Gewürztraminer Baby...

Ooh! A wine grape with an umlaut! 

Found some charming, blushing Gewürztraminer grapes while hiking around the vineyards the other day. Which got me to thinking, does Gewürztraminer pair well with anything besides fish? I've rarely had the wine, as I'm just not too much of a fish/seafood person.

What? It pairs with Asian foods? What? Pairs with a ham and gruyere tart? Whoa nelly. Well, I guess I have a new wine to explore!

Food &Wine has all the deets right here.

Dark Grapes on the Vine

Dark Grapes on the Vine
Originally uploaded by pixelish
Today it's all about wine grapes, not food per se. I was out in my happy place, running around in vineyards this afternoon. The temperature hit about 100 degrees and the winds were blowing like crazy. Because of the wind, I was really having a problem with blur. So I started messing with my shutter speed and got, what I think, is a lovely series of dark and moody vineyard photos. Really kind of love this one in particular.

Can I just say that I love Sonoma? So down to earth compared to the Napa area. It's a place where you can walk into a restaurant and get invited over to a local vintner's house for a nice glass of wine. It's where food and wine go hand and hand, with a little wide open space on the side.

And my favorite new restaurant - The Girl and the Fig - is on the corner of the main square. And even the fact that it has a cool main square is just so awesome. I wonder if they need any food photographers up there? : )

0911SauvignonBlancGrapes_3380 copy

0911SauvignonBlancGrapes_3380 copy
Originally uploaded by pixelish

Beautiful stormy day last Saturday in the Santa Ynez valley. Led to some awesome light for these Sauvignon Blanc grapes.