A Wine & Food Affair

A WINE & FOOD AFFAIR

Fall is finally here.  The days are still very warm, but the nights are much cooler than during the summer; harvest and Crush are in full-swing.  The cool, green Russian River, unfettered by summer dams is crystal clear and sparkly.  There is an almost electric anticipatory feel in the air these days- so much activity with the grapes and in the wineries.  The Wine Road has more visitors this time of year than any other.  It is an incredibly lovely time along the Wine Road.   With the advent of fall and less daylight and a settling down towards the winter, thoughts turn to comfort foods.  Comfort foods are oh-so-much more comfortable when paired with wine- the perfect recipes for the best of life, each and every day.

Which is such a great segue to our next annual Wine Road event, our 11^th annual A Wine & Food Affair, always held the first weekend in November, this year November 7 – 8.  The event planning has been going on for months.  Each winery participant chooses a special recipe that they will prepare for the Event and pair with their perfect wine(s).  This recipe needs to be chosen way back last April because of the editing and printing demands for the TASTING ALONG THE WINE ROAD Cookbook Volume 11.  It is a big production- right down to the professional editing each recipe undergoes, to the winery photos by Lenny Siegel to the special foreword done this year by Chef Tom Schmidt of John Ash & Company at Ferrari-Carano presents Vintners Inn.  Our cookbook also contains recipes from some of our member inns where many of you will be staying.

Ticket sales are off to a grand start- I love seeing each and every order come through my email- folks are going to attend from all over the US and Canada.  I have such fun helping guests plot their itineraries and find their lodgings.  For me, it is like travelling Wine Road vicariously, because during the Event, Beth and I are pretty much here in the Wine Road office/warehouse, “womanning”  the telephones and emails.  Our eticket voucher ticketing system generates an RSVP list that allows us to logistically plan and “arm” our wineries with the correct amount of wristbands, Wine Road glasses and cookbooks.  The Wednesday prior to the Event we hold a Event Meeting to inform the participants of what to expect and the Standard Operating Procedures.  We hand out all the glasses, wristbands, cookbooks, RSVP lists, programs, maps and the Calistoga water in the 5-gallon bottles to hydrate our guests.  Our warehouse is buzzing with activity- we often do hire some “young man” help with the heavy lifting- 80 participants coming on through is amazing- an orchestra of organization.  Beth often gets a wee bit cranky with me because I tend to chat and hold up the assembly line- but hey, I only see a lot of our members during our three annual events, and I have thoughts I really want to impart.   But that you may already know.

Check it out:  http://www.wineroad.com/annualevents/2 .