Thursday, August 12, 2010

A lesson in bubbles

Bubbles should be poured like beer. Which I take to mean that they should be drunk out of pint glasses as well.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

August Cheers to Taste - Jarvis

Entrance to Jarvis
Every month, the Wednesday before Cheers! St. Helena is dedicated to an event called Cheers to Taste. The premise being that every month a different winery pony's up their space to hold a "Hospitality Event" within their walls. So when I heard that August was going to be at Jarvis, I thought "Cool, I haven't been there yet!". Basically I use these events to check out places that I wouldn't normally go to, or have time to visit. The networking part really isn't my preferred method of mingling. Anyways, little did I know what I was in store for at this month's event.


Barrels of wine

Turns out, the whole winery is underground. Maybe not a go-to for people who are claustrophobic, but still pretty cool. Basically we walked in, got a name tag and a personal light so we could give ourselves the self guided tour if we so desired.

Heading to the tank room
So here is where a combo of good and bad happened. We were greeted with a glass of wine (good) and then grabbed a bite of celery and cheese (could have been good, was very bad). I'm not sure where the idea to pair celery with fromage blanc (think melted string cheese) came from, but someone should have put a stop to it from the get go. It was mushy and bland, it needed flavor, salt, anything else!

Nikki with her light in front of the giant floral doors


Tank Room
So we continued through the tank room. So far, I haven't seen any other winery with all of their equipment underground, but I can't imagine it being much more of a hassle than having your equipment in an enclosed building. Plus, it looked pretty cool.


PotC'esque waterfall

Alright, check it out. So there was a waterfall in the caves. A freaking WATERFALL! How cool is that?! And yet it totally reminded me of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland. Both are dark, dank, and smell like chlorinated water. Napa truly is the Disneyland for adults.

Cuvee casks
These casks were right next to my favorite station only because it had the wine I liked the most, 2003 Merlot. Good wine, but the pulled pork sandwich was not. And yet another swing and a miss on the catered food.

Peace out!
The rest of the winery wasn't very exciting. Just two large rooms where they hold "winery events". Oh, and accordion players and giant crystals. *shrug* All in all, it was kind of a weird experience. BUT I would recommend it to someone that was visiting the valley that wanted to go to a unique place. To see all the equipment and have the "cave" experience would be cool for most people.

Morimoto Napa


Lounge Menu @ Morimoto Napa
For our third anniversary Eric and I decided to go to Morimoto Napa. Not only did the restaurant open only a few short weeks before. But they were also offering an Industry (food & wine personnel) Discount on all Lounge Menu items until July 31st. So we figured we'd take advantage of the 30% off (woohoo!!!) and kill two birds with one stone.

Morimoto expediting on the line
When we first parked out on 2nd street, the roads was dead. So we figured we were in for a quiet night. But once we walked into the main room, the place was buzzing with excitement. Lounge menu means you can either sit on one of the comfy looking yellow couches, at the bar, or at the sushi bar. I for one LOVE the sushi bar. It's a great place to start up a conversation with the person making your food.

Glass of Page Sauvignon Blanc
Eric and I started off by ordering drinks. Morimoto pours their own brew, has a full bar, sake, and wines by the glass and bottle (ZD Wines has their chardonnay by the glass, it's delicious with seafood).



Then after a little wait we started ordering appetizers.


First out was the Miso Soup. I have a deep love affair with Miso, the salty, warm flavor is magnetic. Morimoto miso soup was unlike any I have had before, it had a lovely "meaty" taste. The whole flavor profile made it seem so much more heartier than it appeared. And the silken tofu came in large soft chunks that I enjoyed.



Next up was the Pork Gyoza. The gyoza are actually hiding underneath the thin sheet of dough, the added surprise was the tomato based sauce the gyoza was placed on top of. It was a great mix of Italian flavors in a traditional Asian appetizer. A few days later I learned that some people flip the gyoza over and the sauce melts into the dough. Not sure how they do this, but sounds fun!


Third and final appetizer was the Bone Marrow. With a crust of spices and teriyaki sauce, this one was SPICY! The wasabi cleared out my sinuses, but I couldn't stop eating.


Sushi! This had Yellow tail, Salmon, and Tuna. Tuna should always come with a slice of lime, I am now convinced. Beautiful, fresh fish. The majority comes straight from Japan. Honestly, it's so great to have GOOD sushi in Napa. No more mediocre sushi for me!


More Tuna, Salmon, and Golden Big Eye Snapper. My first time having snapper, and it was delicious. We had already eaten a piece of it by the time I remembered to take a picture.


The man himself sitting at the end of the bar, having a beer and some sashimi.

Prices of apps are pretty normal for Napa. Nothing was totally outrageous. But the sushi prices were great! $4-7 for two pieces of amazingly fresh fish. We will be back. Mostly to sit at the sushi bar again and have some rolls and the Tuna Pizza that I've heard to much about. And hopefully someday soon I will be able to do the Morimoto Omasake (chef's menu). It would be such a treat!

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