Yesterday, my Aunt B. and Uncle J. took Kara and me wine tasting at Domenico Winery in San Carlos…
Domenico Winery
Domenico is an Urban Winery found just off of the 101 on the San Francisco Peninsula. I am always intrigued by the quality of wine coming from Urban Wineries like Domenico. I could do a whole series on just Urban Wineries…
But this post isn’t about that.
Although the winery is not located within the boundaries of the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, Domenico is considered to be a Santa Cruz Mountain Winery because they do make some wines with fruit sourced from that appellation. Here’s a few that we tasted…
Domenico 2009 Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay
Domenico 2008 Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir
I do love me some Santa Cruz Mountains fruit. Maybe it’s because I grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains…
But this post isn’t about that.
Domenico is more well-known for their wines made from Italian varietals. We got to try the follwing wines which are recommended by yours truly…
Domenico 2006 Dolcetto
Domenico 2007 Montepulciano
Although I was into both of these, I am not usually a fan of wines made of Italian grapes grown in California (with the exception of Primitivo aka Zinfandel, which technically has origins in Croatia)…
But this post isn’t about that.
Domenico also makes a fine Bordeaux style blend from Napa…
Domenico 2005 Napa Valley Meritage
I was also very impressed with their dessert wines…
We picked up the 2009 “White Cashmere” Malvasia Bianca Dessert Wine, thanks to my aunt and uncle.
Yup. Domenico is a pretty cool place. You should check them out the next time you’re in San Carlos…
But this post isn’t about that.
On the way home, after saying our goodbyes to Aunt B. and Uncle J., we decided to swing by Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Tasting Room… Since it was on the way, and all…
As always, the entire lineup at Ridge was fantastic. We were hella stoked by the following…
Ridge 2010 East Bench Zinfandel
Ridge 2007 Syrah/Grenache
Ridge 2006 Lytton Estate Grenache
Those wines were very good. I mean… Ridge is ALWAYS good…
But this post isn’t about that.
There were two wines that we got to taste that were just amazing…
The Ridge 2010 Buchignani Ranch Carignane is unreal. The nose is this crazy combination of beef jerky and cake frosting. I know that sounds weird, but trust me… That smell is beautiful. The palate brings some legit blueberry and blackberry fruit. Pick it up! 92+
Behind the counter, they had open a Half Bottle of Ridge 1993 Monte Bello, so we had to have a taste. It’s hard to believe that this wine is 19 years old. Considering that half bottles age more quickly than those that are full-sized, it was neat to see how young it still behaved. The color was a dark reddish-purple with just the slightest rustiness near the rim. The nose had this fantastic spice that Kara and I were having trouble putting a name to. Kara settled with chai tea. The spice to me was more that of nutmeg and carob. There was also a generous aroma of plum. On the palate, this bad boy brought it all. Black tea, green peppers, clove, mint, ginger, blackberries, cranberries, and leafy tobacco married perfectly. This wine, right now, is in a sweet spot. It is F-ing great! 95
Since Kara and I joined Ridge last year, I’ve probably visited the winery about 20 times (Yikes!), and I am always surprised by all the neat little gems that show up every time…
But this post isn’t about that.
After we got home, I took our dog, Angel, for a walk…
What’s up? Dog.
While on our walk, Angel stepped on a bee.
My dog is a bad ass. She is maybe 15 pounds, and talks trash to the local pit bulls whenever she sees ’em. But, when she stepped on that bee, I’ve never seen her in more pain… Ever. She began to limp and cry, and would not stop.
Kara and I took her to the vet to get her paw checked out. They gave her a couple of shots to ease the swelling and pain, and by bedtime she was back to her bad ass ways…
But this post isn’t about that.
When I woke up this morning, I saw that my ol’ buddy, Nick TheDrummer, had created the following logo for me and posted it to my Facebook page…
Stay Rad Wine Blog: The Logo
It’s pretty cool, huh?
But this post isn’t about that.
This post is about the kindness of people…
It’s about my wife coming on wine adventures with me.
It’s about my aunt and uncle inviting us to lunch, treating us to a wine tasting, and buying us a bottle of wine… Just because.
It’s about the people at Ridge Vineyards always making fantastic wine, and bringing a great wine tasting experience every single time. I would continue to love their wine even if they were jerk faces, but they are far from it… And that’s just keen.
It’s about my dog, showing me nothing but love… Always.
It’s about perfect strangers showing nothing but love for my dog, even when she tries to bite their faces off.
It’s about Nick taking the time to make a logo for me just because he thought I would like it.
It’s about people taking the time to read what I have to say just because…
It’s about how much I love and appreciate you all.
That’s what this post is about.
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Stay Rad 