Bike Trip

Yesterday my friend Tom and I went on a little tour of the Livermore Valley Wine Country by bicycle. The weather was sunny and warm, around 75 degrees so the conditions were ideal for riding. We started off at our house and rode the back trails to downtown Pleasanton where we stopped for a late breakfast at Dean's Cafe, they have fantastic Omelet menu, real good fuel for the ride ahead :-)

We then rode out Vineyard Avenue until we reached Mitchell Katz Winery. We were a little early, they don't open the tasting room until noon, so we sat at the picnic tables outside and played a card game Tom brought called "Lost Cities" until they opened up. Mitchell Katz makes some really nice wines, the best was the "Fat Boy Cabernet" that we sampled out of the barrel, that won't be bottled until January but it's already really good :-)

From there we rode on to Concannon Vineyard, one of the oldest wineries in the Livermore Valley. Their main claim to fame is that they were the first American Winery to bottle Petite Sirah on it's own, not as an addition for flavoring to something else. The 2005 Reserve Capt. Joe's Petite Sirah is really a pretty nice wine.

From there we rode a short distance down Tesla Avenue to the LaRochelle Winery were we had a deluxe sit down tasting complete with a wonderful pairing platter. I had the Pinot Noir Flight:

Pinot Noir Flight
2005 Dutton-Campbell Ranch, Russian River Valley
2005 Pinot Noir, Zabala Vineyard, Arroyo Seco
2005 Anindor Vineyard, Umpqua Valley
2006 Late Harvest Riesling

Tom had the Sleepy Hollow Flight:

Sleepy Hollow Flight - Limited Time Date: Offered Daily
2006 Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Martini Clone,
Santa Lucia Highlands

2006 Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Clone #113,
Santa Lucia Highlands

2006 Sleepy Hollow Vineyard, Clone #667,
Santa Lucia Highlands

2006 Winter Harvest Riesling,
San Vicente Vineyard, Monterey

Pairing Platter

• Saint André - High (75%) milk-fat ("triple crème") cow's milk French cheese with a soft buttery texture, like an intense version of Brie. It pairs well with Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc & Pinot Gris.

• Manchego - This Spanish sheep's milk cheese from La Mancha offers a full spectrum of flavors. This version is aged 3 months and goes particularly well with Pinot Noir, as well as other red varietals like Syrah, Merlot, and Petite Sirah.

• Fig & Olive Tapenade - Pureed kalamata olives and dried mission figs are blended with just a touch of rosemary, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. A little salty and slightly sweet, the tapenade pairs best with the red wines.

• Truffle Mousse - This luxurious mousse of chicken and pork features the gem of French cuisine - black truffle. Flavored with Pineau des Charentes and sherry, this mousse has an unbelievably silky texture and is perfect for the most elegant occasions.

The portions of wine were much larger here and we shared the tastings and the platter, by far the best food and wine we had all day was here at LaRochelle!

After LaRochelle we rode into downtown Livermore where we had a late lunch at Bruno's Italian place where we sat outside and I ate the Melanzana Vegetariano, eggplant, ricotta cheese, mushrooms and fresh tomato sauce baked with mozzarella cheese. MMMmmm. :-) Had a glass of Wente Merlot along with it and then we rode back to Pleasanton.

I had a great time and look forward to more bike-ride and wine tasting trips this summer!