Thankful

Sometimes, especially when harvest ends, I get a little down. It's rare, but it does happen, and as a naturally positive person I despise feeling sad.

So, in times like that, I like to think about the things I'm super thankful for.

The best dog in the world. Ever. Seriously, ever.

A sweet mom, smart dad, kewl sisters, and other loving family members.

Wine, specifically Champagne. Chocolate. Uliveto's Tre Funghi pasta. A chance to travel. A lifetime of happy memories. A rockin' job and kind owners. A fun loving and outstanding group of co-workers. Taco Fridays. A good cry. Bubble baths. Les Marchands (do NOT laugh, I seriously have been dying for a wine shop like this to exist in my area for YEARS). My health (and my admission that I'll just never be skinny). Truffles. Foie gras. Really good smelling dirt (I shouldn't admit this, but I've tasted Riverbench dirt, too, and it's rather...nice). Copper pots. Indian food. Friends, who support me no matter how stupid I am sometimes. Indoor plumbing. Croissants. Really good coffee. Oysters. Sunsets. Love, even if it's unrequited. The fact that my MBA program is over. (Ha!)

So many things to be thankful for. And that puts a smile back on my face.

New World Meets Old World: Wine Girl Goes to France

I was born a francophile. My mother instilled in me a love of anything French, and my father made a career of selling French wines. So my recent trip to France was a special treat, as I absolutely love spending time in that country. The food, the language, and oh-my-gosh the wines just all make me so happy.

This trip, we concentrated on an area I hadn't visited before: the Dordogne River valley and Bordeaux. To start we spent a few days in Paris indulging in the gorgeousness that is the city of lights. When in northern France, I always try to order wines from the Loire region which is nearby and focuses on pretty whites made of Chenin Blanc and lighter, more acidic reds primarily made with Cabernet Franc. These wines tend to pair so very, very well with food, making our experiences at each place even more magical. Additionally, Champagne is always allowed, anywhere, anytime. In fact, I personally find it a necessity as an aperatif at each meal. In Bordeaux, I have found that the younger wines tend to be a little rougher for my tastes, so they need some bottle age. Or maybe I'm just weird like that since my birth year is 1982 and that's the most amazing vintage there on record. You be the judge!

I found myself thinking a lot about wine and food each and every day. I've made it my mission in life to study the two, and their relationship to each other. The perfect meal doesn't have to be fancy or planned; all you need is a great bottle of enjoyable wine that doesn't overwhelm the senses and lets you enjoy what you're eating along with it. Food and wine should work together to create the ultimate sensory experience. And when they do...oh my, that's what makes life worth living.

Ladies of Champagne...and the Santa Maria Valley

If you've ever heard any of the stories of how Champagne got started (read: The Widow Cliquot by Mazzeo), then you're familiar with those hard-working, brilliant, inspiring women of the region who, let's be honest, made it all happen.

Mme. Cliquot was essentially the heroine of those days, which were particularly unstable and troubling thanks to wars, weather, a terrible economy and lack of funds, and, of course, the attitude of the world against women in business.

Most people, even the strong willed ones, would have given up trying to make Champagne successful, but Mme. Cliquot just kept at it. She believed in her product and relentlessly studied the science behind making sparkling wines, constantly set about improving the process, and knew, very deep down, that someday it would all come together.

Now, I'm not about to start comparing myself to this extraordinary woman, but I can't help but be inspired by her as not only a woman in the wine industry, but as one who has fostered a deep and passionate love affair with all wines sparkling for many years. This obsession has led me to not only taste, examine, and enjoy countless bottles of bubbly, but to learn the process of making exquisite sparkling wines from the grapes to the end product. It's fascinating and relatively untouched, especially in Santa Barbara County, where few pioneers have dared to even try it. (Definite props to Flying Goat Cellars, who really got into it first.)

We started experimentally making sparkling wine in 2008 out of only Chardonnay, operating under the assumption that if it turned out tasty, then one made with Pinot Noir would be outstanding. Winemaker Clarissa Nagy is an admirer of sparkling wines and Champagnes as well, and immediately showed excitement in our budding program, adding her own unique touches. Gerald Ployez, a Frenchman whose family hails from Champagne and has made it for centuries, offers his insight, experience, and equipment, which help us as newbies make the best quality sparkling wine. The process is long, arduous, and sometimes dangerous (Gerald's arms are scarred from explosive bottles!). Yet we have continued to combat the obstacles against making sparkling wine to introduce the three in our portfolio that have, quite simply, become some of the most gorgeous bubblies made domestically.

Trust a girl who's tasted 'em all.