San Francisco Restaurants Take Wine Seriously
While wine touring the other day I explained to my clients that the only three things that people in wine country talk about are food, wine and the weather. There are side issues of course, for instance plant identification is a big thing here, and I think that people are often surprised that I can name so many of the pretty green things. All those years as an herbalist coming out I guess. We also seem to love identifying animals for the same reason, they affect the grapes.
Red Tailed Hawks protect the grapes from hordes of Starlings that descend upon them when the grapes are ripe. Boxed houses provide homes for barn owls (having one of them swoop in front of your car late at night is a thrill) keep down the digging gopher population. The legion of friendly and tremendously relaxed winery dogs keep the skunks and raccoons at bay; two critters who love grapes.
In fact, one of the unfortunate signs that a vineyard is ready to harvest is when you smell flattened skunks. The poor things were just heading across the road to nibble on those delicious grapes. They can consume a bunch in a sitting. Of course we have coyotes and foxes that we see pretty regularly. Fortunately the rattle snakes and mountain lions keep to themselves, although anytime you’re around piles of wood or rocks it helps to step carefully.
The point of all this is the narrow selection of topics of conversation that consume our time, which includes the goings on in the wineries among our community. Considering how many celebrities visit here you would think that they would be more the rage, but honestly, unless they own a winery or vineyard they are usually passed over quickly in conversations.
If I want to talk about anything other than food, wine and the weather I have to go to Marin or San Francisco, which is what we did the other day to attend the 38th annual ethnic folk dance festival. We had a great time and then went out to dinner at Ristobar on Chestnut street for a killer ossobuco, and then I made the mistake of opening the wine list.
There it was; a sea of wonderful Italian wines. Of all the things that I miss about living on the east coast, the easy access to Italian wines is one of the biggest. I found a wonderful Passerina from Abruzzo, a crisp, mineral white with a lovely nose that went wonderfully with dinner. My only mistake was not ordering more than a three ounce pour. With its moderate alcohol I could do that.
I’ve become so accustomed to Napa and Sonoma’s high alcohol levels that I rarely order wines when I have to drive. We are professional tour guides after all so we protect our commercial licenses pretty carefully. But this wonderful white, full of character and history had a light touch that lightened the day without slowing the tongue. Ah!
Of course the conversation had to turn to wine, and that was my fault. But there was a funny inclusion in this ‘all Italian’ lineup. At the bottom of the extensive ‘by the glass list’ was a Petroni Syrah. That’s Lorenzo Petroni’s wine from the Sonoma Valley. I guess the fact that he is the owner of the iconic North Beach restaurant, and a native of Lucca carries enough weight to get him on a thoroughly Italian list in San Francisco, and it should!
Ralph & Lahni de Amicis are authors of the Amicis Winery Guides, and owners of Amicis Tours. They are authors of over twenty books on health, design, business and travel. Their iPhone Apps, The Napa Valley Wine Tour, and The Sonoma Winery Tour are a tour guides approach to these beautiful area, complete with 1000’s of photos and insights. Their articles and products can be found on the sites http://www.amicistours.com and http://www.spaceandtime.com
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