September 2 FOOD • WINE • DINE 011


Pg 5 Paring with Meeker JOKE # 2


Little Johnny's preschool class went on a fi eld trip to the fi re station. The fi refi ghter giving the presentation held up a smoke de- tector and asked the class: "Does anyone know what this is?" Little Johnny's hand shot up and the fi refi ghter called on him. Little Johnny replied: "That's how Mommy knows supper is ready!"


Other Stuff I told my friend,


“This morning I waded across a raging river, escaped from a bear in the woods, marched up and down a mountain, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand, and climbed up an enormous tree!” My friend said, “You must be some outdoorsman!”


By Ron Skaar


GEYSERVILLE, CA. ~ Molly Meeker is a fixture of the Geyserville rejuvena- tion. The whitewashed 1903 Geyserville Bank building has been the Meeker tasting room (complete with wine vault) since the late 90’s. Once lonely, now tasting rooms, restaurants and empo- riums line the street. Charlie Meeker, the husband, gave up the heights of Hollywood to devote full time to his hobby, wine mak- ing, starting out in Dry Creek Valley in 1977. They’ve had a Teepee tasting room, won lots of awards early on for Zinfandel, and are currently developing their property on Dry Creek Road. Son Lucas has become co-winemaker while designing


all the fantastic wine labels. The place is full of “big


reds and blues”. Old school Bordeaux with a new knowl- edgeable voice. An entertain- ing voice also. The wine in this 105 year old building has been cited by the Wall Street


there are 21 dif- ferent wines on the list. First up, the ’06 Fossil is 50 % cabernet, 25% Merlot and 25% Syrah. A new Bordeaux style while the wine is processed in a southern hemi- sphere way. This wine you could enjoy every day. Lucas created a cool dinosaur label for this bold wine. A ’07 Malbec is a bit more aggressive of a red. Malbec is one of the “big six” red grapes orig- inally used in Bordeaux wine. It is also a signa- ture wine grape in South America.Ripe fruit fla- vors of plum and black- berry meld with typically high tannins. A fairly rustic yet versatile red that would pair well with


Journal as one of the most enjoyable wine tasting experi- ences in Sonoma County. Molly guides me through a


wonderful array of Bordeaux style reds. Thankfully, for


barbeque, chili or sausages. Another of the “big six”


is the ’04 Cabernet Frank. A beautifully aged, 7 year old wine from the Alexander Valley Appellation. Earthy


I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious. ~Albert Einstein


undertones, deep berry flavors with a zesty licorice fin- ish.


The ’06 Handprint Merlot is special in many ways. The winemaking father and son load their hands with acrylic paint and handprint each bottle.(Charlie likes red, Lucas likes green). This wine is also one of the Meekers “big blue”. The merlot is a darkly blue col- ored grape which in France translates to “young black- bird”. Handprint


has a grand structure after 36 months in the barrel. Big cher- ries start at the nose accompa- nied by bright acidity on finish with soft tannins. I wanted to avoid the dump bucket here. An ’04 Kelly’s Cabernet Sauvignon is named for the daughter who manages the social media, web site and on line marketing for this clan. Anise and black olive tones with black currant, blackberry and dusty earth flavors with soft tannins. The petite ver- CONTINUED ON PAGE 6


I replied, “Nope, Just a terrible golfer.”


Weird Facts & Trivia - 1


Red, black, yellow, white, purple - these were the colors that carrots started out with. Everything but orange. Carrots were fi rst cultivated


in Afghanistan in the 7th century, and they started with yellow fl esh and a purple exterior. It was the Dutch who developed the orange carrot, and the French in the 17th century who most likely developed the elongated carrot, ancestor of the ones we eat today. The English brought the carrot to the New World.


American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating one olive from each salad in fi rst class.


You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.


Mel Blanc, who played the voice of Bugs Bunny, was allergic to carrots.


UPBEAT TIMES • September 2011 • 5


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