SONOMA -4- WINE: Raymond Burr Vineyards

Friday March 20th was a great day in wine country. It was a great day to be off from work. Any day for that matter is a great day to skip work but this one was a special one. The sun was out and the breeze was crisp. Blooming flowers and lush green meadows. The wine, oh such joy in a glass. Yes it was a great day in wine country.

Thanks to the folks at Raymond Burr, Ferrari-Carano and RODNEY STRONG for renewing my faith that good wines are still produced in "Wine Country". The amazing aromas and the multi-layer silky tastes of these stars of the Northern region of Sonoma opened my senses and left me feeling comforted. Maybe Sonoma should be my next place of residence?

Raymond Burr Vineyards is a small 14 arce parcel of hillside that produces about 3000 cases a year. They could produce 5000 cases but they are careful to only use the best of the crop to produce a stellar array of wines.

There entire line are a delight and the Cabernet Blend awakes the senses and . Among the wines we enjoyed were the 05 Chardonnay, 05 Cabernet Franc, the 07 Estate Port, and my personal fave the 05 Cabernet Sauvignon. Did I mention the tasting was free. NICE!

Raymond Burr Vineyards has a number of cool parties each year including the Taste of Azores Islands in late September and I hope that we can get a chance to participate.

We enjoyed our lunch on the picnic tables with the sweeping vineyards all around us. A perfect place for a healthy pour of Cabernet Sauvignon and ham & cheese on baguette from Bouchon Bakery.

We even got to take photos with the emmy!

Next Stop Ferrari-Carano.

Blogging

What is blogging to you? To me it is talking about that things that intrigue me for the moment when I find myself intrigued and in a certain amount of depth. With the goal of trying to create as polished a piece as possible so that my readers aren't dissuaded by my incoherence.

This has become my burden and my joy. I can't tell you how many times I have started a post with an idea I find intriguing (there's that word again) only to find myself distracted to the point I cannot complete my thought or find that I don't know how to complete it eloquently.

This is where I have found myself over the last few weeks, instead of trying to put something together I am left with "Sup with you" posts that for me only chronicle the thoughts in my head but do not really exercise my expression.

So the fact is that sometimes I have stuff to say and sometimes I don't. It is my hope that you will stick with me and when I feel the writer in me ready to bust out you will still be there to enjoy.

An old standby is coming up next.

The travelogue.

Doin All Right, Sup with You?

Wine News:
Ordered my first bottle of French wine the other night without the help of the Sommelier. It was actually quite easy as I recognized a region in Burgundy that I had studied in wine class and said "I will take this one". The class has certainly empowered me but also left me humbled when I thought for sure I knew the origin of a particular wine we were blind tasting and got it horribly wrong.

BevMo is having a 5 cent sale and two of the featured wines are among my favorites. Michael Pozzan Cabernet Sauvignon (Special Reserve) and Bridlewood Viognier. Get them while they last!


TV News:
Is 24 the most solid program on TV? They don't unnecessarily stretch story lines out instead choosing to wrap them up in a blaze of glory. Jack Bauer Rules!

Radio:
Monday was the last day of Opie & Anthony on CBS radio. The economy has taken it's toll on radio companies as they trim their expenses and remove all the talent from the air. First KLSX removed their entire talk line up in LA and now O&A in NYC. Top 40 jukeboxes for everyone?

Still O&A will live on in the world of Satellite Radio. I just re-upped my XM sub to avoid the pending price increases and with today's announcement that Sirius XM will be available on iPhone's in the spring the stock is now trading near 20 cents/share. So sign up people! We need the subs!

I attended a Tax Revolt last Saturday in Fullerton and found it quite ironic that the same bunch of people who rallied to put the Governator into office are now trying to get him sacked. It's clear that if your political representatives are not doing what you think is right the only recourse is to recall them. My cynical view on politics sees this as an act of futility as he would just be replaced by another puppet of the California State Legislature.

Politics:
Mr. Obama, where is the change you promised? Is it in the stimulus to spend more money on education & social programs (now that is an original idea from the left) or is it from funding of pet projects that could provide jobs in 2012? The blatant disregard by all the politicos out there to raise taxes in a time when the price of consumer goods are 8.6% higher than last year is alarming and disturbing.

If you were a jelly bean what color would you be?