Now THAT's Champagne

Hey, I might not BE a big cat when it comes to fancy food and wine, but I sure know how to HANG OUT with some big cats. I've already told you about my fun times hanging out with Todd Anderson drinking his $500-per-bottle Ghost Horse Vineyards wines. Now do you want to hear about the $25,000 bottle of champagne (that's NOT a typo; yes, it's 25 thousand dollars) I held (carefully) in my hands the other day?

I thought so. Here's the story. In 1990, Sonoma Coast Villa owner/innkeeper Johannes Zachbauer purchased a special edition of a Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne release. Only 2,000 bottles of the special 2000 vintage -- created for the coming millennium -- were produced. Johannes purchased number 0916 (cool guy, this is his wedding anniversary date: September 16). Of the 2,000 bottles produced, this is the only remaining bottle currently in the United States. Because of this, and because so few bottles were produced to begin with, this bottle owned by Johannes now has an estimated value of $25,000! Talk about FUN!

Here are a few other facts about this bottle of champagne:

~ Johannes has an official "Certificate of Ownership" (see pic at right)

~ The bottle is HUGE; it's what's called a Mathusalem, which is six liters, or 8 bottle of champagne

~ Louis Roederer is one of the largest remaining independent champagne makers. Located just south of Reims, France, Louis Roederer was tapped by Tsar Nicholas II to provide champagne to the Imperial Court of Russia. It was through these efforts that Roederer developed the clear, or "crystal" bottle and gold label the company is known for today.

Anyway, just wanted to share. And oh, yes, one more thing: Johannes isn't particularly attached to this bottle. In other words, he could be persuaded to sell it. Wouldn't that make a fun wedding gift to someone.... Talk about a party! Or wait; maybe when I win the $10 million World Series of Poker, yours truly could throw a party! Yeah, yeah, now we're talking. Stay tuned....

Vineyard Cold, er, Cool

It's an interesting time of year for all things vineyard-related. Not only are many of the vines beginning their "bud break" -- when the first leaves burst forth from the formerly dormant vines -- vineyard owners and managers are worried about the cold evenings... which mean possible frost damage. Yesterday I was hanging out in the vineyards with my friends at Nord Vineyards, and they passed on two remedies that they're doing at this time of year to prevent frost damage. One, it means getting up in the middle of the night to turn on the vineyard fans! The fans move air through the vineyard, again preventing frost from setting in. Secondly, they are mowing the cover crop which grows between the vineyard rows and prevents soil erosion during the winter rains. Why mow? Well, apparently the cold air gathers just above the grasses... which in this case, is almost directly in line with the now-blooming buds. Cut the cover crops, and the cold air drops closer to the ground... and away from the buds. Anyway, just some "cool" info regarding the vines the produce the grapes that turn into our wine!

Cover crop before mowing:

Cover crop after mowing:

Unique Gift: Wine Chests

Here's a new, unique, and, I think, cool gift idea for the wine lover: a hand-crafted "wine chest" perfect for delivering in style a great bottle of wine. These works of art are the inspiration of Sonoma County artists Nancy Ehlers and Raymond Hunt. And because each wine chest is handmade, you can pick your stain color and featured print. Tool cool for school, huh?

The wine chests come in single-bottle and double-bottle size. They are meant to be given as a gift with a bottle or two of wine. Drink the wine, then viola, the wine chest remains as an ongoing room decoration. Anyway, check em out sometime: http://www.winechests.com/.

Pizzio's: Battelico de los Titanicos

SORRY re: the title; I don’t why I’m suddenly channeling that quasi-Spanish, faux-Battlestar Gallactica dialect. The title, by the way, loosely translated, means: Pizzio’s: Battle of the Titans, which is what happened Friday night between myself and owner/chef Roger Gafner, in our ongoing mano y mano struggle-of-epic-proportions battle royale de chess.

First, though, about the food. As you FRTBs (Frequent Readers of this Blog) know, Pizzio’s in northwest Santa Rosa is my FAVORITE restaurant. I love so many things about this place, beginning with the dim, muted décor reminiscent of my favorite food and wine movie, Big Night, to the cool people who work and hang out there, to Roger’s frequent forays into the dining room to, especially, the food, which is Upstate New York America-Italian cuisine. While my favorite dish is the spaghettini aglio e olio, a supremely understated pasta with olive oil and garlic yet set off with just the right amount of kick from pepperocini, Friday night I had the pasta puttanesca: linguine with olive oil, garlic, anchovies, tomatoes, fresh basil, black olives, capers, and a kick of hot peppers. It was s-u-p-e-r-b.

Everything I love about Pizzio's can be summed up in this pic:

O.K., onto the REALLY important stuff: chess. First, a little background. One Friday night last year while hanging around with Roger and the staff after closing time, somehow the topic of chess game up. When Roger found out that I played, he quickly challenged me to a duel, which I readily accepted. The results? Well, let's just say that my mama and dadda didn't raise no fool, if you know what I mean. Long story short: I remained undefeated in 2007 against one Chef Roger when it came to chess.

This past Friday, once again, the "Open" sign was turned off, doors locked, glasses filled, and the chessboard appeared. Game One: I BLITZED him, a total rout; me up 1-0. Game Two: Roger checkmates me in three moves. THREE MOVES. WTF? We're now 1-1. Game Three: Roger gets an early advantage, I fight back…and then I lose. O.K., so now I’m down 2 games to 1. Fourth and final game. We go on… and on… and let’s just say that in the end, the Good Guys prevailed. So we ended the night at 2-2… and with the anticipation high for our next meeting, to settle things once and for all (or, well, you know, at least bragging rights for a couple-three weeks).

Anyway, sneak away to Pizzio's. You'll love the feel of the place when you walk in and you'll love the food and wine. Look for Roger in the dining room doing what he does best (after cooking). And look for me at the bar...

Pizzio’s Cucina Italiana
2482 West 3rd Street, Santa Rosa 95401
In the Big Oak center, corner of Fulton and West 3rd
707-546-2593

Sonoma County Wine Resources

A couple of sites to enhance your Sonoma County wine adventures:

Russian River Wine Road

A great site with lots of winery and dining suggestions, the Russian River Wine Road web site focuses on West Sonoma County/the Russian River wine area. They have great online and physical maps, too.

Bohemian Highway "Connection"
The Bohemian Highway in west Sonoma County offers an amazing, redwood tree-filled scenic drive among some of the quaintest towns in the Northern California. Check out the Bohemian Connection web site for ideas of what to do, where to stay, and most importantly, where to eat and drink!

Sonoma County Wine Library

Physically located in Healdsburg, the Sonoma County Wine Library also has an extensive list of online wine-related resources. The Wine Library includes 5,200+ books, subscriptions to 80+ periodicals, maps and photos, and an extensive winefiles.org wine database.

Sonoma County Wine Library

139 Piper Street, Healdsburg 95448

Tel: 707-433-3772

PLEASE Don't Eat this Chowder!

O.K., time to catch-up on a down-home, rough-around-the-edges, almost-makes-you-cry-it's-so-good place. Yes, I LOVE the Napa Valley, and frequent what I call "Central" Sonoma County (Santa Rosa area) and the "West County" (Sebastopol and Occidental) but one of my true loves -- and where I plan to spend much more time via my new friend J., at the Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa -- is Bodega Bay. Recently, the crew and I headed out there for some wave watching, rock climbing, and, of course, fish eating!

Our stop this time? Sandpiper Restaurant, down on Bay Flat Road. It's a low-slung, non-descript place with, I think, awesome food. They're known for their awesome clam chowder (the waitresses all wear "Please don't eat the chowder" shirts"; cause they run out...) and fresh seafood dishes, like smoked salmon quesadillas, potato crusted halibut, and so on. Me? I got spicy this time, and went for the cajun-blackened snapper sandwich...which just happens to go perfectly -- perfectly, mind you -- with an ice-cold bottle of Anchor Steam. The next time you feel like some sea air and some fresh fish, consider the Sandpiper in Bodega Bay.

Sandpiper Restaurant

1410 Bay Flat Road

Bodega Bay, 94923

(707) 875-2278

Where to Stay: Napa Valley

There are a plethora of wonderful places to stay in the Napa Valley. Here are my completely subjective selections of where I would stay (and thus, where I recommend that you stay).

The Wine Country Inn

Country charm with a dash of splash. The Wine Country Inn is located two miles north of St. Helena. It's definitely quiet and off-the-beaten path, with beautiful grounds, a garden, and a vineyard as a next door neighbor. The Inn has about 25 rooms and five luxury cottages. Complimentary goodies included with your stay include a gourmet breakfast, afternoon wine tasting, and an evening restaurant shuttle service to and from St. Helena restaurants. The Innkeeper, Jim Smith, is a good friend of mine and frequently pours wine at the wine tastings, so if he's there, be sure to introduce yourself and say "hi". (And here's an insider's tip: When you call to book your reservation, ask for Deniese, and ask for the "Every Meal A Feast" discount. She'll probably pretend that she's never heard of this, but that's O.K.; press her just a bit, let her know you're "value" shopping, and there might just be a discount in it for you.)

The Wine Country Inn

1152 Lodi Lane

St. Helena, CA 94574

(707) 963-7077

Enjoy...

Where to Stay: Sonoma County

Living in Sonoma County, I of course have my list of favorite inns or hotels which I recommend to friends and family members...and stay at whenever I can. My top two favorite Sonoma County overnight "treats": the Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa, and the Inn at Occidental.

Sonoma Coast
Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa


Tuscany without the passport! Nestled on 60 goregous acres near the coast, close to the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay, the Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa is truly a destination resort: wonderful rooms and grounds, a full spa facility, and a professionally trained chef for breakfasts and dinners. And did I mention the 10-page+ wine list? Warning to all yee who enter: yee may not want to leave!

Sonoma Coast Villa & Spa
16702 Coast Highway One
Bodega, CA 94922
(707) 876-9818

Coming soon: The Inn at Occidental...

Ode to the Ox

Spent a rough day Thursday with my friends/clients the Nord family (of Nord Vineyards) hiking around the town of Napa in search of a possible retail outlet for the Nord's wines. After our grueling afternoon of wine tasting and hob-nobbing with wine lounge managers, we ended up at the recently-opened, too-cool-for-school, will-help-put-the-TOWN-of-Napa-on-the-map Oxbow Public Market.

While the Market still looks just-built (not all the shops are open, for example, and the day we were there, there was a team of construction folks drilling and grinding, etc.), it's readily apparent that this will become a must-stop during any Napa visit. Just down the street from Copia, Oxbow Public Market features a collection of wine- and food-related shops that will make any foodie drool, such as: Taylor's Automatic Refresher, The Fatted Calf charcuterie and butcher shop, and The Olive Press, to name a few.


To recover from our afternoon hike/wine tasting, we munched on olives, several cheeses and some fresh-baked bread, and, of course (Don is from Texas) paper-thin slices of prosciutto. We all agreed: Oxbow Public Market now makes a stop in the town of Napa almost a must....

Oxbow Public Market

oxbowpublicmarket.com

610 First Street, Napa 94559

Even antiques...

Easter Fun

With Easter just down the road (it's early this year -- Mar 23, to be exact), it's never too early to begin preparing for that fabulous ode-to-spring Easter brunch or dinner. To help make your Easter celebration a little more special, and a little more vintage, you might want to check out this set of 12 Easter menu templates created by my friend Leslie Mansfield, and available via the Williams-Sonoma web site (in the search box, type in "Easter menus").

Leslie, who has a collection of more than 2,000 vintage menus, created this menu based on a 1902 European menu made during the famed belle epoque era. I just placed my order today, and -- score -- I'm happy to report that the set of 12 menus are now on sale for only $9.95 plus s/h. Want to add a little whimsy to your Easter? Here's a great place to start!

Tony Comes to Town (Well, Almost...)

Just a quick update that tomorrow (Tues, Mar 11) I'm meeting my friend pm at 8:00 a.m. to film my video inviting Tony Bourdain to come hang out with me and film an episode of his show No Reservations as part of his special fan video contest. (Just watched NR tonight; great episode on Tony returning to work a double-shift in the kitchen at his former "home" of 28 years, Les Halles in New Yawk City). I'm going to pitch Tony on visiting... Sonoma County, home of the "Big O" -- organic food and wine. I've written a script, p and I have mapped out our shooting locations, he's renting a microphone, and off we go, full of caffeine and the crazy notion that we might just win this d*** thing (or at least have fun trying, which is what life...when you think about...is really all about). Wish us luck. More, of course, on this soon....

P.S. And just to set the record straight, NO, I'm NOT going to be p's "best boy". (Though I will owe him a dinner; hmmm... perhaps at...oh, I'm too distracted right now! Seriously, I might not sleep tonight.)

Napa Valley New

You know that you've found a place with quality wines and a careful attention to detail when you stop into a winery's tasting room and meet the owner... and he's not only behind the counter pouring wine, he's also hand-drying the wineglasses for that perfect "sparkle."

Such was the case the other day when I stopped in at Envy Wines, just north of Calistoga at the upper northern part of the Napa Valley, and met owner and vintner Mark Carter. Mark has partnered with his winemaker buddy Nils Venge to form Envy, which opened in March 2007. They make high-quality, low-production, pleasing-to-the-senses wines, including a Sauvignon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. Now while I really liked the Envy wines for their drinkability, I REALLY liked Mark's very-low-production, high-end ($100+ per bottle) Carter Cellars wines. My favorite (which I bought one bottle!) was their 05 Cabernet Sauvignon from the "Beckstoffer to Kalon Vineyard", of which only 150 cases were produced. This wine has great flavors and feel, and while it could easily be cellared for several more years, it doesn't hit you with the harsh tannins so many other "big" Napa Valley cabs can do. Anyway, check out Envy Wines sometime...and say "hi" to Mark behind the counter paying attention to those details!

Envy Wines
1170 Tubbs Lane, Calistoga 94515

envywines.com

707-942-4670

French Laundry Reservations

As I'm sure (!) you FROTBs (frequent readers of this blog) know, it's EXTREMELY difficult, if not impossible, to get reservations to that famed, one-of-a-kind Napa Valley restaurant The French Laundry, owned by world-renowned chef Thomas Keller. However, not only has Every Meal A Feast learned the "insider's secret" on how to obtain reservations, we'll happily book a reservation for you (for a small fee, of course).

Here's the scoop. Simply contact EMAF and provide the date you'd like to dine at The French Laundry (note, you must contact me AT LEAST two-and-a-half MONTHS before the date) and your credit card information, and we'll do our best to secure your reservation. Our fee to do this: $149, payable by check in advance. (If we can't book the reservation for whatever reason, you owe EMAF nothing--we'll tear up the check.) The reservation will be in your name, under your credit card, and you will be subject to all cancellation and other fees.

Want more info? Sure.... The French Laundry is open every night for dinner and for lunch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Each nine-course tasting menu (yes, I said NINE courses) costs $240 per person, plus wine, tax, and tip. Men are required to wear jackets at both lunch and dinner, and jeans and tennis shoes are not permitted. The restaurant itself is located in a former French steam laundry, circa 1890, in the town of Yountville, in the Napa Valley.

Want to dine at the one of the most famous and praised-by-food-critics-worldwide restaurants in the world? Need help securing a reservation? (You have virtually no chance via phone--go on, try it.) If so, then contact me: bignightfan@gmail.com. We know the Napa Valley! Ciao!

Mustard Madness

I have a bone to pick with my friend Leslie Mansfield, she of chef-amazing and creative-cool abilities (for one of my all-time favorite meals -- prepared by Leslie -- see my post My Cup Runneth over) and co-owner, with her husband, Richard, of Mansfield Winery: because of her love of vintage menus and silverware and such, now I've got the vintage cooking stuff bug. And yesterday I had one of my best scores: two ceramic mustard containers from the legendary French mustard producer Maille. And the brown one (score!) is supposed to be made close to Maille's inception in, can you say, 1720????

Here's the scoop. I was on my way to Bodega Bay to visit my friend J. at the wonderful Sonoma Coast Villa and Spa (if you haven't been there, you should check it out--fabulous). With some time to kill before our meeting, I stopped in the town of Bodega and somehow (?) found myself in the Hamilton Trading Co's antique store. I saw several cool items...but then BAM!!!! -- I HAD to have the light-brown mustard container.

A bit of the Maille history. Antoine Maille was a Marseille mustard and vinegar maker who gained famed by creating a vineagar which, supposidely, protected people from the Black Plague which in the early 1700's was devastating the southern France countryside. Later, he became known as the "condiment artist" for his vinegars, mustards, and oils. (The 'moutarde' on the brown container means 'mustard'.) Anyway, the company has continued since 1720, and today has two stores, one in Paris (at 6, Place de la Madeleine; shown in the pic) and one in Dijon. Anyway, I'm quite excited to have these two beautiful pieces. And hey, maybe I can ask Leslie for a mustard recipe??? Hmmm--stay tuned!