Co Co County Wine Company – Great Wine and Good Times!

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Beverage, Co Co County Wine Company, Food, Wine

 
Here in Northern California, we are fortunate enough to have abundant access to a wide variety of excellent wines. This past Saturday we had the good fortune to join a friend’s birthday celebration at the Co Co County Wine Company. I can’t believe we didn’t know this place existed. We had such a great time!

This place is a quaint little wine bar that serves local wines. Many, if not all of the wines, are from Contra Costa County. We enjoyed a bold, hearty red blend, Bloomfield’s Devil’s Daughter.

You can buy wines by the glass or bottle. You can also buy a flight of 3 wines for the price of a glass of wine, so you can try a variety wines to better decide what you might want more of.

They also serve beer and they have a couple light bites available for purchase. They have a meat and cheese platter and a garlic popcorn that you can munch on. Don’t expect dinner here though.

On some weekend nights, they have live bands. The band playing the night we were there was excellent. We really enjoyed their covers of classic rock songs. There was dancing and a good time being had by all!

If you’re in the East Bay Area, I highly suggest you try this place out. The are located at 633 First Street in Brentwood, California.

 

 

  

Coq Au Vin – A Rustic, Yet Elegant Meal

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Chicken, Cooking, Coq Au Vin, dutch oven, Food, mushrooms, recipe, slow cook, Wine

  

I first fell in love with French cooking when I was in high school and made Coq Au Vin for a French club potluck. The savory red wine sauce, laced with bacon over fall-apart tender chicken and sweet carrots is a refined dinner that is elegant enough for company, but easy enough for any family dinner night. I chose to serve mine over brown rice with a side of organic artichokes that I couldn’t resist drizzling with a little of the bacon fat. Not a healthy choice I know, but it’s not often I cook with bacon, so I couldn’t resist and it was totally worth it!

This meal was basically one of those where I threw everything into one pot, let simmer and relaxed for a while. I love those kind of meals! Cook a little, relax a little and voila! So without further delay….

Coq Au Vin

1 1/2 pound chicken (I used bone-in thighs with the skin removed. You could use boneless as well.)

1 1/2 cups hearty red wine (I used a favorite Cabernet Sauvignon. Remember, if it’s not good enough to drink, it’s not good enough to cook with. Do you want your food tasting like a nasty wine? Nope!)

2 cups chicken broth

4 oz tomato paste

2 shallots, diced

2 carrots, cut in thick slices

8 oz mushrooms, sliced

8 oz bacon

I used my Dutch oven on the stove top. You could also use your slow cooker, but cook longer. Pour wine in your pot. Then add chicken broth and tomato paste. Whisk lightly to break up the tomato paste and mix with other liquids. Add remaining ingredients, except for bacon. Simmer over medium low heat, covered for 1 hour. Tilt the lid on your pot to vent and cook another 30 minutes. Increase he heat a little if needed to maintain the low simmer.

Meanwhile, cook your bacon in a frying pan and once cooked tear or dice. Shortly before serving, add the bacon to your pot of coq au vin. If you want to keep this dish on the lighter side, you can leave out the bacon. It will still be good, but you know what they say, “Everything is better with bacon!”

This dish is very saucy and is very nice served over rice.

Voila!

Chatom Winery – Another Jewel in the Sierra Foothills!

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California, Chatom Winery, Food, Murphys, vineyards, Wine

  My husband and I decided to take a little getaway to Murphys, CA before I dive into all my Thanksgiving dinner prep. One of our favorite wineries to visit, is Chatom Winery.

As is typical of the Sierra Foothills region, their red wines are very bold and flavor forward and the whites are crisp and clean with less oak flavor than those from the Napa and Sonoma region. We definitely prefer red wines, but Chatom’s Sauvignon Blanc is a Thanksgiving staple! We love this bright, fruity wine with our Thanksgiving dinner. Their Chardonnay is excellent as well!

The winery is undergoing a few changes right now. In the picture above you see my husband and me in the cellar where they are currently doing their tasting. Ownership of the winery recently changed hands and the new owners decided to renovate and expand the tasting room, so the cellar tasting area is temporary. It was great to stand amongst and smell all the wine barrels though! In the following picture you can see the large tanks that are used to age the white wines. Some of the whites also get time in very large oak barrels, so they get a touch of the oak flavor.

  
Anyway, the folks here are friendly, the wines are great and the grounds are beautiful! If you’re in the Murphys area, I definitely recommend you stop by and give the wines a taste!

  

Indian Rock Vineyards – A Beautiful Spot With Wonderful Wines

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California, Cooking, Food, Indian Rock Vineyard, picnic, vineyard, Wine, winery

  
Living in Northern California, we are fortunate to have easy access to numerous quality wineries. Most people immediately think of the Napa region, but my husband and I prefer the quaint, less crowded Sierra foothills region. This time of year the drive into the foothills is a beautiful one with gorgeous fall colors covering the rolling hills and lining the winding roads. There are several wineries we enjoy and one of our go to’s is Indian Rock Vineyards.

In addiion to the great wines, we really enjoy the stunning grounds at Indian Rock. It is our regular picnic spot when we visit Murphys, CA. The owners and and staff greet us like family and have always been so conscientious about making sure everyone enjoys their visit. They’ll open a bottle of wine for you, provide some plastic glasses for you to enjoy your wine outside, or run out to wipe down a table for you.

 The large grassy area that spans down to a picturesque pond with an antique farm windmill in the background calls you to kick up your feet, sit a while and sip some wine.

The wonderful wines complete the relaxing visit. The reds, typical of the region, are very hearty and not for the faint of palette. The white wines are clean and crisp with less oak than you’ll taste in their Napa neighbor’s wines.

If you have yet to discover the Sierra foothills and Murphys, CA, come on up! You’ll fall in love with the rustic beauty of the area!

Indian Rock Vineyards

1154 Pennsylvania Gulch Road, Murphys, CA

White Wine Spritzer – A Refreshing, Low-cal Cocktail Choice

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cocktail, Cooking, Drink, drinks, eating, Food, low calorie, spritzer, summer, weight loss, white wine, white wine spritzer, Wine

  
I had always heard of a white wine spritzer and Weight Watchers always mentioned them as a good lower calorie drink choice, but I never tried one until recently. What on earth was I waiting for??? On a hot summer day, this is such a refreshing drink choice and it doesn’t weigh you down like straight wine can. We recently enjoyed these at my birthday picnic (see previous post). They are especially great for people that aren’t big drinkers. My inlaws don’t drink much, but they really enjoyed these!

These are a commonly made drink, so you can easily order them when you’re out on the town. They are also super easy to make, so they’re perfect for home parties or picnics. The other great thing about spritzers is that you can make them to suit your tastes and desires. Below I’ll share a suggested recipe, but if you want to lower calories or alcohol content just increase the amount of club soda to wine ratio. Club soda has zero calories so you  get the bubbly without the alcohol calories!

If you’re like me and are late to the spritzer game, I hope you’ll give this refreshing beverage a try!

White Wine Spritzer

1/3 part club soda

2/3 part white wine (I really like to use Sequin – Delicately Bubbled Pinot Grigio)

1 lime wedge – squeeze into spritzer and then drop in

Just add all ingredients to glass and gently mix. I guess you could make it by the pitcher for a party, but it might go flat over time. I also like to start with ice cold ingredients, so I don’t have to add ice, which will water it down when it melts.

Cheers!

Hannah Nicole Vineyards and Winery

Tags

Contra Costa County, Food, Food Pairing, Party, Wine, winery

 

So today we went to the Member’s Summer Release Party at Hannah Nicole Vineyard and Winery in Brentwood, CA. What a nice way to spend an afternoon with my husband!

 

That’s my man!

The winery put out an awesome food spread and the wine was flowing freely! Bacon wrapped figs, fresh meats and cheeses, bruchetta to die for, fresh fruits and sauteed veggies, and just Oohhhhh!!!!

   

If you’re fortunate enough to live in or visit the San Francisco East Bay Area, I highly recommend a visit to Hannah Nicole. The wine is wonderful and they are so hospitable! I did an earlier post about my birthday picnic and it was at the same winery. They took such good care of us! They made sure we had a table with plenty of shade, brought us ice cold bottled water and even gave us a free bottle wine. The grounds are spectacularly beautiful! Who wouldn’t want to lounge in an aiderondack chair overlooking vineyards leading up to a view of Mount Diablo.  The best of Contra Costa County!