A Toast to Me!

This evening I had the impromptu pleasure of meeting up with a close friend of mine to visit a new wine bar, Roman Holiday, which just opened (like yesterday) in Santa Clarita. I say visit loosely because (a) we wanted to meet up somewhere where we could talk and catch up on the happenings of our lives, and (b) because it’s a wine bar and we’re wine people, so why not review the wine bar while we’re there? The place is actually quite beautiful, the ambiance absolutely receives an A+. It’s warm, refined, comfortable and unpretentious – and they have a good number of wines available to taste. There is no menu to speak up, except for the chalk-writing on a dark wall listing the available cheeses, meats and sides. The wines require you to walk around and see what is being offered from the self-serve, portion controlled, wine dispensers. Quite honestly, I think it would be pretty cool to have one of those dispensers on my kitchen counter – but that would require a kitchen counter, and a kitchen, and a house, and that’s an entirely other blog! Anyways, the dispensers are pretty neat. This is how it all works:

• purchase a wine card – which is very much like a prepaid gift card
• grab a glass
• walk around and select your wine
• slide your wine card into the slot – and leave it there. Your balance is displayed before you.
• Select your wine and your desired pour — a taste is 1 oz, a 1/2 glass is 3 oz and a full glass is 5 oz
• the cost of your selection is automatically deducted from your prepaid tasting card
• Enjoy.

It’s all fairly simple and pretty fun — my friend described it best when he said it was like going to Vegas because it goes quick!

While enjoying the wines, you have an option to purchase a small cheese, meet or combo plate. I opted to purchase a combo plate, which includes 3 items and 3 sides — for a mere $15. I say that sarcastically, because once you see how much food you get, you realize that like Vegas, the favor goes to the House. It was tasty, but rather sparse. Good thing I had some cheese in the fridge at home to munch on later.

Let’s talk about the wine selection – there were some good ones, like the flight of Far Niente they offered, over to some not-so-great ones, which I already forgot about. Our favorite for the evening had to be the Cab/Zin blend named The Vault from Banknote Cellars — yummy. A 1/2 glass was about $6.20 – and worth every cent! I did try a wine that I had high expectation of, only to find that it had already turned. When I brought it to the attention of management, politely of course, the explanation I received was that it was ‘performing as expected’. What does that mean? “Performing as expected”? All I know is that it wasn’t good and it wasn’t getting any better — so if she meant that it’s bad and it’s getting worse, then I’d say that she described it to a “t”! Otherwise, my unsolicited advise would be to remove it from the kiosk and replace it with a fresh bottle.

On another note, when I got home, I began wondering what exactly a “roman holiday” was, so I looked it up. Apparently it has 3 definitions –

1. A 1953 production staring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (he was cutie) where a princess escapes her guardians and falls in love with an American in Rome
2. Enjoyment or satisfaction derived from observing the suffering of others.
3. A violent public spectacle or disturbance in which shame, degradation, or physical harm is intentionally inflicted on one person or group by another.

I’m hoping that the name of the wine bar stems from the movie. If it doesn’t then I’m wondering if Roman Holiday is going to “perform as expected” in a community which already has a fairly decent number of wine establishments pouring delicious wines.

Overall, I’d rate Roman Holiday as a B-. It’s definitely above average, but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. I look forward to seeing what is to become of Roman Holiday, because the space and atmosphere are top notch. Would I go again? Sure!

General, Wine Roman Holiday, santa clarita, valencia, Wine, wine bar, wine review, wine tasting

April 9, 2009

A year ago, about 22 hours shy of being to the day, The Loose Goose Wine Society, Wine Festival, and Private Wine Cellar officially announced the closing of the doors.  How sad it is to remember.  Up until the last minute I was go go go, but it was on April 9th that I finally sat down and shed a tear at the realization that this amazing company was going to exist only in memory.

This is what the flock put together - Good times!

I remember first meeting Peter, the founder of The Loose Goose, at a Jaycee membership meeting.  Who knew that the brief introduction made by April would eventually turn out to be an introduction to The World According To Goose.  You see in Goose’s world, the goal is to enjoy the little things in life in a really big way.  The Loose Goose Wine Festival was proof of that.  I had the pleasure of being a part of the festival twice – once as a volunteer, and then last year as a PROUD member of the “Flock”.  There’s a saying that states “the proof is in the pudding”, well at the Loose Goose Wine Festival the proof was in the faces of the guests — their smiles wide, their glasses empty, their friends near, the music playing, the wine itself and later at the “decompression party”.

Just yesterday at work I was recounting some of the preparation that was made for the events leading up to the festival.  For those of you who received invitations to the Loose Goose Gala, all I can say is that I had fun watching Peter perform surgery on that pillow in effort to get enough feathers to fill the invitation boxes.  If you’d been a fly on the wall, you would have seen the preparation made – complete with mask across the face while the pillow was marked and then dissected.  Somewhere Arnie has a picture.  We all laughed as we watched and of course it was only later that we realized that our guests would probably hate us for stuffing their invitation boxes with feathers – but that they would know that it was all in the spirit of fun.  Like that guy who called and said that he opened up the box in the car with the air conditioning on and the feathers blew everywhere — I raise a glass to you for laughing about it.

My "desk" was the wine rack just to the left of the image. How many people get to work over a rack of wine?

I didn’t always know how fun it would be.  Actually it was quite the opposite at the beginning.  I had made a life change, moved and started working for The Loose Goose, but I really didn’t know where I would fit in.  It took a few months of uncertainty for me to devise a plan to ensure my longevity in the company.  In listening to Peter explain wines, I realized that there were more bottles that needed their stories shared – so I started to learn about the wines we carried in the cellar.  Who knew, especially at that time, that it would have had such a profound affect on my life.  It was Peter who took the time to share his knowledge of wines with me and who gave me the opportunity, and the venue, to learn about the magic of the grapes, and of their stories.

I can go on and on about my experiences at The Loose Goose, and maybe one day I will take my experiences and bind them together for the world to see.  In the meantime, some are already here and I’m sure more will come.  I am proud to have had the opportunity and the privilege to work for a company such as The Loose Goose where, yes, the hours were long, the pay was sometimes in wine, but the smiles were in abundance, the audience was appreciative, the love was evident and the passion was infectious.

Cause that's how we roll

Peter, I know that today is hard, but it is your dream that was shared and impacted the lives of

countless people.  Your heart is big, your taste in wine is exquisite, your accent is charming and your lessons in pronunciation are forever present in my mind.  Like the phoenix that rises from the ashes, I know that The Goose will lead the flock back into formation.  When you’re ready to rise, as a member of the flock, I will be there.

Reflections, The Loose Goose, Wine Loose Goose, Wine, Wine Festival

So last night I met up with some friends to see a production of On Golden Pond at The REP. I arrived a little early and spent a little time talking with “O” as he was pouring drinks for his guests when I realized exactly how much I miss pouring wine for guests.  It seems silly, but wine has the ability to take you to a whole other place.  Imagine ….

The detailed preparation that takes place only to ensure that your experience is the something special – considering your pallet to ensure that I have something to tempt it – making sure that the bottles are just the right temperature to showcase the transformation the grapes have made – cleaning every glass, spotless, so that the view is completely unobstructed – pouring it so that it reaches just the widest part of the glass so that the wine can open up, then carefully placing the bottle down so that the next pour can be just as perfect.

At that point, it’s up to you, if you’re a novice, I would hope that rather than “downing” it, you would take a moment to mimic the experts, or better yet, to ask questions, so that I can walk you through the appreciation of the taste.  I’d ask you to take a look at the color and notice how deep or clear or rich or opaque it is.  I’d ask you to smell it and describe what you smell, then ask you to swirl it in your glass just like this so that the wine can open up. Then I’d ask you to smell it again and see if you noticed any differences, what do you smell now?  Then I’d ask you to take a taste, but don’t be too anxious, let it sit on your pallet for just a moment – then you can swallow it.  What did you taste?  Did you taste berries? what kind?  was is like tasting spring in a glass?  how so? or was it something that you could picture having with a juicy steak?  What about with Thai food? Then for that next taste and to watch you walk away content with a glass of wine that you can envision as part of your future –

Or to pour a glass for the expert.  To know that they are closely watching me for mistakes – which I would no doubt make, only to welcome the helpful tips offered.  Then to see them truly evaluate the liquid decorating their glass claiming to be the best in show.  To have them appreciate the tannins, the acidity, the crispness, the imagination, the labor, the love that was placed into creating the experience just for them.

For many wine is just another beverage to be consumed… to me, it is an experience to be had.  I don’t drink wine, I savor it.  It offers me the opportunity to be a conductor for others, or the ability to transport myself to a place where nature meets labor and love.  It represents a world often taken advantage of for personal escape, but is really an oasis of art when appreciated.

Wine is not a beverage, it is an experience and I miss being a part of your experience.

Wine Wine

In our family, we celebrate Christmas at the stoke of midnight — which means that Christmas Eve is full of family and friends waiting anxiously for the little hand and the big hand to meet at the number 12 on the clock.  This year I sat at the table enjoying dinner with my aunt, cousin, uncle and dad – while the rest of the family sat at the “long” table talking about God only knows what.

The topic at our table went from the infrequency of family visits to how the meat just fell off of the fork to the fact that my younger cousin doesn’t know much about wine because she does not have a sense of smell.

This got me thinking — if wine is 80% smell, then what process would she take on when learning about wines?  Admittedly, she didn’t know much, but was absolutely willing to learn.

I started by pouring her a small taste of wine – a 2001 LoMac Winery Zinfandel out of Fresno to be exact.  I explained to her that often times people just pour and drink – but that when it came to wine, we really should take a few moments to consider what it was that we were drinking and to appreciate it.  We looked at the color of the wine – a deep ruby with just a hint of brown in it.  I explained that the brown is indicative of older grapes.  Then we smelled.  Since she can’t really smell anything, I took in the aroma while she mimicked the motion.   Then we tasted.  At first she did what every other person does, just drank.  I explained to her that she take it just a little slower – let it sit on the palate, see what you taste.  I explained to her why she was salivating and then why her tongue felt dry.  At this point my aunt was intrigued so she asked for a glass and repeated the steps with us.

Being new to wine, my cousin, naturally, would  have to get used to the steps, but no doubt she  would be more aware next time a glass of wine was poured – even if she couldn’t smell a thing.

20% appreciate of wine is so much better than the 0% appreciation a lot of people give it.  I’m proud of her for keeping and open mind and realizing that wine doesn’t have to be difficult, but rather it can be a challenge with a unique reward.

Wine family, LoMac, Wine

Whereas I pretty much grew up watching Saturday Night Live (SNL), I can’t say that I remember watching this particular episode.  It’s one with Jannette Jackson, Jimmy Fallon and a bunch of other people as they pay homage to a particular portion of the wine making process.  I got such a kick out of it that I had to share it with you.  Enjoy!

You look like a good cork soaker….

General, Wine funny, Wine

I think her cup just runneth over…

This morning I kept thinking of a theme for an upcoming wine-pairing dinner and decided to do a little research.  I typed my search words into Google and came across and article/advertisement for a bra that actually holds booze.  Want to go from an B cup to a D cup?  no problem!  Instead of surgery, just fill up the bladders and place them into WineRack^TM — and viola!  I guess the only thing you really have to be careful of is sprouting a leak, oh and hopefully you like your beverages at body temperature.

According to the website, the WineRack is a must have accessory for any serious drinker looking to turn a couple of heads while saving money.  It states:

“Just think, secretly guzzling from your gazongas means no more waiting in line and paying for overpriced drinks at festivals, gigs and games. The savings from just one event will pay for your WineRack™ and still leave you with enough change to buy some pretzels – not that you’ll be buying anything for yourself with a chest this impressive…. as well as its revolutionary booze-concealing benefits, the WineRack™ increases your cup size by two full cups (cue sound of guys cheering/leering). But that’s hardly surprising because this ingenious dual-purpose shoulder-boulder holder can carry up to 25 ounces of liquid – that’s an entire bottle of wine and a whole lot of extra boobage – talk about vino and va va voom!“

Fascinating the things people come up with! Check it out yourselves at: http://www.firebox.com/product/2061/The-WineRack?src_t=cat&src_id=party.

Random, Wine Wine

As you know, this weekend a friend and I went up to Fresno to do some wine tasting and research the wineries in the area.  Fortunately Mike remembered to bring his trusty, albeit ANCIENT, microcassette recorder.  You remember the kind – their gray, about the size of your hand and claim to be voice activated?  Anyways, I was glad that he brought it because inevitably I tend to be the person people turn to and say “can you write that down?”.  And I usually do.  The problem with that is that while everyone else is conversing, I’m jotting down notes that I may or may not reference again.  So the tape recorder really allowed me to ask my questions without having to immediately write everything down.

So now we’re back in town and it’s time to transcribe the taped recordings.  I sit down with the recorder next to me and a Word doc opened.  Start the tape, listen and type.  Stop typing, stop the type, rewind and listen again.  Now I remember why I didn’t use cassette tapes in college!  Did he say “alicante bushe”, “alicante muse”, .. um, what’s “alicante” mean anyways?  And, did I like it when I tried it?  Inevitably all that listening effort results in my napping.

So here I am, about to tackle the cassette tape again and hope that I’ll understand at least 80% of the words that are said.  If anyone out there has a better method of note taking, or of transcribing — please, PLEASE, share it with me because I’m not sure I’d volunteer to transcribe the tape next time.

In the meantime.. I think that making a cassette tape lamp is a perfect option for those tapes!

Interviewing, Wine Wine, writing

Engelmann Cellars

In true “wine-lover” form, I ventured out in discovery of some new wines. Where you ask? Well over to Fresno.  YES, I said Fresno!  I know right, wine in Fresno?  Um, yup.. there is some great wine in Fresno folks! Anyways, I headed out with a friend of mine to do some research.  During our 3 day journey, we visited Engelmann Cellars, LoMac Winery, Nonini Winery, Milla Vineyards, Ficklin Vineyards, Cheatau Lasgoity and Quady Winery.

The weekend started over at Engelmann Cellars with Bret Engelmann – a personal friend – who was to be our host for the weekend.  Let me ask you this — have you ever seen Rocky Horror Picture Show?  How about seeing Rocky Horror Picture Show at a winery, under the stars, on a 16 ft’ screen, with complimentary wine tasting?  Throw in about 20 RHPS fans dressed the part and doing the “Time Warp” dance.. and you have the makings of a memorable night and a topic for discussion for the rest of the weekend!

Another special treat was LoMac Winery with Eric Engelmann, Bret’s brother, at his new winery.  Not only is he probably one of the nicest guys a person can meet, but his wines are smoooooooth.  I’m looking forward to introducing friends to Eric’s wines!

At Nonini, Jim greeted us to some very different wines — full of history.  The barrels they use are HUGE and they’re made out of redwood — simply beautiful!

Then over at Milla Vineyards, Joey and Debbie were gracious hosts who tempted us with an array of wines that were definitely not your traditional wines.  They’re wines are chalk full of fruit that everyone is sure to satisfy the daily recommended allowances for fruit servings.

Ficklin has some amazing ports!  Jim was a fantastic host who mesmerized us with his skills as a mixologist.  I mean he actually found a way to make more wine — who knew?   He served up a couple of concoctions that were just delicious; and just in case you were wondering –  Jim, you rocked!

Chateau Lasgoity was full of energy, and with 3 kids there to greet us, what could we expect?  Allison shared her delicious wines with us that were perfect pallet cleansers on a warm day.

And finally Quady – what can I say about Quady except that Michael rocked and he even inspired me to pair one of  their wines with peanut butter cookies!  Now that’s something I can’t say I ever expected to be doing – but can’t wait to try it!

I admit that if it weren’t for Bret, I would not have ever thought to place “Fresno” and “wine” in the same sentence.  But I was thoroughly impressed at all of the unique treasures found throughout the weekend! I am excited and I believe that we chose a great place to start our wine research!

Tasting, Wine, Wineries Chateau Lasgoity, Engelmann Cellars, Ficklin Vineyards, Fresno, LoMac Winery, Milla Vineyards, Nonini Winery, Quady Winery, Wine, wine tasting, Winery

A few months ago I had the pleasure of tasting an amazing wine by Retief Goosen, probably one of the best golfers of his generation (or so his website says).  I admit, that I know absolutely NOTHING about golf, but I do know a little bit about wine.

Time to learn about golf:  Turns out that Retief holds memberships on three PGA Tours; the US PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Southern African Tour.  He was born in 1969 in South Africa, has a son named Leo, and is ranked as one of the top players in the world.

Now, on to the wine:  The wine we tried was a 2005 Expression by “The Goose”.   A 50/50  blend of Cabernet and Sirah, Expression is a wine that is ready from the minute the cork leaves the bottle.  The nose is that of blackberries, the taste of blackberries and white pepper.  As the wine opens up, the fruit really presents itself.  The balance is perfect and elegant. Delicious doesn’t even begin to describe this wine!

If I could afford this wine, it would take up every slot on my wine rack.  Too bad it’s not available in the States!

Red, Weight Watchers, Wine Wine

I was catching up on the various “tweets” on Twitter this morning and I came across one that mentioned “user-friendly” wines.  My first thought, was “hmmm, interesting”, so I went on to read the article posted by a very respected person in the “wine world”.  His post give readers a basic list of wines that would go with their meal.  Great!

But my question is why introduce yet another list for readers to remember?  Isn’t that adding stress to what should be an enjoyable part of the day?  I understand that wine can be intimidating — I get it — I was right there with you for a LONG time!  Let’s see, I’ve heard: “white with white meats, red with red meats”, pinot is girly”, “reds are for serious drinkers”, yada yada yada.  Yes, there are some rules that can be followed – but they’re not written in stone.

I want to share with you a basic rule that I’ve learned over the past couple of years that holds true EVERY time, for EVERY meal — ready?  People charge good money for information like this, and I’m about to give it to you for free, so pay attention ok?  Drink what you enjoy.  “What Claudia?  What is this gibberish? You mean I can drink a red wine with my fish?  Oh and I can drink white wine with my hamburger?”  “Yes my wine padawan, you can do WHATEVER you like when it comes to wine”.  If you like white wine, try it with your meal.  Who says you can’t?  Who says that you can’t experiment with the various tastes your palate is about to sense?   Then you can decide if you like it or not.  It’s as easy as that!

My Wine-Mentor reminds me that “wine is a journey of discover”.  I encourage you to embark on that journey.  Give it a try.  Make your own decisions.  And, at the end of the day — drink the wine that you enjoy.

Red, White, Wine red wine, Rules, White Wine, Wine, wine tasting