celebration of wine

This weekend was the annual Celebration of Wine charity wine tasting and wine auction. The proceeds from ticket and auction sales benefit local public radio. There were over 300 wines to taste, but we went with a cheat sheet of wines we knew we simply must try.ready to taste

With wine glass and map in hand, we wandered around the 39 tables and tried champagnes, proseccos, chardonnays, sauvignon blancs, zinfandels, meritages, cabernet sauvignons, and even a dessert wine or two.
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Some of my favorites included the Ridge Zinfandel Ponzo, the Lail Blueprint Cabernet Sauvignon, a Corison Napa Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Barlow Barrouge Cabernet/Merlot blend.
celebration of wine

We had tasted several of the wines before, some on our 2009 trip to Napa. Because we knew of some that we liked already, we went back to have another taste of some favorites – the Ehlers 1886 Cabernet Sauvignon, Belle Glos Las Alturas Pinot Noir, and the Alexander Valley Vineyard’s showcase wine, Cyrus. They did not disappoint.
celebration of wine

Breaks were critical. If we’d tasted wines for five hours straight, we’d have been stumbling home. The silent wine auction gave us a good excuse to leave the tasting room. Plus, I’m a sucker for silent auctions, so I had to get a good look at the bidding sheets to see what kind of competition I’d be up against.
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The Celebration of Wine always ends with a live wine auction. Last year, probably due to the horrible economy, the wine auction was filled with great bargains. We were expecting that this year, but people were very generous with their donations during this auction. In fact, the couple of items we tried to bid on were quickly bid up past retail value and out of our price range. Not good for us, but very good for public radio. And, in hindsight, it was probably good for us too. We can definitely find other uses for that money.
oakville ranch

We did walk out with one “win” in the silent auction. Last June in Napa, we spent an amazing afternoon at the Oakville Ranch winery in Napa. When we saw the 2002 Oakville Ranch Robert’s Blend in the auction list, I knew that we’d be bidding on it. It will probably sit collecting dust for a while, but when we do drink it, we’ll have great memories of our trip there last summer.

slow cooker steel cut oats

steel cut oats

I made these overnight in my trusty slow-cooker. They’re made with steel cut oats, maple syrup, golden raisins, dried cranberries, and a touch of salt and cinnamon. A great breakfast to wake up to. And since my husband dislikes oatmeal, I get to enjoy this for breakfast the rest of the week.

Note: clicking on the photo takes you to Flickr.

ad hoc-inspired peach cobbler

Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook is now one of my favorites. But, like most of the cookbooks I’ve purchased lately, I tend to read all the recipes but never make a single one. For a recent meal, I decided to give the cobbler recipe in Ad Hoc a try. The recipe is for blueberry cobbler, but since my husband is anything but a blueberry fan, I had to go with peaches.

I used seven large peaches, but ten or eleven would have been better. After mixing the fresh sliced and peeled fruit with sugar, a bit of flour, and lemon zest, I poured the peaches into a 9 x 13 inch pan and topped it with the homemade topping.

a watched pot...

The cobbler smelled delicious as it was baking in the oven. I usually go more for chocolate desserts, but the aromas that filled my kitchen were heavenly and irresistible.
peach cobbler

After baking it for 40 minutes at 350 degrees, the peaches bubbled and the topping was golden brown on top.

peaches and crust

The cake-like topping was wonderful with a subtle sweetness, and the cinnamon sugar topping added a nice flavor to each bite. I didn’t think there was enough juiciness in the fruit, but I can probably remedy this by using more fruit next time around.