Hey everyone, Mr. CG here once more, reporting again on another year in growing grapes.  For about ten years now, I been cultivating a hobby vineyard but unfortunately I’ve been faced with the difficult conditions felt by most farmers in this business:  bad weather, poor growing conditions, disease and pests. 

For years, I’ve been tending the back hill making sure our 100 vines produced enough quality fruit to make a barrel of wine.  In 2007, we had our first healthy crop, enough to fill one barrel to make about 25 cases (or 300 bottles).   2007 and 2008 were both successful years, winning Gold Medals in the amateur division in the Sonoma/Marin Fair and then the Sonoma County Harvest Fair this year.  In 2009 we lost most of our crop to bad weather and I was forced to buy more fruit to make my barrel.  Using other grapes, there’s no telling yet how that blend will turn out, time will tell.

I’ve been watching the 2010 grapes grow all season.  It was my largest crop by far and the grapes were growing in near perfect shape, size and sugar content all summer long.  It was a spectacular crop and Kate and I were very excited until last week.  Just days before the harvest, birds found holes in our nets, and in the dead of night we were attacked by a family of raccoons.  Together, those varmints managed to feast on several hundred pounds of grapes in the course of a week!

Despite so many ravaged vines, harvest day is always exciting for us, as the remaining healthy fruit is finally clipped off the vines and turned into our cherished Petite Syrah.

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Hello there, hope you had a great weekend, I sure did!  It was my birthday last week, so  my hub and I hired a babysitter on Saturday, and spent an afternoon and evening at some favorite places nearby.

It’s the high season in Wine Country right now.  The leaves are turning, the festivals have begun, the tasting rooms are filled with tourists.   September through November is the most colorful season to visit this bountiful region.  If you’re ever in our area, here are a few worthwhile places to spend an enjoyable afternoon.

Korbel Champagne Cellars is home to some of the finest (and quite affordable) sparkling wines.   ‘Toast Life!’  is the motto here  ~ I certainly subscribe to that.   They have some helpful tips on their site giving all the details for choosing, storing, and entertaining with champagne.

A visit to their winery is a worthwhile trip.  The brick building that greets you is so very pretty with its classic brick facade and ivy covered walls.

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Hello friends, how was your weekend?  Hope you enjoyed yourself and had some relaxing down time!  As for me, I can honestly say my weekend was one of the most productive ever ~ a trip to a U-pick apple farm, a new chandy installed in the kitchen, and the most exciting news. . . the carpet on the stairs is gone, baby, gone.  Oh, yeah. 

So I had a crazy idea on Saturday to load up four girls (age 6 and under) into my SUV and head on out to an apple/pear orchard in nearby Sebastopol for a picking adventure. 

I think kids who grow up on a farm truly are at an advantage compared to city kids. They learn all about hard work, tilling the soil, caring for plants, trees, and animals. 

My suburbanite kids certainly do not live on a farm, so I think it’s important to give them farm adventures whenever possible, so they learn from a young age where food really comes from.  

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Ho hum, life is moving at a slow pace this week and I’m getting lost in it. 

I’m catching up on some summer reads I’ve been waiting to dive into.

We’re watching our syrah grapes ripen in the sun.

We’re building tents out of canvas tarps in the backyard. 

We’re taking long naps under the ceiling fan during the hottest days.

We’re picking our share of blackberries.

We’re begrudgingly back to school shopping.

And I’m making grown up sorbet ~ a healthier alternative to my ice cream fixation. 

Blackberry Cabernet Sorbet

2 cups water

1.5 cups sugar

24 oz. blackberries

2 tbsp lemon juice

2-3 tbsp cabernet

(or any dry red wine like merlot or syrah)

Bring water to simmer in small saucepan, then stir in sugar until dissolved to make syrup, refrigerate to cool.  Meanwhile, rinse and puree blackberries, then pour through mesh strainer to remove seeds.  Add blackberry puree, lemon juice and wine to syrup, blend together.  Process mixture in ice cream maker per manufacturer’s instructions.  Freeze processed soft sorbet at least an hour before serving. 

Wishing you long leisurely days spent relaxing in the summer sun, enjoying what’s left of the season before the beauty of fall is upon us.  

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