Anomaly Vineyards

How are things looking?

2009-06-11T17:38:00.001-07:00

Well, see for yourself! The vineyards are thriving. We have been very fortunate not to have had any rain during the flowering period (sort of like the "mating" period for grapes!) so the little tiny grapes have begun to form on the vines reminding us that harvest will soon be here. Chantico!

What the heck...?

2009-06-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Is happening over at Anomaly Vineyards? Why haven't you heard from The Blogger? Well, I'll tell you - we are here and things are good. We haven't (and I use the term "we" loosely - as it should say "I" but I'm too embarrassed to incriminate myself) blogged in a while, I know, I mean, "we" know. . And the reason for lack of writing is that our youngest son, Chris, is getting married and I am deep into wedding planning mode. Okay, that is not a good excuse, but it's the best I have.

Hope the Spring is treating you well and I will "try" to write more often. I promise.
Chantico!

And the date and time is....

2009-05-11T22:24:00.001-07:00

So, to continue my "oh so informative" blog of a few moments ago....
The Meals on Wheels Star Chefs & Vintners event will be held this Sunday, May 17, 2009, at the
Festival Pavilion, in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center

Chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard will once again lead the most illustrious line-up of culinary talents, along with the most celebrated vintners of Northern California - Anomaly included! Please come by.

Chantico!

Where we can be seen (and heard!)

2009-05-11T22:17:00.000-07:00

Steve and I are heading to the Southland (read: Los Angeles) this Saturday for the annual Winemasters auction for Cystic Fibrosis. This event, spearheaded by Barbara and Allen Balik (genius organizers) is a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It is held at Warner Brothers Studios and is one of our very favorite charities and events. if you find yourself in the LA basin.... please come to the event and stop by to say hi and share a glass of Anomaly with us.

In other Hot of the Presses news, Gerich will be pouring the 2006 Anomaly at the annual Meals on Wheels - Star Chefs & Vintners gala to be held this month - but Gerich, I need the exact date... .Gerich? Gerich.... GERICH....!

Til I hear back from Gerich,
Chantico!

More Barrel Building

2009-01-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Some seriousness going on here

2009-01-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

Every year (and sometimes more often than that) we do an Anomaly Retrospective. Mark lines up all of the vintages of Anomaly, covers the bottles in brown bags to disguise the years, and we do a blind tasting. Not only is it fun, but it's quite eductional to see how the wines have aged. He even snuck a barrel sample of the 2007 into the tasting. I am pleased to report that we loved the 2007 and it ranked quite high on all our palates. Here's a shot of Seth doing what we like to call, serious work! Chantico.

Barrel Rack Builders

2009-01-10T10:49:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday was a big day at Anomaly. Our "team" of handy carpenters and builders (who, at other times also handle winemaking, marketing, tasting, and general frolicking about the winery) built these amazing racks that will not only hold our barrels (full and empty) but will allow for 360 degree rotation! See below for the "fruits" (well, that comes at harvest) of their labor. And Chantico!

Beginning of the year blues

2009-01-10T10:24:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year - filing. I haven't done it in oh so many months, so I solicited the help of my trusted friend, Cosette. She looks as thrilled as I am about it. Chantico.

And yet another elf

2008-12-10T20:37:00.001-08:00

Linda loves making chocolate chip cookies - but likes eating them even better!

One Happy Elf

2008-12-10T20:33:00.001-08:00

This is Seth, I think he actually is whistling while he works!

We Whistle While We Work

2008-12-10T12:35:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, time to put away the red-stained, grape-sorting fingers and get out the baker's hands. Last night, each of us Anomaly elves spent the evening baking cookies for our loyal distributors (and yes, even the non-loyal ones, although we are fortunate not to have any of those). Seth made Mushroom Meringues, Gerich made Corn Flake wreaths, Linda made Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mark made Pecan Sandies. This morning, we put them into baggies, packed them into boxes and off we went to the post office. The recipes are below along with a photo of Gerich at work. More photos to come! Chantico. The Anomaly Team.

Gerich proudly puts the finishing touches on his wreaths

Seth's Mushroom Meringues

1/2 Cup Egg Whites (room temperature)
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Superfine Sugar
Cocoa
1 Package Melting Chocolate (such as Guittard Melt n' Mold)

Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer. With wire whisk attachment beat on moderate speed until foamy - about a minute.
Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating at medium-high speed. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar every 30 seconds until all has been added.
Increase to high speed and continue to beat for 7-8 minutes until very stiff (15-18 minutes total).
Place meringue mixture into pastry bag with wide (1/2") tip.

Squeeze a dot of meringue into each corner of a baking sheet, then line with foil (this will seal the foil to the baking sheet).
Pipe out an equal number of caps and stems:

Caps - Pipe out 2" diameter rounds.
Stems - Pipe out 3/4" rounds with more height.

Bake meringues at 225 degrees for one our. Gently remove from baking sheet.

Melt chocolate. Spread chocolate on bottom of cap, then press stem into the chocolate coated underside of the cap.

Wait 30 minutes to dry, then enjoy.
---
Mark's Pecan Sandies

Cream 1 cup of butter with 1/4 cup of confectionery sugar and a 1/4 cup of regular sugar. Fold in 2 tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of water. Mix in 1 cup of chopped pecans and 2 cups of sifted flour. Allow dough to chill for better handling. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar.
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Gerich's Corn Flake Wreaths

1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
30 marshmallows
3 1/2 c. cornflakes
1/4 tsp. (or more) green food coloring
red cinnamon candies

Melt butter & marshmallows over low heat, or in microwave (“MW”)* 2 min.on medium. Remove from heat; add coloring, vanilla and cornflakes. Blend thoroughly. While still warm drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet or foil. Shape into wreaths w/ fingers dipped in cold water. Decorate w/ cinnamon candies (three per wreath looks good. Makes 25-30 when doubled. Best to make 2 batches rather than doubling ingredients.

*With MW, melt butter on med. or 70 % power. Add marshmellows and MW until softened (approx. 2 min.) med 70 % power Stir. and continue recipe as above.
---
Linda's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 cube) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (1 cube) margarine
2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups good-quality chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 325. Beat butter, margarine and sugars in mixer until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Add flour, salt, soda until incorporated. Blend in chocholate chips. (optional - add walnuts if you like them). Bake for 12-15 min. or until light brown.

Can I come out yet?

2008-11-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

We don't often punish those who work at the winery, but when we do..... we have the perfect place. And yes, parents, it's for rent....! Chantico.

And she said YES!

2008-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is not official winery blog-ness, but it is exciting news. Our son, Chris, proposed last month to his girlfriend of 6 years (yes, it's about time!) and she said YES!! Chantico to all!

Our wine has legs!

2008-10-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Oh, the glamour of the wine business - just ask Gerich! We pressed out another tank of our cabernet yesterday, and as anyone in this line of work (yes, "WORK!") will tell you, the clean-up takes longer than the wine-making. Once the grapes were pressed, the Dieme (aka The Press) had to be cleaned. Gerich drew the short straw. See for yourself! Chantico.

Gerich does the Stomp

2008-10-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

And the winner is....

2008-09-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Colleen Riordan of Georgia won this year's Dry T-Shirt Contest with the slogan:
YOU PICKED A VINE TIME TO LEAVE ME LUCILLE. Runner-up Malcolm Roberts of Berkeley, California won the front logo with, "Picked, Pressed and Poured." But we must give a special Honorable Mention to Ed Freis for his prolific entries. Thank you all for following this blog (which, due to harvest, I have been quite remiss in updating). Today was the LAST DAY of sorting grapes. All of our fruit is in, in tanks, fermenting and getting gently pumped-over or punched down (yes, gently!) several times a day.

It's Dry T-Shirt Contest time again!

2008-08-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

Can you believe a year has gone by and it's already time for the Annual Anomaly Dry T-Shirt contest? What will be the winning slogan this year? Last year, the winning slogan was "Anomaly, It's More Than Just A Crush" 2006's winning slogan was "Cluster's Last Stand", and previous winners were Tanks For The Memories; Picky, Picky, Picky; and Think Globally, Drink Anomaly!

The winning slogan-writer gets not only a T-Shirt with the winning slogan, but also a bottle of 2005 Anomaly Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. So put your thinking caps on and send 'em in. You can send in as many as you like, but hurry, harvest is just around the corner! Send your entries to: Linda@Anomalyvineyards.com

Chantico.

Takin' it to the... mountains

2008-08-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

We spent the past three days on the outskirts of the town of Chester, which is near Lake Almanor, which is "sort of" near Chico, which is about as close to civilization as you get up that way. Even though it was a mere 48 hours, it was a true get-away. Our friends own a forest service cabin that they have made into their little nirvana. So, 4 1/2 hours after leaving the Napa Valley, we arrived, dressed in style, as you can see! Chantico.

Veraison 2008

2008-07-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

It happened so quickly. One day the grapes were green and the next they were no longer green, but beautiful hues of purple, crimson, and okay, some green. Véraison is a French term, but we have adopted the word into our viticulture language. The official definition of véraison is "change of color of the grape berries." Véraison signifies the change from berry growth to berry ripening . I think the clusters look like a series of rainbows framed in gorgeous green leaves. Take a walk through a vineyard if you can - it is breathtaking. Chantico.

Just "A Regular Guy"

2008-07-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

This blog is not winery-related, unless you can count the fact that my friend, Laura Shumaker, loves Anomaly Cabernet! So in that sense, it is winery-related!

I met Laura two years ago in the Wednesday Women's Writing Group. We meet each Wednesday in Rockridge and talk about writing, share what we have written, and sometimes we even write! When I first met Laura, we hit it off as if we had known each other all our lives - some friendships are meant to be, and this was one of those rare ones. She had just finished writing a draft memoir of her family's life with their eldest son, Matthew, who has autism.

Autism has been in the news so much lately, that it feels like the "fad" disorder of this decade. The reality of living with a child who has autism is nothing like reading about it in the news, all technical and statistical.

Laura captures the life of Matthew and the life of their family as a result of Matthew's autism with such humor, clarity and personal grace that when she first share the draft with me, I couldn't stop reading it. I read it in one sitting. The true test, however, was Steve. He's not much of a reader and I can't think of a book that has ever kept him glued to the table reading. This one did.

So without going on and on, I just wanted to share with you Laura's successful completion of A REGULAR GUY which just appeared in bookstores this week. If you are interested in getting a copy, you can find it locally in the Napa Valley at River Books in St. Helena, Copperfields in both Napa and Calistoga, many Bay Area bookstores, as well as Amazon.com and www.LauraShumaker.com.

Thank you for your time in reading this blog. Chantico.

Wish I had my camera

2008-07-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

Only in the Napa Valley - well, I'm sure there are other parts of this huge world where one could see the same sign, but not from where we're from originally. So, we are driving up Highway 29 this afternoon following a quite successful Costco run (how can you not be successful shopping at Costo I ask?!). And, on the corner of Zinfandel and 29 (take note, as I'm sure it's still there) is a sign that says, "Fresh Picked Plums, 12 for $1.00" I look around to see where the "stand-keeper" is, and there is no stand-keeper. The plums are in boxes laid out on an old picnic table. There is a stack of old plastic shopping bags (helping our environment by at least re-using the bags), and a box with a hole in the top for the dollar bills. Once again, we feel lucky to live in this beautiful spot called the Napa Valley. Plum jam, anyone? Chantico.

Vote Now Vote Often

2008-07-05T13:43:00.001-07:00

Miss Cosette

2008-06-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have followed this blog know that I am a Dog Person. Not that I don't like cats - I do. Just not as much. Not sure if it's the "needy" vs. "independence" thing between dogs and cats; somehow, I just relate better to the canine species. I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to know that one of our three dogs goes to work with me each day. I say "me" rather than "us" as if it were up to Steve, the office would remain a "dog-free zone." Thankfully, it's not up to him. He does get points for allowing not one, not two, but three canines to reside in our home (and at night, at least two are on our bed). I know, way too much information.

Cosette was a rescue of course. She has been with us for 8 years and was most likely about 6 when we found her, so she is just entering her prime as I tell her each day. She loves hearing: "want to do go work?" each morning. However, in the past 6 months or so, her hearing has waned. But when I go towards the winery, there's no need for words, she knows.

This morning, I decided to water "Anomaly Farms" (this is what we call the vegetable beds--yes, it's a joke!) as the weather was already heating up. I looked around to see what Cosette was up to while I had the hose trained on the tomatoes. There she was, my loyal little lady waiting in the steps to "go to work."

Have a great weekend. Chantico.

The winery this week

2008-06-24T17:03:00.001-07:00

Photo courtesy of two great customers: Bob and Gloria South

A Cork is a Cork is a Cork

2008-06-23T17:09:00.001-07:00

I subscribe to many many food publications. Yes, wine and food do go together, so I can justify my compulsion. Yes I can! When this month's Cuisine at Home arrived (a great publication, by the way), I opened it right up and read all of the "aha" uses for items that were created for a different use. These "aha" uses are submitted by Cuisine's readership.

When I read about an alternate use for a wine cork, I just had to share it with you. As Ginny Tower from Bend, Oregon wrote: rather than reaching for pot holders to take the heat from the lids to her pots and pans, she slips wine corks under the lid handles, grabs the corks rather than the metal lid handles, and never burns her fingers.

In a future blog, how to make a lamp from a wine bottle, in particular, an Anomaly wine bottle. This one was created by my dad! Chantico.