The Ridge Vineyards vintage that made California Cabernet Sauvignon a phenomenon by beating the French in 1976. Friday’s “Premier Cruz” event salutes Ridge and other Santa Cruz Mountain Cabs.
Premier Cruz, A Mountain Cabernet Experience: If you're serious about Cabernet Sauvignon, then you better not miss Premier Cruz: A Mountain Cabernet Experience, a chance to sample a large array of new releases from Santa Cruz Mountains vintners. On Friday, Nov. 15, from 6-10pm at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga, participants will be able to enjoy an exclusive evening of Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernets from some of the leading producers in California, including Ridge Vineyards (the people who put California Cabs on the map with their famous victory over French wines in the 1976 Judgment of Paris), Kathryn Kennedy, Beauregard Vineyards, Burrell School Vineyards and more. Your $110 ticket includes tasting, schmoozing with fellow aficionados and vintners, plus a lavish grazing dinner created by Mountain Winery chef David Sidoti. Dinner includes hors d'oeuvres such as bacon-wrapped scallops, caprese bruschetta, crispy Thai chicken rolls with spicy peanut sauce and many, many cheeses. Enjoy a fully loaded pasta station, as well as slow-roasted salmon, tenderloin of beef and dessert minis, including chocolate-dipped cannolis, crème brulees and brownies. Here's a super chance to fine-tune your Cabernet palate, meet winemakers and dine well in the process. To quickly get on board with this fabulous event, you can call (831) 685-8463, or link up at the SCMWA website.
Cookie of the Week: In honor of Lou Reed, why not take a walk on the wild side? For starters, you could rush over to Companion Bakeshop at 2341 Mission Street (831 252.2253). That's where you'll find the incredible Thyme Shortbread Cookie ($1.25), a seriously rich, feisty mouthful of buttery, herby adventure. The thyme takes the flavor center into an unexpected realm, not quite bay-and-basil savory, definitely leaning toward sweetness and infinitely more nuanced than lavender. You will love this cookie! In fact “cookie” is too fragile a word for this enlightened New World shortbread experience. Perhaps Captain James T. Kirk got it wrong: thyme might be the final frontier.
Wine of the Week: Oral adventure, in the key of Cinsault. Primarily known as a blending grape, used to add softness and lyricism to Rhône blends, cinsault is also the progenitor of South Africa's luscious Pinotage. It is also known as Black Malvoisie, the darker sibling of Malvasia Bianca. But for right now, Cinsault is bottled in a rare, single-varietal creation under the ever-surprising Birichino label. Birichino's 2012 Cinsault is made from old vines planted at the Bechthold Vineyard in the 1880s. At 12 percent alcohol, it is light as angel wings, an ethereal silken creation that very gradually reveals a mysterious perfume of orange zests and red currents. It also induces complex dreams. No, it's not for everybody. Not for you Hemingways who require high gauge jammyness that jumps out of the bottle. It will not do well with marinara. It would love Dungeness crab. It is something you must try, at least once. $21 @ Soif.
New Leaf Does the Right Thing: Always moving the cutting edge further into the future, our New Leaf Community Markets have just achieved a rare status at the intersection of business and social practice. New Leaf is the first grocer in the state to be certified as a B Corporation, which is to sustainable business what LEED certification is to green building. In order to achieve this B Corp certification, New Leaf had to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental practice, accountability and transparency—exactly the sort of sustainable attitude this remarkable organization has had since its founding 28 years ago. Care for staff, community and environment had made New Leaf a template for 21st century business, and now it joins Swanton Berry Farm and NextSpace Santa Cruz as one of a trio of B Corp groups in our community. Congratulations to Scott Roseman and team!
