Creating Memories

     So have you ever had a bottle of wine and thought to yourself "I remember the first time I had this when......" and you drift off to those fond memories?  Tonight after driving for four days and dropping off our daughter at college for her freshman year, we opened a bottle of V. Sattui Winery's Sattui Family Red.  This wine has some great memories for us.
     When our little girl was only 12, that summer we dropped her (along with her 9 yr old brother) off at church camp in Central California for them to have a week full of exciting adventures.  While those two precious darlings had kid fun, my husband and I had BIG kid fun.  We drove over to Napa and Sonoma Valley!
     Spending a full week there was amazing and relaxing.  While driving up and down St Helena Hwy (Hwy 29), we found one of our favorite wineries - V. Sattui Winery. The atmosphere alone was quite enjoying.  At the deli and marketplace, we were able to find some wonderful salami and cheeses to pair with a bottle of wine in their delightful picnic area.  A few days later, we returned to pick up some more deli goodies and another bottle of wine to take with us as we drove over to the coast and had our picnic on the beach at Bodega Bay.  With so many wineries to chose from (and we sampled a number), this charming place still has a place in our hearts.
     So if you are ever in St. Helena, CA stop by, enjoy some goodies and make your own fond memories.  Since they don't sell to stores or restaurants, they will ship directly to you.  We enjoy the Family Red, which is a delicious blend, day in and day out.  They do have a other varietals, so check out their website at www.vsattui.com.

Cheers,
Lisa

WORD OF THE WEEK

AGING:  The process of intentionally holding a wine for a period of time so that the components in it can integrate and the wine can grow softer and possibly more complex.  Wines are generally aged first in a barrel and later in bottles, since wines evolve differently in each vessel.  The length of time any wine is aged is initially up to the producer, though many of the top European wines by law must be aged a certain minimum number of months or years.  Most wines worldwide are not aged at all.   (The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil)