day four

What a whirlwind day! We expected to go to the farmer’s market for breakfast, but couldn’t find it in the Sonoma Plaza, so we went to one of the bakery-cafés, which was really crowded. Emily had roasted garlic with brie. We were surprised how different the brie tasted out here; almost like a thick butter—something that would actually cause us to consider ourselves “brie eaters”. Ryan ordered a breakfast croissant with cheddar, sausage and egg. We also picked up a few mint cookies with chocolate filling for the drive to Napa.
We discovered the sign pointing toward the market, so we headed out there. What a letdown! The Dayton market is larger and much nicer. However, we picked up some bing cherries.
We checked out of El Dorado and headed out to Napa. We had lunch at a place Amy had suggested, Villa Corona, for some authentic Mexican. It was great, and definitely authentic, but way too much food. Although we were tired, it was time for our first wine tasting at Domaine Chandon.

Chandon specializes in sparkling wines (which we are admittingly not typically fond of), but we wanted to learn more about it and they had a very interesting Pinot Meunier which we really wanted to taste. It had also been suggested as a great tour in the “Wine Country for First Timers” section of our guidebook.
We learned a lot at Chandon. For sustainability purposes, they are using dogs in the fields to kill the blue-black sharp shooters. They also grow Cabernet (which they don’t use in wine making) along the edges of the vineyards. This is so that the sharp shooters get to these grapes and stop, not reaching the Pinot Noir further in the vineyard. We were a bit surprised to realize that Pinot Noir grapes are used to create sparkling wines. The other two grapes that Chandon uses exclusively are Chardonnay, and Pinot Muenier, which is also a dark grape. Heading inside, we saw the huge vats, and the old riggling racks.

Today, Chandon uses the VLM instead of a master riggler, which stands for “Very Large Machine”. Each vat is then compared and mixed to create the wines. We got to see the barrel room, including a few stainless steel barrels, which are used for a couple of “unoaked” varieties. We smelled the difference between a traditional and an unoaked Chardonnay. The unoaked variety smelled very sweet and fruity (something that we would be more likely to drink as opposed to the buttery oaky traditional Chardonnay.
After the tour we headed to a secluded patio where we got to taste the Brut Classic, Pinot Noir Brut, Extra Dry Riche, Etoile Brut, Pinot Noir, and the Pinot Meunier (which was only because we had previously mentioned we liked red wines and it was our honeymoon).

Rebekah, our “ambassador”, gave us a cream cheese- bleu cheese- walnut spread that showcased the sparkling wines. The sparkling wines really act as a palate cleanser for such things, and we were able to see how they might be useful with most appetizers. Our least favorite was the Pinot Noir Brut (which was actually the wine highest rated by Wine Spectator at 93 points). The Riche tasted similar to the Martin-Weyrich Muscato that Emily likes (partially because they use “a touch” of Muscat grapes in the making of the Riche), but it didn’t have the bit of zip at the end, which is a nice touch to the Muscato. The Etoile Brut was the best of the sparkling, but we didn’t think the price difference between it and the Brut Classic was worth it. The Pinot Noir was not our favorite Pinot, although we would both finish a glass. The Pinot Meunier, however, was absolutely fantastic. Rebekah gave us a list of things that each of their wines pair well with, and this one listed “grilled meats with sautéed mushrooms”. We thought that Emily’s mom’s flank steak and mushrooms with spicy mustard would be perfect for this wine. Chandon, it seems, (and others) can’t ship to Ohio currently. So one call to Cadi and a promise of a big sister tax, and we were out $250… 6 bottles of the Pinot Meunier (one for Cadi, one for Emily’s parents), 1 of the unoaked Chardonnay to try, and 2 of the Brut Classic. We left with a new appreciation for sparkling wines, even if they may not be the first thing we reach for.
We headed to McClelland-Priest Bed and Breakfast to check in… There was a packet on the porch for us, as Celeste was out running errands. She had upgraded us to the master suite, the Carducci, which was incredibly nice of her, but disappointed us, because we had been looking forward to the private patio of the Firenze room.
The Carducci room has a four poster king size bed, which Emily is afraid that Ryan may decide he wants when we get a second dog. After a quick nap, it was time to head back to Sonoma for our second cooking class.
We were the first ones to arrive for the beer and appetizers class. We had hoped it would be slightly smaller, and it was- 14 people this time instead of 17. This was also a younger crowd, likely due to the time (6:30-9:30 on a Friday), and there was a large number of men, likely due to the beer. The chef, Nicole Kollock, seemed more approachable that Chat had, as much as we enjoyed the Thai class. We made the bite size peach cobblers with raspberry sauce, and because of the class size, we were the only ones working on it.

Ryan made the raspberry sauce all on his own, pureeing and straining the seeds out. The peaches here came in season less than a month ago, and they were fantastic; hopefully we will be able to pick some up to bring home before we leave. Once the cobblers went into the oven, we went to help with the tempura. We coated the vegetables and the shrimp and slid them into the oil. Nicole informed us that if the oil is the right temperature (350-375), then deep frying isn’t too bad for you because the batter immediately creates a seal that keeps the oil from getting to the food. This experience also persuaded Ryan that we don’t need to own a deep fryer; a deep pot will work just fine. All of the foods were delicious, and the beer pairings were fun, even if they didn’t all quite work. The Peche Lambic was (unsurprisingly) Emily’s favorite. Nicole said we could use this same pretzel method to make pretzel rolls, which Emily was excited about because it means we don’t have to wait until Saturdays to make Griffin paninis like from Beanster's.
We headed back to Napa, and promptly went to bed.

Wines (and beers) for 29 May 2009:
Domaine Chandon, Brut Classic, $22 – good for a sparkling wine
Domaine Chandon, Pinot Noir Brut, $30 – this was a much heavier sparkling wine (something that we were not fully prepared for), Ryan would be willing to give it another chance but thinks it need food alongside it, Emily did not care for the smell of the wine
Domaine Chandon, Extra Dry Riche, $22 – very sweet, would be good for sipping on a patio
Domaine Chandon, Etoile Brut, $40 – good but for us it didn’t seem considerably better that the Brut Classic (it was more complex, we could taste the buttered toast)
Domaine Chandon, Pinot Noir, Carneos, 2006, $35 – good but we prefer the McManis Pinot Noir
Domaine Chandon, Pinot Meunier, Carneos, 2006, $35 – our favorite wine from Chandon

Lagnitaus IPA
Kirin Ichiban – good stuff
Peroni – Ryan thought it was ok but it will not replace an Oberon with pizza
Franziskaner Club Weiss Hefeweizen
Singha Ale – Ryan would order this beer again while eating Indian
Peche Lambic – tasted like a “dessert beer”

day three

Yesterday we noticed a place next door called the Sunflower Café that looked like a good breakfast place, and they were playing good music (Collective Soul), so we decided to try breakfast there. The good music continued (Live, RHCP, Vertical Horizon, etc.), seemingly playing off of Ryan’s iPod. Ryan selected a lox omelette with capers, sour cream, tomato, and red onion. Emily chose a turkey and pesto omelette that had a few red onion pieces inside as well. The eggs were light and fluffy, and overall tasty. After breakfast, we walked out back into the garden. There were large birds bathing in the fountain and various flowers.
At 11 we headed to our first cooking class at Ramekins, Thai foods. We were given a rundown on what defines Thai cooking (lemongrass, white ginger, kaffir lime, and chilies), and then we did a brief overview of each of the recipes. Emily had expected to be able to eat all but the pork satay and the prawn soup, but was surprised to find that many Thai dishes have a shrimp element to them. She decided to eat all of the dishes that didn’t have pieces of shrimp in them. We were assigned to help cook the Red Curry Chicken with Pineapple.

Another woman almost ruined our experience with this because she was extremely critical (i.e. Emily’s pineapple chunks were a little large and the red curry was too spicy), while making large mistakes herself (i.e. adding all of the coconut cream at the beginning, which meant the curry lost all of its spice and continually stirring the dish once the pineapple had been added). We attributed it to being young looking, and hoped she felt bad for her behavior when overhearing us tell others that we were on our honeymoon. Because the curry had been cut by the coconut cream and the pineapple, Ryan ended up adding the rest of an 8 ounce can of red curry paste. Unfortunately, because this curry was put in later it, added some spice (not enough) but no flavor (it was not able to become fragrant as it would if given time to simmer like in the beginning of the recipe). All of the dishes were delicious (although the red curry wasn’t what it should be like). Emily’s favorite was (not surprisingly) the chicken satay and the pad thai. Ryan really enjoyed the spicy beef salad. The chef, Chat Mingkwan, has written 6 books. We decided to purchase his vegetarian cookbook, Buddha's Table, hoping to determine a good way to combine the recipes we received with the book so that we could remove the shrimp elements.
Afterwards, Ryan took a nap and Emily got a chance to do some reading. We went to dinner at The Red Grape, the locals’ favorite pizza place. Overall, it was not as good as Dewey’s. We ordered a four cheese white pizza with artichokes and mushrooms (and garlic). Emily felt that one of the cheeses was particularly salty and gave pockets of the pizza bad taste (probably the pecorino romano). The mushrooms were exceptionally good though.
We went back to the room and watched the end of the spelling bee (instead of getting ice cream) and fell asleep.

Wine for 28 May 2009:
Pellegrini, Zinfandel, Russian River Valley, 2005, $26 — Gets better as it breathes; was too strong at first. Went well with pizza, but Ryan has no desire to ever drink it again. One better: Di Arie. One worse: Ravenswood.

day two

We started the day early, eating breakfast in the bar: a delicious apple turnover for Ryan and a smoothie (pomegranate, banana, ginger, and orange juice) for Emily.

We went to the spa to try the bathing ritual. First a grape seed exfoliating scrub in a shower, then into a pool kept around 92 degrees.

After 15 minutes of relaxing in the pool, sipping cool water, we moved into the 102 degree whirl pool. We went into a quick cool shower, then onto a wet steam room. It was really dark, with blue lights, and lots of fog. We found it difficult to breathe because of the water vapor, which smelled of eucalyptus. We went into the dry sauna, where we warmed back up. By this time we were feeling pretty relaxed and we still had half an hour before our treatment. We went to the lounge area, where we tasted some “elixirs” and ate some almonds and fruit. Emily managed to fall asleep for a few minutes due to the whole relaxing experience. We went upstairs to begin our treatment with a lavender bubble bath in a large copper tub. Next we were covered with a lavender, grape seed, and tea tree oil scrub and wrapped up for a while… where Emily managed to fall asleep again. They massaged our heads and feet during this time. Once the wrap was complete, we received full body massages.
After quick showers, we checked out of the hotel and returned to the spa boutique for some gifts. next we received free smoothies as a gift from the spa. Ryan chose orange juice, strawberry, and raspberry, while Emily got another vanilla float.
We next moved onto the yarn store, where we chose some yarn from a local alpaca to be made into something as yet undetermined. the locals seem to be fairly impatient drivers. as we were turning into the yarn shop, we were passed by several cars (and one large (Ryder-sized) truck, who went off the shoulder just to get around us.
When we were getting ready to leave the yarn shop, Ryan started to look up driving directions to the Sonoma Plaza. The iphone thought we were about 12 miles south of town when really we were about 7 miles northwest. The yarn shop owner helped to clear things up and gave us easy directions to the plaza. we left the yarn shop and drove to Sonoma’s main plaza to try some tacos at Maya. They were simple, made of hangar steak pieces and cheese, but they were delicious. We walked around to scope out places to visit later, and found some promising leads. We also visited the three dog barkery, which sells a few treats at dlm. We didn’t want to buy anything yet, so plan to return at the end of our trip so that the treats are at their freshest.
by this time we were able to check into El Dorado Hotel, so we did just that and took a nice long nap. The hotel is much more modern than its look from the outside.

After our nap, we walked around the plaza again to determine what we had missed and look at the menus.
We returned to El Dorado for dinner at El Dorado Kitchen and sat outside on their large patio. It was half price wine night, so we selected an expensive blend. We started with “farm frites”, which were asparagus fries served with a lemon wedge and aioli sauce that were fantastic… sort of a vegetarian calamari.

Next we had chilled spring garlic soup, which had a few shreds of radish in it and was topped with what was likely basil oil. Emily thought the soup would be made slightly better with a few scallions, but we both enjoyed it immensely. For the entrees, Ryan got a leg of lamb with lamb jus and lamb confit with a bean and frisee topping,
while Emily chose a truffle risotto (yes, Emily got RISOTTO!)
The risotto was quite tasty, although it was a bit too rich to eat as an entire meal—it would have complemented the lamb with its simple flavors perfectly as a side dish. having a long list of delicious sounding desserts, we settled on the s’more tart, as we felt it was most unusual. a buttery graham cracker crust with heavy chocolate ganache topped with Italian meringue, served with vanilla gelato and caramel sauce.
Emily decided the gelato was her favorite part and that the caramel was delicious but not as fantastic as the one from the Wine Gallery.
We attempted to stay up until a reasonable hour, but pretty much failed miserably.

Wines for 27 May 2009: (see picture) Muscardini “Tesoro” Sangiovese/Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, 2006. $38 (Half Price)—didn’t go with the lamb as well as expected. Good, but not $70-good.