Harvest Parties, Burgerdogs, Paul Simon,
However you like your TASTE, I have it covered in today's Eat Drink Cook newsletter.
Welcome back. Wine Country is enjoying an extended warm spell which, I’m sure, is most welcome by grape growers and wineries in the area. These high 80s/low 90s days hits the Goldilocks zone for our more robust Napa Valley wines. Makes for great swimming weather too.
It’s time to put the full court press on the Ricci Vineyards Pre-Harvest Party I’m co-hosting AND CATERING two weeks from tomorrow. Hope you can make it. Details below.
Events coming up
Reserve now. Payment will be arranged later.
I’ll follow up with you on number in your party.
Saturday, August 23, 3 PM
Pre-Harvest Party at Ricci Vineyards
A joint-event by Eat Drink Cook, Wine Women and Ricci Vineyards will bring together a unique and wonderful mix of wine lovers together. Taste a flight of Ricci Vineyards wines with paired appetizers, then enjoy Boston-style Sausage Pepper Grinders, DD’s Potato Salad and more. Games, music, etc at The Ricci Vineyards barn in Carneros Sonoma.
EDC Members $30*, Non-Members $45
Details and RSVP (If you’re a member I’ll follow up with your discount code.)
TOMORROW - Saturday, August 9, 5 PM (you can still sign up!)
Bring Your Best Bottle Wine Tasting - Chardonnay or Pinot Noir
Bring the best bottle of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or blend (Champagne!) you got, or best you can get. The joy of this event is to share something really good and try all the rest.
Cheese, charcuterie and such served. Best wine, judged by attendees, wins a Zuzu gift card ($ amount depends on attendance).
Location announced to attendees prior to the event (it’s in Napa).
EDC Members: $20* Non-members $30.
Details and RSVP
This Monday, August 11, 1 to 6 PM
2018 Napa Cab Blind Tasting - Which is Which?
Taste Burgess “Estate,” Dyer Vineyard and Heitz “Martha’s”
$52, $105 and $329/bottle respectively.
Taste them blind - can you tell them apart?
EDC Members: $35* Non-members $50.
Details and RSVP
*Member price for member + 1 family.
Buddies gotta join to get member price.
Uncork Burgundy: 11 Days of Wine, Food & Beauty
September 16 - 26, 2026
Join me on a trip through Burgundy. Chablis, Côte de Nuits, Côte de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais, Beaujolais. Staying in Dijon, Mâcon & Beaune.
Details, pricing and reservations.
Eating the original Burgerdog™ at Silverado
It’s a burger shaped to fit perfectly inside a hot dog bun. It started in the 1950s on Lake Merced, moving to The Olympic Club in San Francisco. In 1973 it came to Napa’s Silverado Country Club and was there for me on the 8th hole last Thursday.
You could say the Burgerdog was better than my golf but that’s a very low bar. Soft, juicy and perfectly messy, the Burgerdog delivers maximum comfort food goodness. It is best enjoyed with a Dos Equis Amber in my opinion. Burgerdog™ has a food truck that ventures out time to time, and they cater, so keep an eye out and enjoy one when you have a chance.
Congratulating Bobby Stuckey
Bobby Stuckey MS, the owner and founder of Frasca Hospitality Group in Colorado, has won the Julia Child Award, awarded for making “a profound and significant difference in the way America cooks, eats and drinks. He is the first sommelier to win the award, although his skills reach well beyond “somming.” He joins luminaries such as Jacques Pepin, Alice Waters, Danny Meyer and Jose Andres to win the award. Heady company! Stuckey will accept his award at the new Napa Valley Museum of Art & Culture in St. Helena this fall. (Check out the splendid Julia Child exhibit at “The MAC” when you have a chance.)
Listening to Miracle and Wonder
Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon is an audiobook and podcast created by the author/writer/very smart guy Malcolm Gladwell. An avid admirer, Gladwell distills hours of conversations with Simon, intertwines them with his music, to weave Simon’s immense body of work with his artistic genius. If you are a Paul Simon fan like I am, I recommend you listen to it.
Watching Platonic
After Stick, an unrealistic but heartwarming show about golf and relationships starring Owen Wilson, I’m off to my next easy-ish watch. That will be Platonic, starring Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne. They are “two mischief-loving college pals reunited in midlife after a five-year falling out…Platonic ranges from great to decent company. The leads have palpable (nonsexual) chemistry, and it’s always nice to watch something that is putting serious effort into making you laugh.” Season 2 just started on Apple TV. I have some catching up to do.
You made it: the end of this week’s Eat Drink Cook: a life-journal from a Napa Valley dad, wine expert and enthusiastic cook. Up to twelve subjects, often intertwined, with an emphasis on food, wine, cooking, being a dad and just a guy enjoying these crazy times the best I can. Read me for food & wine tips, recipes, and stuff I come across that you may find interesting too.