Sausage and sweet wine

Toward the end of the year and when all the vegetables are gone, I clean up the vegetable garden. I make compost in the vegetable garden during winter to prepare for spring so the once lively garden is now a pile of dirt.

The garden looks empty but herbs are still there. I consulted with one of my favorite savory baking books, “All Day Baking” by Pippa and Michael James, and chose to make Pork, Sage and Onion Sausage Rolls.

All three herbs called for in this recipe, rosemary, sage and thyme, were in the garden. I must have been destined to bake this pie. I used shortcrust pastry instead of Puff pastry so it was quick and easy, but the pie was still so delicious.

We had this pie with Hans Lang Riesling Auslese Rheingau 2002

Auslese is a wine category in Germany. It indicates that the wine is made with very ripe grapes which have the high sugar content therefore the resulting wine is often sweet.

So, this wine was sweet but not too sweet. The sweetness was embraced with the minerality and fresh fruits, and together they created the depth of the flavor which was a good combination with the savory flavor of the sausage.

Some people say that they don’t like Riesling because it’s too sweet. Many of them had an unpleasant experience with the once popular cheap sweet Riesling.

Riesling is not always sweet (or cheap). Especially with the global trend for the drier wine you can easily find the dry Riesling wine from anywhere. To make it easier, the wines from Alsace carry the sweetness level guide on the label so that you can make sure that you are purchasing the dry wine.

And the well made sweet Riesling is far from the boring sweet alcoholic juice. The sweetness is perfectly balanced with the bright acidity, and with the rich flavors of fruits and herbs which are developed during the long growing season under the ideal condition for this variety, this sweet liquid becomes the wine with the depth and complexity, just like this bottle of Riesling.

I didn’t choose this wine to pair with this pie. The wine was happened to be open the day and I just tried them together without high expectations, and the outcome was surprisingly pleasing. I love when the food and wine pairing gives me the delicious surprise.

Finally fall baking

One of the things I feel lucky to live in the Bay Area is that the summer is relatively cool. However, with the global warming even the summer here is becoming hotter and makes me to hesitate to turn on the oven. Now it’s finally starting to cool down. It means, it’s time to bake.

The first pie to bake for the fall of 2025 is my favorite - Cornish pasties.

The pie dough was shortcrust pastry - as usual I substituted the half of the flour with the spelt flour. And the filling was almost vegetarian: onion, spinach, potato, Swiss cheese and shio-koji.

When it was done, I grabbed them and headed to the neighborhood wine bar where I could bring the outside food to find a glass of wine to pair with.

Finding good pairing was not as easy as I thought. I tried several glasses of white wine and found most of them made the pasties bitter. After a few attempts I finally found nice pairing.

Domaine Jérôme Gradassi  Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2019

Organic white wine from a small estate in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The variety is 100 % Clairette Rose.

Pleasant aromas of herb, jasmine, ripe citrus like lime. Fresh acidity is wrapped in the roundness of the texture.

This wine was fun to drink by itself, and brought out the umami flavor of the vegetables when I had it with the pasties. 

Domaine Zind Humbrecht Heimbourg Riesling 2002

Summers in the Bay Area are usually not too hot because of the cooling influence from the Pacific  ocean. This moderating effect helps to grow grapes for wine and helps me to enjoy healthy summers because I lose an appetite when the weather is too hot.

However, there are days which are quite hot this year. It’s not as hot as the heat wave in Europe or the East Coast but hot enough for me to lose appetite.

One of these days JC made beef salad inspired by Larb, meat salad from Southeast Asia.
Stir fried beef is wrapped in lettuce with other vegetables and dunked in fish sauce.
Crisp lettuce and the flavor of beef and fish sauce were appetizing. Good lunch for the sunny, hot day.


We opened Domaine Zind Humbrecht Heimbourg Riesling 2002 with this lunch.

Golden color.
Abundance of aromas and flavors of orange blossom, ripe orange, pear, ginger, bruised apple and slight honeycomb.
Acid is high but it feels soft, with a rich mouthfeel.


This is one of the wines which I bought when I started to buy wines and was thinking of opening on a special occasion, and I opened for this lunch because, I guess, everyday is special.

And the wine proved that it was the right occasion. The pairing was great !
The weight of the wine paired amazingly well with the strong flavor of the fish sauce and I enjoyed the lunch with a good appetite.

Grenache Blanc from Santa Barbara

Grenache is one of the popular red grape varieties.
It is a versatile variety with a medium level of acidity and tannin and red fruits elements.
It can be fresh and fruity rosé wine from Provence, France, or full-bodied red wine from Priorat, Spain.

There is also a white variety called Grenache Blanc.
It is a mutation of the red Grenache variety and usually used in blended wine.

I recently had a chance to try a very good varietal wine of Grenache Blanc.

Curran Santa Barbara County Grenache Blanc 2021

Good body with creamy texture and moderate acidity.
Citrus and stone fruits like peach or apricot, and a hint of strawberry.
Finish was clean and made you want to drink more.

I loved the strawberry flavor in the wine. It was lively yet subdued. 
This wine was refreshing and very pleasant to drink.

Heidrum Meadery

When we went to Marin County to buy oysters last month, it was a beautiful day and we felt like making another fun visit so decided to drop by a meadery on the way back home.

Heidrum Meadery has been making mead, a honey wine, first as a small enterprise since 1997 then moved to the current gorgeous location in Point Reyes in 2012.

They offer a tasting flight as well as mead by the glass, and you can stroll in the garden with a glass of mead in your hand.

California Sage Blossom
Aromas of melon and passion fruit.
Sweet molt-like flavor with soft bubble.
It tasted good with bitter chocolate.


Sonoma Mountain Apiary
Fresh aromas of white flowers like jasmine and thyme.
This mead tasted good with nuts.


Madras Carrot Blossom
Aromas and flavors of honey, Rice Krispie and fennel.
Fresh mouth feel.

California Orange Blossom
Honey and orange blossom with a bitterness of citrus skin. 

There is a slight sweetness in the after taste. Easy to drink.


Hawaiian Macadamia Blossom
Pineapple skin, hibiscus, pear and sweet passion fruit.
Aromas are sweet but there is a savoriness which makes this good with food.

Oregon radish Blossom
Complex aromas of daikon, yomogi, ginger and a slight funkiness.

Good pairing with semi sweet chocolate.



When you hear “honey wine” you expect something sweet but their meads were more savory than sweet and good drink with food.

They have picnic tables in the backyard so I strongly recommend to bring some snack and taste their meads with food.

Oyster and Riesling

It’s almost the end of March.
There is something we need to do before we turn over the calendar…go get oysters!

One sunny day we drove to Tomales Bay Oyster Company.

Tomales Bay Oyster Company is a seafood farm in Marin county which specializes in oysters.

I am not that big a fan of oysters - I like them but am worried that I may get sick - but oysters here are so fresh that I don’t need to worry about the quality and love the drive to this scenic area.
And JC loves oysters, especially the big ones which he can find here.

It was a beautiful day and it seemed like everybody had the same idea.
The store had a long line and some of oysters were sold out...

Luckily the big oysters which JC craved were not quite as popular as smaller ones so we safely took them and clams home.

We had these fresh, meaty oysters with Riesling.

Selbach-Oster Mosel Saar Ruwer Riesling Spätlese 2005
Wine with golden color and pronounced aromas of honeysuckle, citrus flowers, tangerine, candied lemon and petrol.
Sweetness gives a rich mouthfeel which is balanced with fresh acidity.

Old Riesling pairs good with oysters.
This is a tip from Ridi Wiest, a legendary German wine importer (who now is a German art promoter).

Tablas Creek Vineyard

When you think about California wine the first wine you come up with would probably be Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.

However, California is a big state and there are regions specializing in other varieties like Rhone varieties from Paso Robles.

Tablas Creek Vineyard is a winery in Paso Robles AVA.

The winery was founded in 1989 and became a pioneer of the Rhone varieties in California with vine cuttings from Beaucastel planted on the limestone soil.

Not just making good wines, they strongly believe in making wine in the right way.
They have been practicing biodynamic and organic farming, and now are experimenting with dry farming.

California has a Mediterranean climate and there is no precipitation during summers.
It is not an ideal condition for growing vines without irrigation but they plan to expand dry farming believing that to preserve water is their responsibility for a better future.

Even the barrels are biodynamic!

During the Covid pandemic they offer outdoor tastings.

Patelin Rose 2020
Aromas of banana, strawberry and milkshake.
Approachable wine with clean finish.

Vermentino 2020
Passion fruit, tarragon and lime zest. Wine with high acidity and salinity.

Cotes de Tablas Blanc 2020

Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne.

Lemon, peach and tangerine wrapped in the creamy texture.

Marsanne 2020
Aromas of herbs like thyme and fennel. Texture is oily.

Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2019

Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Picpoul Blanc, Picardan.
Beautiful aromas of acacia and apple flowers.

Esprit de Tablas Blanc 2017
Interesting aromas of dried grape, coffee, caramel and popcorn.
More fruits on the palate.

Le Complice
Syrah, Grenache, Terret Noir.

Decayed rose petal and fresh and bright strawberry.

Tannat 2018
Beautiful aromas of rose, violet, raspberry, cherry and coffee, braced with high tannin.

En Gobelet 2019 

Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah, Counoise, Tannat.
High, fine tannin is balanced with freshness of red fruits. Pleasant to drink.

Three vintages of Esprit (Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache, Counoise)
2019
Red fruits, red flower and blueberry. Tannin is a little harsh.

2017
Tannin is high but balanced with vibrant red fruits, pomegranate and cashew nuts.

2012
Intense aromas of dried red fruits, black plum and cacao beans.
This wine displays concentration of fruits and high, smooth tannin.



What impressed me during this visit was the fact that their reputation had already been established but they showed no sign of slowing down for making things better for both wine and the future of the community.

The wines were of course great, but tasting them with people who were proud of working there made them taste even better.