Here comes the rain! I'm writing this post overlooking the hillside vines as our 2011 Syrah harvest hangs on for dear life and hopefully a lot more sunshine to fend away too much mold damage as the sugars reach their optimum point to pick.
As the last of the cool climate grapes to be harvested, typically, here within the Petaluma Gap, I'm wondering what the climatic changes we've been seeing this past couple of years will mean for such late hanging fruit.
In the meantime, while we tried our best not to look at the rain clouds with too much consternation, Sunday afternoon, we figured we might as well start the hearty Sunday dinner routine back in motion after several months of grilling and salads.
With so many scrumptious heirloom tomatoes coming in from our neighbor, Judy's abundant garden, there really was little excuse not to get the home made Sunday sauce and meatballs on the table, last evening, a sight for sore eyes for the multiple men of the house, who might have been getting just a little tired of yet another Caprese salad for dinner. And though I thought I'd made enough for at least another dinner mid-week, there were pretty slim pickings for left-overs, after.
Along with Sunday sauces and a return of a little carefully selected red meat comes the requirement of some great big reds for pairing.
And a rummage around in the cupboard under the stairs were we keep the house vino as well as a few select wines from around the region (keeping it within a 100 mile radius) turned up a bottle of Hannah Nicole Vineyards superb Cabernet Franc Reserve.
Here's a big, bold, aromatic wine for pairing with spaghetti and meatballs and a spinach salad with heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese on the side. Bursting with ripe black cherry flavors and fruity, spicy aromas and satisfying tannins, Hannah Nicole's Cab Franc Reserve earned its stripes on our first pre-harvest-season family dinner table.
The first winery and tasting room to open in the Brentwood area, Hannah Nicole Winery is proving a big hit with East Bay wine lovers who don't have to travel so far for wine tasting, wine maker dinners and weekend acoustic afternoons. A grill and wood burning outdoor oven keep them coming back, not just for the great wine, but for the ambiance of this increasingly popular outpost of wine country.
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