Day 3: Amador County Wine Tour 2018, I wake up thinking to myself, “I could live here. This tiny little town with these incredible winds, I could totally buy a house here and become a wine country resident.” Then I remember, I said the same thing when I was in New York, “I could totally live here. I could be up on the 20th, no make that 50th floor of some penthouse suite. Awesome!” And that reminds me of the time we were in Miami, “I could totally live here, one of these $5 million houses along the canal with my yacht. Awesome!” Of course I could totally live that lifestyle, now I just got to figure out where to come up with the other $4,997,000. OK, back to reality and another day of tasting before heading back to cousin Michael’s house, so let’s hit the road. We only have Helwig scheduled as we’ve been passing up on that every day, and then we’ll just wing another vineyard before heading off to lunch.

Helwig Winery greets you with a huge driveway marker. Pulling up, the first thing we noticed is that unlike the other locations, this one has some huge grounds ahead of it. We drive along a the roadway with decorative lanterns to light the way in the evenings, a little pond off to the left here, and finally up the road to the tasting room. The location is a modern historic design. Steel beams supporting an antique wood theme.  Helwig has a reputation of “come for the wine, stay for the views”. The backside of the tasting room as a patio overlooking a valley that is quite breathtaking, and quite frankly my pictures don’t do it justice. Back inside, we chat with the few other guests while I really enjoy the Sparkling Rose. I pick up a bottle and we head off to our next destination, Vino Noceto. Nobody really has mentioned this winery to us, but it is on the list of the nine wineries that Shenandoah Inn partners with for free tastings. We see the sign and we pull in.

Vino Noceto sets in a classic style red barn. The tasting room itself is a quaint little room, but filled with an tasty collection of Zinfandel, Barbera and Sangiovese wines and Tamara behind the counter. A fun time was spent talking with Jeff and Lisa, from Pasadena. Jeff has been coming here for the last 30 years loves the little get away from the big city. Pasadena just 20 miles or so from my house so being here in Amador County it’s like we’re neighbors. The Noceto reds are pretty bold for my taste. Maybe they just needed to aerate a little longer to mellow out. The Barbera was just a little too tart, the Zinfandel just a little to sweet, it reminds me that these need a proper pairing with food, as in is it is getting towards lunch time. But then I have a sip of the Riserva Sangiovese, and I’m good to go! Luscious fruits come through at just the right pitch, so I pick up a bottle and bid everyone a good day. As we walked back to the car, Nancy remarks that we have a bottle for every winery that we visited and then some. We have to figure out how are we going to take this back home, somehow, someway. I tell her don’t worry about it as I’m sure we will find a way to drink it all before we leave. Plus, we are headed back to a major metro area, I’m sure we can buy some sort of travel pack or larger luggage to handle it. Worse case, we can find a FedEx shop to pack it up and ship it home.

As we head down the hill we see a distinctive ‘R’ on the left-hand side of the road, so we pull in and find ourselves at the Jeff Runquist Wines. Jeff is well liked in the valley, his wines do quite well at tasting events and competitions. We step in and have a sip or two, our tummies are starting to grumble and we’re ready for lunch, so we’ll call it a day with three wineries and head on home after this. I don’t feel like messing around and go all in on the reds, and right off the bat, the Tempranillo beckons me. Just enough cherry and dark berries on the front to send me to dreamland where the heavenly angels keep refilling my goblet. A soft flowery scent, lavender or hyacinth, follows up as I pull the glass away. wow, that was really good. Nancy, who has wined out at this point, and just wants a few sips of my juice takes one sip and is hooked. She does her own tasting and falls hard for the Petite Sirah. And she swears she’s not a PS person, leaning primarily to Pinot, but she loves it and joins the wine club on the spot. Whoa! Baby ‘s gone all in on this one! We pick up two bottles,  a Tempranillo for me and she gets the Petit. We head back to the car and now we are really in trouble. The travel totes are now full, So the Runquist wines are packed in and now we really have to decide what to do about getting these home. A fun gent at the bar tells us about Amador 360, a local wine collective that also serves as the main, if only, shipper for the valley. great, and by the way, he also recommends Gold Dust Pizza back in Sutter Creek as a stop for lunch.

We grab a tasty looking pizza, pair it up with a Zinfandel, something a little sweet to cut through the oil of the pizza, and have ourselves a tasty little lunch. Now I’m feeling pretty good at this point, so what the hell, one more tasting! Oh come on, we’re this close to more tasting rooms, so let’s just walk the town and see what we find. We hit Main Street hang a right and the next block down we see a sign for 1850 Wine Cellars. Its the most intimate of tasting rooms so far. Behind the counter is Guy, pronounce”Gee”, a veteran of Amador County wines. He actually retired a few years back, but has since returned to the counters as he misses the interactions with fellow tasters. We taste a couple of wines, and then he does something I’ve never seen before, at any tasting room, ever! He pours a perfect taste of wine, and then lays the glass on the counter and begins rolling it back and forth.

What? Don’t get me wrong I’ve seen people put a glass of wine on its side, usually after making some wild gesturing with their hands and out spills some Cabernet. But what he does is pour the exact amount of wine so that the glass just touches the lip when on its side. The purpose is that a glass on its side has twice the surface area of a glass standing up, and this aerates the wine wonderfully, coaxing all of those lovely fruits and flowers out into a luscious bouquet for tasting. You had me at hello, and we pick up another bottle of Sangiovese. And I wasn’t wrong. In doing a little research after the trip, I find 1850 Wine Cellars scoring multiple 91 pt wines with Wine Enthusiast. Nice!

Now it’s getting late we really have to go, and what are we gonna do with all this wind? Guy point us in the right direction, back to Plymouth for the Amador 360 wine shipping service. Oh great, same service the other gent at Runquist informed us about, so I guess that’s the go-to service for getting your wines back home. We head back and find that for a nominal fee, around $35, they will ship 12 bottles of wine back to home for us via UPS. I do add this note, if shipping, pay the extra $10 to have it refrigerated. After we got home, our wine apparently had some mix-up in shipping, and spent 2 days in the back of a van during a warm spell. The wine seems ok, my palate probably couldn’t tell the difference, but what if…? With 12 bottles packed away, that leaves us with four bottles to take back to cousin Michael, and I’m sure we can find someway to drink four bottles and over the next two nights. Hint, the first night he invites us to BBQ at this funky little neighborhood spot, full of hipsters with their kids. Since we couldn’t pack Karmere’s Temperance Tarts, it’s a 750ml jug, we bring it along, and perfect timing. The jug makes quite an entrance when I bring it in, and it pairs wonderfully with the BBQ. As a blend, the Syrah and Zinfandel give it a sweetness that compliments the BBQ sauce, and the Primitivo goes it a good acid balance to work the meat.

As we leave Amador County on the lovely California Highway 49, we reflect on a wonderful time, some wonderful wines, and the most wonderful people. Of the 12 wineries we visit, we quickly realized we’ve covered less than half of the area. And that’s just Shenandoah Valley, El Dorado was right next door with Wines that are in ranking with Amador, so it looks like we’ll have to return sometime soon to break new ground and make new friends.

After a great day of wine tasting, 4 Vineyards today, lunch downtown in Amador City and then a run over to Jackson for the casino,  we finally make it to dinner and we’re going to get our Taste. Taste Restaurant is overwhelmingly the number one choice in Amador County. Every person at every winery tell us we have to go to Taste, and when we do,m we need to order the Mushroom Cigars. After taking a peak at the menu, Nancy is extremely excited about it, and drooling over the idea of finally getting her hands on some crispy-skinned Duck. (And this time when we called for reservations we also confirmed the Duck was in fact being served.)

We head on over to Taste and somehow, on a one lane highway in this small town, we get lost! I guess I was not paying attention and turned one little side street too soon. Cute little small town houses, reflecting the simplicity of life here in Plymouth, population 971. We come to a street that seems to have a couple of shops on it, so I make a right hand turn, go down a block or two and along what I can best describe as a cowboy boardwalk, we find Taste. Looking at the store fronts, I literally feel like I should tie up my horse. This is so reminiscent of what you would see in a country-western movie. We mosey on in and are greeted by the hostess with a huge smile on her face. (Everyone here is just so nice. I love it!) She tells us that the table will be ready in about 10 minutes or so, quite a crowd tonight being Thursday and all. I see a couple of spots at the bar, so we decide to “saddle up to the bar and we’ll let the barkeep get our fixins. (That’s what cowboys used to say back in the day)

Let’s face it, the bar is where the fun is, and in wine country, of course you’re going to have the chance to bump elbows with some interesting folk. We sit down and present our bottles to enjoy the evening with: the sparkly Nancy picked and my red blend, the Knucklehead, both from the Serafina visit earlier today. His first words were, “Oh…I love the Knucklehead,” and proceeds to open both, the sparkly to have now, the Knucklehead to air.

Nancy asked what are the favorites that people ordered to start with and he responds with the Mushroom Cigars. Phyllo dough wrapped minced mushroom goodness. We start with the champagne to toast the night and Daniel D’Agostini comes in and sits next to us and we begin chatting. He’s kind of a big thing in Shenandoah. His family has been working the lands here for decades, and if you want something to grow in the valley, you call Dan. He informs us that we have to try the the Mushroom Cigars. “You are absolutely going to love it. It’s their best menu item.” Everyone loves this starter. Gary returns with glasses for the sparkly wine and we order the entrées. Nancy asked about the Duck, if the skin is crispy? He responds yes, and she’s in heaven. I’m a little torn between steak and seafood tonight. I ask him how many scallops are in the order and he states four. Then Nancy states how much I love steak, but I can’t make a decision between the two. And then Nick said something that totally catches me off-guard, something I’ve never heard in a restaurant : “We can split that so you can have a surf-n-turf if you’d like? What? I have had restaurants offer to split an order entrée between the two of us, with scallops between the two of us, But I have never heard a restaurant splitting two separate entrées for one single person to make a new dish. Poof!…That was my mind being blown.

The Mushroom Cigars comes out and it’s a beautiful presentation, two stacks of mushrooms plated it with a mushroom-olive oil puree. One bite and wow! The phyllo dough has such a wonderful light crunch. The mushrooms breakout and play on your tongue with an savory earthly flavor. I can see why everybody in the county points to this place and this dish, and so does Sacramento Magazine, as they select the “Mushroom Cigars” at Taste as the Best Appetizer in the Sacramento region. I only regret is that we order a single order and split them. I have to take a smaller second bite so I can make this last three bites. Just yum!

Mushroom cigars with Knucklehead wine from Serafina, Amador City

Creekstone Farms Filet Mignon and Day Boat Sea Scallops

Grimaud Farms Duck Breast

Happy birthday from the staff at Taste!

The main dishes make their appearance in perfect timing. I still cannot get over the fact that they combined two entrées for a single diner! The steak was perfectly cooked, so tender and juicy, perfect char on it, accompanied by potato and sunchoke terrine and perfectly browned Scallops with that coconut-curry cream! Oh my God, I’m in heaven. I want more! Nancy‘s Duck is just beautiful in it’s presentation. A full boat of Duck sliced and laid out to display its juicy, tender breast, seared to perfection and accompanied by little Cannellini bean cakes and a dreamy mirepoix and blackberries. We have the Knucklehead with dinner and toast to one of the best birthday dinners we’ve ever had. The staff was so generous, and kindly present us with a happy birthday card signed by the staff. Thank you Gary, chef Mark Berkner and the rest of the kind and sweet staff at Taste! You lived up to your name.

Day 2 starts with breakfast and a beautiful view outside the window of our room. Last nights dinner was still in our minds. The steak was surprisingly good, the Gorgonzola cream sauce was delish! OK, well lets map the day out. How about we have wine in the vineyards, lets’ hit Helwig for their view, Cooper for their Barbera, and Andis to pick up some bottles for cousin Michael, and then back to Sutter for lunch? Perfect!

Andis Winery is our first stop, and again, we start the tasting all by ourselves. Lindsey is behind the counter today and gives us a nice rundown of Andis history. And in doing so, tells us how she has worked at a few of the wineries in the area, visits the others to learn more about wines and also has great connections about places to eat. We mentioned we need to eat at some point today, and she points us to Buffalo Chip in Sutter Creek for their great burgers. OK! Wine. Burgers. More wine. Sounds like it’s going to be a great day. And again, Andis has some wonderful wines, the Zins are great, but they work their magic on the Cooper supplied Barbera grapes. Great, Cooper is our next stop, so we’re in good company. We grab a Barbera for ourselves, grab two for cousin Michael and drop a couple of bucks in the donation jar to help the Santa Rosa fire effort. We say goodbye and head off to Cooper.

Cooper Vineyards lies at the end of a small private road that runs through Barbera vines and past the old Shenandoah School. This old school was originally built in 1879, almost 140 years ago! The school was built after the main gold rush ended in ‘55, but amazingly, it’s been in use ever since. Oh I’m sure it’s been renovated, added on, modernized and even more, but still pretty awesome to stand with some Gold Rush history.

Cooper Vineyards is one of the main suppliers of Barbera grapes in Amador County. Other vineyards may grow their other varietals on their lands, but for Barbera, everyone comes through Cooper or Ann Kraemer over in Sutter Creek. The scorching hot summers help the grape thin out and retain their sugar, but it’s the rolling hills in the county that allow the right amount of drainage so the vines don’t retain too much water during the wet seasons. At Sonoma wine competitions, Amador County rocks, snagging 11 out of 25 gold medals last year. The next closest appellation to score medals is in fact the next closest appellation, El Dorado County, 20 mins to the east, which garnered four medals.

Cooper is a simple tasting room. An example of what I figured a tasting room in this quiet town would be like. A simple open space for the tasting bar backed by barrels of Barbera and Zinfandel. We step up to the bar, say hi to the couple we met yesterday at Turley, and are greeted by Hank Cooper, son of the vineyard. He gives all kinds of great details of the wine, including the fact that they are actually out of Barbera for tasting. What! Of course they have the reserve Barbera for $20 a glass. Uh, I love Barbera, but this tasting is free and I have 2 more vineyards today, 4 or so tomorrow, so much easier to just buy another bottle and enjoy the Zinfandels and Syrahs on the menu.

Well now it’s lunch time and everyone keeps talking about Buffalo Chips, so we head over for lunch. It’s a 16 minute drive back to Sutter Creek, and on the way, we pass the coolest town name ever, Drytown! Yes, what a cool name. Just imagine the name comes from the fact that agents from the federal government ransacked the place during prohibition and seized and smashed all the alcohol. Awesome…but wrong 🙁 There’s a creek that ran through the town that runs dry in summer. Oh great!

Buffalo Chips is the local malt shop in town, the classic small town Americana that I grew up with. While we were there, the shop was being photographed by a local magazine. I wonder who’s photos came out best? Anyway, this burger was damn good with a gooey American cheese slice and thick cut bacon. The fries must have been cooked up in some Riesling fat or something because they were exceptionally tasty. And I do not little frittes, I’m more of a fat thick fries guy, but I couldn’t get enough of these. Probably should have order a second round, but with more wine on the way, I held off.

Lunch was great and we take a walk around town. It’s a small town so it’s an easy walk to cruise the two blocks of storefronts. Knick knacks, candy, ice cream shops make up the lanes. We decide we need to come back tomorrow for sure, but for now, it’s back to the Shenandoah wineries. OK, now we can hit Helwig, wait, what’s that big white building? The Methodist church at the end of the strip is a throw back to small town churches and leads us to walk another block or two. Cool little town, and since we’re here, and it’s getting late, let’s check out some of the tasting here. Sounds good to me!

Bella Grace Vineyards tasting room, conveniently enough, was located right next to where we parked the car. This little house in the middle of town sits below street level, and has been converted into a tasting room for wine and olive oils. Interesting, because as this is the main street, and its the only house in the situation, surrounded by the two-story mining town buildings. So walking down to the entrance of the house is just the first step of the journey, literally, the tasting room is located in I guess was previously the basement of the house. So a couple more steps down and you’re there. Bella Grace was the first of the wineries where we  had a hard time finding our palette.  The Barbera was too light, almost like a Pinot. The Reserve Zinfandel was a thick flavored, syrupy tasting concoction. The Primativo, another one of my favorites, tasted like it been sitting out just a little too long and started picking up vinegar. I don’t know what happened but things just were not sitting right until, by mistake, we came across the Reserve Petite Sirah.  This had a wonderful nose, great finish, luscious berries popping out all over the place. All right, give me a bottle! It was also the first time we started coming across the little wine pour figurines. Stag heads, roosters, coyotes, bears, all sorts of woodland creatures had been configured into little pewter figurines for use as pour spouts on the bottles. But it $25 a pop, just seem like an unnecessary gimmicky tourist trinkets not needed now.

Sera Fina Cellars is just down the street from Bella Grace, and next door to Scott Harvey. For the first time this trip, Scott Harvey was a tasting room that was full of people. Given it was getting later on Thursday, maybe more visitors were starting to show up in town. Sera Fina represented an interesting change in taste as they specialize in flavored ciders as well as wines. Their wines were a little sweet for my taste mostly plans from various vineyards in the valley, but there are ciders were unique. Nancy picked up a six pack of the pineapple cider she become attached to, to share with friends back at home. I grabbed a bottle of Pinot Grigio, and we stayed on drinking and chatting with another couple there, residents of Sutter Creek who moved here from Sacramento. I guess they were enjoying the small town life and things were going well for them. A younger couple, he’s in construction and she’s a teacher at the school. Perfect small town life.

It was getting late again, my how the day flies, and shops were closing up, so one of the ladies at tasting mentioned the magic word of “casino” and that got Nancy going. The casino was in Jackson, about 15 mins away, and she just had to go. I wanted to explore more, so we compromised and stopped in downtown Jackson to walk the main street there first. The first thing we notice was the National Hotel. A huge, white old cowboy two story saloon and room looking place and the end of the street. I begin to notice a theme here. the small town has a main street that always seems to end at a hotel. Same way in westerns too. Something about being able to keep an eye on things I guess. But it also makes you wonder, how did they build these places before Home Depot was around? Must have been neat getting all this building material out here. I guess thats why railroads were so important in the expansion of the country. We step inside and the decor is just amazing. The pressed tin roof of Stanley’s Steakhouse downstairs was incredible. The parlor on the first floor maintains its old west flair. It looks like something from a movie set. I was expecting to see gents walking around in Bowler hats and ladies in Petticoats and umbrellas.

We leave, head over to the casino for an hour or so. Nancy has a little luck, so we leave an extra money for the meter and head back to get ready for dinner. Tonight it’s dining at Taste. Everyone raves about the place so we are really looking forward to it. Nancy is hoping they have Duck tonight, since she missed out on it at the Imperial Hotel. We’ll see! We head back to the hotel with 6 bottles of wine, after 4 stops and we begin to question how are we going to get this home. Oh boy. Well, maybe we can drink one at dinner, one after dinner back in the room, and the another….oh boy. We’ll figure something out. Worse case, when we drive back to Elk Grove to visit cousin Michael, we’ll guzzle as much as we can there and leave the rest as gifts.

There aren’t too many times I have a chance of fine dining at a haunted hotel, but when it comes, I need to take it. We were directed to the Imperial Hotel in Amador City as one of the nicer locations close by. The Imperial has a nice menu, and has won several awards, so this makes it a great choice for a birthday dinner. Our first impression is wow, this is an old mining town main street and a serious throwback to the gold rush days. The hotel itself is quite impressive. Beautiful and modern while holding on to its historic heritage, the bar remains connected to the past as it is the original bar that was actually hidden in a storage area below the hotel during prohibition. This is the kind of bar that begs you to “saddle up to the bar and have a strong one.”

The music in the hall comes from a group of local musicians having a jam session of guitars, bangos, harmonicas and tambourines. I could imagine this very same scene happening 100 years ago and having the same sound. The wait staff comes out and are very friendly. Everyone has smiles and a pep in their step. For a small town like this, you almost expect lethargic kids who feel trapped here. But just the opposite. This is a small town that supports local major cities and a clientele that is respectful of the historical roots here. This is reflected in the food offered. Locally source, sustainable and expertly prepared, with offerings ranging from Roasted Garlic and Warm Brie to Liberty Duck Breast to a creamy fresh fruit Cheesecake. Yum! But unfortunately they were out of the Duck, Nancy’s favorite, so she trades in for the Bistro Steak. I get the Scallops to go along with the brick decor and the Renwood Zin. We chill, relax and listen to the music and devour a wonderful dinner.

Imperial Hotel

When my wife asked where I was taking her for her birthday, I wanted to do something special and romantic. We’ve done Miami, New York, San Francisco, so I was really pondering the next trip. Then it hit me: Let’s go drinking! Yes, wine country it is! But Napa is just so…Napa. Over crowded, over priced, and over done. Sonoma, the other wine country is preferred as our destination for some premium vino consumption. As the getaway got closer, news broke of a fire in the Santa Rosa area, not far from our Hotel, the Hyatt Sonoma Wine County. At this point, the trip was 2 weeks away and we had Vegas to enjoy with first. My wife began to worry, but I told her, “Let’s relax and enjoy our stay at The Delano first, and we’ll check in on the progress by Friday, and if they have the fire in the 50-75% containment, we’ll be fine.”

That Saturday, we awake to the sad news, the fire was only 10% contained. Not good and getting worse. The fire was growing faster than anyone could predict, destroying homes and businesses and livelihoods. We called the Hyatt and even through the hotel stated they were open and fully operational, we heard reports of the smoke that was a big issue, and several vineyards had closed as employees need to take care of their personal property and everyone was pitching in the help others in the community. By the time we got home Sunday, it was obvious that we needed to change plans. A relative recommended Amador County, east of Sacramento,  as an alternative. Amador County, never even heard of the place. By this point, the fire was on its way to being the largest in California history, so we made last minute changes and headed 150 miles to the east to Amador County.

Wednesday morning, we board the flight for Sacramento, and found ourselves in the midst of about 20 firefighters from Australia who flew in to help with the fires. That was absolutely amazing that these guys even knew of the fire, let alone they flew half up the globe to help fellow firefighters here in America, the land of plenty. Next time a politician talks about other countries not paying their dues, I’ll remind him of the guys from Victoria who came up to help California. As we reach the Central Coast border, we look out the window and realize the San Francisco fog that was blocking our view of the ground below was actually smoke from the Santa Rosa fires.Scary at the immense size of it all.

We land in Sacramento and heading through the baggage claim to get our car, we are met with one of the weirder airport art installations: A 30ft tall pile up of lost luggage. Interesting to say the least, this was amusing and a nice way to start things off here. We pick up the car, head out to Amador and quickly find ourselves in the tiny town of Plymouth at the Shenandoah Inn. And by tiny, I mean their main street doesn’t even have a stop light!

Wow, this was true rural living by California standards. So we check into the room, and Lee, the owner, is just about the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. He stops from his current work of hanging Christmas lights outside to check us in. He also informs us that guests of the inn get free wine tasting at 9 wineries in the area. Jackpot! Needless to say, this was my favorite new spot to visit and I began drooling thinking of the wines we were going to taste. We take the bags to the room and began our wine adventure. We check the list of wineries Lee offered, cross reference Google maps, and plot a course for the 3 wineries for the first day. We have 3 hours of daylight left, so let’s go!

Day 1

Turley Vineyards is scheduled as our first stop, if you can call the fact that its the closest to us as scheduling. We arrive to find we had the place all to ourselves, which means a good chance to enjoy the wine and hear some great stories about Amador from the hostess. And stories she had. Turley is the premiere Old Vine Zin producer in the area. She informs us that there is not real standard for “Old Vine”. Generally, it can be from 35 to 105 years old. But they have the oldest in the area at around 75 years. And since they have been producing the vines for so long, they have a surplus of old vines that they turn into decorative artwork (see above). The interior is done in old pine lodge style. Lots of wood, an old National cash register from the early days of the valley, and tons of old vine knick knacks. But back to the wine. We start with all reds, a petite Syrah, then Zinfandel, then old vine Zinfandel, all of them wonderful and the conversation was a blast. Laura told us all about life in Plymouth, although she lives over in a little area called Enterprise. Then a few people pull up in the driveway and come in for tatsing. We sit, or stand and chat with them. Visitors from Sacramento. They leave and another couple comes in with their dog Charlie. A cute little playful pup. I think to myself, this has been an absolutely wonderful first 30 mins to the trip. If it continues, I may not make it back home. I pick up a bottle of the Duarte Zinfandel, a beautiful bouquet, lovely sweetness to it, and a bold taste grabs me. We pack up, say goodbye, and head to the second location.

Next on the list in Kamère Vineyards. Same thing, it’s just us, the fun loving hostess Hayley, 2 other people, and some really good wines. Karmère Vineyards has an interesting story of the parents who owned the house that is now the tasting room. And quite a room it is. A huge vaulted ceiling with massive beam support makes a interesting architectural statement, while a huge mantle full of award winning wines with their ribbons lets you know these guys are for real. Then I begin to notice the spooky images on the walls. Kind of a gothic cartoony, “Nightmare before Christmas” meets “Dia de las Muertes” thing. OK, interesting, but let’s get back to the wines. I see Barbera on the list, and Hayley informs us that Amador is primarily Barbera country. I have a taste, nice, but the Zinfandel is really catching my palette today.  Then Hayley informs us that the Zinfandel I prefer, is actually her wine. What? Yes, the father names all the wines after family members, and the Hayley belongs to her. Well it also belongs to us now as we pick up another bottle for dinner tonight. And where should we dine? Hayley suggests Taste, the premier restaurant in town. A town with no stoplight. But I inform her that we tried to make reservations for tonight but they were booked, so that will be Thursday night dinner. So she then suggests The Imperial Hotel as second choice. A quick review reveals the hotel certified haunted by Gold Rush Ghosts. Oh yeah we gotta check this place out!

But to sweeten the pot for us, Hayley gives us a BevMo 5-cent deal. So with the Zin, we pick up a bottle of bubbly to make it a real celebration when we get back to the room. Yeehaa! Cool, the Proseco was light and refreshing, with hints of apple and honey. Nancy loved it, and Hayley even poured a second glass and joined us sharing more interesting family stories. Next thing we know it’s 5:00p and time to close shop. Oh boy that was fast! But Hayley tells us to head up the road, 2 minutes as the crows flies, to Renwood, as they’re open until 6:00pm. OK, Renwood it is then.

Renwood Winery has yet another distinct design to it. Modern lines and a clean design, I suddenly get the sense that these guys are doing very well financially. Each winery so far has stood out with it’s own unique stamp on its design. And design as in architecturally unique, as well as interior design, each winery comes across not as some barrel room from the decades ago, but a well thought out reflection of the family characteristics of its owners. This location has a cool design of repurposed wood from around the vineyard evidenced by the unique tasting room ceiling of wine barrel ribs. For a wine country that I never even heard of, these vineyards a reflection of success of their wonderful wines and a thriving viticulture industry.

The first we catch after entry through the Renwood doors is a deli cooler. Perfect, we were getting hungry for munchies, not quite dinner ready yet, but cheese and crackers would be perfect. Of the pre-packed goodies available, we select a pack of taralli. Taralli are these little cracker like swirls with a sweet taste to them. Perfect with these Zinfandels and Barberas. We start up to the tasting bar and go through a series of wines. We get 4 tastings, so I jump right into a Zinfandel, awesome. Then step it up to an Old Vine Zin, wonderful! Next is the Tempranillo, I’ll be taking this home thank you, and finish with the Barbera, and I’ll take this also…uh oh… 3 wineries and 5 bottles already? Well, one for pre-dinner celebration. One for dinner tonight, and that leaves 3 to take home. I should have just enough space in the luggage.

I can’t tell you how many years I’ve sat there at the intersection of Harmon Ave and Paradise Rd. heading to the Hard Rock Hotel, and I look over to my right and see a moderate sized white building with a sign that says “Hofbräuhaus”. And I would think to myself, who even goes in there, Hofbräuhaus? German food in Vegas? Ok…whatever. With all these high end luxury glamour hotels, who has time for some run down Hofbräuhaus?

Answer? Everybody!

We happen to be in Vegas this for October, which just happens to be Oktoberfest. (If you must know, I stole the idea of Oktoberfest for my birthday month. If you can celebrate beer for a month, then you should definitely be able to celebrate your birthday for a month.) It’s mid-October, we go in and what I see absolutely amazes me.

This Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas, Nevada… middle of the desert… is a beautiful replica of the original Hofbräuhaus in Munich, Germany.  The original was built in 1589 by Duke Maximiliann I. Amazingly enough, it wasn’t until 308 years later, in 1897, when  Ludwig I took over, that they actually opened the doors to the public. Previously it was a private bierhaus for the workers at the brewery. But when the brewery moved to the suburbs, really, they decided to repurpose the vast hall left behind. One of the first examples gentrification!  This is what Vegas does so well: Hofbräuhaus, Paris, Bellagio, Palazzo, all of them are replicas of the originals from Europe brought to the desert in living color. As we walk through these hotels and casinos in Vegas, I wonder how many people really take into account the effort it takes to replicate those great buildings. Even down to the ornate ceiling paint of the ‘sexpartite’, or six-parted supports for the ceiling. Sexpartite refers to the medieval Roman-inspired Saxon architecture of the vaulted support structure.

Not the wild Sex-parties that happen after guzzling stein after stein after stein of beer!

Once inside all the tables are communal tables were you sit down with any and everybody. Just our luck, we are set at a table with Drew and his buddies from Positive Proximity in Burbank, CA, my old hometown. They work for a small digital company and were already two steins deep into the evenings activities. Nancy and I did our best to catch up and the end result was a rousing evening of laughing, storytelling, Oompah bands, a chugging contest or two and something else that I simply refuse to remember.

I guess there some tradition in Germany, which explains Germans, where they feel paddling you is a public event to be shared by all. I seem to vaguely remember a girl bringing over Jägermeister shots, and I remember watching other people getting paddled and thinking that is crazy. The good thing is, the next morning I woke up not feeling any effect of the paddling at all. Which leads me to believe that maybe it didn’t happen. Maybe was all just a dream. And until I find the video I guess I’ll never know. Wait, just found it… oh you people are sick!

If you are on a diet and looking to eat healthy, Vegas may not be a destination for you. With so many 5-star restaurants here, the greatest concentration on the planet, this is a foodie mecca unlike anywhere else! Now, if you just want to try some of the wildest tastiest stuff, and you dig Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, then head over to The LINQ, turn left and step into Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen. It’s a reflection of Guy’s style: down home comfort food thrown together after a late night beer run. All the burgers are double up on ingredients and the flavors smash together like chips on a burger for a crunchy childhood revisit. Remember when you used to think, this is great…but better with [insert favorite weird food here] on your food stuff? Guy does. And he does it well.

All your favorites are here: Fried chicken, burgers, fries, burgers, mac and cheese burgers. And don’t forget burgers. Oh…and a taco…and wings! OK, that’s enough, I can only eat so much, and so much is what I want. For our breakfast, we stopped in at the perfect breakfast hour of 1:00 in the afternoon. The line out front was easily an hour wait, but if just the 2 of us, we can make it if we try, we slithered passed the crowd and grabbed a seat at the bar. Score! And since it’s breakfast time, then anything that mentioned egg needs to be ordered. And where you have egg, you have bacon. But Guy kicks it up a notch by deep frying the bacon to give it a fried-chicken-like crunchy taste that would stand on its own as a Mayor of Flavor Town candidate. Add cheese, gravy and tomato, and yes, damn good!

Unfortunately, for every Yin, there’s a Yang. How could you go wrong with a Mac and Cheese burger. The name says it all. The Mac was too light, flavorless and not fun. I simply slid off the burger with every bite, and tasted more like Kraft Velveeta than something Guy might whip up. And why wouldn’t you put the Mac under the patty to hold in in place better. The saving grace is that even with the Mac dropping off, the burger was still tasty. Guy always love a good does of pepper to flavor things up, and its just right for this burger. Add 2 strips of bacon (next time make it 3!), sliced lettuce and that fires tray, and I was still having a good time here. The office, as I call it, is setup like a sports bar so big screens all around to provide plenty of entertainment. But since we were up until 3am the night before, and Cosmo was giving away Tequila like its out of style, time for a Bloody Mary. And Oh Mary! Its a breakfast Mary with 2 slices of bacon, sausage, pickles, lemon (to kill the taste of last night) oranges and olives. Hell, that’s breakfast right there!

So it was a good time. The bartenders are fun and friendly, Alex was awesome, the place is lively. Sitting at the bar removes the wait, but sitting on the patio puts you in the heart of the action. It faces towards the passage between The LINQ and Harrah’s with the Carnaval Court in the background adding live music. Thousands walk pass this point, so you’re bound to see something you shouldn’t see, or can’t unsee. (Really, you thought it was ok to wear THAT!?! In public!?!) It’s a festive atmosphere that adds to the flavors of the food. You don’t just go there, you become a participant, observer and observed. It’s Vegas baby!

• Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen
• 3535 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
• (702) 794-3139
• Open: 9am – 12am

Of all the places in the world, nothing evokes a passion for food like Italy. After all, if it wasn’t for Italy, what would college kids, single dads and football parties eat? Ya got me. Although Milan surprised me in it’s more broken down look and feel that the Armani-land villa I expected, we still had a fun time with the cuisine. Everything from gelato stops, cannolis and steaks, and even the quintessential pizza had us in heaven for the fresh flavors. Of all things not expected, was my wife’s absolute desire for Chinese food. What? Hello, we are in Milan, home of global fashion and frangipani spaghetti! Oh brother, OK, so we find the sign we passed in the car on the way to the hotel, whatever, it’s our first night and we are trying to settle in. The location of our Hilton hotel is interesting at best. Seemingly in a more industrial part of town, turns out most Milan is just an industrial part of town. Funny thing, sitting in this Chinese restaurant was my first true experience of globalization. This old Chinese lady comes out from the kitchen, same old Chinese lady that comes out from the back of the Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles or San Francisco or New York. And then she starts speaking perfect Italian. Whoa! Mind blown. Awesome! Don’t get me wrong, I know people speak different languages, but this had a different appeal than just a non-native speaking the native language.

Tom and Jerry

Day 1 of the tour, the next morning we wake and venture out once everything is open. We walked past a place called Tom and Jerry. Wait, like the cartoon? Yes. OK, let’s try it. Inside was a dose of Italian hospitality like no other. This place was a mad house of people walking and talking about. The area is industrial, so I’m guessing these are factory workers on lunch break. The host catches our eyes and comes over. I say, “Bone jorno.” “Oh, you’re American. Come on in, sit down.” Wow, was I that obvious. Note to self: watch nothing but Fellini films the month prior to next trip to Italy. We sit, a lady comes takes our order, and everyone is so nice to us, almost apologetic. How cool. My first day in Italy and I’m loving it. We sit there, and I just take in all the patrons sitting, most are at 6 and 8 person tables, just chatting away, hands flailing in the air. I almost start to cry they’re so beautiful. We share a quick pasta dish, very tasty. The pasta is light, the sauce herbal-flavorful, and what the hell, I have a beer…make that a birra, a Moretti. So much better than the bottles back home. Yum!

We spend the day walking around the neighborhood, head into Milano Centro and see Il Duomo for the first time. The galleria Vittorio is pretty spectacular, and then we see the Park Hyatt and realize that in two days, this will be our home. Wow! Pretty cool and bustling scene, but now it’s munchy time…oh! Ferrari Store! We go in and the place is packed, to be expected.

Gino’s 1928

We look around for somewhere to eat, and here it is. complete with open store front to the street, my favorite, and hustling waiters and hosts trying to convince you to come in. OK, you got me. Gino’s 1928 is staring us right in the face. We go in, and at first, are seated upstairs. Nice but no cigar. I want to experience Milan and Mangia Italiano, the food as it meets the people. Not tucked away in some dark corner in the VIP section. I let the waiter know we are heading downstairs and are seated right at line between outside and inside. So we see the waiters running around ordering and bussing, but we also see all the fun people walking the street and heading into the Ferrari shop. We order a pizza to share, a couple glasses of wine and extra Parmesan please. What comes out ids just beautiful. The arugula tastes as if just picked. So fresh, and I normally hate the bitter taste of normal store bought Arugula, but this has almost a sweetness to it. And the Mozarello…oh please… best pizza ever. And from a shop in the middle of tourist central, wow, daddy happy!

Eataly Milan Smeraldo

Day 3: Tonight we attempt to correct a mistake we made in New York in 2016, Eataly. In New York, this was rated one of the best rooftops to dine. When we got there, we had no idea what we were doing, or where to eat. When we were leaving, we walked past all these little eating stalls, and then realized how big the place was and what was on offer. Now, here we are getting a second chance. The Eataly Milan Smeraldo is a huge location. It sits inside an renovated building, looks to be an apartment complex, taking up the first 3 floors. Replacing the old front facade of brick and mortar with steel and glass, is eye catching and a modern twist on the early century building. Inside is a marketplace, 3 floors of wine and food, and long waiting lines to dine. I grab a white wine from the second floor shop to pair with the quarto-mani pizza we plan to order. A huge Neapolitan pie consisting of four flavors in one pie: Cheese, Feta and Anchovy, Pancetta and mushroom, and a veggie with roasted tomatoes and squash. The pie is huge, 8 pieces in all, so we both got one of each. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the end of it all. And again, the friendliness of the people. We had a problem with the order, and the guy at the table next to us, jumped in to help out speaking with a New York  to clarify the issue. That surprised me, because the whole night he was talking to his buddy in Italian, so was he a New Yorker speaking Italian, or an Italian with a New Yorker accent?

Granaio Coffe e Cucina

Day 5: And already,. it’s time to head home. Tonight, we are spending the last in Milan going to Teatro alla Scala, Milan’s grand theater. And to support that, we are having a fine dining experience to say thank you and farewell to Milan. What a wonderful experience it’s been, so let eat at a wonderful cucina we’ve been walking past for the last couple of days. Granaio Coffee e Cucina is located directly across from Park Hyatt, and has both inside and outside seating. We take a seat outside, but of course, and are rewarded with a wonderful filet. Tender and juicy, and perfect medium-rare, it’s so wonderful, combined with the perfect location, a looming sunset and tender tasty spinach with a perfect garlic hint to it. But As much as I love the steak, I’m really looking forward to desert. Inside, the display of Cannoli is just making me drool. So when the waiter asks if we would like desert, oh yes! I order the pistachio per Nancy’s suggestion, and I get not only a great tasting Cannoli, light fluffy creme filling surrounded by a perfectly crisped crust, but I also get one of the best food photos I’ve ever taken. The food, the lighting, all perfect!

If you want to grab a beer in a cool, unseen, crazy dark, spooky underground bar, follow the name and do Delirium. Located just off the Grand Place in downtown Brussels, Delirium pays homage to the world of beer. And it’s an indication as to how big that world is. Maybe it’s more paying homage to the universe of beer. But unlike most beer emporiums these days, this one hearkens back to the dark underworld of beer. I guess that’s why it was voted, no elected, “Best Beer Cafe in the World!” And they have the button sign to prove it! Walking down the steps to the bar, which is always a good thing, it starts off cute and charming. The first floor is for rookies, and college kids from nice families. And then you go deeper, and it gets darker. The second floor starts getting a little darker, quieter, and food. Then there’s the 3rd floor. Now this is a place for some serious beer-ology. Or beerista. Or what ever you call it when you try some of the most exotic beers available…in the world! The varieties of beer here are beyond reproach. I don’t see how anyone can claim they don’t have “their” beer here. I just started ordering by what looked interesting or if the bar tender had a favorite or what met my taste for caramel-amber flavors. I honestly don’t remember what I had, at this point I’m on the third beer stop and the colors are just floating around my head now. The beers were falling fast and furious, at first I tried to order the coolest sign on the wall. After literally hundreds of signs on the wall. OK, let’s try coolest bottle, but that didn’t include what they have locked away. OK, screw it, Adler. Yes, Adler, ok Adler. OK Adler…stop repeating me Ron! The beer lantern lit my way and Adler it was. Went down way too fast so back and this time it’s Tuborg. I like the guy on the sign, ok, now let’s try Luxembourg. That’s it, small rich countries, let’s drink to them. Mousel will do. Needless to say, we staggered out sometime later, having thoroughly enjoyed our beer tour. And then we hit the light at the exit, our eye have to adjust. How do these monks do it? I guess that’s why they always look so chubby. Oh…that’s right, we should have gotten some of the Friar beer…what ever it’s called. OK tomorrow…stop repeating me Ron!