Friends don’t let friends do without fine wine during the holidays. Here are a few of our favorite ideas for gift-giving oenophiles who are long on goodwill but short on time.
Articles by Christina Waters
Holiday Foods: Chefs Go Retro
Nostalgic for the holiday foods of yesteryear? Me too. And amidst the contemporary menus for Chanukah, Christmas and New Year’s, look for comforting “back in the day” dishes to please your inner child.
Holiday Foods: Through a Glass, Bubbly
Synonymous with New Year’s Eve, weddings and every celebratory event in between, champagne is less a drink than an affirmation of life. Planted long ago by thirsty Romans, the vineyards of France became the crucible for what would be the world’s most popular holiday elixir. A labor-intensive creation of the pinot and chardonnay grapes and filled with breathtaking effervescence, the sparkling wine labeled “champagne” must by law be produced in the northeastern French region of the same name. Thanks to a Benedictine monk named Perignon and his attention to bubbles created by residual sugar fermentation, we are all the beneficiaries of methode champenoise, the hallmark of authenticity separating every decent sparkling wine from cheap swill artificially injected with carbon dioxide. Two fermentations and two bottlings add to the complexity of making this heady tipple. And to the price tag.
Educating Palates at Cabrillo
Utterly calm and collected, chef Mike Wille introduced a series of winemakers to assembled diners out on the back lawn of the Sesnon House a few weeks ago. Gathered at long tables draped in white linen, the guests were about to embark on a five-course culinary journey accompanied by wines from the viticulturists of Surf City Vintners. And every bite was the handiwork of student chefs.
The Santa Cruz Mountains Wine Crush Is On!
Ryan Beauregard is keeping his eyes on two ripening situations right now. One of them involves many tons of premium wine grapes. The other one is the any-minute-now birth of his next child. “Having a baby in the middle of harvest,” he gasps. “I hope this is a one-time event!”
Santa Cruz Restaurant Week: The Gourmet Groundswell
Santa Cruz chefs are fiercely devoted to local, fresh, organic produce for their menus. And while that sort of culinary pickiness might challenge cooks in other parts of the country, our restaurants are surrounded by a bounty of organic growers who have cultivated close relationships with chefs over the years. Farm-to-table isn’t just another culinary fad here. It’s a way of life.
Santa Cruz Screams For Gourmet Dairy Dessert
It started with Kelly’s at the beginning of summer, and soon came Mission Hill Creamery. Late last month the Penny Ice Creamery opened its inviting doors, and that made three artisanal ice creameries in one small seaside town. Already grateful fans of unforgettable handmade ice creams are giving thanks. The difference between these painstakingly created, intensely flavored, utterly smooth and creamy concoctions and the mass-produced stuff—even Haagen-Daaz—is evident from the first rhapsodic lick.
The Wine Dinner, Soquel Style
Vines swollen with grapes rose like emerald waves on the slopes above the winery. The lawns and patio were set with chairs, the barbeque was at full blaze and guests had begun mingling by the time we arrived for last month’s wine dinner at Hunter Hill. Chef Michael Clark had brought his Michael’s on Main team to help serve the 50 or so wine club members, all of them mixing and schmoozing like lifelong friends, to help celebrate midsummer and a suite of wines made by Vann Slatter. With wife Christine as hostess, Vann made the rounds—“We’re all about casual here”—and explained the status of ripening syrah and pinot grapes while making sure that glasses never went empty.
Incoherent ‘Othello’ Disappoints
Othello, which opened last weekend at Shakespeare Santa Cruz in the Festival Glen, is a bold and tragic tale of “one that loved not wisely but too well.” Othello, a celebrated black general of Venice (played with physical power by Corey Jones), has eloped with Desdemona, the daughter of Brabantio, a senator of Venice. “It is too much of joy,” Othello admits, finding himself newly married and assigned to defend Cyprus against the Turks. The plot thickens quickly on the wings of brilliant writing as news of the promotion of a lieutenant, Cassio (Richard Prioleau), reaches the overlooked commander Iago (Victor Talmadge). Cassio famously plots his revenge for this perceived insult by turning Othello first against Cassio, and then against his new bride, by planting Desdemona’s handkerchief on Cassio, whereby it is “discovered,” and with it the fictional adultery as well.
Shakespeare Santa Cruz’s Labor of Love
Actor Scott Wentworth returns to Shakespeare Santa Cruz this season as director of Love’s Labor’s Lost, a romantic comedy bristling with some of Shakespeare’s most pun-inflected dialogue. Busy with intellectual gab and witty wordplay in multiple languages, Love’s Labor’s Lost bids the audience attend to nuance even while feasting on the sight of four courtiers—who’ve just sworn a pact of abstinence—immediately falling in love with an entourage of royal beauties. A classic battle of the sexes waged in linguistic one-upsmanship, Love’s allows Shakespeare to mock upper-crust attitudes as well as low-brow gaffes.
