Just a few weeks ago I gloated about enjoying a bottle of Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon during our anniversary, little did I imagine we’d actually be at Cakebread Cellars just a short 20 or so days later. Crystal’s father happened to be visiting for the weekend and has never been to Napa, we figured he’d enjoy a day trip north. Jonathan was diligent enough to follow up and book tours for us at Cakebread and Mondavi. We originally planned for Opus One as well but as things worked out it was for the better.

The day started off with us arriving in Napa about an hour early, we swung by Turnbull to pass time. This turned out to be a stroke of luck as Turnbull is connected to Cakebread and it was Turnbull who was actually the architect behind Cakebread’s facilities. Their cabernet was alright, I would pass on it but their Old Bull is worth a look.

Next we tucked into Cakebread where Jonathan, Alycia, Justin and Andy caught up with us. Really not much to the tour but an entertaining host and a plethora of Cakebread’s offerings but just like the label; it’s understated but packs an impression. In addition to their Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Merlot they also offer a Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, and three limited Cabernets only available at the winery.

After a short lunch at V.Sattui we rushed off to make our 2:30pm engagement at Mondavi. Upon arrival we met up with Channing Rudd, who took us on a private tour of the campus. Unlike the standard tours I’ve been on Channing was a whole lot more passionate, patient and humorous about Mondavi. Instead of billowing up Mondavi as a man with great vision, he told us about Robert Mondavi the artist, and the man who put quality and passion over bottom line and inferior products. A rather philosophical and scholarly view in contrast to the textbook tour one normally receives.

The red centers were not only visually appealing but served a purpose as well. A) They masked the spilt wine during topping off. B) You can tell these contained red wine. C) Obviously they look good.

This was our ‘boardroom’ tasting room, notice the stemware selection in front of us. Each class was spotless, and used only once. Specific glass for each specific wine. Swanky.

Alycia receiving a generous pour of the 2006 Mondavi Pinot Noir Reserve. Tasty.

These were just some of the wines we tasted in the board room, the undisputed best being the 2004 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - Best Cabernet Sauvignon via Wine Spectator. I actually did not like the 2004 Carneros, I found it too harsh - lots of spice, bite, and tight all the way around, probably a whole lot better if left to breathe.

Aside from the surreal vineyard views, grand spanish architecture and well crafted wines Mondavi has one of the best private art collections I’ve seen. Robert Mondavi collected everything that excited him and much of it is on display at Mondavi; from oil on canvas, to bronze sculptures, and even stained glass windows, his vision is definitely one of legacy. Those of you who follow me also realize I have a thing for furniture and design, the rawest form of this being chairs, while in the boardroom I noticed a pair of these old hacienda/mission style hide wrapped wooden chairs. Just seeing there was a surprise, never less to actually sit on something that existed over centuries ago. Beautiful chairs.

Of course I had to take a few pictures of Crystal being snarky. I had a fun time with her, her pops and Jonathan and co. Can’t wait to do it all over again…hopefully with the rest of the gang as well.

In other news we started to cook at home more. It’s not exactly any more budget friendly, in fact worse, but at least we know what’s going into our food…and that’s what counts right? We made sea bass last night, the crusty thing you see on top of it is actually paper thin potatoes. Not bad I just say, but tonight…we’re going to Restaurant James Randall. Heh.

-Wallace

What is this? I’m actually HAPPY over a cup of Starbucks?! Not the coffeeado by any means, but I do appreciate a well brewed cup of coffee just as much as the next bean snorter. As I strolled into Starbucks this morning for my usual slightly burnt, bitter-sour, sticky slop I was surprised by the use of ‘new’ cups. To the hardcore caffeine bean afflicted, these are actually vintage, or original Starbucks design cups, the rest of us however refer to these as the ‘boobie cups.’

Anyways, they started selling and promoted a new roast of coffee today, the Pikes Place blend. Everytime they introduce something it’s usually just static to my ears. “One cup of slop please!” is what I’d continue to order in my mind. However today…I’m not sure if it’s the new boobie cups or what, but I had to pause a moment after my first sip. I didn’t even know if this was the Pikes Place blend as my morning is so rushed, but I did stop and ponder. It couldn’t be, there’s a mental block that lumps “Starbucks” in with other necessities, as it is necessary for me to get anything done for the rest of the morning, but to actually derive pleasure out of a cup? Impossible. So therefore I say, it is substantially better then the sludge they used to serve, but just how much better? Could I be able to use the term ‘good’ and the name ‘Starbucks’ in one sentence? I guess I have the rest of the week to figure that one out.

While at the cashier I also picked up one of these things without actually knowing or realizing what they did. I figured it was to stir your drink with, and saw it as rather pointless and a waste of resources. Since my grubby fingers got all over it, I would hate for someone else to stir their drink with it so I pocketed it and left, figuring I could find a use for it later.

And later I did! While sitting there I noticed the shape on the handle matched perfectly with the opening on the lip of the coffee lid. I put the two together and WOW! NO WAY! Now…although I’m in a world of surprise, some of you went out of your way to point me over to the “little green plug.” Thanks a lot for waiting so long to show me, where were you when I was ranting about spilt coffee everywhere?! No more half torn stickers (with someone else’s thumbs), stuffed napkins soaking up half the cup, or extreme pothole surfing, I can frogger back to my office with confidence now! Go Starbucks!

In other news I picked up a handful of “Me! I’m French.” Dunnys over the weekend, I unwrapped a Tizieu Hunter Chase. Sweet huh?

-Wallace

PS. My pictures were used on Get A Clue New Orleans and NowPublic.com. Dope huh?

*UPDATE* - Back to my same ol’ predictable cup of slightly burnt sour sludge, guess it was the cup. 04|09|2008 : I’m back to Barefoot Coffee Roasters. 04|10|2008

Technology is not something I strive for, but something I fully embrace. It seems these days that everyone is out there trying to push the boundaries on open-source, virtualization and technology in general. Although I admittedly am not at the frontier, nor do I possess the aptitude to do so, it is something I take full advantage of. Today for example I am going to attempt to update ADE on my where-a-bouts and through-the-day activities as I travel and work. The amount of technology that actually goes into this is quite mind-numbing. The Nikon dSLR that will take the photographs, utilizing its own automatic sensors and micro computer, my Macbook which houses the Adobe Photoshop CS3 that I will then process the said picture with, the FireFTP software that allows me to upload a file from my notebook onto an virtual storage and publish it through Word Press. Not to mention how much WLAN and WIFI networks have matured through the years. Without this bit of technology this would not be possible, for example I am sitting in Terminal A1 in SFO at the moment utilizing the T-Mobile network via Larry’s IBM subscription. Sweet huh? Back in August I mentioned that Richard Branson launched Virgin America, Virgin’s Domestic service. It’s been been a full 6 months since then and I’m about to get my first taste. Whoa…Brooks just arrived, we’re going to Seattle today. Stay tuned…

The first thing you notice when you board Virgin America is its florescent pink and purple overhead lighting, casts a cool reflection over the bright white plastic seat backs and trim.

We sat in the main cabin where every seat was equipped with one of these RED units. These are the domestic cousins of Virgin Atlantic’s in flight entertainment system, one is able to watch television, movies, play games, track the flight via Google Maps, listen to music and for a small fee watch premium television, select movies, and order meals. One can also chat with others on the plane…so you know that cute girl you saw on the path in? Remember her seat number.

Brooks figures out how to text the hottie in seat 15A (yours truly). A message “You have a text, would you like to join.” appears on my screen. For the next few seconds I’m scrambling to figure out how this system worked. You mobile Qwerty users will love it.

The next thing we auto nuts noticed were that the seats were made by Recaro. Sweet huh? This plane is spankin new, un-molested upholstery, fingerprintless touch displays, unabused remotes, etc. I could get used to this…especially for what they charge. (cheap!)

After 3 or so hours we land at Seattle International, and after a bit of confusion we find our way to the Hertz vehicle pick up. Jumping into our rental we headed out onto Hwy 5 into downtown Seattle to meet Tom of Stand-Up Stix.

First, I needed to fuel up. I live on Cheeto’s. Heh…this was actually part of my lunch, I had a Phily Cheese-steak (Phily is spelled correctly).

Told you. Alright…onto Stand-Up Stix.

These three molded plastic sticks are Stand-Up Stix. So just what do they do?

Unless you’re a professional painter, or remodeling yourself you probably won’t have much need for them. These sticks insert themselves into the bolt cut-out of your average door then interlock with each other to prop 2-3 doors up against each other to create an better alternative then leaning doors and painting them side after side and door after door. Why do 1/2 when you can do 3?

Definitely a tool I’d keep in my bag of tricks if I were a painter. Be sure to check out StandUpStix.com for more information or to order a set.

Brooks looked like he was filming an adult movie or something. I think his new man moss, mullet, and prancing horse hat had something to do with it.

What’s a visit to Seattle without coffee? Tully’s headquarters was right by the shop, with an impressive old-school brick roasting factory right behind it. Shibby.

We eventually found ourselves back at Seattle International, with time to spare we were sitting under this giant mobile. What seemed like a random arrangement all became clear a short distance away. This bird was compiled of smaller objects…

It’s actually kind of crazy don’t you think? I wonder how much time they took to install this thing. For whatever reason I thought they were paper cranes at first, upon closer inspection they were actually toy sharks or some other fish. Lots of them.

Five in the afternoon rolls around and we’re boarding again, this time I take the window seat.

I want to say that this is Mt. Olympus, but I am not confident at all. (Correction: It is Mt. Rainier) All I know is a few of us summited this peak over a decade ago. It’s absolutely mind numbing how fast time passes these days. Still have very vivid memories of that trip, such as it’s a bad idea to chase deer, moose will attack even when unprovoked, walking on the summit ridge seeing spring on one face and blistering cold and gloom on the other. Breath-taking views. I wished I knew more about photography during this particular trip. Actually I believe I may have some prints from the trip at home somewhere…I’ll have to look for them when I return.

San Francisco finally becomes visible as the pressure builds up inside my ears. Noise concealing ear buds are not recommended for small cabin airplanes…at least not by me. That stuff hurts. I call Crystal and tell her that April Fool’s is a cruel holiday, and although not the most tasteful of April Fool’s jokes, I tell her that there was a bomb threat at Seattle and they have detained everyone on the grounds in order to process and defuse the situation. In short we were going to miss our flight and there was no way I could make dinner not to mention shuttle her to Volkswagen for her service tomorrow. She took the bait, to which I replied with a sly April Fools!, she did not get it and kept rambling on. Obviously I should have put more thought into it. On her way back she told me she had to return to her office for her laptop, dinner had to wait another hour…I ate it. April Fool’s Wallace! We’re either extremely gullible, or trust each other so that we believe each other’s words without that hindering grain of salt. I’m going with the latter, call me an April Fool. Speaking of which…it’s been a year, we’ve lasted a year! Time does fly, and it does with so much finesse when one’s enjoying their time. Cheers to us.

That’s about it. Happy Spring! Thanks for keeping up with me.

-Wallace