Bourgeois Indoctrination

Yes, it's that most bourgeois of Northern California activities... wine tasting. Today, in Sonoma County: Dry Creek and Anderson Valley.

Farmer's market in Healdsburg included the "Toffee Doctor," some dude dressed up as a doctor selling decent toffee. The health inspector gave his stall her approval.

First stop: Rosenblum
Downtown Healdsburg, more like a store than a tasting place.
Decent and very smooth Viogner
Decent and economical late-harvest Zinfandel. Not as good as the Ridge Essence, but less than half the price at $18/bottle.

Second stop: Raffanelli
Had to spit in sink. Two large dogs. Previous group had ex-Burlingamoids who fled after the region became a "yuppie dump." Simultaneous to these comments, Rourke types away on his Blackberry.
Very fruity Zinfindel, slightly peppery and possibly the first good Zin I've had

Third stop: Dry Creek
So-called "late harvest" Zin was only like a slightly sweet regular Zinfandel; kinda a gyp
Brought grappa

Fourth stop: Dashe
Ridge's old winemaker. Their tasting place is shared with some other small winemakers in a facility called "Family Winemakers." Rourke discovered that the Dashe late-harvest Zin he bought at Whole Foods could only have been sold to him through a heinous error, both too early and too cheap by far.
Really good Zin, rivals Raffanelli for best Zin of the day. Had the intense flavor of Dry Creek's so-called "late harvest", just by itself.

Fifth stop: Goldeneye
Nice dried raspberries, two unexciting Pinot Noirs.

Sixth stop: Londer
Dude's house, tasted in kitchen. Retired doctor. Dubious dirt road but Rourke avoided scraping the bottom of his car.
Really good Pinot Noirs very flavorful and fruity
Really fruity and aromatic dry Gewurzstraminer
Bought sweet Gewurztraminer and Pinot Noir "Paraboll"

Seventh stop: Navarro
Stole unripe grape from vine. Firm fruit, single seed.
Interesting peppery Pinot Gris
Unremarkable White Riesling and Edelzwicker(riesling,gewurtzraminer,pinot gris blend)
Solid, "classic" pinot noir
Bought Pinot Noir juice

Eigth "stop": Greenwood
Stole several unripe Pinot Noir, White Riesling, Chardonnay, and Savingnon Blanc grapes

Ninth stop: Husch
Interesting "preserved pear" tasting late-harvest Gewurztraminer

Whew... a total of nine stops is pretty epic; more than enough wine for a single day. So then we wnet to Mendocino for dinner.

Dinner, more specifically the food, was totally hilarious. Mendocino is right next to the ocean. It's fog covered and smells of the sea. Thus, it seemed natural to go to a place decorated with a big fish outside and order seafood. Things went downhill from there. First, the clam chowder was awful. Really, inexcusably so. There was so much flour, to make up for a lack of cream, that if there were any more, we'd be eating one big clam dumpling rather than soup. Rourke ordered "Scallop plus prawn and chips." I got a rock shrimp scampi. What was hilarious was how theoretically wrong these dishes turned out to be.

Rourke's dish ended up being a couple of heavily battered scallops and shrimp (like fish-fry style batter) and a nasty ultra-sweet cocktail sauce. My shrimp came with this weird rice pilaf that had chopped scallions in it, and what could only be described as a diner stir-fry. Brocolli, carrot, onion, mushroom, red cabbage, and cauliflower cut small and then cooked over high heat with a little oil. This side dish and Rourke's over-battered scallops, I found totally hilarious. Rourke simply thought his food was bad. After we left the establishment, we saw a family examining the menu outside. I commented, "Do you think we should warn them about the food?" Rourke proceeded to yell to them "Don't do it!!!" prior to us disappearing around a corner.