Wineries on Day 2

My second day started with breakfast at the Hoffman House (next to the Geyserville Inn). A great breakfast for a small price.

After breakfast, I drove to Healdsburg for an ATM. I was a little early to begin wine tasting, so I drove around Alexander Valley. I tried to go to Jordan, but it was appointment only. I stopped by Hanna Vineyards (which I had been to earlier this year), but decided to head on to Napa Valley to start my wine tasting for the day. Here is the wineries I hit that day (including my lunch start).

1. Chateau Montelena - Know for their Cab's (and for their one Chardonnay). Recently renovated tasting room. The week before they had just finished filming a major film about the wine owner there.

2. Vincent Arroyo - I have futures on their wine. Had stopped earlier this year and added to my order (which will be shipped in October / November). It was worth the stop (added two more Greenwood Ranch Petite Syrah to my order).

3. Envy Winery - This was a recommendation from Rick and Vincent Arroyo. A fairly new tasting room. They had some first release wines to taste. One of the owners owns a restaurant is know in the area and had two Cab's that are excellent (but very expensive). All were great.

4. August Briggs - The winery was recommended by people at both Montelena and Arroyo. High in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I bought a Pinot there.

Lunch - Taylor's Refresher (in St. Helena) - It's been a lunch stop for me during the last two years. An old drive-in converted to a walk-up dinner. Great food and wine. Their burger menu is large and multiple types of fries (I like the garlic fries).

5. Alpha Omega - I turned into this winery on a whim last time in Napa and was impressed. They are only on their first release of wine, but they are very solid. I would recommend a stop (even though the wines are a little expensive).

6. William Harrison - Another recommendation from Vincent Arroyo. Known for their Cab Franc (which I bought). The only made 4 red wines.

7. Robert Sinskey Vineyards - One of my "let's stop here" finds. A organic winery which has special food pairing that are served with their wines for the price of the tasting. One white and three reds. All wines were excellent with the food pairings.

8. Signorello Vineyards - Another last minute decision. They mostly produce reds (only a couple whites). I tasted the high end reds (2 Cabs and a blend). All were great, the only issue was the price ($45 to $95).

All of the wineries above I would recommend trying.

Dinner that night was BarBer's Q in Napa. A friend of a friend of a friend owns this place. I BBQ joint with wine. Very nice and great food. I had the roasted turkey sandwich and key lime pie. Someplace to try if you are out there. Reservation are recommended.

Overall, the trip was great. One and 1/2 cases in two days. Not a bad trip.

Wineries on Day One

I left the conference in San Francisco and headed north. Instead of heading up through Sonoma, I decided to head to the Dry Creek Valley. Here are the list of wineries I visited yesterday.

1. Mauritson / Rockpile - Very nice winery. Their high end wines are from the Rockpile area (north of Lake Sonoma). I bought a Zin and a Port.

2. Dry Creek Vineyards - Another nice winery. I bought 2 of the single vineyard Zin's there.

3. Papapietro Perry - Located in a area where multiple family wineries are around a common parking lot. Bought 2 small bottles of Pinot. Also known for their Zin.

4. David Coffaro - A small boutique winery. The tasting room was in a Morton shed. The winemaker's testing area is behind the tasting counter. Very laid back. The have a wine that is basically all of their wines combined into one bottle. Picked up a blend called Escuro.

5. Geyser Peak - The winery that I belong to. Picked up 4 Chardonnay's (2006) and 2 Vigonier.

6. New Coppola winery (called Rosso & Bianco) - Nice winery. Wines are pretty good. Didn't buy anything there.

Had dinner at Healdsburg at Willi's Seafood. I would recommend it. I stayed at Geyserville Inn (for my second time). I very quiet place to stay in upper Sonoma Valley.

I left my heart........ in San Francisco.

I usually don't post about a trip, but I thought I would post about this trip to San Francisco.

1. If you are in town during the week and are staying downtown and would like to see an interesting performer, go see Nikki at John Foley's Irish Pub every Tuesday and Thursday.

http://www.johnnyfoleys.com/index.html

2. An good place to eat is down near the Financial District. I was looking for one restaurant, but wondered to Belden St. I ate at Cafe Tiramisu tonight. The wine list was excellent (a lot of wine from Italy). I had the Pepper crusted Ahi Tuna on a Spicy Shrimp Risotto. Very tasty!!!! I had the Limoncello for an after dinner drink. For the second time in less that a week, it wasn't very good. It seems that in America, they don't chill it. It is served room temperature (or slightly chilled). When I was in Italy last year, it was served frozen (or near frozen). It is much better this way. Here is a link to the other restaurants on Belden St.

http://www.coastnews.com/restaurant-guide/belden.htm

Off to wine country tomorrow afternoon.

Osteria Via Stato Restaurant

We went to this restaurant in Chicago last night. Very good food and wine. I will be back.

Playlist: Convert audiobooks to Audiobooks

I have always wondered how to rip audiobooks on CD and get them into the Audiobook section in Itunes (and on my Ipod). It all has to do with the extension of the file. Check the link above to find out.

Wine blog using video a vlog Wine Library TV

I just found this link on Digg. Not sure how the guys reviews are, but it looks promising. Check it out!

Here is a website that can help you manage your email.

43 Folders Series: Inbox Zero 43 Folders

100 Greatest Cover Songs / Remakes

Check out the 100 Greatest Cover Songs. They also have the Top 10 best and worst.

Things I wish I’d know when I was younger - lifehack.org

If you get a chance, take a quick look at this. Some thoughts from a person in their older years.

Good incident example for justifying staying out of the water while lightning is around.

Lightning Hits Diver's Air Tank, Kills Him
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- Lightning struck a diver's air tank as he surfaced off Florida's Atlantic coast, killing him, authorities said. Stephen Wilson, 36, was diving with three others Sunday off a boat near Deerfield Beach, about 40 miles north of Miami. He had surfaced about 30 feet from the boat when lightning struck his tank, said Deerfield Beach Fire Chief Gary Fernaays. The other divers struggled to get the man back into the boat and radioed for help, Fernaays said. The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was rushed to the beach, where a rescue crew gave him CPR. He was later pronounced dead at North Broward Medical Center in Pompano Beach.

A severe thunderstorm warning had been in effect Sunday for Broward County.
The Broward County Medical Examiner's Office planned an autopsy to determine if the man died by electrocution or drowned.

50 Tools that can Improve your Writing Skills - Dumb Little Man

List of links to help your writing.

Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less - New York Times

Need a quick meal. Check out this link.

Jott as a capture tool

This is a article from David Allen's website about a speech to text service that I might try.  It is called Jott.  My quick look at their site shows it's free.  Check out the article, the click over to Jott to check out the product.

http://www.davidco.com/blogs/kelly/archives/2007/07/jott_as_a_captu_1.html

4 Powerful Reasons to Meditate and How To Get Started

Comments on 'MS update sends PCs 'haywire''

I have been having problems with my mouse freezing up.  I wonder if this isn't causing the problem.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/12/ms_patch_problems/comments/

How to Actually Execute Your To-Do List: or, Why Writing It Down Doesn’t Actually Get It Done zen habits

A good article for everyone.

Enterprise will be faced with the new generations use of technology. Here is another article about the topic.

Technology News: Software: Facing Web 2.0 Fear in the Enterprise

Wow!!! Watch the video all the way through!

Video: Amazing Commercial -- Can't tell you more (TreeHugger)

If you read technology blogs, this link has a list of some of the best.

Micahville » Blog Archive » 69 Tech Blogs That Don’t Suck

If you like looking for locations in Google Earth, check out these locations:

PC World - In Pictures: The Strangest Sights in Google Earth

Updates coming soon.... but other sites I have been updating.

I'm working on updates to my website.  Until then, check out some updates elsewhere:

 

Google Albums (for picture)

Del.icio.us (for links)

 

Helpless, Hopeless, Wireless

Companies Cool on Hot Spots As Wi-Fi Connection Problems Lead to Help-Desk Headaches
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118282236794247982.html?mod=blog

Compromise, real expectations are key when traveling

I thought this was timely with my vacation coming up next week.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/06/22/life/doc467ae489845ad248684305.txt

39 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist

Very interesting view of life.  Something to read and think about.

 

http://www.dumblittleman.com/2007/06/39-ways-to-live-and-not-merely-exist.html

The Ten Most Common Photographic Mistakes

Some good thoughts on composing pictures.

http://www.aguntherphotography.com/the-ten-most-common-photographic-mistakes.html

Digital Cameras: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know

A great guide if you are looking at buy a camera.

 

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/digital-cameras-the-top-10-things-you-need-to-know_roundup.html

 

 

Rome Reborn

I saw this pop on Digg today.  Very cool since I was there last year and can imagine these places.

http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/

Cool Clouds

Check out the clouds in the Cloudscape group.  These are natural (not altered with Photoshop)

http://www.jornolsen.com/index.php

How not to climb the Matterhorn

I didn't climb it last year when I was there, but it did bring back a smile to my face as I remember my European trip last year.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/05/28/climbing.matterhorn.ap/index.html

101 Essential Blogging Resources

This link has a lot of information about blogg resources, but also web development information.

 

http://www.blogtrepreneur.com/2007/05/23/101-essential-blogging-resources/

Breaking Network Logjams

I heard about this last year at MIT, but this is the first I have seen about it since then.

http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=77129353-E7F2-99DF-37738629167B4856

11 Surefire Tips for Improving Your Landscape Photography

Great tips.  The photos are top-notch as well.  I wonder if they have been modified a little with Photoshop!

 

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/11-surefire-tips-for-improving-your-landscape-photography/

Zen Habits

Interesting site with helpful hints.  Tied to GTD "Getting Things Done".

 

http://zenhabits.net/