It's July 19th And Time To Celebrate Before The Starlighters Dance!
We had a few hours so it was decided... Let's go wine tasting and have lunch in Laguna! We missed Vicky and Del but they are on "Baby Watch" and Hans and Kerstin have out of town guests.
Click for the full-sized image (3500 x 2400 px)
Let The Adventure Get Started
We arrived right on time... 11:00 am... Time for wine!
Bring it on
We beat Bob and Donna here and we started without them....
We knew Donna would catch up!
Loads of wine to drink!
The wine begins to flow
Kathy is making copious notes....
Must be good... All smiles
The arrival... Screeching tires... Burnt rubber... Frazzled nerves!
Donna signals.... "Order me ten glasses"
Bob and his legs showed up.... At the same time
Ed took a shot and the nice lady said she wold gat all of us....
Meaning... Get all the evidence!
What a motley crew
Paul blows in Bob's ear.... We all like the sound that emanates out the other side!
Our cheer.... "2 - 4 - 6- 8 Who do we appreciate? The Winemaker!"
Serious wine making discussions underway
More serious when Sue and Donna get together!
The boys go next door....
Del stayed home!
The Buick looked pretty good
Did You Know? - The Riviera by Buick is an automobile produced by Buick in the United States from the 1963 to 1999 model years, with 1,127,261 produced.
Only $93,000 for the Corvette
$124,000 for the Chevy
Did You Know? - The 1957 Chevrolet is a car which was introduced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors in September 1956. It was available in three series models: the upscale Bel Air, the mid-range "two-ten", and the "one-fifty". A two-door station wagon, the Nomad was produced as a Bel Air model. An upscale trim option called the "Delray" was available for two-ten 2-door sedans. It is a popular and sought after classic car. These vehicles are often restored to their original condition and sometimes modified. The car's image has been frequently used in toys, graphics, music, movies and television. The '57 Chevy, as it is often known, is an auto icon.
From a numbers standpoint, the '57 Chevrolet wasn't as popular as General Motors had hoped. Despite its popularity, rival Ford outsold Chevrolet for the 1957 model year for the first time since 1935. The main cause of the sales shift to Ford was the fact the '57 Chevrolet had tubeless tires, the first car to have them. This scared away sales to Ford as many people did not initially trust the new tubeless design.
Restored insides.... Amazing!
Great old cars.... The woody in the back is a Packard
Then there is our collection of antiques....
Except for Ed and Kathy with the new hot rod
Del missed out on some good stories
Looks easy but we know the truth
This was a solid frozen mass when it was delivered last week....
Takes a week to un-thaw
Did You Know? - Here are some of the basic benefits of using frozen must:
Top quality ripened grapes, from named vineyards, picked-crushed-frozen the same day, processed in large quantities. Expect consistent quality.
Frozen must is stable during shipment, no chance of dehydration or spoilage.
Wine making steps are exactly the same as when using fresh grapes, with the exception of crushing grapes. The wine maker controls the process and desired outcomes.
The negative effects of wild yeast, bacteria, and fungus are virtually halted.
As the must thaws over several days, cold maceration takes place which allows for optimal color and tannin extraction.
Key information provided: Vineyard is identified, documented brix, pH, TA (titratable acidity) and harvest date. The source of grapes and 'key measures' are known before fermentation.
Frozen must is available in most popular red varietals… and, popular white varietals.
You can make wine when you choose to make it… all year long.
The grapes are turned every eight hours for two weeks by hand!
The little girl must have muscles we did not see
The mashed grapes, seeds, and skins are in this batch
The color of the wine comes from the skins
Impressed!
Ed is enjoying the smells.... Wants to take 55 gallons home
We said "I have room in the garage!"
Bob inspects the mash!
"This is good!"
The room is kept cool while the grapes are being processed
Looks like a million raisins
"Dang... These are good!"
Almost done
with this hours turn
The ten year old grape squisher/filter is getting ready for another batch
Look up close and you can see the holes in the press that keep the seeds and skin inside
He is resting before he begins another cycle
Meanwhile... Tasting Continues
Kathy ordered wine that will be ready to drink in 2077
Hope we are there to open it
Girls are enjoying life... The boys are playing in the newly arrived grapes
Time To Dine At Mare Culinary Lounge
Located on the corner of Stop and Don't Stop
- Check their menu! (PDF format)
We didn't tell Ed... But Ed had more fun!
But first... Parallel parking lessons
... We did NOT tease him a single time!
No fair getting expert advice....
"Ed... I am getting sea sick going back and forth!"
Hey... 24 inches to the curb ain't bad!
We Arrived!
Paul was wrong... It wasn't "Motel 6"
Bob and Sue listen to the sounds of twisted metal and screeching tires as
Ed still tries to complete the parking job
He made it!
Donna checks out the menu. Check their menu! (PDF format)
We ordered a Burracata appetizer
(Burrata stuffed with ricotta) black lava sea salt, rosemary EVO, arugula.
Did You Know? - Burrata is a fresh Italian cheese, made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella while the inside contains both mozzarella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture.
It is also defined by some sources as an outer shell of mozzarella filled with butter or a mixture of butter and sugar. It is usually served fresh, at room temperature. The name "burrata" means "buttered" in Italian.
CALAMARI
- Lightly fried and served
with Aurora and Arrabiata sauce.
"I'll have some more of that!"
We found out what the little tomatoes were....
Baby tear drop Peruvian hot peppers
Vicky and Del were not here so we improvised....
Here is out Vicky substitute unit!
Bob was curious why they serve "PASTE".... Last time he
had it was in kindergarten when glueing paper together....
We explained it to Bob
Did You Know? - First attested in English in 1874, the word pasta comes from Italian pasta, in turn from Latin pasta "dough, pastry cake", itself the latinisation of the Greek παστά (pasta) "barley porridge", in turn from παστός (pastos), "sprinkled with salt, salted".
Donna dives into the octopus carpaccio
Did You Know? - Carpaccio is the international name of a typical Italian dish made with raw meat. The dish was proposed with this name for the first time in Venice, at the time of an exhibition dedicated to Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio which took place around 1950.
The dish, based on the Piedmont speciality "carne cruda all'albese", was invented and popularised by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice. He originally prepared the dish for the countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo when he learned that the doctors had recommended that she eat raw meat. The dish was named carpaccio after Vittore Carpaccio, the Venetian painter known for the characteristic red and white tones of his work.
Watch out for your hands when Donna has her fork
Ed remembered the salt encrusted fish.... NOT on the menu but for Ed.. Always
Looks fantastic!
"OMG!! It is huge!
I fotgot, do I eat tghe salt also??"
Did You Know? - All types of food can be baked but some require special care and protection from direct heat. Various techniques have been developed to provide this protection. Some types are paste of flour and water and in France parchment paper.
Salt can also be used to make a protective crust that is not eaten.
Always time to tease Ed.... It's what we do!
Paul and Sue had a pizza... Not just any pizza
VEGETARIANA -
Pomodoro sauce, fresh seasonal vegetables, mozzarella, and of course
Calabrian hot chili peppers.
Excellent!
But beware... It was loaded with hot spicy sauce and pappers
Leave it to Bob to be creative.... Octopus Pizza!
POLIPO MEDITERRANEAN - House made braised octopus carpaccio, bell peppers, black Sicilian lava salt and imported baby caper berries on a slice of cheese pizza
courtesy of Kathy!
"Perhaps a small amount of arugula to hide the octopus??"
Wonder if Donna knew about it's purported features??
Did You Know? - Eruca sativa (syn. E. vesicaria subsp. sativa (Miller) Thell., Brassica eruca L.) is an edible annual plant, commonly known as salad rocket, roquette, rucola, rucoli, rugula, colewort, and, in the United States, arugula.
Eruca sativa typically grows on dry, disturbed ground and is also used as a food by the larvae of some moth species, including the Garden Carpet moth.
Grown as an edible herb in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, it was mentioned by various classical authors as an aphrodisiac, most famously in a poem long ascribed to Virgil, Moretum, which contains the line: "et veneris revocans eruca morantuem" ("the rocket excites the sexual desire of drowsy people") Some writers assert that for this reason during the Middle Ages it was forbidden to grow rocket in monasteries.
Bob carefully tries to hide from the camera with his new discovery
Desert is a necessity! Chocolate anything will do!
Don't ask... Don't tell!
Awe.... She is an angel after all
Now we know where to go before we go to the art exhibits next time
We met "The Balloon Lady"
The Innocents!
See you in a few hours at the Starlighters Summer Casual!