Just about to decant a cabernet.....and thought you'd enjoy this movie trailer.  I'm trying to figure out a good time to go see "Bottle Shock" a new indie film.  Most of the foks at the vineyards had already seen it - and they had nothing but raves.

Don't forget to check out my  Wine  Blogging Wednesday from last night - it featured my recent trip to Napa.  Cheers!

Do you know the science of Ampelography?  How can you decant a good cabernet to make it a great cabernet?  What are the 3 Sip Steps to de-coding a great wine?  These and many other questions were answered on my recent trip to wine country.  My outrageous, unbelieveable and spectacular visit to the center of the wine universe - Napa Valley, CA!

You see, last Thursday I began my pursuit in becoming an accomplished Road Warrior of Great Wine.  After 15 vineyards, an amazing multi-course dinner at the Wine Spectator's Greystone Restaurant within the CIA (that's Culinary Institute of America, located in the famous 101 year old Christian Brothers Winery Chateau), I topped off my experience with a visit to the Fall Harvest Party at Frances Ford Coppola's Rubicon Estate.  While I'm still exhausted and trying to give my liver a much needed rest, I'm even more passionate about the science of Oenology!  

Oenology.  Ain't it a great word?  It's derived from the Greek term, oenos (οίνος), which means the science and study of all aspects of wine and winemaking, from the grape harvest to the bottle.  I learned so many things - things I want to share both by blogging and in person.  But first....it's

Starring....

The Start to a Wonderful 5 days in Wine Country!

First let me say I hate wine snobs.  But surprisingly, I only encountered one Vineyard that oozed snobbery - Opus.  To nobody's surprise, it's owned in part by the famous frenchman Baron de Phillipe Rothschild.  The french ~ always trying to rain on our parade.  Thankfully, the rest of the vineyards were warm, welcoming and eager to pass on whatever knowledge they had, helping a newbie like me.

We visited, tasted and toured 15 vineyards.  Although one of my favorites was closed (Cakebread) we've been ensured we can visit next year.  And for those of you thinking 'safety first', our 13 person group (hailing from points all over the country) hired limosuines each day so that we could start at 9:30am, floating back to our rooms in time to dress for dinner.  It was hard - but I took one for the team!

Here is the list of Vineyards we visited:

The study of Ampelography is about the botanical aspects of the grape leaf.  Did  you know you can identify a grape and the kind of wine it will yield by looking at its leaf?  Yup, the "hard cores" as they were referred to along St. Helena and Calistoga trek can lay down leaves in quick succession and ramble off the blessed wine it will make.  Now that folks is the kind of trivia I aspire to!  Kudo's to our wonderful private tour guide Doug at the Robert Mondavi Vineyards for his wonderful tour, enthusiastic nature and his love to sharing all things good about wine.  BTW - Doug will be coming out with a book next year (he has a publisher) and I believe it is titled (at this point) "Accessories after the Grape".  If he writes like he presents, it's sure to be fun and informative.

Wine Master Doug - Robert Mondavi Vineyards

Decanting - well I learned a little about that too.  Our private guide Tom at Cliff Lede took us through the vineyards and then back to the tasting patio.  He set down a cabernet and then decanted another.  First we tasted the straight-from-the-bottle wine; no doubt, it was good.  But then 20 minutes later we tasted the decanted wine (same vintage).  It was soft, the tannins were more subtle and it was deeee-lish!  Stags Leap is another wonderful wine...I'll be sure to de-cant it from now on.

Tom - Our Cliff Lede Expert

As I sat in my office today, the Fed Ex guy rang my bell.  Oh how I love the Fed Ed guy!  He delivered the first of what is sure to be many cases of wine we purchased on our trip.  Some I remember ordering - others are sure to surprise me!  I know we became members at numerous vineyards - why not!  It's true you can get swept away in the moment of tastings, but I will have no regret.  Many of the wines cannot be purchased anywhere else but the vineyard (because of such low case availability) so we decided to throw the current US economic crisis' to the wind.  If nothing else, we can drink ourselves into the new Administration....

Finally, the Coppola Fall Harvest Party was breathtaking.   Looking out over the estate , which is the historic Inglenook Chateau from the 1800's, we danced to the live band, took a tour of the caves attached to the chateau, and wandered through the interesting Coppola museum.  The food was fantastic and needless to say, the wine was one of the best I had all week!  My favorite was the Cask - full bodied, bold yet deliciously floral, with rich tones of black cherry and caramel.   See - I learned something!  And I'm waiting for that shipment with delightful anticipation!

If you have the ability to visit California and you love wine, make the trek to Napa Valley.   You're never too old or too smart to keep learning; I know I'm going to continue my education of wine.  I simply find it fascinating.  I have posted many pics on my site of Napa's beauty and I will post more when I can. 

In the meantime, think 2005.  At every winery and vineyard we visited, every private tour we took and through every wine cave and tastings room, we discovered that 2005 was a GREAT year for wine.  Everyone can remember that! 

CHEERS!

ItsJill in the Rubicon Wine Cave
* Happily Over a Barrel *

As I start packing for Napa Valley, leaving tomorrow on my exciting wine adventure, I thought I would present you with a very powerful short film for today's Wine Blogging Wednesday. 

This has won many awards at the Cannes FilmFestival and it will take about 4 minutes of your day.  Please grab your coffee or morning beverage of your choice, sit back and enjoy what you're about it see. 

It is a refreshing combination of the power-of-words and human kindness... 

As working adults, spouses, roommates or happily on your own, who amongst us doesn't love finding shortcuts to housecleaning?  Let's share our tips and secrets as we embark on another cold season.  A time where we'll find ourselves trapped in a forced-air environment, waiting to open the windows again.  It's the Fall Getting our House in Order Blog!

....and my First Fall WINE BLOGGING WEDNESDAY!

Who wouldn't love this magnum of excellent Coppola Cabernet Sauvignon...now here's something cool - it has a DVD of the redux of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalyse Now tucked into a "secret compartment" near the bottom of the bottle.

With one week before I leave for the Fall Harvest Party at the Rubicon Estate Vineyard (previously known as the Niebaum-Coppola Winery) near Napa in Rutherford, I have to salute the master filmmaker who has changed the name of his vineyard in an effort to pay more attention to the wine and less his name.  I am SO EXCITED!

Rubicon Estates - Rutherford, CA

Feel free to send me suggestions for my most passionate wine-loving blog ever, which of course will be following this wonderful trip of a lifetime!

A HOUSE IN ORDER

Fall is here.  Rather than a blizzard of snow, our home has been taken over with a blizzard of back-to-school papers and the disorganization that happens when routines change.  With the boys back in school, now is the time to look at how I can get things organized, weed out the unnecessary, and generally clean up my house.

I love a good housekeeping tip.  So I thought I would dedicate this blog to the clever people out there that know ways to become more efficient.  But first, here is my favorite organizing tip from last year.

This is how I want my counter to always look

So in order to do that, I buy drawer dividers whenever possible.
This one is my divider, made of wood, for all my quick-use kitchen tools
This divider expands to whatever width your drawer is - which is especially cool
I got it at Target when I did my kitchen remodel (2006)

But wait - what is this?  Yup - a kleenex box.  After I use all the tissues, this box is recycled by stuffing plastic grocery bags inside it, then neatly putting it in a drawer

Avoid the Blizzard of Bags.  With one (or two) empty kleenex boxes, you now have the ability to store extra bags and recycle them for collecting trash, doggie doo doo's, or just about anything that requires a quick plastic bag. It's saved my drawers from Mayhem!

That's my Fall Tip - Enjoy!

Waking up for Sunday services this morning, I noticed the cool wind.  It reminds me that things are changing all around us.  A new school year has started, fall games of football and soccer flood the local sports fields, and coffee not only perks up our minds, but  warms our bodies too.

Changes are in the wind.

Listening to my pastor speak about what "Rallly Sunday" means to him, it occured to me that I always treat this time of year as a new beginning.  Its a way to renew things and not just look at the fall as a precursor to snow, but a season to finish off the year right.

Back home, the rain made a perfect backdrop to the dulldrums of kitchen duty.  While homework was started and the ever-present buzzing of the tile cutter was finishing our home project, I began the busy work of creating a Sunday dinner.  Setting the oven to 275F, I trimmed a whopper of a roast with rosemary and minced garlic.  Glazed baby carrots and thyme roasted potatoes were added to the roasting pan.  A loaf of peasant bread was covered in foil for the last minute warming before dinner and fresh berries were blended in a bowl for dessert.

While the dinner roasted, I concentrated on another family ritual: laundry.  After it was washed, dried and folded for each member of the family,  I ended up running an errand to the tile store for 1 last piece of slate.   Nearly 5 hours later, I rounded up the entire family.  It was time to eat.

35 minutes and a heated discussion regarding NFL prospects later, our family dinner was over.  As I sorted the dishes for the dishwasher and put away the left overs, it occurred to me that there's a lot of work that goes into creating a family meal.  Especially when it's over in a mere 35 minutes!  But whether prepared for your family or special loved ones, a meal can create the perfect setting for memorable conversation, not to mention laughter!   That's why I think its truly a labor of love.

Changes are in the wind.  Goodbye summer and welcome fall!  Let's look forward to the new beginnings of this season.  A time to both huddle in the bleachers and move indoors, creating wonderful meals for great friends and family.