Tag: solis winery

Dinner fundraiser benefits ostrich farm The Gilroy Ostrich Farm will present its first-ever Crawfish Boil Fundraiser on March 20. The carry-out meal includes a serving of...

In Santa Clara Valley, there’s a long history of growing wine grapes, some of the oldest in the country. Wine historian Charles Sullivan stated that “the Santa Clara Valley is the birthplace of premium wine grapes in California.” In fact, our local wine history predates some of the notable and prestigious areas in California. In her new book “Wineries of Santa Clara Valley,” local author Bev Stenehjem tells the wine history of the Santa Clara Valley through a series of photographs that document 14 families through a span of 150 years.

It’s a major undertaking to try and perfect the BBQ recipe for beef brisket. Miss Jenny and I have the Mango-Chipotle Baby Back Ribs and the Carolina-style Pulled Pork down, but the brisket is tricky and I’m burning a lot of pellets on the Traeger grill trying to perfect it. Cooked up the best one yet last weekend after making a brothy injection and patting on two dry rubs in between a coating of mustard. Smoked it, wrapped it, sprayed it with butter, let it rest and 15 hours later we carved it up. Tender, great texture, but the flavor wasn’t quite the rich beef melt-in-your-mouth I’m looking for. So, it’s back to the drawing board for fine tuning ingredients and time and temperature to get it right. Then I can serve it up for the poker boys and have an Indian summer BBQ with friends and a great bottle of 2008 Merlot from Solis Winery.

A trio of local wineries were given high praise at the 33rd annual San Francisco International Wine Competition, held June 14-16 at the distinguished Hotel Nikko in downtown San Francisco.

Barbecuing a beef brisket – wonderful cuts available by the way at Rocca’s Market in San Martin – takes about 10-12 hours to do it right, so you’ve really got a lot invested in time and technique. That’s why I appreciated this line so much after smoking a brisket last weekend and then continuing to make what’s known as “burnt ends” – tasty chunks of beef bursting with flavor. Alton Brown, Food Network Star and author of multiple cookbooks, nailed it: “Bimetal coil thermometers are about as accurate as a sniper scope on a nerf gun.” So, if Dad likes to BBQ, a good instant read thermometer would be a great gift …

Claddagh unveiled a new menu Tuesday and our lovely waitress, under the watchful eye of hard-working owner Leslie Benson, pitched a mound of “Ultimate Fries” to our weary group. The verdict: “killer.” Healthy? No – but more than a wee bit tasty. Mixture of ranch and blue cheese dressing, Frank’s hot sauce, a few other “secret” ingredients and bits of crispy bacon. Messing with the menu never tasted so good. A tip of the green Claddagh cap  in order …

Mixed reviews are following an ambitious effort aimed at clarifying existing laws that regulate the local wine industry, after the project dragged on for more than a year.

After several challenging years that included drought, mold, unseasonably cool temperatures and even hungry nematodes, 2012 is shaping up to be “pure perfection” and “just wonderful” for many of Santa Clara Valley’s 22 wineries.

Let’s start right off the bat: Gov. Jerry Brown and his Band of Little Renown can take his more taxes plan and stuff it. I’m sick of the state government trying to bleed us dry, stealing tax money from our city government, closing down RDA entities to feed their spending habits and threatening the purse strings of our schools. The farther away the money gets, the less control we the taxpayers have over it.  Cut the state budget. Vote against every state incumbent, vote against every tax. Unfortunately, it’s at the point where I believe that’s what it’s going to take to shake the status quo up. California government is not serving us, the people who pay the taxes. California government, despite a $16 billion deficit, increases spending. Nobody in California has the guts to really wade in, apply common sense, accept the pain that goes with reality and change things. This quote, posted by OldMan64 on our website comment board, spoke volumes and, if the voters don’t do something drastic very soon, this state is going down the tubes. OldMan’s choice hammered it home: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.” ~ Alexis de Tocqueville, ca. 1830. Vote them all out, vote against more taxes. Do it, and we might save our state and the American Republic.

An operating winery since 1917, the land and microclimate is ideal for wine grape production. Solis Winery (previously Bertero Winery) was established by Dave Vanni in 1989 and is now operated by brothers, Michael and Vic Vanni.