Mumm Napa

Since I am going to the city for new years eve, I've decided to pick up a bottle of sparkling. Mumm Napa has been one of those places I've always wanted to try, especially sine I work right next door.
In retrospect, picking the eve before NYE may not have been the best of ideas to visit a big sparkling wine producer. Mumm Napa was BUSY. The servers were off and on, some were great and others were mediocre. But that's expected when you go into a tasting alone and on a "trade" visit. In the business, those visits are usually comped and most trade doesn't end up buying anything.
I decided the try the Mumm Napa Classics. A Blanc de blanc, Brut prestige, and Brut Rose.


Please ignore the fact that I'm a total dork with my USB drive attached to my keys, I lose things easily.

The Blanc de Blanc was very nice. With hints of green apple and a bit of tart. It also wasn't as fizzy as the other two, which I liked.

The Brut Prestige was sweeter than the first with tones of honeysuckle. It also had a bit more alcohol on the nose and mouth.

The Brut Rose was sweet like the other Brut. It felt a bit meatier with more of a mouthful feel.

My personal favorite was the Blanc de Blanc. Which also means it is what I will be taking to our friends house for NYE.

Happy New Years everyone! Sorry I haven't written on here recently, but I'm making it a goal to make an entry at least weekly. Napa valley has too many wineries and food places to offer to not share them with everyone!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Life is mysterious

Cool things might be coming my way...update soon.

Want, Need, Have

I feel like I'm finally over the "i've just moved to a new place" hump. Sure, I still miss my friends, and it's strange not having family around. But I don't think that those emotions will ever go away. It's always going to be a bit lonely because in the last few years I've gotten to know some amazing people, who are also scattered all over the place. I like how a few nights before I left Adan and I pinky swore that we'd always be friends, and we wouldn't lose touch or become "pretend" friends. I feel the same way about a handful of other people, I just didn't get the chance to pinky swear them into a contract. I am a terrible phone-caller, so if you feel like you've missed me too, just give me a ring-a-ling.
Right now the biggest stress in my life is my job(s). In a way, I don't mind working two jobs. It keeps me busy and I know that I'm making money. But I hate feeling like I could be doing something else, something where I could be learning or productive. This feeling really only applies to one of my jobs. I laugh because I've had three different employers in as many months, and you're always hearing about how hard it is to find a job in this economy. Probably because I'm taking the jobs no one wants, and honestly, two out of the three, I don't want them either.
So maybe the answer is to cut back on working so much at a place I hate (again), work as much as they'll let me at the place I enjoy, and tell the bank I can only pay the interest on my loans. Peace of mind is worth more to me than being able to pay loans on a degree that I haven't had the chance to use. I miss making art, and this realization hit me in the face like a ton of bricks. Time (or lack of it) should never be an excuse, and really I just haven't found motivation or reason to do anything. So I guess my Harvest Resolution is to make art, work at a place I enjoy, and not worry so much about money. And now that I've typed them out, they seem kind of daunting.

Artful International

Friends of Eric's have started up a non-profit called Artful International. Just wanted to give them a shout out. So check it out!

http://www.artfulinternational.org/

Mission: Artful International is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization devoted to pairing artistic expression with the expansion of charitable efforts around the globe. We exist to join people in the creation, discovery and distribution of all things artful.

Art’s function throughout society is vast. It is a means to communicate, to educate, to inquire and to entertain. It possesses an undeniable therapeutic value and ever persists as the greatest avenue for expression. We believe that our complete admiration for art coupled with its unlimited potential to benefit humanity, creates a dynamic movement that can change the world.

The inherent quality of Artful International is not unlike a deeply rooted tree. Our passion and our lifeblood flow deeply from beneath artistic ground. Stemming from our loyalty to all things artful is merciless devotion to providing support and service to communities and organizations alike.

With that in mind, Artful International is calculated through the simplest of formulas:

Artistic Expression + Global Charitable Advancement = Artful International

We are an art-based company; therefore, our primary objective lies in the creation, discovery and distribution of art. In order to provide the highest quality of service, our primary drive embarks with a love and devotion originating from the necessity for art in everyday life. Our ability to procure a superior product and service relies on these values.

Our secondary devotion is the advancement of charitable efforts. Financial assistance from commercial sponsorship, private donations, product sales and other fundraising is allocated to a network of organizations benefiting humanitarian, educational, environmental, and research developmental needs. Donated product and services will lend a helping hand in assisting local and international aspiring artist find the artful path.

Artful International’s immovable love for and devotion to all things artful is rooted within a vast network of artistic forms. The firmness of that system branches upward into a thriving, expansive growth of charitable services to all of humanity.

Artful International’s primary focus is on a four-platform foundation: Humanitarian, Educational, Environmental, and Research Development. Our services combine efforts to provide artists with the resources to explore talent while promoting social awareness and charitable contributions. All artistic programs are designed to encompass one or more of these charitable causes. We seek to commission artists and artisans to consistently move our mission forward while our skilled production staff creates, implements, procures, and distributes programs. Only with a partnership of creativity and cause can we design a program to support the highest level of social outreach. Our highest priority is providing hope to artists of any skill level and supporting charitable efforts for all walks of life.

Birthday Time!

Today is my birthday. I spent it at work, buying groceries, cleaning the house, updating my phone, and talking to my family. Later I'll be going to Zuzu for dinner. Then out to Downtown Joe's for a drink. No crazy celebration because i've got to work tomorrow. Make money, money!

Things to do that are not work:

Tomorrow (9/23):
Trefethen wine tasting
Chase vineyards BBQ

10/2-4:
ZD winery 40th anniversary

10/10:
Kiwanis BBQ/oyster/wine "Hot October Nights"

10/17:
Napa Oktoberfest

10/18:
Treasure Island Music Festival

Life, a post

Let's see... with in the last two weeks I quit one of my two jobs and picked up a new job working weekends at a winery. ZD winery to be specific (thanks Jason!). I'll mostly be pouring wine to those ever present tourists and daycationers. I'm really excited about this new job experience, I went in earlier this week do to paperwork and within the first hour I met the matriarch, Rosa Lee deLeuze, and she invited me to go to Hot October Nights. So I now have 60$ tickets for me and my plus one (Eric). The deLeuze family (aka the D in ZD) pays for their employees to go to events, and the late Norman deLeuze was a huge supporter for the Kiwanis Club (community organizers, gasp!). Hot October Nights is a fundraising event for the Kiwanis with a silent auction, but it also includes a live band, BBQ/Oyster bar, and wine tasting from various wineries. The event is October 10th, and if it's anything like the last wine event I went to, i'll be sure to bring my camera for some eventful picture taking.

All in all, life out here is getting a little easier. I'm not working as much as I was two weeks ago, I feel like I can sit down and breathe.

Las Palmas, yes please

I feel like my life has been lacking in the Mexican food department. Last week, after being foiled on a sandwich run, Eric and I tried out a place that we hadn't been to before, Las Palmas. Napa's Mexican food selection varies from the Taco Truck to the $20 plate of 2 tacos. This place falls somewhere in the middle. Sadly, the taco shops are nothing near the caliber of what Tucson has to offer. I feel like Tucson spoiled all cheap Mexican food for the rest of my life. Nico's Super Nachos, I will never forget you. And if you think i'm going to pay $20+ dollars for a taco plate then you're off your rocker. I'll just save the cash and use it as gas money to go see my mom, her food is way more worth it.

Anyways, Las Palmas is in the warehouse district, which in Napa means it's two blocks away from downtown. Don't let it's proximity to the Feed Store scare you, you won't find any hay bales or leftover baby animals in here. Las Palmas is right next door to Las Palmas meat and seafood market, both owned by the same person. The Chef has about 15 years of experience working as Chef du Cuisine in the North Bay. Usually I go the safe route at new Mexican food places, but since they have their own butchery I took a risk (for me) and got the fish tacos.

The tacos were tilapia sautéed in white wine, onions, and diced tomatoes. They were good. Everything tasted fresh and made to order, instead of most places where things taste like they've been sitting around in a vat for a while.
Eric got the Chile Verde. Really good, really spicy.

They also had the best horchata i've had since moving out here. How i've missed you horchata! I'd go back just for their horchata. The patio is really nice, but like everywhere in Napa, watch out for the Wasps.

Ubuntu - Anniversary Dinner

For our second anniversary Eric and I planned on going to Ubuntu. For those that have never heard of it, Ubuntu is a farm-to-table vegetarian based restaurant headed by Chef Jeremy Fox and his Pastry Chef (wife) Deanie Fox. Along with the restaurant, Ubuntu also includes a yoga studio and a biodynamic garden.

The inside of Ubuntu. Upstairs is the yoga studio, which you can see into when your dinning through the windows. There is a bar to the left and the hot prep area is in the back. The rest of the kitchen is behind doors between the bar and the hot prep station.
We started off the meal with Crispy Beet Green Fritters. The horseradish creme was paired really well with this dish.
The menu, which changes depending on what is in season in their garden. Everyday they print out new menus, with a lunch and dinner version.
I made Eric dress up for dinner.

Benzinger Salad: cucumbers and smoked eggplant. Probably one of my favorite dishes. The miso bathed cucumber was totally aligned with my taste-buds.
Heirloom Tomatoes, simply sliced, "polka" corn pudding. My least favorite dish of the meal, but still good. I love tomatoes, but for me it was too sweet. I felt that it needed something more savory to balance it out.
Expression of Summer Squash, scented with Vadouvan. Another great dish. The squash wasn't too soft or too hard. And the broth had a nice summer "hearty" taste.
Homemade gnocchetti pasta with split French beans. This dish was Italian with a strong Middle Eastern influence. Delicious, smelled and tasted a bit like perfume, but the kind you'd like to eat.
Desert was "Cheesecake" with a berry preserve. The rolls were honey crisps with powdered sugar. Now I generally dislike cheesecake, but this wasn't as cheesy as some or as sweet as others that i've had before.

All in all I give this place two huge thumbs up! Great food, interesting atmosphere. I do think that they need more servers, because they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off when they started to get busier. I'll be back here again in the Fall, I've heard that their baked cauliflower casserole is spectacular.

Siam Thai - Total Miss

Good asian food is something that I have yet to find in Napa. But I am on a hunt, and Siam Thai did not fit the bill. Thai food isn't my staple in Asian cuisine, but when it's good I will not turn it down. For example, last month in Sacramento I had Thai twice in one day. Both places were good, the last being so exceptionally good that I was very much over being mad that I had to eat the same type of food twice by the first bite.

In other words, here's the reason why I disliked this place. The food was BLAND! A true detriment to the type of food that was being served. Thai food is something that I associate with such flavors as cumin, lemon grass, curry, coriander. This meal was like the geriatric home of thai food.

First we started out with fresh spring rolls. They were supposed to have rice paper, rice noodles, mint, tofu. It was more like rice paper and noodles. I'm not the biggest fan of mint, but even bigger mint pieces would have been better than tiny afterthoughts. The tofu looked like the stuff that you find freeze dried in a diy noodle bowl. I didn't take a picture of it, but here's Eric perfect reaction to what this dish felt like:

For the main course Eric had Red Curry with chicken:

And I had their Pad Thai with Shrimp, Tofu and Chicken:

As far as looks go, it all looked very appealing. But Eric described his dish as neither red, nor curry. And mine was bland as can be with a really dry taste. During the whole dish I felt as though it was missing something, and it wasn't until I took leftovers to work the next day (when you're poor, bad leftovers are still food) that I realized it was missing lemon grass. So I added the juice of a lemon and it was a whole lot better. Honestly, Eric made better pad thai from a box a few days before. Lesson of the meal, if I want pad thai i'll go to whole foods and buy a box for $2.99 and have Eric cook it for me.

Wine-athon

As stated in the previous blog. Courtney and Johnny came to visit us in Napa. We started off at Signorello's for wine tasting and margherita pizzas. Afterwards we went to the 47th annual Wine Library tasting. Where, other than some of the people working the event, we were the only people there of our age group.

Group photo in the parking lot.
The tasting took place on the greens at Silverado Resort, where people were still finishing off their games when we got there. Beautiful place though.
More glasses for our pitiful collection, by Napa standards.
Yes, we wore name tags. And those popcorn buckets were actually for spitting out and dumping wine.
Those cheese and crackers saved the event from becoming a scene, and I don't mean by us.
We voted Johnny as the first person to be kicked out based on skin color and his shirt. Votes were taken before walking into the event.
Learning about wine.
This was at about 5:40. The event started at 5. I'm actually very surprised that no one threw up.

Jason, Eric, and Yesenia.

Leaving the event. General consensus was that it wasn't worth 80$, or event the 60$ if you signed up in advance. 25-30$ a person would have been more reasonable, but that's also probably why there wasn't anyone else in our age range there. We were full of wine, cheese, and water by this point. About an hour later we were also full with tacos from Tacos Michoacan. For me, Duckhorn Winery was my favorite. I will have to go to their winery soon and do a tasting.

Low Rider is a Little Higher

Today was the annual Main Street Reunion Car Show in Downtown Napa (FREE!). The event was organized by Napa Valley Cruisers and the Napa Downtown Association. From what i've read the event was a regular for five years and then took a five year break, coming back in 2008. I haven't been to a car show in years. The last one I went to was in Barrio Hollywood in Tucson a few years ago. The car show today was about 3 times the size but lacking the family atmosphere that Tucson seems to bring. This car show was much more about the cars than about grabbing some food and hanging out with the neighborhood. I managed to take both my film and digital cameras. The photos that follow are all digital, i'll upload the film ones after I get the roll developed.

Main street bridge. Appearances can be deceiving, I first thought that it was just going to be the bridge and maybe a street or two. I ended up walking around downtown for an hour looking at cars.

^Ana this car reminded me of you. I could feel your essence in this ride. ^

We had a Buick Skylark almost exactly like this one growing up. Convertible and the exact same color. Just a different year. I dedicate this picture to my dad.

The front end of the Skylark. The front and back ends are the main differences from the one we had. RIP Aros' Skylark.

Jesse- I thought of you when I took this picture. Not because you're a floozie who would get down at a drive-thru.

This car had the looks of having one of those car-wrap decals on it. Not the coolest thing I saw, but definitely interesting. (We also had a VW van when I was very little)

Hands down my favorite car in the show. It was beautiful, minus the rims. They didn't emit the same feeling as the rest of this gorgeous car.

These people belonged to the era. Hey Adan, do you think this Elvis has had plastic surgery?

It's so HOT it needs two fans!

I miss my '66 hardtop Mustang. Very much like this one except mine had a black top. Which I have come to find, isn't very common. Most i've seen are the unibody type. One day, I will have a beautiful car again.

The original smart-car? I'm unsure about how any normal sized person could fit into it.

If it means saving a hotrod, then this liberal supports this statement.

And so concludes the Main Street Car Show! Most of these pictures are sub-par, but i'm excited to see how the film versions turn out. Tomorrow Eric's sister and her boyfriend come into town. Pizza and wine time a Signorello's after work (Cost-$35 for pizza and wine tasting). Tomorrow evening there is a Wine Event at Calistoga Ranch. Eric was gifted 4 free tickets (each costs $80), so we will be heading down there for another wine adventure.