Visiting J Vineyards and Winery in November

            
           
            It was the season of fall foliage, it was the sun and the sky, it was the lazy loveliness of the gardens, it was the slow and gracious walk of the white crane in the pond, it was a glass of delicious J Brut Rose, Russian River Valley.  

            It was a dream. It was everything.

Caffe DeLucchi: Rapture of San Francisco

Sitting at my favorite table in my favorite Caffe DeLucchi in San Francisco, I felt rather guilty about living so close to the city. It is such a pleasure to visit this incredible place on the regular basis. San Francisco has burst out into full summer and made me feel suddenly so alive and so young that I could not stop smiling.

I looked through the windows on the Columbus Avenue, and lovely waiter brought in my wine and a few dishes I ordered from the Happy Hour menu (pizza, meatballs, potatoes), commented on the beautiful day outside, and all was very delicious and all was very seductive.

I reminded myself once again, that San Francisco was mine, and I discovered it for myself. Even though it happened 20 years ago... 

Wine Country Pigs Extravaganza

Highway CA-128. It was a bright, warm afternoon, and the sun riding already in the west promised a clear, pleasant evening. I looked absently and dreamily at the rolling hills and vineyards, and suddenly I caught a glimpse of pigs. Suspicion came to me that these pigs existed there only as a phantom of my imagination. I stopped the car. The pigs were real.

There was something enormously powerful about the whole scene. There was this sunlight, there was this dust everywhere, there was plenty of food, and there was a big happy family of pigs. 

Sbragia Family Vineyards: Dazzled by Sunshine, Wines and Spectacular Views

The time was early December. The place was Sbragia Family Vineyards. The day was perfect to celebrate the coming of new Holiday Season. The tune of love for life and wine was the thing nearest to my heart that day and I selected my favorite Sbragia Winery to be a place for that celebration.

The odd thing about my love for Sbragia wines is not that every time I am there I have this exciting hope of excellent, promising wine, but that every time it actually comes true. Sbragia wines are unique, delicious, seductive and instantly highly personal. I love this sudden personal connection the most.

The estate focuses on Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. My favorites are Zinfandel wines: 2012 Gino's Estate Zinfandel and 2012 La Promessa Zinfandel.

Bodega Bay is the Kingdom of Birds

With an inerrant sense of genius and drama, Alfred Hitchcock had chosen a little town called Bodega Bay, which is set along a magnificent part of the Northern California, and made it as a stage for his movie "Birds".

Untouched by time and strangely by people, this tiny town still stays here as an unchangeable set for the unforgettable movie, exposed to the fog and winds of the Pacific, to the numerous curious glances of tourists, and to the will and power of Birds.