In the Napa Valley we are blessed with dozens of exceptional restaurants locally, and we frequent them often. Within 15 minutes of our home in St. Helena some of our favorites are Farmstead, Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Tra Vigne, Brassica, Gott’s/Taylor’s Refresher, Market and Terra. A little further afield in Yountville, 15 minutes further down the…
Blame it on Millie. She was the fawn colored Nubian goat that we inherited on the ranch we were care taking in the mid 1970’s – head-strong, vocal and capable of eating anything in her path – who subsequently proceeded to give birth to twins. What to do with all the milk? Make cheese, of…
Living basically on the fringes of rural America (albeit with the benefits of a wealthy wine-making populace and within a hours’ drive of northern California ‘s cultural capital), we are blessed by the opportunities we have to connect with the farming and agriculture communities in our backyard, a staple of which is the summer-time County…
If this is your first visit or if you are a seasoned wine taster, here are some basic tips that will make your trip to the Wine Country so much more enjoyable; Check the weather report. Our grapes ripen beautifully because we are located in a Mediterranean climate; almost no rain at all from June…
Our unseasonably cool then warm then wet then foggy and cool again weather this summer has extended the maturation of both our grapes . . . and the garden. The grapes will mature – eventually – (with a lot of work from our vineyard crew to expose the fruit and remove leaves, thin the already…
There is always an auction or fundraiser going on in the Wine Country, from the Montessori School Sun and Stars wine tasting at the CIA, to the Fire Department Lobster Boil, to the Chili Ball for Clinic Ole at Charles Krug, and we are always being asked and are always happy to participate, donate wine,…
We don’t really adhere to any one religious philosophy in our house, but use each holiday as an excuse to celebrate customary foods and traditions. With Passover and Easter so close together this year, we have gotten out several of our favorite recipes to prepare for ourselves and any friends in the neighborhood who need…
I guess it’s just our California backgrounds that make us search out, and even demand, the freshest of all ingredients. We are so fortunate to have the ocean an hour away, grassy hillsides that raise the leanest of beef, a garden that gives us fruits and vegetables for 7 months out of the year, and…
Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company2 (10-12oz) rib-eye steaks 1 tablespoon olive oil 2/3 cup Port of your choice 2/3 cup Cabernet Sauvignon (we like the Two Old Dogs Cabernet Sauvignon – use what you will be drinking with dinner) 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 cup chicken broth 4 tablespoons (4 oz.) Original Blue Cheese crumbles…
With the advent of technology, all sorts of unintended and irrelevant information is available. When we set up our “Google Alerts” for the wines of Herb Lamb Vineyards, little did we think that almost every day we would get a new alert on our email – not for wine, but for recipes for “herbed lamb”?…