A Healdsburg Winery with a Nautical Twist!

summer grapes in Dry Creek

Our good friends, Walt and Kathi Bailey introduced us to Dry Creek Vineyard last summer when they met us in the Dry Creek Valley on a stunningly gorgeous day for an afternoon of wine tasting.  They've been coming to Northern California's famous wine country for nearly 25 years - and they know all kinds of cool places to go that we have never been to!

The vines in wine country are simply loaded at this time of the year with plump green grapes, just had to show you!

The last time we had been in Healdsburg was on the 4th of July and many of the wineries were closed, including one of Walt's favorites, Dry Creek Vineyard.  So, when Walt and Kathi came to visit later that month, it was an absolute treat to visit their tasting room and vineyard, not only because they make fabulous estate wines at great price points, but also because the "nautical" twist was so unexpected in the middle of Sonoma County.

(Dry Creek is quite a way from the actual ocean)

Welcome!

Walt and Kathi with Tom - allowing me to take pictures! 

Walt and Tom tasting the famous Chenin Blanc.  Check out the cool rope chandeliers and the  sailing ship painting in Dry Creek tasting room!   This particular painting is reflected in much of their marketing and in their wine label designs.

And the model sail boat on their massive fireplace mantel...

Fun nautical wine related gifts too! 

They have a wonderful picnic area in front of the tasting room, but don't worry if you forget to bring your lunch, the vineyard has a selection of local cheeses, meats and fresh fruit to purchase. When we went up to pick up our wine club selection a few weeks ago, (that's right, I joined the wine club - could not resist!)  we did bring our lunch and enjoyed a bottle of Dry Creek Vineyard's fabulous 2007 Endeavor Cabernet Sauvignon.

A delish red wine that we highly recommend!  It might be sold out (?) currently.. 

"At first swirl, this incredible wine offers aromatic elegance and classic Dry Creek Valley characters of bright red cherry fruit, black tea and dried spices. On the palate, the flavors become harmonious and lush with mocha, plums, cassis, and juicy red cherry elements. The silky tannins are refined and polished presenting underlying characters of earth, minerals and dried flowers. The result is a pleasing and lengthy finish with a smooth texture and a refined structure which offers the potential for very long term aging."

Loved this one too - good thing we took a bottle of it home!  The bottle is a "saver" - the "Mariner" is etched into the glass.

Ah... one more Chardonnay to try before going home.  I would consider serving the 2011 Petite Zin Rose' with our Thanksgiving feast this year.  We did sample a glass while we were there, and it was simply lovely - definitely not a summer Rose', which I am not always a fan of.

Thanks Walt and Kathi!

Attention Wine Lovers! Portugese Steamed Clams

Tom and I are officially on a wine tasting DIET.  We are not allowed to go the wine country at all until we get back from Seattle in a few weeks.  I hate to confess how much wine tasting we have done in the past few weeks... 

We spent the 4th of July in Healdsburg, Calfornia.  It's a tiny California town with a  historical town square, surrounded by towering trees,  fabulous restaurants, wine tasting salons and unique art boutiques. The lush Alexander Valley borders on one side, and Dry Creek Valley stretches out on the other.  Has to be one of my favorite 4th of July memories - we even watched the fireworks at the local high school!

Our friends, Joel and Tracy came down for a few days,  and we had the best time exploring new (for us) wineries in the Dry Creek Valley. Wonderful (experienced) tour guides, Joel and Tracy  took us to all kinds of new tasting rooms and vineyards that we had never been to before.  Honestly, you could spend an entire year in the California Wine Country and never see or taste even a fraction of what is there to enjoy.

It was a gorgeous summer day, temperature hovering in the 80's, the vineyards were simply beautiful in the sunlight with their bright green leaves, vines dripping with baby green grapes.  We drove over through the valley with windows down, sunshine streaming in the sunroof while Fleetwood Mac played in the background.  

(do you get the idea that we had a good time? maybe too good??)

One of the loveliest wineries that we visited towards the end of the day was Passalacqua, on the Lambert Bridge Road.  Wide open views over the valley, and such luscious sculpted grounds with old-world fountains and blooming day lilies.

After sampling their new 2011 Sauvignon Blanc to our hearts content,  I spotted the "Wine Lover" cookbook - and knew that it had to go home with me!   It is packed with 211 pages of recipes, all containing the "Essential Ingredient" - wine.


Now which recipe to choose first?

I could not resist their spicy Portugese version of steamed clams!  We changed up a few of the ingredients, to make it ours and it turned out mouth-watering incredible. 

Ingredients: 
12 oz. chorizo sausage
1/4 cup olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1/2 t. red pepper flakes (or to your taste)
2 cups dry white wine - use good wine
3/4 fish or chicken stock (we used chicken)
3 cups canned tomatoes with juice 
3 oz. prosciutto, juliened
1/2 cup minced parsley (I like Italian parsley)
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
35-45 tiny Manila Clams
1 1/5 lbs prawns deveined, shells removed - I keep the tails on


Directions:
Cut the sausage into 1 chunks.  In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute' for 10 minutes, or until very soft.  Add the garlic, paprika and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 more minutes.  Stir in the wine, stock and tomatoes, prosciutto, the parsley, the bay leaves and the sausage.  Simmer until thickened.  Season with salt and pepper.


Bring the mixture to a low boil.  Add the clams and the prawns, cover the pan. Steam until the clams open and the prawns are a pretty pink, should be 7-10 minutes.  Discard any clams that do not open.


Serve with really good, fresh bread. We like to make crunchy "toasties" under the broiler  - a little butter, garlic and grated Parmesan (or whatever cheese we have in the frig!) - super easy, and looks impressive.  Perfect for dipping into your spicy seafood broth.

Must have?  A great white wine to go with!  We stumbled uponSeghesio in Healdsburg, and fell in love with their 2011 Arneis.   Have never had anything quite like it.  Perfect combination with our spicy Portuguese Clams and Prawns!

Oh... couldn't help it, we joined the Seghesio wine club, now we have an excuse to go back.  Darn.

*originally published on The Coastal Gourmet Blog

Glasses:  Our Stemless School of Fish Red Wine Tumblers - Set of 4 $44.95

Dinnerware: Beachcomber Collection - love these for their colors and shapes!  Bowls - set of 4 $56.95