Sunrise and Jack O’Lanterns
Happy Halloween 2022
Vicky!
Paul and I made this sign for our wine club member in TN that was passing through Morgan Hill on the Amtrak train to SoCal. Unfortunately, due to C-19 (that evil C-word) she did not make it and cut her trip short.
I wanted to share this picture anyway to let you know how far we’ll go for our club members and friends!
Cheers and hope to “see” you next time.
Day Off
Considering how long it’s been between posts, maybe it should be called “Days Off”. Time flies when you’re having fun, so they say.
The end of March and most of April have been Go-Go-Go, in a good way. We did a couple of winemaker dinners, there was a St. Pat’s Day party, we hosted a Wine Club Party, I hosted a “learn to make raviolis” happy hour party with our neighborhood pals, plus there was Easter in there somewhere (more cooking, eating, drinking), and oh, the airbnb activity has ramped back up and we’ve been hosting guests most weekends now. Ok, Phew, deep breath.
This last weekend, we took a day off to ourselves and visited San Juan Bautista. Cute little town, great historical Mission there, and plenty of places to eat, drink, and shop. We started at Paul’s favorite antique shop where he picked up some new LP’s for the collection (some Stones, some blues, some jazz). If know me and my bowl collection you’ll appreciate that we came home with a pretty little blue Pyrex number that “I just had to have”. (queue the eye roll).
Then, we stopped in at Brewery 25 and had a couple of pints and chatted up the locals and one of the owners. The Black IPA was assertive and to my taste. And for some eats, we wandered over to The Smoke Point BBQ & Provisions. There they offer a sampling of very nice whiskeys and bourbons. The meats were excellent, the day was perfect, and the view was the photo below.
Until next time, enjoy!
-Stefania
Feeling Nostalgic
Dad would have been 90 today were he still alive. I pulled out my baby book and found a family photo taken by Mom dated “Easter 1969”. There are I am in Dad’s arms, followed by my brother Mike, brother Fred, brother Hans, and sister Elena.
This weekend, a cheers and a toast to The Colonel. I’ve written in the past about him and my only regret in life is he was gone before he ever got to try our wine. Such is life.
Poppies!
Although the poppies on our property have not yet started to bloom, they are starting to PopUp around the state. Two of my favorite colors come together, blue and orange. So happy, so vibrant, so colorful! A sure sign Spring is just around the corner for us. I’d say I’m looking forward to warmer days but we had a fluke temperature spike just a few days ago and the thermometer hit 86F. Uhh…that’s not awesome for February.
Year of the Tiger
Guess it’s not Year of the 49er. Yesterdays loss to the Rams was a huge bummer, but it was still a good gathering at Casa de Romero. Our regular guests and official Covid Tribe joined us for good eats and plenty of wine.
Paul bought extra Anchor Steam to help the SF mojo, in hindsight, it probably helped the Rams since the can colors match their teams colors, I should have made that assertion before this morning. D’oh!
I guess I’m not surprised the Bengals won, Year of the Tiger starts in just a few hours.
Happy New Year everyone and Cheers to an awesome 2022!!!
Bread
I scrolled through all of the photos from 2020 and picked this one to blog about.
There were actually some memorable moments and fun things we did, but a bulk of the photos were memories of smoke filled skies, ash, and the eerie orange glow from the fires surrounding us. Yuck.
I quilted several blankets and sewed some placemats that were auctioned off for various charitable donations we supported. Fun!
And I baked. Bread. Not sourdough mind you, I didn’t get bit by that bug. I tried that several years back and vowed never to invest that much time or energy into baking ever again. I followed the instructions step by step, day by day, month by month, and for what, one loaf of bread that wasn’t any more sour or discernably different than all the other loaves I’ve ever made in a few hours time.
In fact, I’m currently using a no-knead version for bread making and the results are excellent, see photo below for proof!
Happy New Year, Short & Sweet
Was the last blog really 2019? Ew.
Let’s see, so the quickest way to sum up the last couple of years is, “Pretty Much Sucked”.
No no no. That’s not the positive vibe we’re going for, but you were all there for 2020 right? Ew. And last year, not that much was different. We did a lot of staycationing, which was actually fun, we love this property so not being able to go anywhere wasn’t too big of a deal but yeah, we missed two annual trips to the French Quarter.
One positive outcome from being stuck at home, again, for Paul’s birthday and our wedding anniversary, was that I learned how to make pralines. And oh my god they were delicious, and way too easy to make. Pretty much our holiday sweets eating started right around that third week of October and just ended over New Years. Ew.
We’re both ready for a sugar detox.
And that is how you write a short and sweet little blog.
-SR
Happy Mardi Gras Y’all
Paul and I have never been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, maybe one day. There is so much fun to be had there during other times that we don’t feel like we are necessarily missing out.
We’ve been the week before Mardi Gras, we’ve been for St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve been for Easter, we’ve been before and after Halloween, and for many Saints Games too.
Doesn’t matter much when you go, it’s always a party. The food, culture, art, society, the people, the fabric of the south weaves through your soul and encompasses you no matter the time of year.
Paul shared a similar video of these guys with me last night, it’s too good to not pass along. Cheers y’all and Laissez les bon temps rouler!
The Year was 1973
This past couple of weeks have been pretty wet and dreary in California. I never thought I would say this, but man I am sick of the weather. It’s been cold, damp, wet, and soggy for too many days in a row. I get it, we need the rain, we need the snow, but even the cats are getting stir crazy. So much so that yesterday we braved the weather and picked up new toys for them, a rather life like looking gopher was the winning gift and I’m genuinely concerned that I might mistake it for a real one next time it turns up.
In the meantime, I’ve been having fun looking at photos from when I was a kid, and who doesn’t love a photo of one very surly Stefania?
Here, at my birthday in ’73 looking perfectly snotty:
Yes, that’s pretty much how I feel about all birthdays.
My sister sent me the next gem, I don’t know the exact year for sure, but it would have been her high school graduation in Chile, so some time around 1975 I bet.
I would like to point out my mom’s cigarette, what appears to be the graduation program in my right hand, and what’s that? A glass of wine in my left hand? Yes, of course it is, and I can tell by the glazed look in my eyes that I was very likely drinking it!
Chile was where I first learned about wine, grapes, winemaking, and cork orchards. My “uncle” Tolo was in charge of vineyards and winemaking and invited us on several occasions to participate in the activities there. I remember bottling and glueing the labels on to the bottles.
I would also like to point out my fashion choices, or those of my dear mother, I’m rockin’ the socks and sandals look, and I hate to admit it, but the plaid skirt my sister is wearing was a regular in my school clothes rotation sometime in the 80’s, rockin’ it.
We’ll be open in the tasting room this weekend but closed Monday for the holiday.
Salud!