I was talking with a friend recently about food and wine (as we do) and we got to reminiscing about the most memorable meals we've had.  I was able to name my Top 3 without batting an eyelash. It's funny, though, how these meals aren't just about the food or just about the wine, but are all about the perfect confluence of time, place, company, food and wine.  It's all the elements combined that make a meal stand out in memory like that.  And when it happens, it's not something you forget.  Just thinking about these meals transports me back to the time and place and I can just about taste the flavors on my tongue. If you're interested, read on for my Top 3.

No. 3:  Dry Creek Kitchen, Healdsburg, CA.
A couple of years ago one of my BFFs and I spent a wonderful girls' weekend up in wine country. One night we splurged on dinner - tasting menu and wine pairings - at the renowned Dry Creek Kitchen.  The food and wine were incredible but were just part of a whole that made a fun and memorable experience. It's something we still talk about.

No. 2:  A la Biche aux Bois, Paris
A Parisian friend took me to dinner here many years ago and it still stands out in my memory as an amazing experience.  A tiny, family run restaurant with house made foie gras, pate and charcuterie, every bite melted in my mouth. It was Fall, thus wild boar season, and we had an incredible stew of sanglier that still makes my mouth water when I think about it. We drank a perfect Sancerre to start and a Bordeaux with the sanglier. The pairing was perfect, as was the company and the evening.

No. 1 Corte Sconta, Venice
Warning: I am going to rhapsodize at length... Feel free to scroll on by....

First, a little context.  Three years ago my husband won a trip on the Orient Express through his company. (I know, I didn't believe him at first either!!)  Our daughter was still fairly young and we had never left her for more than a night, and never to go to another country, but this was the freaking Orient Express - for free! - so we planned as quick a trip as possible (in hindsight, a mistake, but there you go).  It was the most surreal yet most incredible trip we have ever taken. From San Fransisco to London to Dover to Calais to Venice and back. One night spent on an airplane, one night on the Orient Express, two nights in a hotel in Venice and a nightmare trip home. Saturday to Wednesday. As I said, surreal. 

The entire trip was really all about food.  We boarded the British Pullman at Victoria Station in London at lunchtime (in the car favored by the Queen Mother, if you believe what we read onboard). We were served a fabulous lunch of smoked trout, chicken stuffed with crawfish mousse with a caviar cream sauce, asparagus and potatoes, champagne, red wine and a jelly type dessert (not so good!).

We boarded the Orient Express in Calais late that afternoon.  It was simply beautiful and also incredibly small! The jet lag and lack of sleep just added to the surrealness of being on the freaking ORIENT EXPRESS. 

We had a drink in the bar car and then headed to dinner in the beautifully appointed restaurant car.  Dinner was okay but, except for the cheese plate, was nothing to write home about.  But again, Orient Express.  Didn't matter!

 I slept like a baby that night (jet lag + wine + motion of train) and the next morning we awoke to the most beautiful scenery out the (tiny) window.  We were served breakfast in our cabin and we spent much of the morning staring out the window as we rode through Switzerland and Austria.

Lunch was served in the dining car. The only thing I remember about that meal was the foie gras ice cream. Now, I like foie gras and I like ice cream, and I’ll try anything once, but this was the worst thing I’d put in my mouth in ages. I wonder who thought that was a good idea?! 

A couple of hours later we were served an afternoon tea in our cabin and then we rolled into Venice.  Venice!!

All in all, we spent about 36 hours in Venice - 2 nights and 1 day.  That first night we had a good meal at a random restaurant. The only thing I remember about that dinner was the wine (a Drei Dona 2003 Pruno) and that our waiter looked like Joe Pesci.

One our second, and last, night in Venice, we had dinner at a small restaurant, Corte Sconta, which we found after winding our way through a teeny, tiny alley.  We were seated at one end of a table for 6.  About half an hour later they sat another couple at the other end of the table. They were both from Boston (he via Russia). As happens with wine, food and proximity, we were all fast friends in a very short time..

Anyway, the food.  We never saw a menu. The restaurant specializes in seafood and the chef prepares whatever is caught that day. After an amuse-bouche of tuna and ricotta tartlet, we started with the recommended seafood appetizer for two. The first plate set in front of each of us had some fresh salmon topped with a light sauce, greens and pomegranate seeds, plus two of the fattest, freshest anchovies I’ve ever seen. Until that night, I have never liked anchovies. These were amazing, just like taking a bite of the sea. The next dish was a large bowl of clams steamed in white wine and ginger. Following the clams, a plate of spider crab, served in its beautiful shell, was put on the table. The waiter dressed the crab with olive oil, white pepper and lemon and oh my, was it good. The final plate of the appetizer (yes, we’re still on the appetizer!) was a large plate of baby squid, shrimp, octopus, crawfish and a cuttlefish mousse served atop a polenta square. Every single bite was heaven!

For  the entrees, Jason ordered a perfectly prepared (skinned and deboned a table) sea bass. It was delicious but didn’t compare with my dish. I had black pasta (the pasta colored and flavored with cuttlefish ink), topped with scallops and pumpkin flowers. I can’t even begin to describe the amazing flavor and texture and richness of this dish – it was like nothing I’ve ever tasted before. At this point, we were feeling very well-fed, happy and very pleasantly tipsy.

Speaking of tipsy, we had an amazing wine on the waiter's recommendation - a 2004 Livio Felluga Sosso.  A Merlot from the D.O.C. Colli Orientali del Friuli, it was a pleasantly intense, spicy, full bodied wine. We liked it so much, we've continued to buy it.
 
For dessert, Liz, my new friend from Boston, and I decided to share the cheese plate. We had six different cheeses (they’re a blur now) which were served with a homemade apple mustard and a homemade fig and balsamic chutney. The waiter (cute and funny, btw) recommended a dessert wine that was fantastic, especially with the cheese.

So, 4 ½ hours after we began, we stumbled from the restaurant, laughing all the while. We walked back at midnight along the Grand Canal beneath a beautiful full moon, stopped for awhile in San Marco Square, and then headed off to sleep for a few hours before our journey home (a complete nightmare, which is a whole story unto itself).

(If you're still with me, wow, thanks for reading!)

As you can see, it was a case of all of the elements coming together to make what was one of the most perfect meals, and evenings, of my life.  Just thinking about it puts me right back in Venice, and I can practically taste those salty anchovies.  Ah, we'll always have Venice.

Hey, eyes up here.  :)

I’m talking about Cleavage Creek Winery. Have you heard of them yet?  I have been lucky enough to make the acquaintance of their wines and the powerhouse behind them, Budge Brown, on Twitter.  I believe that people come into your life for a reason, and that reason becomes apparent if you pay enough attention. This was an easy one to figure out.

Breast cancer is a cause close to my heart. My grandmother and my great-grandmother both had it. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with it last year and just finished chemotherapy and radiation right before Christmas. Thankfully, she’s doing well.  My aunt, who was diagnosed and treated three years ago is, as I type this morning, in surgery having a tumor removed from her lung. The doctors believe it was caused by the radiation and don’t know yet whether it is malignant. It amazes me that no matter who I speak to, breast cancer has touched their lives in one way or another.  I pray I see a cure in my lifetime, for my daughter and generations to come.  

Enter Cleavage Creek Winery and Budge Brown.  Talk about a person doing everything in their power to help find a cure. This man is amazing.  Budge was married to his wife, Arlene, for 48 years, until Arlene lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005.  Of course, he was devastated and angry. But he chose to turn those emotions into action, which is what sets him apart.  He purchased Cleavage Creek and started making award-winning wines. The thing is, he doesn’t just make great wine. He makes a difference.  10% of gross sales is donated to research to fight breast cancer.  That’s gross, not net.  According to the website, to date, Cleavage Creek and Budge Brown have donated over $73,000 to breast cancer causes.

The first thing you’ll notice about a bottle of Cleavage Creek wine is the label.  Each label has a picture of a breast cancer survivor whose story is featured on the web site. It’s impossible to pour a glass of this wine and drink it without thinking of the women it represents. It’s also impossible to drink it without thinking of the hope it represents.

 To read more about Cleavage Creek and Budge Brown, and to see how exactly these wines are funding breast cancer research, please check out www.CleavageCreek.com.  You can also do your part to help the cause by ordering wine there.
 

I first bought Cleavage Creek wine this past September, when they were having a sale for “Toast To a Cure”.  Toast To a Cure was a virtual toast that took place at 5:00p.m. on October 1st to commemorate the start of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. People all over participated. I was in wine country with friends (who also have relatives with breast cancer), so we made sure to open our bottle and toast at the appropriate time.  Since then, I have been lucky enough to try a few more bottles of Cleavage Creek wine and have enjoyed all of them.  The new tasting room just opened at the winery and it is my goal to get up there to thank Budge in person and to taste more of these great wines in the next couple of months.  (If anyone is interested in a meet up, let me know and we’ll put something together!)

So far, we’ve tried and loved three of Cleavage Creek’s red wines.  (We have a bottle of the 2007 Secret White but have not had the opportunity to try it yet.)  The first one we tried was the 2007 Tracy Hills Secret Red.  This wine was fermented in stainless steel with an aged oak treatment, which gives it a subtle oak aroma and flavor. On the nose we got lots of raspberry and cherry, with some vanilla and chocolate.  We had this one evening with some holiday dark chocolate and they went really well together – a perfect pairing!

The 2007 Tracy Hills Merlot-Shiraz is 67% Syrah and 33% Merlot, aged in neutral oak. I've really been loving Syrah recently and this was no exception. It had delicious juicy berry flavors and long smooth finish that went on and on.

I really can’t think of a better way to help support a cause.  You buy and drink some wine, which, let’s face it, you’re going to do anyway. And while you’re sipping, you can know that you just helped a good man fund research for a very important cause.  So why not do something good with your wine habit this Wine Wednesday? Go on, what are you waiting for?

Happy New Year!  The festivities and excess are finally behind us for another year (well, maybe not the excess...) and life is settling back down into its normal routine. We had a crazy, fun holiday season, filled with good food, wine, family and friends, and I'm excited about 2011.

We spent New Year's Eve day in the City with some great friends.  We played tourist with the kids and had a blast. We started the day at Coit Tower - which, unfortunately, was closed for renovations!  Oh well. The views were still awesome. The best part? The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill decided to put on quite a show for us!

The best thing about getting an early start on New Year's Eve day is that there were very few people about.  We took the kids down Lombard Street next and then headed to Union Square, where we did our annual ice skating. My girl was much improved this year and managed to not pull me down into a puddle (as she did last year).  Huge progress!

We went into the St. Francis to look at this year's sugar castle. My daughter loves riding the glass elevators there and the security guard was kind enough to let us through and take the kids on the elevator.  We rode it up and down a couple of times while the kids squealed in delight.

I often say my daughter is part magpie - she gravitates toward anything shiny. She also loves a good bargain, and the two things combined explain why she adores Chinatown. So we wandered around the shops, buying some cheap shiny doodads for our magpie, and then made our usual stop at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory. We wandered around some more and eventually ended our fun day with a fabulous dinner at Plouf in Belden Place.

We may not have stayed out until midnight but we had a blast and spent the time with good friends, which is what New Year's is all about.  It was the perfect way to end the year.

Now, I'm looking forward at the year ahead. I'm excited to continue cultivating my wine habit - I mean hobby - by learning more and drinking more and continuing to meet great people from the wine community. But I confess, right at the moment, I am looking forward to spending this next week actually drying out after the holidays! Can we go a week without wine? Stay tuned....

Cheers!