spotted by air crews flying fire support, some within fewer than 100 feet in proximity, causing at least 8 groundings of badly-needed tankers and helicopters while they wait for the bozos to fly out of the area. This is criminal activity, plain and simple, and has got to be stopped and people sent to jail; the problem is locating these ignorant asses and apprehending them, since they are likely miles away from the scene of their crimes, and difficult to identify. The public is beginning to respond to the appeals of help from law enforcement agencies, and several have been turned in and arrested. Hopefully this trend will continue and expand before someone is killed when a $150 piece of junk flies into a tail rotor or goes through a windshield. Just sayin'...
Okay, moving on...as a matter of curiosity, we would be interested to know what it is in these posts that has attracted the attention of our several foreign readers. We know that we have more or less regular viewers in the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Portugal, Israel, and Italy, as well as an occasional visitor from the Philippines, and we're very pleased about it. But we also are very interested in knowing more about you, so if you would reply and tell us something about yourselves we would be grateful.
I know that I've spent a considerable amount of time during the last several months commenting on wines from both Boeger and New Clairvaux wineries, but you should know that that's probably not going to stop soon. The reason is simple: almost across the board both produce wines that are consistently excellent and very fairly priced. What more do you want? Especially those of you working to put together interesting by-the-glass programs for members and guests who are again beginning to pay closer attention to the right-hand side of the list. And, to that subject, just another word to the wise: The Boeger 2012 Barbera, which we've had our fair share of this year, was just tasted again (not tasted, actually, but enthusiastically drunk down with a fat, greasy Turri grass-fed beef hamburger) and is at present absolutely perfectly ready, at least to my palate. I don't know if Greg Boeger agrees with me, and it doesn't really matter since it's such a subjective thing to debate, but he was right when he nudged me toward the 2012 as the 2011 began to disappear. This has got to be one of the half-dozen best red wine buys on the shelves today, and I recommend that you get some for both yourself and your wine lists before it disappears like the '11. Greg, how's '13? Strangely, that's always been a lucky number for me...
And so, to close another one out, just a short note re Mt. Shasta and its connection to Lemuria. (Hard to believe that I'm even writing this, actually.) As I wrote a few weeks back, I'velost my mind and have begun searching around various sources for published material regarding the various legends and tales linking the mountain with the strange and the unusual, especially its supposed role as refuge of one of the last known colonies of survivors of Lemuria. I found several books listed with various ebay o/p and rare booksellers and, after doing a very modest amount of research, bought a couple. One of those, "Lemuria - The Lost Continent of the Pacific", published by the Rosicrucian Press in the 1930s (I know, puzzled the hell out of me, too) and subtitled "The Mystery People of Mt. Shasta" is quite an adventure. The author, one Wishar S. Cerve, which turns out to be a pseudonym for the anthropologist H. Spencer Lewis, tells a good tale, and makes a great number of wild (and unsupported) claims in presenting his case, such as it is. And, apparently, there is a fairly large number of believers scattered around the world, some of whom continue to present their position online on a persistent basis. It's an interesting phenomenon. I'll re-read Wishar's book when I get the time.
Okay, that's it for now...
But, putting them aside, we are still on fire pretty much all over our state, but most particularly here in the far north end of the valley. Poor Trinity County is catching the most hell at present, with more than 40 individual wildfires (most caused by dry lightning in the mountains) burning, most of which are now classed as elements of fire complexes. The Fork Complex. located due west of us +- 45 miles near the mountain community of Hayfork, is burning slightly more than 34.000 acres now and is still only 55% contained after a month; the Route and South complexes, near the little town of Hyampom, together total 49,000 acres and are both at roughly 35% containment; the River Complex, in far western Trinity wilderness, is now burning 41,000 acres, having grown another 2,280 acres overnight, and is still only 18% contained, according to CalFire. These are most critical to us here in Shasta County because they're nearest, but they're only the tip of the proverbial iceberg: all-in we've got more than 145,000 acres burning here in the North State at present, while our friends and neighbors to the south, southwest, and east of us are battling their own blazes, and north of us in Oregon they've got a few of their own to deal with. Happy summer! Merry drought! At any rate, the several thousand firefighters in our part of the state are doing a hell of a job keeping the monsters away from homes and people, with fewer than 200 structures having burned so far, at least here in the north, and no more than a dozen or so injuries thus far. Unfortunately, 2 firefighters have died to date. They need a break or two, but there's nothing on the scope at present.
While we're on the subject of fires and firefighters, I do want to take a minute to vent my total disgust with the new breed of morons we're suddenly seeing flying their pieces-of-crap drones into fire areas and subsequently causing the grounding of helicopters and air tankers working in support of the ground crews due to the very real hazard these shit-for-brains clowns pose to the safety of the flight crews. Already this season, and I only know about California, there have been more than 20 drones spotted by air crews flying fire support, some within fewer than 100 feet in proximity, causing at least 8 groundings of badly-needed tankers and helicopters while they wait for the bozos to fly out of the area. This is criminal activity, plain and simple, and has got to be stopped and people sent to jail; the problem is locating these ignorant asses and apprehending them, since they are likely miles away from the scene of their crimes, and difficult to identify. The public is beginning to respond to the appeals of help from law enforcement agencies, and several have been turned in and arrested. Hopefully this trend will continue and expand before someone is killed when a $150 piece of junk flies into a tail rotor or goes through a windshield. Just sayin'...
Okay, moving on...as a matter of curiosity, we would be interested to know what it is in these posts that has attracted the attention of our several foreign readers. We know that we have more or less regular viewers in the UK, France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Portugal, Israel, and Italy, as well as an occasional visitor from the Philippines, and we're very pleased about it. But we also are very interested in knowing more about you, so if you would reply and tell us something about yourselves we would be grateful.
I know that I've spent a considerable amount of time during the last several months commenting on wines from both Boeger and New Clairvaux wineries, but you should know that that's probably not going to stop soon. The reason is simple: almost across the board both produce wines that are consistently excellent and very fairly priced. What more do you want? Especially those of you working to put together interesting by-the-glass programs for members and guests who are again beginning to pay closer attention to the right-hand side of the list. And, to that subject, just another word to the wise: The Boeger 2012 Barbera, which we've had our fair share of this year, was just tasted again (not tasted, actually, but enthusiastically drunk down with a fat, greasy Turri grass-fed beef hamburger) and is at present absolutely perfectly ready, at least to my palate. I don't know if Greg Boeger agrees with me, and it doesn't really matter since it's such a subjective thing to debate, but he was right when he nudged me toward the 2012 as the 2011 began to disappear. This has got to be one of the half-dozen best red wine buys on the shelves today, and I recommend that you get some for both yourself and your wine lists before it disappears like the '11. Greg, how's '13? Strangely, that's always been a lucky number for me...
And so, to close another one out, just a short note re Mt. Shasta and its connection to Lemuria. (Hard to believe that I'm even writing this, actually.) As I wrote a few weeks back, I'velost my mind and have begun searching around various sources for published material regarding the various legends and tales linking the mountain with the strange and the unusual, especially its supposed role as refuge of one of the last known colonies of survivors of Lemuria. I found several books listed with various ebay o/p and rare booksellers and, after doing a very modest amount of research, bought a couple. One of those, "Lemuria - The Lost Continent of the Pacific", published by the Rosicrucian Press in the 1930s (I know, puzzled the hell out of me, too) and subtitled "The Mystery People of Mt. Shasta" is quite an adventure. The author, one Wishar S. Cerve, which turns out to be a pseudonym for the anthropologist H. Spencer Lewis, tells a good tale, and makes a great number of wild (and unsupported) claims in presenting his case, such as it is. And, apparently, there is a fairly large number of believers scattered around the world, some of whom continue to present their position online on a persistent basis. It's an interesting phenomenon. I'll re-read Wishar's book when I get the time.
Okay, that's it for now...
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Images (maybe) of China fire near Happy Valley...
I'll try to get some images from the Rocky fire up later today; it has turned into a monster that is now creating its own weather system and doing pretty much what it wants to do. For anyone really interested in excellent fire photo coverage, I recommend you go to the LA Times' site and check out the portfolio their staff photographer Genaro Molina has put together in the past week of the Rocky fire and the folks fighting it, as well as some of those who have been driven out of their homes. Pretty great work.
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