Madeira

We had a guest over the weekend and decided to do the usual tour of places around the Bay Area. Some places on the list were:

1. Stanford (but off course) and Hoover tower,
2. Napa
3. San Francisco

The Napa excursion went of really well. The day started out foggy and dull, but as we crossed the Vallejo Bridge the sun shone down in all its glory, turning it into a beautiful day and perfect for wine sampling. (It was doubly interesting considering how much snow they have been getting in the North East.) Having done the tour through Napa so many times now, we had no cause for maps or additional information. We took the usual tour through the Mondavi estate and made a beeline for V. Sattui. This winery has become our favorite picnic spot. We usually buy our wine here, collect some cheese from the deli inside, along with roasted garlic and a desert and sit on the grass outside enjoying the sun. This brings me to the header of the post, Madeira!

It is V. Sattui's signature desert wine, it has a dash of port and brandy to really bring out the flavors and to my untrained palette it is simply heavenly. (No offense implied to the 2000 Bordeaux that Sorebrek opened at dinner when we last met). The thing about Californian wines is that they are usually a little overpowering and often over the top. They call for really pungent or spicy food to make the combination savory. The Madeira is no different in that aspect, but it is a desert wine so luckily doesn't need to go with anything other than ice cream! I anticipate several days of fine dining in the near future. I doubt we will be able to hold off from hitting the bottle for a special dinner.

We did pick up few other desert wines in the Muscat and Angelica (dash of cognac), so cheers everyone.

In San Francisco, we stopped by the Matreon where we had to visit the Playstation showroom. I got completely sidetracked by Ace Combat 5 a game they had playing on one of the demo stations. There I shamefully hogged the console, despite a little kid coming up to and asking me if he could play after I was done! But by Jove that was a game and a half. I couldn't let go the control of my fighter plane, shooting down those @#$% Yuktobanians. The wife had to literally drag me away and let the kid have his shot at fame, (just as I got the hang of the game and was kicking some ass). That was the bad thing about being grown up. But the good thing is that I can actually purchase the game. MUHAHAHAHAHAHA.