Wine Country and Basque food...

Southern California has a very successful wine industry. AS we found in Oregon and Washington in July, many of the wineries survive now on wine clubs. The drop in rate for many of the wines is ridiculous so we have to be mighty impressed to consider $30 a bottle. Some of the Bordeaux look-alikes sell for $50 but they don't seem to be getting many takers. Some previously good wineries have hit hard times, e.g. Rabbit Ridge from Healdsburg in N. Sonoma, which moved down here with a $1.5 million debt for selling out of bond, apparently. They ahve a huge inventory so you can go to the winery and buy really good reds for $8 a bottle. Of course, at the supermarkets, you can get really good wines for that or less too. Even at Trader Joe's famous for its "two buck Chuck" wines a few years back. They are now $5-6! Talking of Trader Joe's we finally found one in Sacramento and stocked up on all manner of chocolate goodies, the best choc madeleine cookies imaginable!
Last night we went to the local Basque Cafe. You eat at long tables with people you've never met. The chef comes out, bangs a pot lid and tells you what she cooked this evening, that's the menu!
Last night we met a great extended family of Jean and Warren. They had invited guests who just moved back from 25 years in Alaska. These people had had lunch with a guy from Calgary yesterday. When they told me his name, I know him! It's John Katz, the cello teacher on the faculty at Mount Royal University Conservatory of Music! Small world.
Dinner was a 9 course affair with 5 tapas, pumpkin soup to die for, a wonderful fresh salad of local greens and things, and a paella, then dessert. Chef insisted we all take leftover paella home for breakfast or to stuff in peppers. We are not hungry yet - it's 11:30am! Maybe avocado stuffed with shrimp for lunch?
It is the big wine harvest time this weekend so we visited a number of wineries and had some really interesting chats with winemakers, etc. yesterday. Today we will tour some more. Then head to the coast to find fresh seafood again. We've had some good steaks, lamb and pork on the way down, it's time for fish and seafood now.
The little birds are chirping outside my window in our tree so I think I should go see what today brings. It's great to have email connection again but it sure uses up your time!