Sutter Creeks- Miller Wine Works

Took a little Sunday day trip and visited  Miller Wine Works again. Besides Feist, I think is one of the best additions to this region. Their wine room is located in the cute old west town of Sutter Creek, right next to my favorite art and gift boutique Fine Eye Gallery. Check it out if you are in the area or close by. 

Yom Kippur Wrap Up

I cannot believe the weather!!! Usually the day of Yom Kippur I am counting down the hours until I can break the fast and dig into the chicken soup and honey cake that I made the day before. Well, this year there was no way I was turning on the oven or using the stove for that matter. My easy no cook break fast dinner went as fallows.

We had Udi's multi grain bagels. I really don't ever eat grains anymore, but I figure heck, why not it is a Holiday and once in a while cannot hurt.                                                     I paired the bagels with the usual suspects:

-sliced Heirloom Tomatoes sprinkled with garlic black pepper
-fresh yummy cream cheese sprinkled with dill
-beautiful Wild Smoked Sockeye Salmon
-sliced red onions
-would have added capers, but Ben hates anything briney or pickled.

I paired the bagels and lox with a simple butter lettuce, radish and yellow summer squash salad that was tossed with my go to dressing:

1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1/4 cup or so of white balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp of Herbs De Provence
2 tbsp of EVOO
1 pinch of Kosher Salt

Shake it up in a glass jar and toss into salad.

We had chocolate dipped Macaroons via Wholefoods.

If we where having people over I would have chilled a nice Rose' wine but I already had opened Driven's Tempranillo and had that instead.

Also if we had company I would have probably served some strawberries(yes because of the weird season are still great and coming in the by the truck loads around here) and Heirloom Melon slices, some different olives and a crudite platter with lemon Hummus. It was just Ben and I this year which was fine too hot for company anyway.

I hope everyone had a easy fast and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

Where the buffalo roam...

Another Sunday drive took us on a great adventure and another wonderful Winery find a few weekends ago. As usual Ben and I decided to explore the Sierras and see what kind of gems we could find. So we drove towards Granite Bay and by chance saw a grape sign with a arrow and fallowed it. We had no idea where we were going but what the heck, lets go. We actually ended up back in Newcastle, and drove into the area where people build huge custom homes on what use to be hilly farm land.

Finally, we find this sign and what looks to be someones very large home. We pull into the drive way and walk into what maybe was a very high end fancy garage, turned tasting and barrel room. It was a fun feel with all the other wine tasters drinking down their tastings and look to be loving every sip. We finally were able to get a place to taste at the bar and surprise, surprise great wine.

The wine maker and co-owner, Phil Maduxx, was of course working the wine room and was poring his wine. He started making his own wine at home in the 1970s, and one day decided to make it his career. Thank god he did his wine is great! He grows vines around his home, but also owns a hill side not too far away from his property that he bought from a what I would call "wanna be weekend wine maker" that did not realize the amount of work it would be making wine. Worked in Phil's favor for sure. His wines to me are pretty much Organically grown and produced(they are not certified but if you listen to how he grows them I believe they are) and he believes in water conservation and let's his vines look for their water and waits until the driest months to actually water them. The wine really shows this with the richness and depth of flavor.

The reds where great especially for 09s. The stands out to me from what he had on his Tasting Menu that day were:
Thunder Beast Zinfandel 2009


Where the Buffalo Roam 2009
Bison Blanc Viognier 2010

He also let us a taste the 2009 Just Grenache and is was Just Wonderful!

Ben LOVED the Pawny Tawny!! Great desert wine for sure!

The wine room was great with the Buffalo theme throughout, but not in a Disneyland way. If you ever get to go and do some tasting at the winery, maybe Phil will tell you why he decided to name his winery Lone Buffalo it is a great story.

Here is a link to check them out Lone Buffalo Vineyards

If you are in Tahoe their wines made the Ritz-Carlton's Northstar Resort Wine list.

New Amador Wineries and Cheese Shop #2

The next monster winery to take the Amador Valley by storm is Andis Wines. I did not take a lot of pictures because the winery is a clean modern design and the winery was packed that day as well. If you look at the second picture you will see the wall of woven wood. Well, the wood is from re-claimed oak barrels that they used as a design feature throughout the out side of the winery. The winery was founded by a husband and wife team that are native Hawaiians and still split their time between the main land and the islands. They owned a home on the Silverado Trail for years and one day went to a Wine Club dinner at a Amador Winery and met their now Wine Maker, Mark Mckenna. The story in its' entirety is located on Drink Up Magazine.

I have now gone to the winery twice since I shot the images. The wines across the board are very good but like Helwig are very young and need some time to settle. The region grows Italian varieties best because of its similarities to the climate of the Italian Wine country. Many Italians settled in the region and found the elevation and climate identical to their native Italy and so they planted what worked best also French varieties are grown in the region and do very well also. Amador is completely different growing region from Napa, Sonoma, Lodi and Santa Barbara. Napa, Sonoma and Santa Barbara are near the ocean so that in its' self can tell you a lot. Lodi is very flat so that tells you another story all together. 

The tasting room is very large, clean and modern. When I first shot the images the room was packed so I did not want to shoot because I would have to get the crowds permission to post images with them in it. They have very cute out door furniture for you to buy a glass of wine and bring a picnic and enjoy their top of the hill views. Also a nice thing about Andis is their wines are on taps and you can refill your bottles when you come into the winery instead of buying corked bottles. They offer corked bottles but if you live close this is a great option. I think the winery is already a force to be reckon with, but give it another couple of years and you will see their wines featured in some top wine journals for sure.

Now on to Ben's favorite place on earth. The Sutter Creek Cheese Shoppe! This place is a great gem of a find. It is located on the main drag of the very cute Sutter Creek town. The Amador Valley is made up of all these old mining towns and they are all charming and cute as a button. If you love history then this is a great place to visit as well.

So what makes his little cheese shoppe so great is they let you taste every cheese they have and not even having to ask either. As soon as you walk in the door they shower you with samples and extremely detailed knowledge of the cheese as well. They know their cheese inside and out and have a true love for it.

They give you these tasting sheets and you can just down the list if you like. We usually walk out with maybe five or ten types of cheeses. They also are kind enough to give you extra pieces of that great french cheese paper that makes your cheese last extra long in the refrigerator at home. They even have the back history on the paper as well.

New Wineries in Amador Wine Region #1

As usual Ben and I take many trips to the surrounding wine regions as a great mini day-cation. On one of our trips last winter we observed a few new wineries being built in Amador. We like the region because it has so many wineries but it does not feel too commercial.

Now, looking at two of the largest being built, Ben and I both said at once "on no". These two wineries looked like they might be owned by corporations and not families. So we where a little worried. Finally, in the spring the two where open for business. Ben and I decided to do some snooping and some tasting and see what the story is. The first winery is called Helwig. From what we found out it is owned by one person and he was a CEO of a one of the largest Health Insurance companies in the country based in Sacramento.

 

The wine list was of course full of very young vintages, but all had a lot of promise if they where layed down for say another few years.

 

The Sauvignon/Savignon Blancs where pretty much ready to drink. They had a Syrah Rose' that was not bad at all. I am in love with true Rose' so this was pretty good. 

  

The owner and designer actually took their time building this winery and went to great lengths to keep everything Eco-friendly. Pretty much all the wood used to build the winery is re-claimed from the region which is not a cheap route to go. 

 

They also built a medium size amphitheater into the hill side and have already sold out evenings of live music. For sure a stop and see place for the surroundings and in about three years their wine will match the beauty of the winery for sure.  

The winery itself is beautiful. Lots of unique touches throughout. They really put a lot of forward thinking into the design with lots of out door space that is covered so people can drink wine and bring a picnic and enjoy their million dollar view.

Harvest Time

Wild Turkeys abound around the Sierra Foothills.

Thank god the first signs of Fall, finally!!! Last weekend I was not sold that it was Fall even though the temperature felt Fallish over the weekend and we did one of our favorite rituals, going to Apple Hill in Placerville, Ca. During the week it was in the high 90s, so as you can understand not convinced. The weather lady on the local news said it is supposed to rain this week and we are on a permanent cool down. I got so excited that I told Ben the weather is great and it is September so what do you think we are doing today? We are going Winery hunting! We live on the out skirts of the Sierras and there are pockets of Wineries all around. One large one is in Amador( I am working on a post about some new places to visit around there to) but going up towards Tahoe you have a good amount as well. Ben found one on a Google map that was actually not too far away, and a little hidden. So we drove down a windy road and through the woods and pulled into a steep drive way to find Pescatore Vineyard and Winery.

Pescatore Wines 

 is owned by the the Wegner Family with David Wegner at the wheel. David is also a serious fishermen splitting his time between the Winery and Baja California. The Winery also host several wine dinners where his latest catch are sometimes featured. The Winery is about ten minutes outside of Newcastle, CA and tucked away in a hillside with incredible views. David and his family planted the vineyard themselves in 1997 and had there first harvest four years later. 

Ben and I arrived at the Winery and saw a sign on the door that said to call a number and David would be right down. So we called and he came hiking down a large hill to meet us and opened the wine room. They had a party the night before and you could tell it was a fun one. David started to open bottles for us and the first was incredible. I am thinking, they must specialize in whites. Well, I keep tasting down the line all the way to his desert wine and I am in shock. Every single wine is great across the board. This never happens especially with small wine makers. Usually only one out of the selections of wines are standouts. Maybe two if they can afford a professional Winer Maker. David is the wine maker and he was a home wine maker for many years and took class at UC Davis to perfect his craft. Years later he took the plunge and decided to buy some land and plant a vineyard. Thank god he did!

The real kicker is he sells all his wines for the same price $13.00, with exception to the desert wine! I was in disbelief for sure. He says he has to compete with Trader Joes pricing and super markets with over whelming selections. The pricing makes it a stand out on the shelves over the more expensive ones no doubt. He says he rather set a very reasonable price and have return customers then sell his vintages comparable to everyone else in the region and not sell as much. 

So while most people walk out of local Wineries with one or two bottles his customer's walk out with CASES!!! Now he sells through the local Grocery Stores and at the winery. If you want to buy online he sells almost every thing with exception of his Whites, Rose' and Desert Wine, but if you call him he will ship you some. His Sauvignon Blanc is wonderful and like I said across the board everything was wonderful even the Rose' was stellar. Also he only uses his own grapes to make his Wines with exception to his Chardonnay that comes out of Sonoma. This is a can't miss place. So great!

next on the list to hit was 
PaZa

This is a very new winery. Just opened in July this year. Another wonderful small family operation. The winery is owned and operated by Pamela and Zane a husband and wife team. The winery is very sweet and has beautiful views as well. I was excited when I started to taste because the wines where great for a first run. The winery does not have a website yet and you cannot buy online either. Zane, is for sure focused on creating a quality wine first and then getting the online presence up and running later. If you are going up to Tahoe or want to do some wine tasting this is a great stop. They have a nice tasting set up where you can buy a bottle and just hang out in the Vineyard. 

If you want to check out the whole region you click on this link to the Placer County Visitors Bureau.

You can make a weekend getaway out of it with the cute old mining town of Auburn near by also Nevada City is not too far north either. Many Bed and Breakfasts around the area as well to stay at. In the link to the Placer County Visitors Bureau they have listings of places to stay as well.

Happy Monday All:)

a monday

Cashmere keeping me company in my almost re-decorated office while re-designing my blog today.

We had a busy weekend full of house remolding, but we managed to escape and go to Apple Hill in Placerville, CA to buy some nice apples and organic produce at Willow Pond. Also stopped by a new Winery called  Grace Patriot Winery. The Winery is very young but had two stand outs. They did not have all vintages out for tasting, but the standouts are the:
2009 Pinot Gris
2006 Syrah
They were pushing a wine called 5pm that is a blend. Now, I like blends just fine and have no issues with Wine Makers blending but this was not the wine they should have been pushing this was a really not great wine. The Syrah and even there Cab was a much better wine for sure. They had a fun very Dry candy like Rose' as well that would be a great pool party wine in the summer time. So all in all a very fun weekend.

Now today I was TIRED. Poor Ben had to drive into the Bay for work so I just had to get breakfast and coffee together and push him out the door. The rest of the day I finished the two week process of re-designing and organizing this blog. I finally got it the way I wanted it so I hope you like it! Feed back would be great! Still not sure on the colors.

So today I went to whole foods and picked up some of there Mediterranean Crunch Salad that looked almost Mediterranean. I just did not feel like making anything for lunch even though when I got home I still had to doctor it up to really make it "Mediterranean". Then before I left I wondered down the raw food isle to see if there was anything interesting. The raw food isle reminds me of a very cold dank old almost deserted European village for some reason. It is isolated from any of the happy food areas and everything looks dead and muted. I know sounds horrible but it is the truth. I find new stuff all over the store so I figured I would take a shot and see what I could find.

The October 2011 issue of Fast Company is a must read if you like to read about business, tech and love Industrial design as much as Ben and I do!

I found these GF breakfast crackers by Mauk Family Farms. They are organic and GF also grain free basically a cracker made with just seeds and some GF buckwheat. Per serving they have 11.8 grams of protein, 17.5 grams of fat, 158 calories, 13.1 grams of fiber and 45 grams of carbs. This is something that you would eat for energy for sure and in the morning or in the afternoon for lunch. I just topped mine with almond butter and organic no sugar added strawberry jam. They have a few other savory flavors that would be great with a hummus or avocado spread along side a big salad for lunch. Not bad.  Now, for the salad I got at Whole Foods needed a lot of help for sure. So here is basically what is in the salad if you want to make it with my additions:

Shara's Doctored up Kale Mediterranean Salad 
(yeah, all the extras I added and I am most certainly calling it my own for sure)

a bunch of chopped kale (WF)
one to two cups(depending how much you like them) Garbanzo Beans (chickpeas)
one diced and peeled cucumber (WF)
one diced red bell pepper (WF)
half of a red onion chopped (WF)
two cloves of garlic chopped (Shara)
1/4 cup or more if you like of kalamata olives halved (Shara)
half one lemon zested and juiced (Shara)
some black pepper (Shara)
some kosher salt (Shara)
maybe some crumbled feta if you want
one good pour of olive oil (Shara)

Just combine and toss it all together. Holds up in the refrigerator well for a few days because the kale takes a while to wilt.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!!!








 

home already....

So after traveling for about ten hours I made it home last night. I just got back from visiting one of my Besties, Laurence, in Montreal. Man, was she surprise to see me! Her husband and her oldest Daughter, Salome, did a very good job at keeping the secret. She could not speak for about an hour and still would look at me the rest of the night and say "you are really here"..."I cannot believe you came all this way for me, you are a true friend". Warmed my heart to say the least. She is the kindest and most appreciative person I know and I would only go through all the traveling and planning for her. We had the best time. Her 40th Birthday Party was probably the best party I have ever gone to. Nothing flashy, just her back yard, some great food, great wine and Rose' Sparkling Wine(we share a great love for Rose') and her friends and family. They all love and cherish her so much. She really deserved this day for being such a good, hard working, friend, Mother, Wife, Daughter and just a wonderful person in general. They do not make people like her much anymore that is for sure.

When I got there her family broke out a bottle of  Heidsieck Heritage Brut NV Champagne(yes, can actually be called Champagne because it is made in Champagne) that they brought with them all the way from France. It was excellent on the warm and humid day that it was.  Yummy, nice and dry, tart, medium bubbles with a not too buttery taste. Citrus and green apple flavors galore. Very good. Hard to find in the US though. Found it on Wine Searcher for about $37.00 but not anywhere else.

Since it was just close family the day I got there we did her presents then. Our gifts where personal and we new she would be too overwhelmed the next day to really take in the gifts and the stories behind them. Plus, Laurence hates being showy in anyway and these gifts where very glamorous and personal to say the least. I got her an engraved pendant from Tiffany so it was funny for her husband to hand her a second bag from Tiffany. She was so surprised. We all know from my last post her diamond band was in there. I love that I was the courier to bring it from Cal for her. She got some other great things hand made by her Mother and her Daughter. Also a beautiful LV bag and matching wallet. We all agreed she deserved all this and more. It was a emotional day for us all. 

The next day was the party and it was so much fun.  They had a pièce montée made in the shape of the numbers 40. So great! I have never seen one in person much less in the shape of a 40(Laurence turned 40 and she is not afraid to tell you either, love that girl).

I ate the filling out of the centers and the sugar candy disc on top of the custard balls(cream puffs). I ate the centers out a few actually;) Had a bit of the shell just to get a little taste to, but not too much. I think I like this concept better then a cake. I don't know why people don't do this more in the US. I am thinking to try and make some gluten free cream puffs next week and see if I can convert the recipe. We will see. We had lots of Mumm Napa Brut Rose'. Always a home run with me. Great price point and has a great taste for a American made Sparkling Rose' for sure. We all had a really good time. From the picture below Laurence had the best time of us all!!

Laurence is dancing with her Mother-In-Law. Now I never volunteer someones age lets just say she is in her 60's and still looks like that and dances like that!! Love it! No surgery people! Cross you fingers we look that when we are in our 60's!

The rest of the trip was hanging out and going to a Apple Orchid to pick apples. Montreal has some beautiful country side. The name of the Orchid was La Magie de la Pomme. Wonderful setup and beautiful orchids. Fall is here people!

I went into the city while Laurence was at work the day before I flew home and walked around Montreal. Great city. Nice people and very clean. I have been there to visit Laurence before so it was a little familiar for sure. We went to Celine Dion's diner called Nickels Grill. The food was like a New York style deli. I found lots of Gluten free options with no problem.

When I arrived for the trip I actually stayed down town the night before I was going to surprise her. With the flights and stuff it was better this way. I managed to catch the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit in Montreal at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts before I went to her house after she got home from work to surprise her. The show was wonderful. If you are going to be up there go and see it. The museum does a great job with these types of shows. I saw the YSL exhibit last time I was visiting Laurence and they did such a better job then San Fransisco did with the exhibit.

It was a wonderful trip and I had the best time. So now back home with Ben and Cashy(my cat) life is good and I know I helped create life long memories for a very special person and her family forever.

Love you Laurence:)

Something that Bubbles....

So I received my Everyday Food magazine in the mail the other day. I love it first because it is a mini magazine:), but I also love it because for something so small it is packed with info. In the issue is a great condensed explanation of the major difference in Sparkling Wines. It is actually quite easy once you know the terminology. So in this post I want to take this short and sweet article a few steps further.

Now, a lot of people are not really big fans of sparking wine. They drink it at New Years or will be happy to mix it up with orange juice at brunch, but not really in to breaking out a bottle after work. I think they rather open a bottle of red wine just because you don't have to drink it all in one night which is the thought with sparkling wines that you have to drink up because it will go flat. Now, I have a problem solver for that. A sparkling wine stopper solves that problem. You can keep a bottle of sparkling wine in the refrigerator and keep the bubbles from fading away for about four days with this gadget that cost about four or five dollars at any kitchen store.

Ok so that solves that problem, now for the taste. When I started researching this post I knew I only knew a little more then the average person about Sparkling Wines. Now as I dug and dug and read and read I could not believe why Sparkling Wines are so cheap. I mean they should cost a lot more then they do. The effort that goes into these Sparklers is amazing! They are very fussy to make just like Pinot Noir wines. Pinots need loving care to be produced, and since Sparklers are half the time made from Pinot grapes you can image how fussy it can be. Way more effort then standard wines that is for sure. Did you know that up to SIXTY different wines from different years as well can go into a bottle of Sparkling Wine! They blend them with different years of grapes until they get the taste they want and those are called "non-vintage" Sparklers. Only the very best Sparklers will get a vintage. Those bottles that have a stated vintage are made from grapes that where grown in a perfect growing season where the wine maker knows that the grapes from that harvest will be good enough to stand alone. First read the labels and look for these key words that tell you how much sugar is in the wine:

Extra Brut 0% to .5% sugar

Example from Astor Wine and Spirits

Brut .5% to 1.5% sugar

-These are not sweet at all. They are great to pair with just about anything except of course anything sweet;) This is not a wine that you have alone. This is a food wine only.

Example from Mum Napa

Extra Dry(Sec) 1.2% to 2% sugar

-This wine has a little sweetness. This would work with appetizers at a cocktail Summer or Spring time reception with lite seasonal foods.

Example from Chandon

Dry(Sec) 1.7 to 3.5% sugar

-This is your best type to mix with orange or grapefruit juice or to mix in cocktails. Has a nice sweetness but does not give you that overly sweet taste.

Example from Mumm Napa

Demi-Sec(Dry) 3.35 to 5% sugar

Example from Shramsberg

Example from Domaine Carneros

Doux(Sweet) over 5% sugar

-This is your drink alone at the pool type or to be paired with not too rich deserts. This type is made with more juice and is very juicy:) Italians are best at producing these!

Example from Astor Wine and Spirits

Example from Astor Wine and Spirits

Quick facts:

*Now, not all bottles will be labeled this way. Mostly all Champagnes will but only big fancy US Sparkling Wine producers will take the time to add these terms to there labels. I have noticed the terms on lower priced Sparkling Wines in the last couple of years though.

*Sec means dry in French

*Doux means sweet in French

*Brut is French for rough or raw

A little more info on sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are called different things in different parts of the world, and for sure some taste differently.

In France not only is the famous Champagne produced in the Champagne region but Saumur, Vouvray, Touraine, Cremant de loire that are from the Loire region. France has many different laws that dictate how you can harvest the grapes for theses types and what types of grapes can go into each type. They all can either be white or rose. If it is not grown in the Champagne region you cannot call it Champagne it is called Sparking Wine or a regionally excepted name. This is just the tip of the iceberg for info on France's Sparkling wines read more in these great books:

Karen MacNeil's The Wine Bible, Mark Oldman's Oldman's Brave New World of Wine and Tom Stevenson's World Enycolpida of Champagne and Sparkling Wine

In Spain sparking wine is called Cava. Cava by law must be made anywhere from one to five types of grapes types: chardonnay, parellada, xarello, macabeo. Like other sparkling and Champagnes, that are non-vintaged, many years of grapes can go into a bottle of Cava.

In Italy sparkling is called Prosecco-Spumante(made from White Prosseco grapes) or Asti-Spumante (can be made from white grapes like Moscato and red/black grapes like Barbera and Nebbiolo)

Quick fact:

*Spumante means foaming in Italin

*Frizzante means fizzy(less then foaming) in Italin

In Germany Sparkling is called Sekt and is made with only white grapes like Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and of course Riesling and Weissburgunder.

Quick fact:

*Sekt means Sparkling Wine in German

On Sparking Wine labels you will also see other words that may be a mystery as well like: Golden, blanc de blanc, rose' and blanc de noirs. These are terms that describe the style in which the wine was made. These terms are mostly found only on American Sparking and French Champagnes.

Golden- fine Sparkling wine that once poured looks like liquid gold usually made from Chardonnay grapes

blanc de blanc- means white from white. Meaning this type is made from only white Grapes. Usually only Chardonnay Grapes.

Example from Domain Carneros

rose'- off dry(slightly sweet) in taste are made from red grapes, but skins are left on for a very short time compared to reds. Very fruity in smell with a little sweetness, but not too sweet.

Example from J Vineyards

blanc de noirs- means white from black. Meaning this type is made from grapes with red skins(french call red grapes black grapes). Only the juice and pulp is used and is white not red like the skin. Usually only Pinot Nior grapes are used to make this type.

Example from Schramsberg
Red- a type that I have seen more and more of. Basically mostly only made of red grapes: Pinot Noir, Brachetto, Cabernet Sauvigono, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, Lambrusco. Mumm Napa has a very good explanation of how they make there red sparkling wine called Cuve'e M Red. Basically the grapes are soaked in cold water for a five day period before fermentation and then right after the fermentation process the skins are extracted. Then Mumm completes the fermentation process by aging the wine in French Oak so it picks up a rich and spicy flavor

Examples from Mumm Napa

Example from Astor Wine & Spirits-Brachetto d'Acqui "Rosa Regale" Banfi- 2009
Quick facts:
*Blanc means white in French

*Nior means black in French

There is so much more to know about Sparkling Wines. Below are some great resources that helped me put this post together and can help you have a deeper understanding as well.

Sources:

Pink Lady's Wine Picks

Since the economy is in the toilet I find myself gravitating and looking so forward to my glass of wine when I get home from work. I have never been an expensive wine drinker unless it is a special bottle from a special place, and especially now I go strait to the under $10.00 bottles. I used to look at the under $10.00 and the under $20.00 for my nightly glass of red greatness, but not anymore. I am a Champagne and red wine collector. Anything that can be purchased at Trader Joes, Bev Mo, grocery stores is not in the collection. I am strict if I am going to collect it it has to be something you can only buy direct from the winery or only on a restaurants wine list. So since a bottle of Shaffer or something made by the cult winery Screaming Eagle is not going to be in my near future I am diving deep into the under $10.00 category to not dip into my coveted stash. 

My go to bottle is part of the new line of wines from the Francis Ford Coppola called Rosso. The line came out when Francis opened his new winery in Geyserville about a year ago called Rosso&Bianco. I have tried both the Rosso and the Rosso Shiraz. The bottles can be purchased at Trader Joes for $7.99!!!!! Sold at other stores for twice the price. It is well worth it. This is a wine you can drink alone for sure it needs nothing. You could pair it with a pork dish with a sweet brine or pizza, bar-b-q. The Rosso is a nice blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel grapes it is so yummy.