Lynette's Danish roots and, of course, more wine!

Thursday, 4 October. Guess what: it turned cooler overnight.  In fact, it was almost “chilly” this morning.  I think the high today was in the upper 70’s; a nice turnabout from the very hot days of the recent past. We both slept in this morning until 9:30, so our plans to drive over to Mendocino county wine country was out the window.  It’s a 90-minute drive over and another 90 back, so we decided to do some genealogy work on Lynette’s side of the family instead.  She already knew that her great-great-grandparents on her Mom’s side of the family lived in this part of the country at a place called Cuffey’s Cove.  Today nothing remains of Cuffey’s Cove – just north of Elk on the CA coast – except a cemetery, so we headed to the Mendocino County seat at Ukiah, just a mere 30 minutes north of us on Hiway 101.  Turned out to be a good decision.  Not only did we find out some previously unknown information about Lynette’s family, but we also managed to sneak in another excellent lunch at a local brew pub, and then sample some wines on the way back to Cloverdale at several wineries just off 101.  First the genealogy activity.  Lynette already knew that her Great-Grandma Woodin’s mother had lived – and married – in this part of the country.  A stop at the Ukiah County Court House administrative building proved most fortunate.  With the outstanding assistance of a staffer, we were able to find – and get a certified copy – of the 1882 marriage certificate between Neils Pedersen (native of Denmark) and Ane Marie Bartelsen (also of Denmark) – Lynette’s great-great-grandparents, who later moved to Washington State.  Lynette then asked about naturalization documents, and again with the help of the staffer, was able to obtain a copy of Neils Pedersen’s naturalization certificate from 1878. Talk about good fortune!  Lynette was on cloud nine!  We next paid a visit to the local historical society, where Lynette picked up some additional info that should help her better understand the genealogy of this part of her family.  A still-missing piece is where in Denmark her great-great-grandparents came from.  Another puzzle yet to be solved.  After all this activity, we decided to celebrate our good luck and dine at another brew pub, this time the Ukiah Brewing Company and Restaurant.  I decided to try my luck with one of their personal pizzas, washed down with a pint of their Willits Wit, a wheat beer with coriander and orange.  The combination was very savory, indeed.  Lynette opted for their lunch special: a cheeseburger with bar-b-que sauce and  grilled strawberries.  Before anyone out there says, “What?” the burger was actually very good.  I tasted a bite of it (since I’d almost ordered it) and found it very tasty.  The strawberries, along with the BBQ sauce, gave it a spicy, yet sweet taste.  Don’t knock it till you try it. Here's the listing of their brews on draft.



Ukiah Brewing Company

Pilsner Ukiah
Lager made with Pilsner malt, and New Zealand Saaz hops. #658 5.5% abv

Yokayo Gold
Straw-colored golden ale with a spicy, fruity nose and dry, hoppy finish. #690 6.0% abv

Willits Wit
Light-bodied, straw-colored wheat beer brewed with coriander and orange peel. #691 6.5% abv

Black Bart Belgian
Belgian style pale ale with fruity, yeasty notes. #710 6.9% abv

Spy Rock Special
A hoppy ale made with fresh, organic whole hop flowers and brewed within 24 hours of harvest. $6 pints. $3.50 half pints. $2 4 oz. taster. #717 5.1% abv

10 Guilder
Style-defying red/brown ale with a sweet, malty finish #718 7.3% abv

Liberator
Big-bodied German bock brewed with six specialty malts #681 7.0% abv - By the goblet $6.00, 4oz Taster $3.50. NO pitchers

Emancipator
A Bavarian doppelbock emphasizing a clean, complex malt profile #673 10.0% abv - By the goblet $7.00, 4oz taster $3.50. NO pitchers

 

Since luck seemed to be with us today, we decided to stop along Hiway 101 on our way back to our campground and try some wine tasting at some of the wineries along 101. Our first stop was at the Nelson Family Vineyards, where Sherrilynn, the wine tasting manager, induced us into trying a number of their wines. We ended up buying a bottle of their orange Muscat (Sherrilynn gave us a recipe for a baby spinach salad where the dressing is a combination of olive oil and the orange Muscat…can’t wait to try it); a chardonnay; and a Viognier. Next up on the wine tasting agenda was the Saracina Vineyards, just outside Hopland, CA. Turns out this vineyard is a joint project of John Fetzer (formerly CEO of Fetzer Vineyards) and his wife. I’ve had Fetzer wines several times throughout my lifetime. The winery is named after centuries-old vineyards and farmhouse in Tuscany where Fetzer and his wife honeymooned. While we sampled several good wines, we ended up buying just one bottle, a classic Rhone-style blend of Roussanne and Viognier grapes mellifluously named The Choir, which we both thought was very nice. Described as having a nose that is wildly fragrant, with complex notes of orange blossoms, white peach, honeysuckle and jasmine, The Choir has a very nice, very smooth taste; it’s sold under their ATREA label. We also purchased a bottle of their local honey, produced from the three million bees on the property; it just sounded too good. As we were leaving we happened to run into John Fetzer and introduced ourselves; he got a kick out of the fact that Metzer was so close in spelling to Fetzer. The last winery stop was at Jeriko Estate, also near Hopland. And who do we run into but John Fetzer again. He was sitting at one of the tables in the Jeriko tasting room with Danny Fetzer, one of his many brothers; turns out Danny runs the Jeriko wine-making operation. Small world in the wine producing business, I guess. We again tasted several nice wines and settled on a bottle of their 2009 chardonnay and a bottle of their 2006 San Greal, a port made from the zinfandel grape. (This is very good stuff, Jamie…18% alcohol by volume). Here’s an interesting note to end this blog entry. Mendocino derives its name from Cape Mendocino, which was given its name by a famous Portuguese/Spanish explorer/navigator of the 16th century, Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo. Seems Cabrillo discovered the Cape in 1542 while on a voyage of discovery along the Pacific Coast and named it in honor of Don Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy of New Spain (Mexico) and Cabrillo’s patron. Anyway, the San Greal is one very fine port; almost wish I’d bought two bottles!

 

Entrance to Jeriko Esates

 

View of Jeriko Estates from Highway 101

 

Believe tomorrow we’re headed over to Mendocino County wine country and CA’s coast.  Along the way we’ll pass through Anderson Valley, well known for some very fine wineries.  Maybe we’ll even find a Riesling or two.  More on that adventure in another blog entry.  Cheers for now!