Simple Hedonisms

In the blurry whirlwind of wine events in April, excited this weekend to attend our first Passport to Dry Creek.

As always. I suggest making a plan for multi-winery passport/bracelet type events. So I grabbed a glass of wine, downloaded the brochure, and tried to narrow down the 45+ choices to fit into 2 days. Some people like to turn these into a whirlwind event, hitting as many as they can. I prefer, especially at an event focused on food pairings, with music etc to take my time, talk to winery owners, wine makers (where possible) and take a more leisurely pace.

No plan survives battle, and my wine event weekend itineraries generally morph as the day goes, but here is my first pass for Saturday and Sunday:

Highlights:

Amista -The amazing Rosso Pizzeria will be there, using the shiny new oven just installed. And Amista’s new mini’s.

Alderbrook – You had me at Pigs and Pinot, plus I have never visited, need to work in some new stops

Mounts – Belly Dancers, Mediterranean Food from A Divine Affair; and David & Lana are the best.

Dutcher Crossing – Deb isn’t sharing in the brochure what the food and entertainment is, but she is always a great hostess.

Peterson – my winemaker friend Alan Baker recommends Peterson for their Carnitas and their wines, never been, added to the list.

Frick – my favorite Rhone producer in Dry Creek, I drink a number of Bill Frick’s wines regularly and need a re-stock! Food pairings sound promising. Sometimes I wish Frick would stay a secret, but somethings have to be shared.

Bella – close by to Mounts, love touring their caves and hanging out on the lawn.

Michel-Schlumberger M-S always throw a great bash, look forward to their Baja party.

Mauritson Winery- Charlie Palmer is the chef. Need any other reason? (Syrah, Petite Sirah, Malbec doesn’t hurt either!)

I have other DCV faves such as Kokomo, Seghesio, Talty, Rafanelli, Ridge, David Coffaro I want to try and fit in as well, time permitting. I picked the above on a combination not just their wine, but their offering of food parings, entertainment, facilities. Passport to Dry Creek isn’t an inexpensive event, and most of these wineries I can visit any week, so my selection criteria isn’t just wine based.

If you see us out and about, come say hi, cheers!

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