Tea Party

Remember that tea party? Where I was trying to decide what to bake? Well it was a while ago, but I made brown-sugar cupcakes with caramel frosting rolled in heath bar crunch. So good.

Picco's, wine, etc

I am home for the weekend in the bay. The great thing about being home is being able to enjoy wine with my dad. Especially when he has a new shipment of August West in the cellar and a shipment of Patassy that is ready for pick up.

We opened up the 2007 Russian River Graham Valley August West pinot last night. The last time I had this was in November at a wine tasting, but it is one of those wines that is memorable on the tongue. Cherry and vanilla envelops the nose, strong in the first sip. It goes down smooth, and then the backend hits with spice and fullness unmatched. About an hour or two after letting it open, the oak came out in full force. The cherry and vanilla intermixed with the full oak filled the mouth, its boldness and smoothness balanced perfectly with its acidity.

Tonight, we went to Picco's Pizzeria for my mom's birthday dinner in larkspur. We swung by K&L wines to pick up out new shipment of 2006 Russian River Patassy pinot. I put my name in on the waiting list after we drank our last bottle - they got 60 bottles in and we ended up buying three cases. Such a great deal for $17 a bottle. There's one case left (after a friend of ours bought one case) so hurry up and claim it for yourselves!!

Picco's Pizzeria was spectacular, as usual. The last time we were there it was mid-summer. This time it was a bit different in terms of ambience, but the food was spectacular. We had the margherita, the cannondale, and the specialized. The Margherita was so amazing - thin crust, fresh mozzarella, light on the sauce and a little basil. The cannondale and specialized were equally good - the housemade sausage on both was spicy and delicious. For dessert we had homemade frozen yogurt - vanilla bean and chocolate swirl - with dark caramel sauce. The yogurt is unlike anything else I have ever tasted, so smooth and rich. And the caramel sauce was rich and deep - like eating a fleur do sel caramel during christmas.

Oh, and the wine for dinner, it was a 2007 Russian River Martinelli pinot. It never lost its character. Full and smooth and bold from the first sip to the last.

Have I ever mentioned that I have an unsurpassed passion for wine and good food?