The Wedding
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| Photo Courtesy of Grek Slick www.oncestudio.com |
We chose our wedding location sight unseen based solely on a few things, cooler weather, amazing views, historic charm, and a Michelin star restaurant on the property. Cavallo Point The Lodge at the Golden Gate was once an army base turned state park turned luxury resort. Just across the Golden Gate bridge, you find yourself in another world of wildlife, cool air, and spectacular views of San Francisco and the bridge itself. The resort sits in a cove just a mile or so from Sausalito. When we stumbled upon their website last year, we were immediately sold on the views and the food.
We planned to have a small wedding with only immediate family, and we succeeded. With eight total guests and two small children we were able to enjoy the area with our families for a few days prior to the celebration, and to splurge on food and wine for our big night.
Smoked duck procuito over toast with foie gras shavings.
As the wedding approached, we had to narrow down our choices from the extensive menu. We featured foods from the area as well as wines from near by Napa Valley. To start we featured a local cheese and fruit selection served with champage.
As appetizers we offered grilled figs with Serrano ham, preserved truffle gougeres, and Our salad course included endive served with local goat cheese and preserved apricots.
Finally for dessert we enjoyed a dark chocolate malt cake with butter cream frosting and macarons de Paris in flavors of raspberry, pistachio and chocolate to honor our engagement in Paris.
Ahh... the benefits of a small family wedding. I am looking forward to sharing our adventures in Napa and our tasty travels down the Coastal Highway 1.
Wolf Mountain Sparkling Wine Class
The highlight of my Mid-May started with a tempting email from Wolf Mountain Vineyards. We joined the wine club there after a fall tasting and have been consistently impressed with the wine and the events offered to club members. May's treat was a special class on the making of their award winning sparkling wine. They make the one of the only true méthode champenoise wines in this part of the country. This year their Blanc de Blancs took a gold medal and the Brut Rose took a silver medal at the 2011 Tasters Guild International Competition.
We headed off to Dahlonega on a beautiful morning, and were greeted with a complementary tasting in the tasting room then whisked off the the newly opened sparkling cellar. The space was cool and well decorated. We were seated at tables and offered a sampling of cheese and fruit to prepare for the class.
We worked our way through the making of each of the sparkling wines produced at Wolf Mountain. The brilliant Blanc de Blanc, the smooth Brut Rose and the slightly sweeter Demi-Sec. Each of the wines produced a crisp taste and finite bubbles that tickled your nose. The lesson continued with the ingredients for each wine, an overview of the process of riddling, and finally the moment we were all waiting for, making our own wine!
Each couple was able to choose their favorite sparkling wine and make a bottle to take home. We chose the Blanc de Blanc for its crisp light taste. We entered the room, selected our bottle, were able to remove the temporary cap to discharge the yeast built up from the fermentation, and quickly add the proper dosage to create our blend. The bottle was then re-caped by hand and ours to take home. I am waiting for the perfect night this fall by a fire to pop the top on the bottle!
Lunch awaited the guests after our class. We were treated to a delightful early summer buffet including salmon wellington, fruit, cheeses, encrusted chicken, and fresh salads.
For dessert I had to try the pound cake, chocolate covered strawberries and profiteroles!
Our day at Wolf Mountain once again was a great escape from the city. We are eagerly awaiting the fall harvest festival in October!
We headed off to Dahlonega on a beautiful morning, and were greeted with a complementary tasting in the tasting room then whisked off the the newly opened sparkling cellar. The space was cool and well decorated. We were seated at tables and offered a sampling of cheese and fruit to prepare for the class.
Lunch awaited the guests after our class. We were treated to a delightful early summer buffet including salmon wellington, fruit, cheeses, encrusted chicken, and fresh salads.
Our day at Wolf Mountain once again was a great escape from the city. We are eagerly awaiting the fall harvest festival in October!
Fall Wine Weekend
There were so many to choose from, but you have to plan carefully to avoid driving an hour between wineries on little mountain roads (after a wine tasting no less)! On my next round, I hope to get to Tiger Mountain Vineyards, and Persimmon Creek in North GA then venture into NC for the newest wine hit Chianti (yes like in Italy) at Raffaldini Vineyards near Hickory NC.
Be sure to check back next week for more pictures and thoughts from my great wine escape!
Upcoming Foodie Fest
Paris Day 3: Chateau O Champagne Cruise
When planning for Paris, a wine tasting seemed to be in order. As we searched, we came across rave reviews for tastings with Chateau O. They offer several styles of tastings, from longer more extensive wine tastings, to tours, to chocolate tastings. We had planned on taking a Seine cruise on the Bateau-Mouches so when we saw Chateau O offered a cruise with private champagne tasting we were sold! The boat departed from just behind the Eiffel Tower which was easily walkable from our hotel. We arrived at the docks and kicked off the evening with a glass of rose at their bar. Yes even the boat docks have bars and cafes. 
The boat arrived around 6:30. The weather threatened rain, but the overcast skies were a welcome reprieve from the hot weather of earlier in the day. As we boarded with the other couples we were delighted to find we would be hosted in a private cabin with exclusive access to the bow of the ship. So not only did we get to sample champagne, but we were not crammed into our seats with all of the other tourists who frequent these tours. With 4 other couples we tasted 4 extraordinary champagnes as we made our way down the Seine past the Ile Saint-Louis and back to the Eiffel Tower. This was a perfect way to see the city. Our sommelier was knowledgeable about the champagnes, and the city but was careful not to interrupt the tranquility and romance of the cruise itself. I certainly plan to try other outings with Chateau O when I return to Paris. 
Travel Post-Tasty Tavel
Most of you know I am headed to France in less than two weeks! Last night I spent some time reviewing our plans for Provence. After spending a day and night in Avignon, we will be renting a car and heading out to explore several small towns in the area. A recent NY Times article inspired me to explore the town of Tavel.
Tavel is only 14 km north of Avignon and touted as the birthplace of Rose wines.
Although I think Rose in the recent past has been overlooked here in the US, this pinkish wine is making a comeback especially as we enter the months of summer. This is not white Zinfandel and not Boone's Farms! Rose is a long standing traditional French wine dating back to when the Pope ruled from Avignon. Tavel along with Chateau Neuf de Pape was home to vineyards charged with creating wine fit for the Pope! Today, in France, the sale of Rose wine outpaces white wine.
Tavel is the epicenter of great Rose. With over 30 wineries, there is plenty to taste and to see. We will be visiting Domaine de la Mordorée to sample some of the wines of the region followed by lunch at L'Auberge de Tavel a cute little hotel and restaurant built in a former school house.
This tiny town of 1,600 will hopefully be a perfect place to dive into small town French culture and sample some amazing food and wine.
Tavel is only 14 km north of Avignon and touted as the birthplace of Rose wines.
Tavel is the epicenter of great Rose. With over 30 wineries, there is plenty to taste and to see. We will be visiting Domaine de la Mordorée to sample some of the wines of the region followed by lunch at L'Auberge de Tavel a cute little hotel and restaurant built in a former school house.
This tiny town of 1,600 will hopefully be a perfect place to dive into small town French culture and sample some amazing food and wine.
Magnificent Monteluce Winery
The tasting room was beautiful, a perfect blend of old world style and modern touches. The bar had ample room for tasting and several cozy booths where you can cuddle up for a drink.
Speaking of drinks we did a tasting of the Monteluce wines, followed by a winery tour and then a special tasting of rare Italian wines. There were not too many people visiting this weekend so we were treated to a personal guide and tour as well as one on one attention for our tasting.
First the Monteluce wines. I have been to several wineries in GA and been dissappointed by the wine, this was not the case here. We tasted five wines, a Rose, a Chardonnay, a Viogner, a Merlot and a Cabernet. The Rose, and Cabernet were excellend. The Viogner was sweet, but would be a nice apertif. The Chardonnay is not oaked and therefore was one that I would like to drink, but not my favorite on the menu. The Merlot however lacked substance. Overall Monteluce has some excellent wine. According to our guide, Bill, the current wine is made from grapes from a nearby vineyard. Monteluce is only two years old so this fall will be the first full harvest. I can't wait to go back to try more.
Now for the Italians... Bill had chosen several oddball Italian wines for us to sample. We again worked our way from a light white toward the deep dark reds. While I love Italian wines, two stuck out as clear winners. The Casata Monfort Blanc de Sers 2006 was a fabulously flavorful blend of northern white varietals. The Tormaresca Neprica 2008 was also unexpected, and unusually complex blend of traditional red varietals put together in an interesting way.
Monteluce is a stunning place to get away from the city. You are less than an hour from a little piece of Italy. I am looking forward to returning to sample the Sunday Supper. More to come!
Monteluce Winery
http://www.montaluce.com/
501 Hightower Church Road
Dahlonega, GA 30533-2235
(706) 867-4061