Wine Wednesday - Anderson Valley

Before we get into this week's Wine Wednesday, I just want to say how sorry I am about the damage in Napa after the earthquake last weekend. I've seen how much time and energy goes into the wine making process and I can't even imagine what the loss of so many barrels will mean to the wine makers who have invested so much in their craft. If you'd like to help out, here are some resources:

Napa Earthquake - Help Needed Forum

Napa Earthquake Volunteers

Aveo Wines Napa Quake Fund

While Napa is picking up the pieces though, my next two wine posts will feature lesser known wine areas in California. Napa and Sonoma get a lot of the attention but there are lots of wine regions in this state. On a camping trip a couple of weeks ago, we found ourselves driving through Anderson Valley and knew we'd have to pop into a few wineries on the way back.

Before we get to the wine though, let's just talk about where we camped. We went up to Navarro River Redwoods State Park and camped out at an awesome site right on the beach. We were able to spend an afternoon splashing around on the (very drought affected) river, and playing in some of the very climbable trees. It's definitely a trek from San Francisco (about a 3 hour drive) but it's fun to discover another corner of this beautiful state.

As some of you know, I don't really drink beer. While I clearly love wine, I tend to grab ciders for more beer-esque occasions. We picked up a case of Angry Orchard hard cider which included samples of some new flavors. I really loved the Elderflower and was happy that it wasn't overly sweet but still had a lot of great floral notes. 

But let's get back to the important stuff... the wine tasting! 

Our first stop was Brutocao Cellars. One of our fellow campers, said that she had seen a winery with a sign for Port and chocolate tastings. Everyone in our group thought this sounded amazing so our first mission on our drive back was to try to find that sign. Luckily, my boyfriend spotted it and we were quickly followed by our friends. 

The first amazing thing about Anderson Valley tastings - they were all complimentary and involved long lists of wine, of which you could choose 5-6 to try. Anderson Valley is known for their Pinot Noir and Brutocao was no exception but they also carried a variety of other French and Italian wines. I had a long list of wines I wanted to try but limited myself to their 2010 Reserve Pinot Noir, 2010 Primitivo, and 2010 Quadriga (a blend of Sangiovese, Primitivo, Barbera, and Dolcetto). The former wines being excellent representations of their varietals and the latter being an exceptionally balanced and smooth blend of four tasty Italian grapes. 

I also really enjoyed the chocolate tasting. There were 3 options, all being creamy truffle chocolates. My favorite was the Grand Marnier and I made sure to take home a jar of it as well. 

Our seceond stop was Husch Vineyards which was just bonkers cute. Even though their tasting room was snug, they managed to fit out large group. There was a little deck, as well, that we trickled out onto (pictured below). Husch, is well known for their award winning Pinots. The style was a little different from what I tend to prefer, but I was fascinated by their dessert wines. The most interesting to me was the late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. I'd never seen someone make a dessert wine from that grape and it was interesting to see how the lighter qualities of the wine remained while still taking on the properties of a dessert white. I took a bottle home so that I can try it again sometime as it definitely was a unique wine (my favorite!). 

Husch was also the first winery we went to that feautured grape juice - non-fermented wines. We had a few drivers and they loved it. It's so smart to have a non-alcholic beverage alternative for drivers, and our group really appreciated it. One person in our party even got a couple bottles of it. 

The last winery was also gorgeous and that was Navarro Vineyards and Winery. They also had a big portfolio of wines. I was getting a little wine fatigue by then but I really enjoyed the Edelzwicker - a blend of 47% Pinot Gris, 27% Gewürztaminer, 25% Riesling and 1% Muscat. The dry Pinot Gris really balances out the sweet and floral notes of the other wines and it ends up being a really stand out blend. 

This was also a winery that had tastings of their non-alcoholic wine juice. There were three options and the tasting room employee even offered to mix them into a wine juice cocktail for our DDs. Dan really liked his and once again, it was great to have an option other than water for the drivers.

If that wasn't enough, Navarro also had cheese tastings with pairings. There were several great options and my favorites were the Laychee goat & sheep milk cheese and the Boont Corners Reserve. 

All in all, wine tasting in Anderson Valley was amazing. I really loved that all the wineries offered something extra whether it be cheese, chocolate, or just some non-alcoholic options. Even though I don't expect wineries to step outside of their specialties, it was a nice touch that really added to our experience. I know our group of friends, who varied in wine experience, all had a good time. 

Of course, on our way home, my phone buzzed with a Facebook notification. It seemed that I was tagged in the ice bucket challenge for the second time. Since I had a cooler full of dirty camping ice water that was going to get dumped out anyways, I didn't really have any excuse.  So, here's my ice bucket gif for all of you. I also donated to the WWF Tigers fund. I know the challenge is supposed to raise money for ALS but it seems like they've gotten a lot of donations so I decided to support a cause that is important to me... because tigers are awesome.

 Also - thank you to Selin Sevencan for letting me use some of your photos! My phone was charging during some of our wine tastings so I didn't get to take as many pictures and I would have. I appreciate you letting me use yours!

Facebook Page Launched!!!

This is just a little mini update but I'm happy to announce that I've launched a Facebook page for this site. I'd ideally like to grow the readership of this blog outside of my friend group (and if you're already one of those people then thank you for following along!!) and so I created a page dedicated to this blog.

Here is the link for the page:
https://www.facebook.com/nikkilincblog?ref=hl

You should Like my page if any of the following apply to you:

• You like my blog posts
• You like me
• You like wine
• You like food
• You like the idea of using paleo or gluten free alternatives to traditional recipes
• You like learning about International or Global dishes
• You want wine tasting suggestions
• You like weekend adventures
• You like travel
• You're kind of nerdy 
• You're curious about wine pairing

And if you don't like any of the things above well, you might not like this blog or my Facebook page but maybe check it out anyways?

English Fish and Chips - World Eating Challenge

Last week, I promised you all that I really seriously was going to keep cooking the World Cup dishes and hinted that the first recipe would have cod so here it is - Paleo Fish and Chips! This was a recipe I've had in the corners of my brain for some time now so it was fun to finally get around to making it. I was having a little bit of a space case day though so I didn't take pictures until halfway through. You'll have to imagine was all the prep looked like.

Before we get there though, I'd like to present you with... the World Cup Eating Challenge. I figured since the World Cup is done and most of us are going to forget soccer exists for a few years, I can drop Cup from the title. I also really want to try my had at Thai, Indian, and Chinese (to name a few) cuisines and they aren't too great at soccer. Since this blog has a few different types of posts going up, you can recognize one my Global cuisine attempts by looking for World Eating Challenge. I'm going to add that tag to all of the World Cup dishes as well. The nice thing about the new challenge is that there are no limits. I don't have to stress out by needing to make something on a particular day and I can circle back and re-do countries (like Mexico and Greece which I feel like I punted on but oddly is the most popular post from the challenge). You can also look forward to a couple of other challenges I want to work in here. If you watch a lot of cooking shows, some of them may seem familiar!

So how about them fish and chips?

For the "chips," I knew I wanted to go with sweet potato fries. Since the fish was going to be legitimately fried, I figured it would be best to bake these. I use a special little tool call a spiral cutter to make them. It's also how you make zucchini noodles and can do some other slicing. It's super handy and pretty easy to use. Anyways... these went in the oven at 450 for about 20 min (checked on constantly because they burn easily) with some avocado oil and salt.

Next was to prep this fish. I took the easy route here and bought a package of frozen cod fillets. I let them thaw in the fridge a couple of days before using them. 

Next I made my flour mixture. This was tapioca flour, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. I dipped my fish in eggs and then rolled them around in here. I think almond milk would have worked nicely also but we were out so I had to make due. Actually, now that I think about it, the dampness of the fish might have worked out too. I think some experimenting might be due...

I fried the fish in avocado oil. I think I've mentioned it before but vegetable oil is super not paleo. If you want to fry a healthier way, there are plenty of oils that are better for you and have a high heat level. Avocado oil is the most affordable. A big bottle at Costco is $10. Ghee is also a good option but it's more expensive. 

I also wanted something green to go with my dish. Traditional fish and chips doesn't have any sort of vegetable side but it is served with vinegar. I decided to make a twist on that idea and do a vinaigrette with parsley, spinach, vinegar, and lemon. Once that was processed, I threw in heirloom tomato slices and pulsed it a little bit to get those chopped up. It was kind of chimichurri-esque but a little more vinegar-y and it went perfectly on top of the fish. 

The whole thing was really delicious and my only qualm is that I didn't make enough of it. The fish and potatoes were way smaller than I though they were, but oh well, I'll definitely double up next time!!

Wine Wednesday - Outside Lands 2014

So after all those pre-Outside Lands posts, I'm sure you're wondering what I actually decided to try while I was there? Here are the food and wine dishes I enjoyed during the festival. I really made the most of the wine tastes so I could try as much as possible. At $2-3 per taste, it made my wine tickets last much longer and when I did want to grab a glass and go, I already knew what I liked. The prices below are per bottle, not Outside Lands prices.

Wine

2012 Qupé "Bien Nacido Cuvee"

Qupé was my first stop at wine lands. The weather was unexpectedly nice in the Outerlands so starting with the white blend seemed fitting. The blend is about 2/3 Viognier and 1/3 Chardonnay. I really liked the way these came together. Viognier can be a little too frilly for me while Chardonnay can be too oakey but together, they balanced wonderfully. The Viognier was definitely the more prominent of the wines allowing a lot of floral notes to shine through.

Price: $20

2013 Verdad Sawyer Lindquist Vyd Rosé of Grenache

Verdad is a little side brand of Qupé and I was really excited to try their Grenache Rosé. It was a really high acid crisp rosé with notes of cranberry, strawberry, and lemon.

Price: $18

2012 Qupé Central Coast Syrah

The Syrah was also very nice. It was a dry red with notes of dark berries, cranberry, and hint of tobacco. The last note was really hard to pick up and I spent a long time just trying to figure out what the last taste was before I got it. 

Price: $20

2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir 

Red Car is a wine that has a very distinct label and even though it was on my list, I had a big feeling of Deja Vu when I approached their booth. I'm sure I've tried it before but the problem with trying so many wines all the time, is that stuff falls through the cracks. This rosé was much lighter in body and flavor than many others that I have enjoyed. Fermented like a white wine, without any skin contact, the pale salmon color is much lighter than a traditional rosé. This is definitely a wine for people who want something very very light. 

Price: $25

2011 Calder Charbono

My favorite thing about wine tasting is finding wines I've never tried before so as I was wandering around the wine tent and found a red called "Charbano," my interest was piqued. I asked the booth what it was as many times wines with interesting names are blends. The winery representitive gave me a really condescending response that it was a varietal. She then told me it was similar to Pinot, Gamay, or Barbera. It was really frustrating though that her first answer was still rude. I always thought the point of Wine Lands was a way to get exposure for your wine. I understand that a lot of people there just want to get drunk, but there are also people genuinely interesting in discovering new wines and if they ask about something unique that you have, don't shut them down. The pervasive snootiness that some people have with wine drives me crazy. I've meet so many friendly and amazing people in the wine industry who just want to educate people on what makes their wine special and that gets ruined when others have rude and condescending attitudes to people curious about wine.

But I digress... the wine itself was super interesting. Per their site, Charbano only has 70 acres in California and is extinct in France. The wine had a very intense nose. The earthy, berry taste was definitely reminiscent of Pinot. It was a very interesting wine and I'd love to try it again. Maybe next time I'll get to talk to someone willing to share more about the wine with me. 

Price: $28

Broc 2013 Love Red California

It's hard not to love the Love Red blend by Broc. The primarily Carignan blend also includes some Valdiguie and a dash of Petite Syrah. It's an very balanced blend and a smooth light red with cranberry and smokey notes. 

Price: NA

Kibo Junmai Sake

These little cans of sake made their appearance at the press tent and I had to have a taste. I don't drink sake often but it's something I really enjoy. I particularly love to have some when I eat sushi, but as a person who generally gets sushi as take out to eat at home, I don't have good sake nearby to pair with it. I've tried to buy inexpensive bottles before but they tend to not be good quality and come in huge bottles that are more than I could drink in a night. So when I saw these little cans of Kibo sake, I was really excited. The cans are going to retail for about $5 each and are the perfect size to have with one meal and not worry about wasting the rest of a bottle. Besides having a great size and price though, I was pleased with just how drinkable the sake was. It's light and refreshing and definitely something I could just sit around sipping, with or without sushi. 

The little can also honors traditional Japanese packaging. The brewery where it is made was destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. However, in the 3 years since, they've been able to re-build and launch their new sake. 

Price: $5

Sean Thackrey "Pleiades XXIII" Old Vine Red Blend

This is really the kitchen sink of red blends. The wine includes Sangiovese, Viognier, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and more. The nose was beautifully filled with ginger and cloves. The red was very light with a little of spiciness and earthiness. The hints of ginger carry through from start to finish. It's probably worth noting that it's one of the few wines I went back and got a glass of. I'm basically adding it to my K&L cart right now...

Price: $24

2013 Wind Gap Trousseau Gris

This was another wine that showed up in the press tent and I was excited to try it. I love Trousseau Gris and this one didn't disappoint. The nose is super light. The wine is very high acid, with tangy lemon and grapefruit notes. This would be an ideal wine for a hot summer day.

Price: $24

Food

 The first night there, I was really craving a lobster roll. I knew this had to be my dinner that night. I was a little disapointed with it though. It still tasted awesome but for the price ($19!) it was not nearly as full as the one's the restaurant. It didn't really live up to my picture of an overflowing lobster roll. As you know, this inspired me to make my own rendition of the New England dish.

One of the fun little perks of the Press Tent was a special food and wine press release. One of the presenters was the owner of AQ & TBD. Even though I wrote about their restaurants, I wasn't familiar at all with the dish they were bringing to the event. However, they brought one of their Spaghetti Sloppy Joe sandwiches to the press event and Dan was able to snag it. Since it's basically gluten on gluten and wrapped in gluten, I let him enjoy the whole thing. He loved the sandwich though and has been bringing it up constantly. Apparently the dish is something you won't ever find on their menu but just a late night snack that the restaurant employees like to enjoy after their shifts. The treat was a way for the fancy restaurants to have a more low key dish for Outside Lands.

I still needed to eat though. I really wanted to try a bacon flight from Baconlands at the GastroMagic stage but they were sold out. Who sells out of bacon???? I really needed my bacon fix though so we went to the Bacon Bacon truck. I snagged this awesome double burger and instead of onions, they gave me extra bacon. It was happiness. 

We were able to sit back with wine and bacon and enjoy the Killers. It was definitely a great way to end a really long weekend. Until next time Outside Lands!

Lobster "Roll" Salad Recipe

I realize some of you probably started following my blog because of all of my World Cup Challenge food posts and then that finished and I haven't written very much about food at all. I promise, I'm going to get back to those other countries I talked about. The Challenge had me making a lot of friend food and junk and while it was paleo, it's still a far cry from how I normally eat. I guess I don't have to start with the fried stuff, but I have a bag of cod in my freezer and it has one purpose... but I digress.

Cod wasn't the only fish that was in my freezer and after having a little lobster roll at Outside Lands, I wanted more. As with most festival food, it was smaller and more expensive than buying it at the store and I was going to need some more lobster to really make me happy. Let's be honest though - lobster is expensive. With Dan living with me, I do a lot of my protein shopping at Costco. They have really good quality meat and it's nearby. However, the only thing more expensive than a pricey protein - is that protein in bulk. So seeing a pack of lobster tails for $60 had my wallet sweating. Luckily, I looked over and saw a bag of giant lobster claws for $17. I bought the bag figuring I could toss it in the freezer until I had an idea of what to do with it. I had figured it would be a lobster bisque eventually but then the idea for a paleo take on a lobster roll dawned on me...

Even though this was a healthy take on the lobster roll, I still wanted the lobster portion to be really familiar and that meant putting some mayo on it. I did want to make it from scratch though and I thought this would be a good way to see what my new blender could do. I went with Nom Nom Paleo's Mayo recipe and the immersion blender method (even though I was using a regular blender). I combined my egg yolk, lemon, water, and mustard, and then poured in my avocado oil.

Oily goodness

I put the cup on my ninja and pulsed it a little bit. It didn't seem to be working very well and the next couple of hours was a mess of trying different things to get my mayo to thicken...

In the mean time, I decided to prep my salad. I knew that there wouldn't be a replacement for the buttery goodness of lobster roll bread. My best plan was just to put the lobster over a bed of awesome veggies with great tastes and textures. I started with a bed of spinach and added some cucumber. 

Next up were some fresh tomatoes. I used a kumato and an heirloom tomato. It's pretty common to hear me say that heirloom tomatoes are the best part of summer. I love them. They are so much meatier and more flavorful than your standard tomato. Speaking of flavor - many of the different colors have different flavor profiles. Farmers markets are good at tipping you off to them. The supermarket isn't so much so I get a nice surprise each time. This yellow one was a little more tangy and acidic which was a nice contrast to the sweeter kumato.

I put all of these onto my bed of spinach and decided to get to my lobster. 

This is what the bag from Costco looked like if you want to get some. This was easily the most affordable lobser I've bought and it worked really well in this dish. I imagine it would be great for lobster bisque as well or anything else where the lobster is part of a larger dish rather than the star. 

I realized I didn't have crackers so my lobster got thouroughly beat with a heavy knife as I helped it out of its shell.

I mixed the lobster with finely diced green onions, jalapeno, and celery. This combination adds nice flavor and crunch to the otherwise tender lobster.

The last step was to add the mayo. Unfortunately, this is what mine looked like. I read through the Nom Nom Paleo Mayo blog post and it explained that my mayo broke and had some tips on fixing it. It was too bad this wasn't in the book I was referencing last night. 

The good thing though - it was still really delicous. It was basically a light lemony vinagrette. I decided to splash some on my lobster anyways and it ended up making an awesome dressing. I definitely want to try making this again with proper paleo mayo to figure out which is better because I may have stumbled upon a happy kitchen accident instead!

My finished product was beautiful and delicious! I served it with some of my gluten free Brazilian cheese bread (made for the first time with grass fed cheese - amazing improvement over something already good) and took a wine break with some Ace cider.

I'm really happy with the way this turned out. As I mentioned above, I'd love to see how it tastes with the mayo. I think it might also be awesome with Sriracha mayo since the jalapenos were way milder than I expected. You can also change it up by putting different veggies in your salad. I picked some of my favorites but carrots, bell peppers, apples, or just a different leafy great could also be great. 

Lemon Vinagrette Mayo Failure:

1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 cup avocado oil
salt & pepper to taste

This makes way more dressing than you need. No need to look at this and think "omg a cup of oil is not healthy."

• Mix them all together in blender. Blend on high. Blending slowly might result in mayo and who wants that... 

Lobster "Roll" Salad

2 cups spinach or leafy greens of choice
1 large hierloom tomato or 2 small for variety (optional)
1 small cucumber (optional)
1 jalapeno (optional)
1 green onion
2 small celery stalks
2-3 large lobster claws

Makes about 1 salad with leftover lobster (for another salad later or just to eat on its own!)

• Overnight - thaw lobster claws in fridge. While prepping, keep claws in lukewarm bowl of water to make sure they aren't still frozen.
• Bench of leafy greens and cut into smaller strips. Add to serving bowl.
• Cut heirloom tomatoes and cucumber into small pieces - about 1 cm. Add to serving bowl
• Break open lobster claws and add meat to large mixing bowl.
• Finely dice celery, jalapeno (be careful about getting on skin), and green onion. Add to large mixing bowl with lobster meat.
• Add a few tablespoons to lobster meat mixture. I would suggest adding a little and then adjusting if you think it needs more flavor. You can also add some salt and pepper if you want a little more flavor. 
• Scoop about half of the lobster mixture and add it to the top of the salad you started in your serving bowl.

Enjoy!!!

Wine Wednesday - Rhone Rangers Edition

It's hard for me to bring you into my world of wine without the Rhone Rangers coming up. Without this group, I wouldn't be writing a post about wine right now. Volunteering at a Rhone Rangers event last year was a big introduction to a lot of winemakers for me and it opened a door that lead me to countless tastings, wine friends, and even getting a certification in wine tasting (the Wine and Spirits Education Trust Level 2). This was a week where I just wanted to come home and open bottles of wine that I knew I loved. Let's talk about why.

Billionaire Wine

I ran into Stark Wine at the Vinter's Festival before I became friends with the Rhone Rangers. That was before I knew about best tasting practices or taking notes but I liked them enough to buy two bottles. That year my birthday fell on the release date of Iron Man 3 and I knew exactly which wine I was going to pair with the film. Months later when I got to know Christian and Jen Stark, I joked with them that I associate their wine with Iron Man. They told me they're also trying to grab the Game of Thrones crowd. I knew we'd get along just fine.

Christian and Jen though are great - they have always been so kind of welcoming to me and my friends. As a wine club member, they've always been accommodating to my requests to swap out wines and change my orders. They've been great in so many ways and on top of that they have great wine.

The wine I picked to have last week was the Stark  Trimble Vineyard Carignane. Cariganane is one of many grapes that I hadn't heard of before I delved deeper into the wine world but I have since fallen in love with it. This carignane has a beautiful dark cherry flavor. The wine paired beautifully with my wine (a different wine..) braised pork chops, quinoa, and Waldorf-esque salad. The wine is still a little young and I can tell it's one that will get better as the years go on. Jen told me, however, that they are quickly running out of this beautiful wine - news that is surely going to be very bad for my wallet.

The Wine Shepherd

Let me tell you about my afternoon last Wednesday. I had to get to my work in Mountain View, to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco by 6pm to pick up my Outside Lands tickets. Clearly I had to drive (usually I take the train and get to read/nap, it's pretty nice) and even though I left work just after 4pm, I got to the park at 5:40pm. I was hoping to be able to squeeze in a few laps at Kezar Stadium so after another 20 minutes of driving through crazy SF streets, I was finally there... and two hours in a car meant I really had to use the bathroom. This is SF though so all of the bathrooms were locked and I just had to hop back in my car and go home. My drive home was wretched. Not only did I really have to go, but starting from no one letting me out of my parking spot, every turn was filled with jerk drivers being inconsiderate. I was hoping to still get a run in and was going to map out how long a block loop was in my neighborhood so I could use that as a measure instead of laps (the goal was a speed run where you run shorter distances at a faster pace to improve time). Of course, my computer was having serious issues and I couldn't get any site to load, much less my mapping site. By that point I was just frustrated. It seemed like the universe didn't want me to run and neither did I. I just wanted some yummy fried food... but I didn't earn it with a run so I had to think of what would work with the confines of my very paleo kitchen.


As much as I liked my pork chops from the night before, I just wasn't feeling them. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a package of grass fed sliders. I threw some bacon in a pan, seasoned and grilled my sliders, and added all the fixins to make some pretty awesome little sliders. That wasn't enough though - I was so frustrated and I knew I needed a good bottle of wine so there was only one thing to do - open up the 2012 Two Shepherds Grenache, one of my all time favorite wines. It only took a few sips of this awesome juice to relax me a little bit.

This Grenache is truly a special thing. To start, it's a beautiful clear garnet color, uncharacteristically light for the grape. Everything about it is light and delicate including having a very low 13.3% alcohol level. It's definitely a wine you can enjoy anytime and it stands so well on its own (but also did great with my little sliders). It has high acid and beautiful light cranberry notes.

Sometimes I pour Two Shepherds wine at events and it's great gig. Pouring a wine you love is the chance to tell tons of people about something really awesome. His wine is so uniquely crafted that there's always a huge line at his table and people are always shocked at how different his wine tastes. That difference is the love and care he puts into making wine that he would want to drink. It's something I've seen in a lot of the Rhone Rangers but never so clearly as with Two Shepherds. As frustrating as my afternoon last week was, I know William Allen has had a worse one recently so I toast to him for all he's done for me and I can't imagine what it's like to say goodbye to a furry friend. Flash was an amazing dog and I'm sure he's running with new youth up in heaven.

Field of Life

Campovida holds a little special place in my heart. While I was familiar with and loved their wines, they really made an impression on me almost a year ago. A guy I had been dating for a little while invited me to go to a wedding with him at the Campovida estate in Hopland. I'd tasted their wines several times and was excited not only for the invite, but also to get to visit the home of a wine I loved. That wasn't the only love in the air though because after a couple of glasses of Syrah later, me and that guy decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend. It wasn't moments later when the waiter came by and asked Dan if his wife wanted another glass of wine. He responded the way any guy would - "Wife?? She only just became my girlfriend!"

I bought several bottles of wine that weekend and joined the wine club shortly after. Even though Dan isn't the biggest wine fan he loves Campovida as well and comes with me to all of the member pick up parties. When I was deciding what wine to round out my Rhone Rangers post, it didn't take me long to decide on Campovida. I'd had a long weekend of Outside Lands plus an intense Spartan Race and then woke up early Monday to run a training 5k so curling up with a movie and a great bottle of wine was a no brainer. I can't seem to stay stocked in the memory-making Syrah so I went for the next closest Rhone wine - the Grenache. The Campovida Grenache, while not as light as Two Shepherds, stands tall in it's own right. It has a beautiful red berry flavor and lovely spiciness. It was definitely the perfect way to relax and end my Rhone week.


That was also the evening that we all learned about Robin Williams' passing. It seemed like the best way to remember an actor that contributed so much to all of us, was to enjoy one of his films. I had also just finished Peter and the Starcatchers so my pick was Hook of course. RIP Robin - you brought smiles to so many faces and you'll live on in your films and comedy for many more lifetimes.

GastroMagic - The First Culinary Stage at Outside Lands

Outside Lands is a very interesting music festival in that it's almost as much about the food, wine, beer, and other treats than it is about the music. In true San Francisco style, there is a plethora of amazing foodie treats to enjoy with your music. However, this year, they're taking it up a notch and giving you some official food pairings. Musicians and San Francisco culinary stars are coming together at the GastroMagic stage. The GastroMagic stage will have shows from about 1:30 PM to 8:00 Pm every day so it's a great place to stop by if you have a gap in your schedule. Here are my picks for the weekend.

Cocktails and Bacon

Wait what? You heard correctly! Right outside the GastroMagic tent there will be cocktails and bacon. If you love fancy drinks you can get a hand crafted cocktail from the mixologists of 15 Romolo, 1760, Alembic, The Homestead, Local Edition and Hotsy Totsy. I've had drinks at about half of those places and they are awesome. I'm really looked forward to trying something from Alembic though - I've heard amazing things for years and still haven't made it there (which is really terrible on my part). The area is also introducing... BACON LAND where there will be a Bacon Flight (a selection of the countries best bacons) and other bacon goodies. I was already planning on spending a lot of time here but with bacon and cocktails in the vicinity, I'll probably never leave.

Offal Good Music featuring Chris Cosentino

Chris Costentina, winner of Top Chef Masters and executive chef of Porcellino (formerly Incanto), will team up with a musician to talk about music, food, and skateboarding. It promises to be an Offal good time!

Beignets & Bounce Brunch with Big Freedia and Brenda’s French Soul Food

Brenda's French Soul Food is well known in the city for having awesome beignets and really long lines for brunch. If you don't want to wait a couple of hours in line for brunch this weekend, you can try to win some of Brenda's beignets by showing off your twerk.

Duck Sauce Soirée featuring Duck Sauce and Brandon Jew

This little party with feature music by Duck Sauce while Brandon Jew, the chef at the Chino, will serve tasty bites to the audience.

BBQ & Drank feat Lewis Black, Dave McLean, Paul Grieco, Dave Smith & Southpaw BBQ

Comedian Lewis Black will join a panel of judges to answer the age old question: What goes best with BBQ - beer, wine, or bourbon? My vote is for all three!

Breakdown Breakdance: Fatted Calf vs Avedano

SF butcher shops Fatted Calf and Avedano compete to see who can break down a pig the best while break dancers break down dance moves on stage. Wow, try to say fast...

Food Fight: Marlowe vs Park Tavern hosted by Craig Robinson

Marlowe and Park Tavern compete in kitchen trivia and challenges hosted by comedian Craig Robinson. Which of the two sister restaurants will come out on top??


I'll definitely be spending quite a bit of time at the GastroMagic stage nomming on flights of bacon!