Ashley’s birthday dinner, 1 day later

Parmesan chicken, fettucini alfredo, broccoli with hollandaise sauce,

Crusty Cream cheese pound cake with ice cream

Dunham Cellars

2005 Syrah, Lewis Vineyard, Columbia Valley

Deep, dark berry. Sooo luscious

Complimented smooth flavors of meal

Passover Meal

Cashew Chicken with Artichokes

Amavi Syrah 2005, Walla Walla Valley– dark berry flavor. Fun

Amavi is combination of latin words for love (amor) and life (vita). That sums up wine!

Glacial & volcanic soils, long warm summer days and cool, high-desert evenings bless our world-class vineyards. We use only the finest hand-picked grapes to craft the elegant wines of Amavi Cellars.

Steve’s Birthday Dinner

We celebrated a day late with Steve’s request, fried chicken and cooked broccoli. We had another 2005 Matagrano Lava Cap Sangiovese from El Dorado county. It was spicy and smooth. I tasted a piney flavor that added to the spice. There was no significant berry flavors. This is a fun wine to drink.

Grapes for this wonderful Italian variety were grown by Frank Matagrano in a cool spot along the banks of the American River in El Dorado County. The wine is rich and full-bodied, yet has soft tannins and well balanced fruit and acidity. Enjoy with hearty pasta or grilled sausages and vegetables.

While Dad & Mom were visiting we enjoyed one of Ashley’s favorite wines, Lava Cap Cabernet Franc. The 2003 Reserve is delicious, a traditional Bordeaux variety produced on the Lava Cap vineyards in Sierra Nevada foothills. This well-balanced and elegant wine was aged in French oak barrel and is a perfect accompaniment for turkey, chicken, pasta, and roast beef. We actually had bleu cheese crusted filet.

Sunday Dinner

After church I cooked chicken marsala with pasta and parmesan. We decided to open one of our wine club bottles, Lava Cap 2005 Reserve Barbera. The Barbera had deep berry flavors with a hint of spice. I call it a lush flavor.

Student Lunch – we received 3 bottles of wine…wow!

We opened Red Diamond Merlot 2004. It’s a good wine at a very low cost.

Nice smooth Merlot

Merlot is king in Washington state, where it’s considered the crown jewel of red grapes. That’s why we call our wine Red Diamond. It’s a shining example of cordially tended fruit gently made into a polished wine with softly spiced black cherry, berry & plum flavors. And like a diamond, a Merlot goes with everything.