Harvest Beginnings

Posted 10/20/2006 at 01:17 PM by Dirk

We have started harvest. We knew it was going to be late, but we also thought it was going to be a quick one. This cool weather has us still waiting...and waiting...and waiting for perfect ripeness to develop. So much for quick, but great may well be possible. 

Actually, it is still too early to have very strong convictions as to how great we think the quality of 2006 will prove to be, but we are very impressed with what we have harvested so far. It certainly has been an unusual year with its wet and late spring, which was followed by a searing heat wave in July. Since that heat wave, we have enjoyed remarkably moderate weather and are now waiting for some more heat to help with this very cool fall.

The first Chardonnays are slowly fermenting in barrel. This is one of my favorite times.  The whole winery smells of fermentation in the nicest way imaginable while the crackling noise of the fermentations is pure happiness. The fizzy juice is fantastic to taste when it is still very sweet but bubbles. Later on when it is half fermented, the yeasty character and acidity show through more and is too reminiscent of grapefruit juice to be worth tasting.

Last week's little rain was just enough to make some of us jumpy as it washed the dust off the leaves.  Since we had already picked some Chardonnay, and had it safely in the press, and the rain was threatening, several of us ducked out and tried the newest restaurant to come to Napa Valley. "Go Fish" is another Cindy Pawlcyn restaurant and yes it lives up to the other great restaurants that she has brought to Napa Valley: Mustards Grill and Cindy's Back Street Diner.  I could try to review the meal but I would fail miserably. (I am a sushi novice and haven't been rated to discuss let alone spell anything that fresh!) After all, I am still trying to talk and simultaneously hold onto my food with the chop sticks so that it doesn't squirt across the table and land in someone's lap. The table cloth looked worse for wear but fellow diners didn't get "fished"...this time.

We paired the sushi with our latest Far Niente Chardonnay, the 2005, but they had already sold out of the 2004 Nickel & Nickel Manzana Vineyard Pinot Noir. I still don't know if that made us look better or worse in front of our bankers, but the Chardonnay was a great match.

The dessert was its own extravaganza and worth it for chocoholics. Try Cindy's "Chocolate Bombe." It defies expectations by being dense, chewy, soft and sticky all at the same time while making the "essence of chocolate" permeate your entire being. When having such a dessert, it is nice to remember that chocolate, like red wine, is full of anti-oxidants.  That won't make it a health food, but it will cut through large amounts of guilt.

You can contact them at Go Fish 707-963-0700 or gofishrestaurant.net.

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