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GrapevineA “Case of the Mondays”By Peter ColónAssistant General Manager, St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco, CATypically, working professionalswake up on Mondaymorning to face the beginningof another work week. Mostof you can agree that a “casethe Mondays” is a recognizablephrase that our friendsoutside of the club industryface on a weekly basis. Clubmanagers, on the other hand,tend to see Mondays as thebeginning of their “weekend.”It’s a day that, when mostpeople are working until theclosing hours of local businesses,we zip around thesparsely packed streets of ourcities finishing up our weekly chores. On Monday, January 30, agroup of club managers in the Northern California area had theopportunity to recreate on their day off with a morning cheesetasting and an afternoon barrel tasting.The day began with a 10:00 a.m. visit to Redwood Hill Farmand Creamery. After a few wrong turns on the way there, thanksto the reliable GPS, my general manager and I arrived in theparking lot of the creamery. Once inside, we joined the otherWine Society members, who were already popping the corks tothe bottles of wine brought to accompany the cheeses. RedwoodHill Events and Community Relations representative, DavidBice, began the morning with a warm welcome and introductionon the history of the farm. The award-winning, humane certified,Grade A goat dairy farm and creamery has been family ownedand sustainably farmed since 1968. In 1978, Bice’s sister, Jennifer,assumed the ownership from their parents and expanded thebusiness. Redwood Hill’s products range from artisan cheeses togoat milk kefir.Aging Goat Cheese at RedwoodHill Farm and CreameryWine and Cheese with David Bicefrom Redwood Hill Farm andCreameryDavid first led us through atasting of their award-winningartisan cheeses, yogurt andkefir samples. As we sampledtheir Bucheret, Goat MilkFeta, Camellia, Smoked andAged Cheddars and CaliforniaCrottin cheeses, we tastedwine varietals ranging fromChampagne to CabernetSauvignon. There was no prearrangedlabel or varietalintended for the tasting.Instead, the attendees broughta bottle of their choice to taste againstsome of the region’s premiere cheeses.After dialogue about the cheese andwine pairings, David led the group on atour of the creamery. In every room wesaw, and in the staff we met, the commitmentto quality and excellence was evidentin the operation at Redwood HillFarm and Creamery. When looking forquality local product in the Bay Area,keep Redwood Hill Farm and Creamery inyour purchasing plans.As my “Monday” hit its stride to becominganother day of envy from my friends back in their office, thegroup packed into their cars and headed to Freeman. FreemanVineyard and Winery is the fruition of a 20-year dream shared byKen and Akiko Freeman to craft elegant cool climate CaliforniaPinot Noir and Chardonnay in a sophisticated, Burgundian style.Akiko Freeman of FreemanVineyards and WineryEric Gregory, CCM,and Ron Banaszak,CCM, CCE, reallylike their new outfits.After descending downthe driveway and into ourparking space, AkikoFreeman emerged from thewinery to welcome us into herhome. First, we learned thestory of how she and her husband,Ken, took years to findthe perfect location to producethe acclaimed wines that wedrink today. Following her introduction to the winery, we were ledinto the caves for a tasting of current Freeman Winery releases.Leading off was the 2010 “Ryo-fu” Chardonnay. The heart of theline-up consisted of the 2010 Sonoma Coast, Akiko’s Cuveé,Russian River and Keefer Ranch Pinot Noirs. Akiko’s special offerto barrel taste the 2011 Russian River Pinot Noir rounded out theportfolio on a high note.The big hitter, and my personal MVP of the tasting, was theAkiko Cuveé. Not only did this Pinot live up to my expectationsof a great Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, but the story behindthe Cuveé is unlike most labels I have tried. Akiko, along withwinemaker Ed Kurtzman and associate winemaker, EricBuffington, taste each barrel of Pinot in the winery from the vintageand choose their favorites. This has been done since its inaugural2002 vintage. The Akiko Cuveé would make an immediateimpact on any wine list. Not only does it show the Pinot Noirstandard of excellence, but it has a great story that your front ofhouse staff can use to sell the wine.(continued on page 8)Vol. 25 No. 1 7Spring 2012