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On April 28, 2007, Wooden
Valley Winery held a
Winemakers Dinner for its Wine
Club Members.
Five Wooden Valley wines were paired
with a four-course gourmet dinner,
provided by Elaine Bell Catering. The wine
club members were able to taste the 2006
Sauvignon Blanc and it was a hit! This wine
has not yet been released, but was available
for purchase to the wine
club during this
special event only, until it is officially
released later this year. The food was outstanding,
and Elaine Bell made an appearance
to talk about how she chose the evening's
menu based on the wines that were chosen
to serve with the meal. Our Wine Club Manager,
Lori, set a goal for an elegant evening
and not only did she reach her goal, but
exceeded it, ensuring excellence down to
the last detail.
Winemakers Dinner
Menu & Photos
| First Course
Dungeness Crab & Avocado Mini Terrine
Micro Green Salad & Lemon Tarragon Dressing
Garnished with Three Colors
of Tobiko Caviar
2006 Pinot Grigio
Ken Lanza
Main Course
Grilled Skirt Steak with
Crispy Fried Onions
Grilled Onion Reduction
Sauce
Trio of Asiago Soufflé Potatoes
Creamed Spinach Tomato Tower
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Primitivo
Dessert Course
Chocolate Molten Cake
Served with Crème Anglaise & Fresh
Berries
Zinfandel Port
Coffee & Tea
Wooden Valley Winery Staff
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Second Course
Spinach Salad with Grapes,
Grapefruit,
Toasted Walnuts & Humboldt Fog Cheese
Tossed with A Verjus Dressing
2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Rick Lanza
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In today's busy world we understand that you may not always be able to find the time for an enjoyable visit to Wooden
Valley Winery. You might just want to pick-up a bottle of wine on your way home, or enjoy our wine at a local restaurant.
In Vacaville:
The Nugget Market
Creekside Bar and Grill
The Old Post Office Restaurant
Merchant & Main Grill & Bar
In Fairfield:
Holiday Inn Select
The Hilton Garden Inn
Happy Garden
Jack & Linda’s Country Cafe
Rockville Inn Restaurant
The Vintage Cafe Restaurant
Bravo’s Pizza (Cordelia) |
In Suisun:
Athenian Grill Restaurant
Solano Yacht Club
In the Woodland area you can
enjoy our wines at:
Maritime Seafood & Grill
In Martinez:
Martinez Yacht Club
And finally:
Amazing Grapes (Sunrise, FL) |
Let us know where
you would like to see
Wooden Valley wines.
E-mail us:
sales@woodenvalley.com
or call (707)864-0730 |
NONNA'S RISOTTO
Great with Wooden Valley Sauvignon Blanc!
2 tbsp olive oil
2 chicken giblets cut into small pieces
2 C uncooked Arborio rice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ onion chopped
½ cup Wooden Valley Sauvignon Blanc
5 C hot chicken broth
¼ C parmesan cheese
Saute giblets and onions in olive oil
on medium heat until onions are translucent.
Turn heat to medium low and add rice, salt,
pepper, saffron and wine to the pan
stirring until wine is reduced.
Begin adding hot chicken broth one ladle
at a time stirring continuously until liquid
disappears and has been incorporated into
the mixture. Continue this process one ladle
at a time until rice is cooked and tender.
Add parmesan cheese and serve |
 Lori Hickman is our featured employee for this issue. Lori has been working at Wooden
Valley Winery since September of 1998, and she has been our Wine Club Manager since 2004. She has the huge task of managing over one thousand wine club members, making each one feel like a part of the Wooden Valley family. Since Lori has taken over the helm of Wine Club Manager, she has added benefits to members, always looking for ways to improve the program. She even came up with the idea to release the Wine Club Cuvee, a wine produced just for wine club members. Her idea was implemented in the February 2006 shipment and was a huge success. Wine
Club events are coordinated by Lori, and she spends hours upon hours preparing so that no small detail is overlooked. And you can be sure that when you receive your shipment as a wine club member, it has been packed with love by Lori, because she also handles the huge task of packaging all of the wine club shipments. She is loved by all of the staff at Wooden Valley Winery. We are so thankful to have Lori on our team. |
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Spring is in full swing, and in the winery that means
that Rick Lanza and his team is busy with bottling.
The bottling process at Wooden
Valley Winery usually
begins in December with a small bottling of a
couple white wines. This year those were the 2006
Riesling and 2006
White Gamay. We got deeper into the bottling
process in January; an additional 600-800 cases
of the Riesling and White Gamay were bottled. Also
bottled in January were the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot
Grigio, and Valdiguie, along with about 900 cases of
the 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, which will be released
soon, and 160 cases of the Wine Club Cuvee. Hang in
there for the new releases of the 2005 Merlot, Syrah,
and Primitivo, we will be bottling these wines this
July and they are slated for release by January 2008.
We will also be bottling two 2006 Chardonnays in July
- one barrel fermented, and one fermented in stainless
steel tanks.
New Releases Available NOW: 2006
Pinot Grigio, 2006
Riesling and 2006
White Gamay. Pick up
these refreshing white
wines in our
tasting room, online
store ,
or at any of the
retailers
or restaurants that
carry our wine. |
What's happening in the vineyards? Ken and Larry Lanza
tell us that their days usually begin around 3:00am.
If there has been rain they will spray the vines to
prevent disease, mildew, and rot. This is done so early
in the morning because this is when there is the least
amount of wind and disturbance to the vines. Other vineyard
maintenance being done this time of year includes thinning,
or leaf removal, to ensure that the canopy does not
become too dense. It was also reported that there was
early bud-break this year due to warm weather and little
rain. Average rainfall is 27-33 inches, and this year
only about 14-15 inches of rain fell. The 2007 harvest
looks like it will be a big crop year, but it's almost
too early to tell if that also means that it'll be a
great quality.
In addition to managing our own vineyards, Lanza Family Vineyards also maintains vineyards for other clients. Recently this has involved vineyard removal and replanting. This is usually done when varieties are in less than optimal conditions, such as being diseased, having viruses, or sometimes just because a different variety will grow better in that area. |
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