Japantown Festival

Japantown has several festivals during the year. Sunday was the first of this season. And a great part of living only 2.5 blocks away is that Mark and I can walk down instead of driving around for hours trying to find a place to park on every street in the area that is all ready FULL of cars. So, in sunshine and blue sky, we went. First stop was the Farmers' Market - more crowded than usual, but still lots of great fruit and veg. Then on to the crowded streets with booths of crafts and books and textiles and food and music.....

The beautiful Asian papers for sale individually or made into many interesting things... the ceramics, calligraphy, and tee shirts..... and it was not just Japanese culture, but Hawaiian culture as well.

People were carrying around plates of tempura, sushi, spare ribs. The tables outside the food court were full of families visiting with each other. Roy's - a garage converted into a neighborhood coffee cafe was packed. We stopped in an artist's studio. He carves small indentations/birdbaths into beautiful boulders. One was of a lovely green stone. And inside, he has gallery space for art. I have been peaking through his fence when walking in the neighborhood. It was wonderful to finally be able to go inside.
We walked back home past all the parked cars and were glad to sit under our gazebo in our comfortable wicker chairs sipping CA wine.

Blending In

One of the benefits of living in NoCal is the ability to FINALLY attend some of the wine events all of our wine clubs host. And so, this past weekend, Mark and I drove over to Monterey to attend the Le Mistral Second Annual Blending Seminar and Wine Dinner. We have received many of these invitations when living in Maine. They would include descriptions of luxurious settings, delicious menus, interesting talks and, of course, great wines to taste. This event was held at the Clement Hotel - a very elegant hotel on Cannery Row just down the street from the Monterey Aquarium. Mark decided that we should spend the night as the dinner would end late and it would be more than an hour's drive home. Oh well, I guess..... We arrived and checked in - trying to look sophisticated and elegant..... until I drove in the Out side of the driveway and the very cute very blond valet profusely welcomed me and very politely asked if next time I would come in the IN side..... Oh, certainly. We arrived in our lovely room with a balcony overlooking Cannery Row and Mark noted that we could garden "mouse-house-style" if we got bored....

We had a few hours to kill before the seminar and dinner, so we decided to cruise the Row. The weather was perfect - a cool breeze, blue sky and sun. Of course I had to find something for the granddaughter - a onesie that says "Plays Well with Otters". Too cutesie. Our invitation stated that all the activities began at 4pm. So by 4pm we were artfully attired and sauntered to the room. The tables were set up and COVERED with glasses. But not a soul was around. So we checked the hotel room schedule and found that the seminar didn't start until 4:45. Hmmm....... so another casual saunter out to the patio overlooking the ocean to have a light beverage and wait..... attractively..... and smile.... and wait. Then when we get back inside, we find that the party DID start at 4pm but IN A DIFFERENT ROOM. So much for suave and sophisticated. We quickly joined in and caught up. And finally, let the blending begin! Now, a blending seminar is a real learning experience. First, and most important, we had to learn to swish and spit. With all the tasting ahead of us, the winemaker, Reggie Hammond, didn't want us to get too tipsy too quickly. So I swished, spit.... and dribbled. Where is the napkin? We tasted the 2007 Le Mistral - a wonderful Rhone-style blend. And now, the 2008 barrel taste of Le Mistral....Barrel means that it hasn't been "finished" and bottled. OK, that's yummy too. Then we tasted all the varietals that go into the Le Mistral blend - Grenache, Syrah, Petit Syrah, and Alicante Bouschet - all from 2009 barrels. When you taste the individual parts of the blend, you can really see the difference. We had the percentages for the 2007 and 2008 Le Mistrals. We were then instructed to make our own blends and when we had one we liked, we would mix up 750 ml. This bottle would be corked and sealed right there and we would take home a bottle of our own blend. Too fun!! So I mixed and Mark mixed and I spit/dribbled/wiped and so did Mark (with less dribbling). And after several attempts, we each had a different blend we liked. I fell in love with the Alicante. Apparently, it is a small grape that is very juicy. There are very few acres of this variety and most winemakers don't use it. We had been blending with a couple who just moved back to the US from the UK where he had been working for 20 years. It was great chatting with them. Then on to the outdoor patio for dinner.... Chef Jerry Regester prepared a four-course meal accompanied by wonderful wines. Kobe beef carpaccio, Cocoa dusted ricotta gnocchi, coffee braised short ribs chocolate orange terrine to name a few.... The talk became more animated and lively as more wine was poured.... and finally all was finished and tasted and bottled and enjoyed. I was very glad to be going up an elevator to my bed rather than driving to it. We had such a good time that we have signed up for another event with Frog's Leap for THIS weekend. And then Joseph Phelps in May..... so many wineries, so little time.

                                             Cannery Row beach in Monterey