Sake to Me

We want to be a part of our community. So when Japantown has a festival, we attend. And the latest festival was the Sake Festival. So, of course, we went. I know almost nothing about sake and have only had it on a rare occasion. I do know that it is made of rice and usually served with Japanese food. But I didn’t know that there were over 1400 varieties and that only about 600 are imported to or made in the US. And I didn’t know that sake can be dry or sweet or fruity or bubbly. But after attending the festival, I learned a lot. I bought our tickets early – 700 were sold before the event with another 200 expected to be sold at the event. Once we turned in our tickets, we were given a map of all the places serving sake – 28 to be exact – and a bracelet saying we were over 21 (they never asked us for ID so I guess we look old enough). While registering at the Senior Center, we were entertained by a Japanese drumming group that competes in the area. Then at 5:30, we headed out to taste.

Now, I have shared the “Hop and Shop” phenomenon that NoCal seems so fond of. There was the quilt hop and shop, the wine hop and shop and now the sake hop and shop. When you reached a station – usually in a store or restaurant – you were given a small plastic cup (like the ones used in McDonald’s for catsup) with some sake. You tasted and then had your booklet stamped. When you had visited ALL 28 stations, you could turn in your completed booklet and be entered in a drawing for a mixed case of sake.
We started at Station 15 to avoid the crowds. We were handed our little cup and took the first sip. Now, I have learned the proper etiquette for sipping wine – the twirl of the glass to aerate the wine, the sniff of the bouquet and then the sip. I wasn’t sure what to do with the little catsup cup of sake. If I swirled, it would all end up on the floor. So I passed on the swirling and went right to the sniffing….. which is hard to do with a catsup cup. And as I quickly noticed, no one else was sniffing. OK, so no swirling and no sniffing. On to the sipping…. And, with wine, I would swish it around across the palate and suck air through my teeth (trying hard NOT to leak anything out of my mouth) and then spit or swallow contemplating the flavors – a little hint of blackberry, some oak from the barrel, nice finish – all the while staring off into space with a very intellectual look on my face. So I sip the sake and start to swish – and OH MY GOD this stuff tastes like turpentine! But trying to maintain the intellectual look, I try to suck air and that doesn’t help matters at all. And I’m sure I’ll start to dribble any minute. Forget the swish and suck! I just hope I can live through 27 more of these. And then we find out that this sake is probably one of the best we will be tasting. The gentleman overseeing the pourings is from a sake store in San Francisco. He starts to explain to Mark all about the process of making sake and what makes this one so incredibly amazing. I listen half heartedly as I am still sipping. We get our station stamp and move on to the next station. And after about 10, the taste is beginning to grow on me. We taste one sake that tastes like lychee nuts – very sweet, like fruit juice with a kick. Too girly for Mark. And then at the Hawaiian crepe store, we tried a bubbly one that was pretty tasty. And the little deep-fried chocolate filled goodie they gave us was even better. Oh, did I forget to tell you that there was FOOD at every tasting station. So you nibble and sip…. Nibble and sip as you wander through Japantown. One of the stations was in the brand new Japanese-American museum that will be finished the end of August. A local ukulele band was playing while we sipped several different brands of sake. And another station was in the old hospital that has been converted into offices. The hospital was mainly used for deliveries and is a beautiful old building with a lovely garden in back. As we got to the half-way point, I was determined to finish all 28 stations. AND to make sure that we put our tickets in for the drawing. But as I got closer to the end of the list, I realized that I’m not sure I really like sake. One station encouraged us to go BACK to the stations we really liked for MORE sake. Oh dear. I wasn’t sure I’d get through them all once. And then Mark asked what we would do if we WON the case of sake. Oh dear again. But being a Type A person, I just HAD to get all my stamps. And we did. And, thank goodness, we did NOT win the drawing. Better luck next year….. NOT!

Tourist Part 3 - Down by the Bay

To give Meredythe a FULL NoCal experience, Mark and I decided to take her to Monterey. After all, it seems sad to come ALL the way to the WEST coast and not SEE the West Coast. And, we had a family membership to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We (foolishly it seems - see Tourist Part 2) also planned to drive through Carmel and the woodsy peninsula just south of Monterey. We got a "Meredythe-early" start and had a pleasant drive. Now, I have to share one of my foibles  - I don't like seafood. I don't even like pet fish. They smell bad and are slimey and swim in their own poo and pee. What self respecting Virgo COULD like something like that? But I am happy to watch fish swim around in someone ELSE'S aquarium that someone ELSE has to clean. So I do enjoy the Monterey Aquarium. And Meredythe did too. No matter what day of the week or what time of the day you go, you will ALWAYS find TONS of children there. School groups and families flock to this entertaining and very educational place - which is good.... unless you are trying to see anything. Another great part to this place is that you can take pictures.... LOTS of pictures. And with the new digital cameras, many of them even turn out. The Aquarium has created many exhibits for small children where you can prop your little one up inside the giant clam shell or next to the giant sea horse to get that great family photo. We had to wait our turn so that Meredythe could squeeze inside the clam shell for a photo op. It reminded me of years long ago....
I have two favorite parts at the Aquarium - the jelly fish and the seahorses. The staff have done an excellent job of creating a space for the jellies that make them appear to be floating in air. There is no sense of top or bottom or wall behind or glass in front. The room is dimly lit and the tanks are dimly lit and these shapes undulate in a blue space dancing together.

I have more pictures of them and could spend hours watching them flow and swirl. Many different shapes and sizes and species are on display. Each one is a treat for the eyes.

The seahorse display is also fascinating. I didn't know that there were so many different kinds of seahorses. We have some off the west coast and there are some off the east coast as well as exotic species in warm Asiatic waters. And the fathers carry and give birth to the young. How liberated is that? The mating ritual is a dance of entwinement and twirling and tail wrapping.... and then she rubs up against his belly leaving her eggs and heads off to the spa. He tenderly cares for the little squirming things growing in him and then, when it's time, he contracts his tail and pouch and out they pop. And HIS waistline is never the same.... I didn't notice if sea horse males have stretch marks.

This species disguises itself by looking like seaweed. So predators will just swim by because who in their right mind would eat seaweed? There is alot of propaganda in each display. The Aquarium is making a huge effort to educate the public on how to protect the oceans. And they take their fight all the way back to the farms on land with a display of a cow and how it crates methane and what that does..... They hand out cards of the best type of seafood to eat - most sustainable forms of growing or catching - and what to avoid because it is rare or fishing practices are detrimental to other species like sharks and sea turtles. Monkfish liver is on the bad list. I am VERY happy to NEVER eat monkfish liver in my life. There! I'm doing MY part. At first, I felt a bit arrogant and self righteous as I scornfully passed all the "save our planet" displays. After all, didn't we downsize, give up a car, commute to work by bike, walk more, buy locally etc, etc.? And then I watched some of the families reading each display carefully - grandmothers and small children, fathers and mothers and sons and daughters who may NOT have understood the issues or how to make changes. And I realized that I can do more too. Even if I don't eat fish.
After reading every display and looking in every gift shop and photographing fish AT LEAST once, Meredythe was ready to head home. And, no. We did not have time for Carmel or the trees..... maybe next visit.

Go Directly to Jail - Tourist Part 2

Meredythe wanted to spend two days in San Francisco touring a long list of places. So the first day, I suggested we take the Caltrain up as parking and driving in the city is NOT fun. Now, if you don't know Meredythe, let me fill you in on some of her endearing qualities. She LOVES to sleep. We discussed BEFORE she came out that she wouldn't see much if she slept the entire time she was here. So she made a tremendous effort to be up and ready to go at a reasonable hour most days. Unfortunately, our day to San Francisco by train was not one of those days. So we didn't get to the city until 1pm. We hiked over to Powell St and caught the cable car at the start of the route that goes through Union Square and over the hills to Fisherman's Wharf. I suggest that if you ever want to do the cable cars, do it this way. The line at Fisherman's Wharf is HUGE. We toured and tasted at Ghirardelli Square (delicious!) and walked through Fisherman's Wharf (pure kitsch!) and then hiked up Telegraph Hill to Coit Tower. And, yes, we saw and heard the parrots. And yes, we rode the creaky old elevator to the top of the tower to see the views. And yes, we admired the 1930's WPA murals on the walls in the base of the tower. And then it was time to jump on a bus and head back to the train station for the return to San Jose.
To complete the still-long list of places-to-see in the second day (and because we were staying in the city for dinner and a show), we drove. I dragged Meredythe out of bed, poured coffee into her and stuffed her in the car. We had tickets for the 11:30am boat out to Alcatraz and we had to find a place to park. So I wanted to get to the pier area early. We made it on the boat with time to spare. As you cross the 1.6 miles of cold windy water, you are greeted by empty derelict buildings clinging to the windy rocks. Alcatraz was first a military outpost to protect the bay. It was then used as a military prison until 1934 when it was turned into a federal penitentiary. It was closed in 1963. It also has the oldest lighthouse on the West Coast (which still functions today). As part of your entrance ticket, you get an audio tour with former prison guards as narrators.

Walking through the corridors of cells - which are VERY small - and seeing the narrow cot, metal fold-down table and seat, and toilet and sink was a bit unsettling. It is hard to imagine spending year after year in such a small space and having guards watch you sleep, read, and go to the bathroom. It made the Mouse House look very spacious and private. On the tour, you hear about the 1945 or 46 big shoot out - prisoners tried to escape, overpowered the guards and took several hostage. The Marines were called in and dropped tear gas and other explosive things (the narrator tells you to look at the cement floor in the space between the 2 corridors of cells to see the damage to the cement caused by the explosions). And you look into the cell where several of the guards were held captive by the prisoners. One prisoner started shooting into the cell and killed one of the guards. His photo and a vase of flowers are displayed inside the cell where he died. You also hear about the only "successful" escape from the island. In 1962, 3 prisoners made dummy heads, tucked them in their beds and crawled out the vents in the back of their cells. They made it over the roofs and to the beach. They planned to swim the 1.6 miles to the city. But they were never found or heard from again. The water temperature and very fast currents make the swim almost impossible.

Just when I thought that life for the prisoners was pretty bad, we arrived in D Block. These sets of cells were used when prisoners misbehaved. The bottom cells could be closed up so that they were completely dark. One prisoner stated that he would tear a button off his shirt, drop it on the floor and then hunt for it in the dark. When he found it, he would drop it again. The Birdman of Alcatraz was often housed here as he was very rowdy and hard to control.

While the cells were a bit depressing, the grounds were lovely. Prisoners were allowed out in an exercise yard. From this space, you have an amazing view of the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco. It must have been hard to see and occasionally hear all the life and freedom and not have any. Some prisoners were allowed to create gardens. Along the western side of the prison, the space from the prison to just above the water has been turned into beautiful terraced gardens. The prison also had a library and prisoners could earn privileges allowing them to have books, paints and other recreational materials.

In 1969, after the prison had been closed, American Indians took the island over and held it for 19 months. They were protesting the treatment of Native Americans by the Federal government. This take-over is credited as the start of several other successful protests that led to the beginning of reform.
The island is now a national park and bird sanctuary. We were not allowed access to several places on the island as it was nesting time. The gulls, cormorants and egrets use Alcatraz as a major breeding site. We came across many nests in the areas we were allowed to go. The gull eggs were a beautiful green with brown spots. But, most interesting of all, was learning that the prison guards' families lived on the island with the guards. Apartments with utilities included were cheap and wives could take the boat into San Francisco making this a popular place to work. Children took the ferry to the mainland for school every day. And with the way the island is divided, the families had no access to the prisoners. When asked, families said that they felt safer here than in the city.
When the audio tour was complete, I looked for Meredythe (we got separated as her audio tour equipment wasn't working properly). I found a sunny bench and sat enjoying the view... and watching the birds..... and looking at my watch..... And then using the great modern invention of the cell phone, I tracked her down. She was able to join a group touring the upper floors of the prison where the hospital was. Apparently Al Capone had third stage syphilis and was very ill and very crazy. He spent quite a bit of time in a cell in the hospital ward. She finally showed up and wanted to see ALL the out buildings. So off we trudged to the derelict building where inmates had worked.... and the newer industries building where inmates worked.... and the social hall where families could go bowling and have a soda..... and the warden's house which is just a shell as it burned down..... and I looked at my watch and noted that it was 5:30. I suggested we head to the dock to catch a boat back. And as we headed there, we HAD to investigate the old military parts from the mid 1800's and look down the hole used as a jail and check out the cannons and take a picture of that amazing tree and wait - what about that building over there? And as we got to the dock, we watched the boat happily heading back to the city. Oh well. The last boat is still left.
I learned something more about Meredythe. She is a THOROUGH tourist. And keep the list of things to see VERY short. And pack a lunch and water and any other survival gear you might need. It could be a long day.

Tour DAY California - Here They Come

Living in San Jose allows you to experience many unique and exciting events.... like the Tour of California. Now, if you are not a bicycle nut like Mark, you may not KNOW what the Tour of California is. It is becoming the US equivalent to the Tour de France. And there are some BIG names that ride in it.... like Levi Leiphammer and David Zabriskie and Lance Armstrong. You get it - REALLY important bikers. The tour started in 2005 and this hosted 16 teams. The race lasted 8 days and covered 800 miles. And...... Taylor St. (just 1.5 blocks from our house) was part of Stage Four! Isn't that AMAZING!! So, of course we HAD to walk down early to be sure to get a good spot to see the racers ride by. We were very lucky as our section was part of the warm-up before the riders ACTUALLY started racing. So Mark said that they would be going by slowly. Good. I put my camera on fast speed and got ready. We arrived on Taylor St. and there was no one there...... well, just the police blocking traffic and one race marshall's car. But no spectators. Now, we were 30 minutes early. But we wanted to be READY with the best photo spot and best view and chatting with the crowd about our favorite cyclists and all that other important stuff. And then, the person in the marshall's car got a message on his walkie talkie - the racers would be by in SIX MINUTES. My heart started racing. I would get to see Lance and all the other famous riders! We stared down the road waiting and waiting..... and then I saw something! Look dear! They're coming..... no, it's just more police cars..... and police motorcycles..... and official race cars with important people in them..... and more police cars. I began to think that this might be a great time to rob someplace in the other end of town. And finally! A wall of bicycles appeared in the distance moving towards us........

Oh My! Where's Lance? I quick started snapping the camera.... which didn't QUICK take the pictures...... and the riders were right here.....

And I was trying to make the camera snap quicker.... and then they were past and I never even saw ANY of them. But I did get some great pictures of cops and cars and more cars!

And NEXT year, I'll be better prepared..... I'll leave the camera home!

Being a Tourist - Part 1

There are always places in my home town that I never visit.... until someone comes to visit. And this past week, Meredythe was here from Maine. So we became tourists. And in San Jose, one of the more intriguing places to visit is the Winchester House. This Victorian "home" was built and owned by Sarah Winchester, the wife of the guy who sold the Winchester rifle. After her husband died, she became very superstitious. A psychic told her that the spirits of all the people who had been killed by the Winchester rifle were angry with her. To prevent her death, she must move from CT to the West and build a home. As long as she continued working on the home, she would not die. So in 1884, Sarah began construction. The work continued every day for the next 38 years until she died in 1922. The house rambles and has many wierd quirks - like stairs that go up to a ceiling, doors and cupboards that open onto walls, and unfinished spaces. Now, I must explain that Meredythe is a very thorough tourist. She must see what is behind EVERY door and in EVERY cupboard. In a house like this, that can be a problem. We took the Mansion tour - 65 minutes of walking up and down narrow twisty stairs and through rooms and hallways. The Victorian architecture, wallpaper and exquisite Tiffany stained glass windows alone are well worth the tour. Mrs. Winchester, being a superstitious person, had a seance room that only she could enter. At midnight EXACTLY a servant would ring the bell in the tower in the middle of the complex of roofs. The bell's rope could only be reached by climbing over the roofs and using ladders or by a secret tunnel that only the one servant knew about. Mrs. Winchester would don one of thirteen robes kept in her seance room and commune with the spirits. The spirits would then tell her what they wanted her to build in the house next. She would jot the directions down on paper and in the morning give the note to her foreman who would then instruct the building crews. After being trapped in her bedroom in the front of the house after the 1906 earthquake, Mrs, Winchester decided that the spirits didn't want her to work on the front of the house anymore. The front 30+ rooms were shut up and never reopened again. Many elements in the house have 13 parts - chandeliers, windows, ceiling panels. And all the support posts were installed upside down (on the porches). The original estate had acres of fruit orchards and an 18 acre walled garden next to the house. Mrs. Winchester had 2 ballrooms, many guest bedrooms and bathrooms but never had any guests. She did not like visitors and even refused to see President Teddy Roosevelt. After her death, the house was sold and became a tourist attraction. It was almost torn down in the mid-seventies to make way for I-280. But a local family bought it and had it designated as an historical landmark. I'm glad they did. It is an amazing place.

More Wino Parties!

Yes, it does seem that we are overdoing it a bit. But now that we live so close (2 hours is better than 2000 miles), we just can't help ourselves. So we attended 2 more events this past month. First was the Rutherford Tasting Weekend. And then it was the Joseph Phelps 2009 Insignia Barrel Tasting. We have received notices of this event for years. And now at last we could attend. When you arrive, you must park at the bottom of the property.... I mean you must leave your car with the VALETS who will park your car at the bottom of the property. Then you climb aboard a comfy little bus for the ride up to the winery. When you step off the bus, you are greeted by Phelps staff who hand you the cutest clear plastic plate with a corner especially designed to support the stem of the glass of Sauvignon Blanc that they have poured for you. You then start the "cocktail party wander". That means that you aimlessly wander around looking happy and interesting while you REALLY are scoping out where the best snacks are... like the CHEESE table with several very tasty local cheeses. Or the sliders table with little baby hamburgers and salad. Or the pate and french fries and skirt steak table.... oh, I could go on and on. Oh, and yes, you are sipping wine as well... LOTS of wine. They were pouring Le Mistral and Insignia and Merlot and another Insignia and Le Mistral. And don't forget the barrel stuff. Yum. The live music was a violin and guitar gently playing in the background with a crowd of beautiful people milling about under the tents in the sunshine and cool breeze. That is, they were gently milling when we first got there and it wasn't too crowded. As the afternoon wore on, the "gently milling" became "assertively edging in front of" and then just plain pushing to get to the tasty bits. When I was completely full and yet not too tipsy to drive - I always remember to be responsible - Mark and I crawled back on the comfy bus and were whisked down the hill to the valet station. I joked with the very cute and very young valets until they arrived with our car and eagerly stuffed us in. Oh well. Mark then reminded me that we had to stop at Honig because.... OF COURSE! We had wine to pick up. And when you pick up wine, you don't just keep the engine idling while you run in to grab a bag. You must TASTE some wine. So another glass in beautiful surroundings with more lovely people and then we could finally head back home. I think that all the wine events are over..... until Fall when it starts all over again. I can't wait!

Joseph Phelps Party     

Rutherford Wining

Because we belong to several wine clubs, we get invitations to all sorts of events. And now that we live near Napa/Sonoma, we can take advantage of them. Sunday, we headed up to Napa for the Shop Hop (see quilting blog) of Wine Tasting. Sixteen wineries opened up tasting rooms for participants of this event. Several of the wineries don't have tasting rooms and aren't usually available to the public. We were assigned to start at Honig where we collected a "passport" that was then stamped at each winery. We were given tastes of whites and reds and also had delicious nibblies at each place. Mark, the CACorkDork wrote about all the wines. I'll just fill you in on the fun. When you get to the winery, you are directed to the area set aside for the Wine Hop participants. You hear the spiel about the wine, swirl/sip/swish/swallow, look studious as if you are thinking about all the flavors and aromas you have just experienced and are rating this wine against your vast knowledge of this varietal. Then you nod slightly making some small comment about the wine as the winery person stands by watching you and holding the bottle half raised as if to toast. If the comment you mumble is not sufficiently exuberant, they will look worried and lean toward you hoping for more information. If you feel guilty, you will immediately loudly declare that the wine is more than "not bad".... it's actually "quite good". You continue with the comments until they lean back and look relieved. Phew! You passed that taste. Then they pick up the next bottle and looking at you covertly, they lean in to share a secret... this wine is the special library reserve select limited edition red that won all these awards and is ONLY being tasted by participants of this event.... You swirl and study the glass and maybe swirl a bit more. You know that alot is resting on the mouthful you are about to consume.... So you stick your nose in the glass and sniff a bit making a few mumbling comments about the amazing bouquet. Then it is time for the taste. A small sip flows into your mouth.... your swish it around a bit - not like Scope and a good morning gargle. Then if you REALLY want to impress the crowd, you suck a little air through your partly opened lips and closed teeth. This passes air over the palate allowing for a more complete taste of the wine. But I recommend that you practice this at home because you can suck the wine into your windpipe or it can dribble out of your mouth all of which would spoil the impression of a great wine connoisseur. Then you tip your head and contemplate what you have tasted..... a hint of blackberry... or is it blueberry... what did she say you should be tasting? Some berry. You swallow and look up. She is standing with bottle in salute position leaning forward. You smile and say something like, "excellent" or "delicious" or just make a yummy noise. She bursts into a huge smile and seems very happy. You have made it through a tasting. Then she stamps your passport and you buy a bottle or two and off you go to the next winery. The trunk begins to fill up and I begin to feel the wine, so Mark drags the snack bag out of the back seat. We learned after the last Napa trip that you MUST bring water and a snack bag. After every winery, I drink a bunch of water and eat some bread and cheese. This enables me to make it safely through the day. One of the wineries we stopped at was the Rubicon Winery (see photo). The estate, begun in 1879 was the Inglenook Winery. In 1975, it was purchased by Francis Ford Coppola. It changed its name to Rubicon and produces both white and red wines. The location is beautiful, the house amazing, the wine..... so so.
Another part of the Winery Shop Hop was visiting with other tasters. When you get to the winery and are shown to the special area, there are several other people standing or sitting and tasting. At the Sullivan Winery, we were seated in a lovely outdoor area with a couple from a nearby city. Not only do you share the usual who-you-are-what-you-do stuff, but at a wine tasting, you also share wine info. What clubs do YOU belong to? What wines do YOU like? Have to been to the Up-In-The-Hills Winery? It is absolutely fabulous. I wanted to know which wineries on the list had the best snacks..... what can I say? We have another event next week.... another dinner in Monterey...... I'm practicing my suck-air technique and looking up new expletives so I will be ready.