Wine Tasting

Matt, my nephew from Florida and his girlfriend, Marja from Finland arrived in San Francisco Thursday night. We met them at the Double Tree about 10:30 AM. I really didn't know much about Matt except that he was my sister, Gina's son and that I could hardly tell the difference between him and his brother, John. I also knew that he had taken a wine tasting course, had done some travel in Europe and had a girlfriend, originally from Finland. Overall the two were the most delightful personalities with educated tastes and interests.

Domaine Caneros lies on the border of Napa and Sonoma County, an imposing estate, just across from the DeRosa Modern Art Museum. Rain came down in torrents as we rushed up the long staircase to the front door. We were greeted by a friendly group of hosts who handed us a glass of the 2006 Vintage Brut Cuvée Sparkling Wine. Taryn was our tour guide, a lawyer who just recently passed the bar. She was knowledgeable about wine and friendly. We visited parts of the winery that gave views of the bottling, wracking, turning and corking facilities. After the tour we knew that we had lunch coming and moved in then surprisingly out of the lunch room. Taryn led us out of the main dining area across a patio and to another building. Inside we observed one set table with table cloth, cloth napkins, real silverware and a setting for five. Suddenly we went from second class citizens to important people. At each setting was a card "To the guests of Matthew..." with our menu nicely printed on the card.


Jeanne our server lent an air of informality and humor to the get together. We drank a toast to the event with their premium sparkling wine, the Cuvee de la Pompadore, with the appetizer. The appetizer was a piece of art- a goat cheese cake (not sweet) with a roasted hazel nut crust, topped by baby greens. Then we had a glass of the 2006 Brut Cuvee as the main course was served, chicken wrapped in prosciutto with baby lintels and a wonderful light dressing. Mostly with lunch they served their Domaine Caneros Estate Bottled Pinot at $36 a bottle. Then we could compare it with the 2006 Famous Gate Pinot that goes for $61 a bottle. Frankly I thought the Estate Bottled was better and bought two bottles.

Although the meal was outstanding, the quality of the company really made the day special. Matt has this smart, funny vivaciousness that is contagious. His girlfriend, Marja was also a delight. I always enjoy the company of my oldest son, Truckee. Also Tanya had the right mix of intelligence and informality to make the day truly memorable.

After the great meal, we stopped briefly at the Double Tree then came back to Sebastopol. Matt handily beat both Truckee and I at ping pong. We went shopping at our local Andy's market and they were stunned by the quality of the produce. We are lucky in California. Marja was snapping tourist photos of the vegetables and one of the staff made a funny comment. I assemble a good meal and we had a nice family dinner. After dinner Matt, Joey, Truckee and I sat around and played tunes. Just an all around great day- especially for a Friday.