Carmen, please tell us first about your own background and wine interests: 

Growing up in Germany. and spending all my childhood summers in Italy, I learned very early on the secrets of winemaking because my dad’s parents owned some vineyards – as is custom in the southern part of Italy. On my German side, my grandfather is very passionate about wine, and we used to visit local vineyards at harvest times that are close to my hometown in the south of Germany. 

Why do you say that Italian wines are better than American wines for those that suffer from headaches? 

The winemaking laws in Europe are very strict in regards to altering the process and adding chemicals to it, like preservatives and sugar. The laws have been in place since the 13^th century and are almost the same today. So what causes the headaches are mainly the added sulfates and/or sugar. Since the laws aren’t as strict in the U.S., there are a lot of ways to add chemicals to the wine than in the old country. 

I know you like Italian wines better than American in general, why should readers learn more…what are they missing?  

Well, there are good wines out here too, it depends strongly on the year. The big difference between Cali wines and European wines lies in the combination between soil, quality of the grapes, temperature and water. Also important are the additives. For example in Germany the wine grows best on volcanic soil, certain temperatures in the summer and a very cold winter. I noticed Cali wines are very acidy in comparison to Italian wines. 

Where do you like to go for wine in Santa Clarita? 

La Chene would be a good place, and anywhere they serve international wines. 

Highlights from the SCV Wine Calendar 

Local Tips: There are plenty of Happy Hours every night – see the SCV Wine Calendar on my blog. 

Find Eve at these two excellent Wine Tastings outside of Santa Clarita: 

Wally’s 7th Annual Central Coast wine and food tasting in Westwood this Sunday August 1 for almost 150 wines, silent auction, and signature dishes from renowned restaurants like Spago, CUT and Cache.   

And learn all about the Rhone Rangers next Sunday 8/8 at Pier 39 West in Santa Monica with 35 different wineries, artisan cheeses and tapas. 

Yours, in wine and out,

Eve Bushman- commentary

Eve Bushman is a local writer that specializes in writing about wine. You can find great articles by Eve on her blog at http://www.evewine101.blogspot.com or email her at ebushman@earthlink.net. Her commentaries represent her own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization she may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon. Eve also writes at http://scvelitemagazine.com and you can follow Eve’s Wine 101 on Facebook and Twitter! 

When I was in the 9th grade, my best pal was John Dunkin. His dad was dean of The Master’s College, called L.A. Baptist back then. In all my years of knowing John, I never heard him swear, unless, of course, you consider the phrase, “jock strap”  cursing.

While teen-age boys were freely distributing all manner of verbal graffiti into the ozone, the easily-frustrated John would just utter a “Oh … JOCK!” or disgruntled “STRAP!!”  or when life turned really rotten, “JOCK STRAP, GOSHDARN IT!!”

Even that was followed by an apology.

I seem to recall that the Baptist powers that be eventually caught up with John and he was dutifully stripped of even that small avenue of emotional expulsion. My 9th grade friend died young, several years ago.

Life is so much different today. Public swearing and coarseness is common and it’s not just the words. It’s the anger, the contorted face, the boastful ignorance, the uncaring arrogance of usually the sub-27 unwashed men and women age groups.

I remember several years back, a non-local nearly went to jail for swearing.

A Michiganite, aptly named Timothy Boomer, was arrested for using the English translation of the cartoon speak: “Racka-fracka dirty ¡#*@£!!§¶o!!. mangy coyote.”

The 24-year-old man was arrested at a crowded beach in Traverse City for swearing. A whole heap. Mr. Boomer fell out of a canoe and let loose — no pun intended — a 3-minute stream of invectives that some witnesses said could be heard a quarter mile away.

Racka-fracka mother lug wrench-WRENCH-WRENCH!!!” Ten thousand bathers are silently transfixed as the verbal malady echoes down the beach.

County judge Allen C. Yenior upheld a 102-year-old Michigan law that makes it illegal to use profanity in front of children. After an unscheduled exit from that canoe, Boomer wouldn’t stop swearing, uncaring that a woman and her two small children were just a few feet away, their hair and ears blowing toward Canada from Boomer’s description of his mother’s procreational abilities, spiced with various scatological diatribes. A sheriff’s deputy, like a mime walking against the wind, finally arrested Boomer. Sadly, he didn’t get the full 90 days in jail and a $100 fine, as the 1897 law stipulates.

My own feeling was that it would have been delightfully poetic if Mr. Boomer ended up sharing a holding cell with a 7-foot-tall defrocked Presbyterian minister/militia leader with little bloodshot bee-bees for eyes who just axed everyone at the church picnic and can’t stomach profanity.

“If Mr. Boomer’s words, when used as they were, were constitutionally protected speech, then a person could stand on a crowded public beach and shout those same words all day,” Judge Yenior ruled. “This cannot be what the framers of the Constitution and the First Amendment intended to protect.”

Music to my ears.

I’m no prude. I swear like a trooper every rare once in a while — mostly in the privacy of myself — after hitting a thumb with a hammer or watching anyone remotely involved with Washington on C-SPAN. But swearing in front of people, especially strangers and children? It’s rude. It’s low class. It’s boring and ugly. In its worst forms, it’s naked aggression. I don’t think we need to force a bar of Lava soap into Mr. Boomer’s deep-caverned and calloused mouth. But a nice little metaphorical zen stick tap to the top of his head would be appreciated, even 2,000 miles away.

Alas, Mr. Boomer will be represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, which says the 1897 law under which he is charged is unconstitutional and violates the drunken canoeist’s right to free speech.

I look to the left. I look to the right. I look behind me. Are there any children around?

The ACLU?

I wouldn’t yell it in front of the women and children, or on a crowded beach as this is the sub-zero doldrums of February, but can I offer a low-volumed, “Racka-fracka-racka them and the horse they rode in on”? 

John Boston is the preeminent local writer and humorist who has won over 118 national writing awards. He is a wonderful human being and it is a privilege to call him a friend. John will continue to live in the Santa Clarita Valley and write about anything and everything. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Now, the usual local eco-terrorists are trying to convince residents again that a well thought-out project should be stopped. It is the same old broken record and is reminiscent of that meeting last year. Here is what I wrote about the meeting last June:  

I have been very picky and choosey over the years as to what community meetings or events to attend and which are not worth my time. As a community volunteer you have to manage your participation or it becomes an all consuming and overwhelming situation. Even the monthly homeowners association, which I attended monthly, has dropped down to every couple of months unless there is a pressing issue.

But last week I decided to do a little civic duty and attend the Army Corp of Engineers public meeting on the Newhall Ranch development.

You see the folks at Newhall Land have been attending our community meetings regularly and have kept our community abreast of the Newhall Ranch project including taking seriously any concerns and/or suggestions that our residents or community leadership may have had. They have, as well, supported the community over the years through thick and thin. This was my chance to reciprocate a little.

Pulling into the parking lot at the Rancho Pico Jr. High School, where the meeting was scheduled in the multipurpose room, I saw a group of protesters with placards in front of the entrance. Alright, it was more like a group of 20-25 milling about and most of them were unfamiliar looking. In other words they were people from outside the West Ranch area and in some instances outside of the Santa Clarita Valley.

I have to give the Army Corps of Engineers credit for dealing with loons, crack-pots and generally erratic, unstable individuals at these types of meetings. They truly get to see the concentrated and sometimes demented underbelly of a community.

Note to Congressman McKeon: Consider extending combat pay to the Army Corps of Engineer soldiers for enduring excruciating community meetings populated with a lopsided number of miscreants and halfwits.     

Once the meeting got underway, I observed a disproportionate absence of decorum. Members of the audience, mostly those associated with the environmental groups, were prone to shouting out comments and questions without regard for courtesy. Simply raising your hand would have sufficed.

Honestly, at one point I thought I might have stumbled into a Tourette Syndrome support group meeting. 

One woman came in and sat in the last row, furthest from the speakers, and started blurting out in a snarling tone; “I can’t hear you”, to the speaker several times. After about the third time I turned and suggested, as did several others, that she might want to move up closer. She didn’t.

Note to Newhall Land: For the next round of community meetings consider buying a half dozen or so “Lee Majors Bionic Ear” pieces to have on hand for cranky elderly folks who are hearing impaired and insist on sitting in the back row. It will be the best $14.95 you’ll ever spend!

During a discussion of the Santa Clara River another woman, to my sheer astonishment, shouted out; “What’s a tributary?” My God I thought, how could a woman apparently in her 40’s come to a meeting which is discussing the possible mitigations to the river not know what a tributary was!

I immediately thought that; a) this person may have been unconscious much of her life; b) she must have grown up on some other planet without any water; and c) she will never be eligible to be a contestant of Jeopardy.

Honestly, how do you become an adult and not know the definition of a “tributary”?  

It was precisely at that moment that I closed my eyes hoping to be magically transported to my home where I could cork a bottle of wine and turn it into a tributary to my brain.

No sooner than the definition of a tributary was somewhat explained by the speaker than another member of the audience, a Ted Kaczynski looking character, shouted out; “what, you don’t trust Mother Nature?” An odd question but one I pondered for a moment anyway.

Sure Mother Nature gives us bountiful harvests, picturesque sun rises and sunsets but she also gives us earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, volcanoes, lightening induced wildfires, rouge waves and tsunamis. So no, I don’t trust Mother Nature much because she can be an unpredictable bitch.

Note to Army Corps of Engineers: Consider administering an intelligence test to individuals attending these public meetings. Ask question like; what’s a tributary?; or is Mother Nature a real person: True or False? It will help weed out the imbeciles and allow the meetings to run a bit more smoothly.  

 I have to say, the Ted Kaczynski looking character was a bit scary. He was taking copious notes right from the get go and at one point I thought that he was writing, in long hand, some kind of hallucinatory manifesto. He was one angry bastard!

Fortunately at this point the presentation was nearing the end and the comment period would start. I thought this was handled well in that they called three speakers at a time and then each would speak in secession. Essentially, the moderator only called out the speaker order after every third person as apposed to after each one.

I was reminded of a valuable lesson that evening from Larry Mankin, the CEO of the SCV Chamber of Commerce; get to these meetings early, fill out you speaker card immediately and turn it in right away. The speakers are taken in order of requests received so if you hand in your request first, you speak first. 

I was so envious of Larry because he got to speak first and shortly thereafter was able to leave. Me, I had to sit through a block of speakers regurgitating much of the same misinformation about water, land mitigations, development in general, and that damn weed, the San Fernando Spineflower.

Note to Environmental groups: It’s called the San Fernando Spineflower not the Santa Clarita Valley Spineflower and therefore should be repatriated to the valley south of us from whence it came. We could round up some volunteers to excavate the weeds from the Newhall Ranch property and redistribute them from our car windows as we drive around the San Fernando Valley.  

Some of the speakers were articulate and others completely unprepared. I suspected that several of the speakers really didn’t even know much about what they were saying, they were just mindless parrots. 

But generally, it was a hostel crowd of carpetbaggers many of whom came up from Los Angeles and the Valley to rail against the Newhall Ranch Project. Of course, the usual local suspects were present many of whom have become cartoons around Santa Clarita, neither taken serious, nor viewed as productive, and mostly laughed at.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if these environmental terrorists just decided one day to take the tact of meeting with the developers to initiate an open and honest dialogue with the intention of trying to find common ground and a way to create a win/win for all? The millions in legal fees that would be saved could actually be used to set aside even more open space!

The Newhall Ranch Project is setting aside 65% of the property to be preserved as natural open space, never to be disturbed by development, ever. There is a thoughtfulness going into the project that is intelligent; unlike the planning and building circus that occurred in areas of the San Fernando Valley years ago.

But I am convinced that if the project set aside 95% of the land as open space that many of these whack-jobs would be doing exactly the same thing in trying to prevent any building on the remaining 5%.

Those tactics have to stop because they are not productive nor is it accomplishing anything other than increasing the cost of homes, commercial space and hurting the local environment. The amount of time and resources being wasted battling these Eco-terrorists is in fact having a greater impact on our environment with missed opportunities to preserve more natural resources using the funds that otherwise are being spent on the relentless and often fruitless lawsuits.

By the way, the meeting on Thursday night June 11, 2009, was attended by about 50 or so people. There were about 25 that represented the Army Corps, Newhall Land’s employees and consultants, Fish and Game, and two Sheriffs Deputies. The other 25 or so ran the spectrum from legitimate, rational environmentalists to halfwit idiots.

What is sad about the attendance is that if local residents like something they are more apt to stay home and not come to these types of meetings just to say “hey I like this!” It’s sort of a “if it doesn’t affect me, I don’t need to speak up” kind of attitude. It is just as important to come out and support projects and issues that you like as it for the ones you don’t.

Note to self: Consider organizing a protest against environmental terrorists at the next local Army Corp of Engineering community meeting replete with placards supporting the open space of the Newhall Ranch Project, new homes, jobs, and maybe even burn an effigy of that Spineflower weed.

We need a real blast of grounded reality to show that commerce and environmental stewardship can coexist together benefiting our community, business and our valley wide ecosystem. It’s not an “either/or” proposition.  Now is the time to turn the tables on these interloping environmental carpetbaggers!!!

That meeting was a circus filled with individuals that were hell-bent on stopping any development. I would much rather look at each project on its own merits and determine how it will benefit our community. The Newhall Ranch project is a smart, well thought-out plan that will allow for 65% of the land to be set aside as open space in perpetuity and for more than 18,000 oak trees to be left intact and protected. It is vital that our community fully support this project which will allow for most of the natural beauty of the west side of Santa Clarita Valley to left intact.

The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the comment period for the Newhall Ranch project through Aug. 4, 2010. Don’t let outside interests dictate policy or development in our community. Please take a moment to write a letter of support for this valuable regional project that will bring local jobs, reduce freeway commuter traffic which in turn is good for the environment and many other benefits for our valley  and the local economy. The letters should be addressed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regulatory Branch, Attn: CESPL-RG-2003-01264- AOA, 2151 Alessandro Drive, #110, Ventura, CA 93001.

Dave Bossert-Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

“I enjoy dating married men because they don’t want anything kinky. Like breakfast.”- Joni Rodgers;

Great jump shot. Very photogenic. A canny seller of cheeseburgers. But drat, I still feel that the early 20th century pugilist, John L. Sullivan deserved the honor.

I mean, JLS used to fight in a Jim Morrison drunken stupor and just beat the vowels out of people all while throwing up and having booze dementia.

Forget Ali.

Never mind about Wilt.

Just skip Joe.

That’d be Montana. Not Kapp.

Sullivan would get so blottoed before fights, one trainer would hold him up in the air while another one would somehow wiggle his tights onto the big dumb drunk Irishman. They’d carry him to the ring, shove him through the ropes like putty and then Sullivan would just start knocking huge chunks of protoplasm, body parts and what few remaining IQ points out of people who only recently evolved from cave people and you know how tough cave people are.

Once, down in the wilds of Mississippi, Sullivan fought Jake Kilrain. Before the bout — and I’m not making this up — Sullivan consumed a breakfast that would make hyenas puke. Get this. The Boston Strongboy ate six pork chops, a dozen eggs, a tray of biscuits, gravy, two pitchers of coffee, lots of orange juice, lots of beer, a pint of brandy for crying out loud and some sweet rolls dunked in butter.

After slapping his tummy and going, “Ahhhh,” Sullivan jogged over to ringed box for the heavyweight title of the world in an outside ring on a scorching 102-degree day with 98 percent Gulf Stream humidity.

People.

He fought for nearly three straight hours.

Let me repeat that.

Three straight hours. Outside. Try doing one of your Mousercize aerobic classes for three hours. Olympic title fights reach only nine minutes. Pro fights going the distance last only 45 minutes.

After that 22-pound breakfast, by his own confession afterwards, Sullivan said he felt kind of crummy for the first 35 rounds of his title fight. He threw up breakfast, coasted for 10 rounds, said he started to feel better around the 50th round, then came back to defend his title with a knockout in the 75th round.

Can I insert a sidebar here?

It was a bare-knuckles fight.

And that sissy Jordan couldn’t hit a curve ball in the Donkey Girl Scout Wheelchair Division of Major League Baseball if it were Scotch-taped to the lip of a 55-gallon drum of men’s aftershave named “Bijon Frisse.”

To be fair, neither could Sullivan. Besides. I can’t see the wisdom of handing JLS anything that could be construed as a weapon because while he beat the holy tar out of an estimated 2,100 mean, lean, big, huge early 20th century muscle guys (Sullivan would travel from city to city, offering anyone $1,000 if they could stay in the ring with him for one, lousy round. No one ever collected.) he also beat the holy tar out of his wife, innocent bystanders and the occasional horse.

Yes. I’d rather have Michael Jordan watching my child on any given nanosecond than John L. Sullivan.

“Mike? We’re going out to a movie and will be back in three hours,” I yell to the 5-time NBA title winner. “You’ve got the pager number and help yourself to anything in the refrigerator except the roast because we’re saving that for the O’Bradowitzes bah mitzvah as a gift.”

Michael disheartedly grunts as my children climb all over him while he watches TV.

Sullivan?

No way.

I wouldn’t leave the guy with my daughter. I’d up my new albeit dusty road and there would be dogs, cats, neighbors, wildlife, all knocked out and strewn over our dirt road with their tongues lolling out and groaning. I’d get to the front door and John L. would be in some psychotic rage, pummeling our shrubbery. My daughter Indy would be singing in off-key babytalk, “My Wild Irish Rose.”

But we’re not talking Best Baby-sitter of the Last 100 Years here, are we?

Michael Jordan — Athlete of the 20th Century my big dimpled Polish butt?

Well. From a marketing standpoint, maybe.

Sullivan was an entirely different species.

John Boston is the preeminent local writer and humorist who has won over 118 national writing awards. He is a wonderful human being and it is a privilege to call him a friend. John will continue to live in the Santa Clarita Valley and write about anything and everything. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Now it is time for the Hart School Board to turn its attention to cutting ties with the Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation. It is the SCV Facilities Foundation that purchased the Hasley/Sloan property which has proved not to be a suitable suit for the proposed Castaic High School.    

For those unfamiliar with the foundation here is what the their website claims; “The Santa Clarita Valley Facilities Foundation is dedicated to locating, acquiring and developing sites for new schools in the William S. Hart Union High School District. Since 1998, the Facilities Foundation has continued to make great progress toward fulfilling its mission to assist the Hart District in providing school facilities through land acquisition and infrastructure development.” 

I would argue that locating, acquiring and developing sites for new schools is the responsibility of the William S. Hart Union High School District elected board members and the District staff. The vast majority of school districts across this great nation handle their own locating, acquiring and developing of sites for new schools which is a much more transparent process.

For years now there have been comments, rumors and questions being raised about the Facilities Foundation and who is actually benefitting from that organization. Essentially there are more questions then there are answers as to why there is a separate organization making land deals on behalf of the Hart School district.

The local school district tax payers also need to question some of the choices that are being made and whether there are any questionable dealings going on with some of these land acquisitions. Just take a look at this biology diagram prepared by Padre for the Hasley/Sloan property:

Notice the endangered Slender Mariposa Lily locations; the Coastal Sage Scrub areas and Western Spadefoot Toad habitats. After this biology report was completed there have been reports that local live stock were apparently allowed to graze on this property.

Now take a look at this grading diagram by Lund the Civil Engineers which was completed after the biology report:

Is it me or does it strike you as well that there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the endangered habitats ever existed? There is no indication on this grading plan that any of the habitats are untouched or are being graded around or mitigated in any way.

The SCV Facilities Foundation also has several hundred acres of land known as the Sierra/Vasquez property. Apparently they are in the process of getting a $7 million dollar grant to put in road infrastructure which would be required for a school. Why so much? Because the infrastructure requirements seem to be expanded as the foundation is apparently planning on developing some home sites on a portion of this parcel of land.

If the Hart School District is suppose to caring for our children’s education then they need to be 100% focused on that and not spending time engaging in land speculation, some of which will be developed into housing tracts, with a third party facilities foundation. It’s a school district not a real estate development group. The Hart School District should be using all the tax dollars from measures “V” and “SA” for schools and school facilities only.

Since the choice of Romero Canyon has been made, the William S. Hart School Board needs to now direct the SCV Facilities Foundation to sell the poorly conceived and environmentally challenged Hasley/Sloan property. The property was bought with monies borrowed from the Hart General Fund so the proceeds for the Hasley/Sloan sale should be returned to that fund. Regardless if the sale is at a loss because the property was purchased at the height of the real estate bubble. The Hart District General Fund money should be used for General Fund purposes not land speculation.

The Hart School Board members need to work diligently towards complete transparency in how they operate. They must sever whatever relationship they have with the SCV Facilities Foundation; cut all financial ties with that foundation even if it is at a lose; and take care of the districts business themselves. This includes not having Hart School Board members on the SCV Facilities Foundation Board which gives the appearance of a complete conflict of interest.

There is no need for a facilities foundation especially since the responsible developers in the Santa Clarita Valley are building schools in a timely fashion going forward. Plans are already on the drawing boards for the appropriate schools to be built out as new homes are added to the area.

The Hart School Board has made a great leap in rebuilding their credibility and their reputation this past week with choosing the Romero Canyon site for the new Castaic High School. Now they need to continue on that course and jettison the SCV Facilities Foundation relationship.    

Dave Bossert- Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Michaels in Santa Monica is a beautiful venue for wine and, exceptional cuisine.  I was happy to arrive a few minutes early to just take a breath.  Soon Dennis Cakebread, Senior Vice President for Cakebread Cellars, arrived.  And, rounding out our party were foodie bloggers Adam and Marissa Rubenstein from www.vivalafoodies.com and Greg Henry from www.sippitysup.com  (All photos are the property of Adam Rubenstein and Viva LA Foodies – thank you Adam for sharing!) 

www.DancingBearRanchRed.com, is Cakebread’s first “micro site” solely devoted to their Howell Mountain vineyard.  A single vineyard wine made up of many different rootstalks, with rocky soil, and higher elevation above the fog line…but I had just had to know, what about that name?   

Dennis made me wait to hear that story…as he continued to tell us all about the beautiful different colors of grapes, depicting the different varietals, as seen from a helicopter view.  A view that finally led to a discovery of disappearing fruit. 

Now I have to make you wait too.  Because at this point in Dennis’s story the waiter came for our orders.   

I, in my best brown-nosed style, asked Dennis what he would pair with his Cab and he suggested the rack of lamb because if I’d never had Colorado rack of lamb I had to try it.  I admitted to never having any kind of rack of lamb and dove into: “Superior Farms Colorado Rack of Lamb with Rice Beans, Merguez Sausage, Harissa, Watercress, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Lamb Jus.”  But before that, with the Chef’s complements, came a creamily decadent White Corn Soup.  And, on my very own, I ordered the Farmers’ Market Heirloom Tomatoes, with Gioia Burrata Cheese, Basil, Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, Aged Balsamic.” as a starter.  I’d tell you my dessert now but I don’t want you going into cardiac arrest. 

The Bear’s Dance 

Okay, now back to our bear story.  Assuming, due to the size of the “droppings” that this was no wee forest creature delving into the vines, the Cakebreads took action first by erecting a fence.  Then they added barbed wire, electric shocks, sensitive game cameras, all in looking for a pattern…and for years searched through endless photos.  Until one day…   

Dennis’s son, calling out “Bear, bear, bear” as he riffled through a heavy stack of photographs, got everyone’s attention.  Especially when said bear was 450 pounds and had a mate and two cubs.  So the question of the pattern was finally solved.  Not one bear out for a dance, but a family frolic. 

Adding floodlights and a boom box didn’t scare the bears away.  The raw hickory smoked bacon on top of the fences and electric voltage didn’t either.  The Cakebread family could envision those bears, sashaying down the vines, as reminiscent of a dance.  The video now on their micro site proof enough, and a proud, “We got our Dancing Bear” was announced.  Now, we at the table were about to have the wine. 

Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon Tasting 

Decanted one hour, the 2006 blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Fran – spelled out in cursive and etched on the front of the bottle – produced a mature jam on the nose and full flavors of cherry, blackberry, softened tannins and black pepper.   The next bottle, decanted for five minutes, had the more youthful nose and a flavor expected, and, was just as enjoyable.  When I commented on this Dennis ordered more glasses and suggested I try pouring the newer opened one back and forth to open it up as well.  His system worked and I soon found myself happily sipping from all of my glasses, not telling any of them apart. 

Then to answer your question of dessert, I took Dennis’s suggestion once again and enjoyed a “Valrhona Chocolate Cake” of Crème Fraîche Ice Cream, Crème Anglaise, Warm Chocolate Ganache, to pair very well with what I saved of my Cab.   

Dennis invited us for a “view of the mountain” and I can’t wait to take him up on it.   And Adam Rubenstien, of Viva La Foodies, would most likely be the one to plan it! 

The Cakebread Name 

Greg Henry, food blogger and chef, asked where the winery name came from; if it was truly the family surname.  Yes, it was their real name, the family from Oakland that started out making wine in Napa over 30 years ago was from a family of bakers in England.  And even though the historian they hired to find more did produce a Cake Bread recipe, it was not eatable.  Proving their aptitude for wine making much greater than bread baking.  Aren’t we the lucky ones? 

FROM CAKEBREAD CELLARS’ DANCING BEAR RANCH 

A mountain vineyard joins the Cakebread portfolio

latitude 38 degrees 34 minutes 20.04 seconds north

longitude 122 degrees 29 minutes 18.45 seconds west  

Rutherford, Napa Valley, summer 2010—After 11 years of planning, planting and trial winemaking, Cakebread Cellars is now releasing a prestigious single-estate mountain-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Dancing Bear Ranch is named after the property which straddles 200 acres on Howell Mountain on the northeastern slopes of the Napa Valley, which was acquired by the Cakebread family in 1998. The 2006 Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon is the first national release; it sells for $110; 2,500 cases were made. The spectacular, dramatically sloped vineyard looks out over Bell Canyon at the northern edge of St. Helena; the ranch is ringed with ridges of fir, oak and pine trees cascading down to the Valley floor.  

Cakebread Cellars farms 465 acres in Rutherford, Napa Valley, Oakville, Howell Mountain and Carneros. “We’re investing in the future of the wine industry with our investment in this vineyard,” Bruce Cakebread explains.  “Remote, steep, teeming with wildlife and weather, Dancing Bear Ranch is a vineyard which deserves its own name and identity,” he adds.  

The 2006 Dancing Bear Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon consists of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc. The bottle is ornately etched with the name of the ranch and the varietal mix, including a rendering of the cavorting bear. The Dancing Bear Ranch label was designed by Mark Bergman of Bergman Cramer in Lafayette (http://www.bergmancramer.com). The stylish and distinctive gold-embossing supports the wine’s positioning as Cakebread’s most distinguished Cabernet Sauvignon.  

Winemaker Julianne Laks describes the wine: “The wine was fermented in stainless steel and aged for 26 months in French oak (60% new). The total acidity is 0.68 g/100ml; the pH is 3.84 and alcohol is 14.8%. This is a truly intense and elegant wine. The Dancing Bear Ranch terroir produces grapes with deep color, bright acidity and full tannic flavor. The nose is full of ripe black fruits, forest-floor spice, rich fig and chocolate tones. On the palate the wine delivers intensely concentrated blackberry, blackcurrant, wild cherry and ripe fig flavors balanced by firm acidity and round, silky tannins. Built for aging and with a deep core of fruit that unfolds in a lengthy, spice-and-mineral tinged finish, this is a dramatic mountain red wine, which makes compelling drinking now. Its tight-knit structure argues for another 7-10 years of bottle age.”  

Viticulturist Toby Halkovich gives the details about the growing season: “In 2006, a wet spring preceded a hot spell in mid-July, which quickened vine development and sugar accumulation. August brought a return to cooler temperatures, which persisted through the balance of the growing season. This mild, classic late-summer and early-fall weather pattern allowed for slow, even ripening. Harvest took place in 10 passes through the vineyard beginning on September 30 and finishing on October 2.”  

The story behind the wine is so detailed that the winery has created http://www.dancingbearranchred.com, which features video footage of a helicopter tour of the Ranch, video of the namesake dancing bear, interviews with the winemaker, viticulturist and the Cakebread family, all explaining different aspects of the wine and the vineyard.  

The vineyard is sustainably farmed. It consists of 29 narrowly spaced acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. There are thirteen distinct vineyard blocks—differentiated by the soil and the exposure to the sun; one of many notable aspects about this vineyard is that some of the vineyard blocks have full 360-degree exposure. The elevations at the ranch range from 1,200 to 1,900 feet and the slopes from 10% to 30%. The soil in the vineyard is primarily Hambright-rock outcropping complex, with pockets of Aiken loam, Kidd complex and rock outcrop. The vineyards were planted in 1999, using four different rootstocks (101-14, 110-R, 3309, 420-A) and nine clones (for Cabernet Franc: 312, 332; for Cabernet Sauvignon: 191, 337, 341, 15, 4, 7 and 181 for Merlot). The vineyard is tightly spaced, at 4’x6’ and 4’x7’.  

The name? “Just as we were contemplating what to name the vineyard, we were trying to solve the riddle of what animal intruder was enjoying the grapes….only to find out it was a California black bear who seemingly enjoyed the music we played to scare him away—thus the ranch’s name,” Dennis Cakebread explains.  

Cakebread’s other Cabernets

Cakebread Cellars’ portfolio of elegant Cabernet Sauvignons from the Napa Valley includes three other wines—the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley, $65), 2006 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon ($106, Oakville) and the 2006 Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon ($106, Oakville). The Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from vineyards sites ranging from Carneros to Calistoga. The Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon was produced from three vineyards on the Rutherford and Oakville benchlands. The Vine Hill Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon was made from four distinct blocks within Bob Phillips’ Oakville vineyard, also on the western slopes of the Oakville appellation.  

The winery

Cakebread Cellars was founded in 1973 by Jack and Dolores Cakebread and today their sons Bruce and Dennis play key roles in running the winery, which is located at 8300 St. Helena Highway in Rutherford. The winery is open by appointment only from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. daily. Cakebread crafts its portfolio of wines from its 520 acres of estate vineyards throughout the Napa Valley. The winery’s offerings include Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Rubaiyat, Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah. Cakebread was one of the first wineries in California to offer an extensive culinary program, from cooking classes to the annual American Harvest Workshop, and the winery’s resident chef contributes specialized recipes for each wine which can be found on the website as well as in the winery’s newsletters. The winery kitchens depend on the winery’s extensive gardens for produce for its culinary program. Cakebread offers four different wine clubs (Baker’s Club, Classic Red Wine Club, White Wine Club and Cabernet Only Club, more at www. cakebread.com/clubs) for its customers and seven different tasting experiences at the winery, ranging from current releases to library wines and a wine and food pairing experience.  

Julianne Laks became Cakebread’s winemaker in 2002 after serving as assistant winemaker and enologist for the previous 18 years. She graduated from University of California, Davis, with a degree in Fermentation Science.   

DANCING BEAR RANCH CABERNET SAUVIGNON: IN CONVERSATION  

Viticulturist Toby Halkovich: Our focus at Dancing Bear Ranch is winemaking, not just growing grapes. Everything I do in terms of the farming is to bring out the site, bring out the uniqueness of each slope and elevation, so our winemaker, Julianne Laks, has a lot of different tools to work with. When I take people to see the vineyard, they’re always surprised by how steep and rocky the terrain is. We farm each block separately—in terms of water, thinning, leaf pulling, fruit dropping. People can’t believe the level of detail we practice with our farming; even within one of these blocks we’ll be farming differently. We get an enormous variety in the flavor profiles of the grapes here; this allows us to make a very expressive wine, one that’s unique, a voice for the land and the terroir.  

The ranch is a window into what this area was hundreds of years ago—it’s teeming with wildlife because it’s isolated and there’s not a lot of human activity, so that means we see turkeys, red foxes, mountain lions, bobcats, deer, rabbits, red-tail hawks, falcons and of course see the tracks of the bear which gives the Ranch its name. Harvesting is a challenge; we use aerial imagery to monitor ripeness, vineyard block by vineyard block. It’s a very selective, very slow pick, with many passes. Because the slopes are so steep, our crews work very slowly. It probably takes 50% longer to pick here than on the Valley floor.  

Another almost magical part of farming Dancing Bear is the fog. The fog blankets the property; it keeps it cool and it recedes earlier than on the Valley floor. If you ask me what’s unique about what we’re doing here, that’s an easy answer: our level of precision is unique. We use aerial imagery to monitor each of the many vineyard blocks, throughout the growing season, always looking to bring out the full potential for each vine. We also have a computerized weather station sending back reports on ground water, the amount of water in the plants, the evaporation; it’s web-based, so we can access this information when we’re in the field. Bottom line, this means we know, literally vine by vine, if the plants need water or are ripe and more. This is modern mountain farming, where we’re aggressively using technology in the vineyard, all to the end of grape quality.  

Winemaker Julianne Laks: Dancing Bear Ranch is a complex and hugely intriguing vineyard to make wine from; to start with, there are multiple exposures at Dancing Bear—different elevations with predominately volcanic, shallow and low fertile soils.  The steep rocky slopes offer little water holding capacities, so the vines yield grape bunches with highly concentrated small berries. We harvest Dancing Bear Ranch by hand, by block. As the fruit matures, I walk the vineyards daily to determine the optimal fruit maturity.  Picking decisions are based on taste, when the fruit flavors are fully developed with no herbaceous characters, the skin tannin is ripe and the seed tannin is smooth.  We also differentiate the vineyard blocks with aerial imagery.  These infrared pictures help us to identify areas within a block that show vegetative differences that may impact wine quality.  Once we investigate these areas, we will flag them off in the vineyard block and pick these areas separately.  

A winemaker’s greatest challenge with mountain wines is to keep tannin extraction balanced with the fruit intensity.  So during fermentation it is important to manage the cap to extract the complexity and intensity of the fruit, without extracting harsh, aggressive tannins.  We do this with careful cap management and controlled fermentation temperatures.  

When I taste the Dancing Bear Ranch wines with people, they are wowed by the power and intensity of the aromas and flavors and they are equally impressed with the balance and drinkability of a mountain wine.  Usually people expect a mountain wine to be aggressively tannic unless it is aged 10+ years. To me there are specific characteristic aromatics that are uniquely associated with this ranch.  The aroma of the air and earth in this vineyard are translated into the wine.  When I taste it, I am transported back to the vineyard with reminiscent scents of a forest after a light rain.  It is almost as if the vineyard speaks through the wine: this must be terroir at its finest expression.  

President, Bruce Cakebread: In 1999 we made an investment in a breathtakingly beautiful mountain vineyard. We designed the vineyard to be above-and-beyond in terms of the environmental sensitivity. In the early days of trekking up there, I’d feel like “The Great Pathfinder” John C. Fremont by the time I drove through the gate. The abundance of wildlife there takes your breath away, from the turkey vultures who soar on the updrafts over the rocky ridges to the busy red foxes. One notable aspect of how we farm Dancing Bear Ranch is the use of aerial imagery—because of that perspective we know every inch of the property, the bowls, exposures, draws, ravines and slopes—exactly the elements which make this property so spectacular—-its enormous diversity and complexity.  

Senior Vice President, Dennis Cakebread: Why the name? As the vineyard took hold, all that lively wildlife kept us busy scratching our heads about which of the animals liked our grapes best. We went through an elaborate research process to find that out; at one point we hooked up rock music to flood lights; we also installed a ‘stealth cam’ (a motion-activated camera). Then there was the day when we flipped through a stack of photos from the stealth cam—-deer, rabbit, fox, deer, deer, rabbit….bear!!!! And so was born the name of the Ranch, in tribute to this member of the California black bear family (ursus Americana californiensis). Today the vineyard is fenced to keep the humans and bears in their separate realms and we regard the bear as a distraction to the serious business of grape growing on this mountainside.

Yours, in wine and out,

Eve Bushman- commentary

Eve Bushman is a local writer that specializes in writing about wine. You can find great articles by Eve on her blog at http://www.evewine101.blogspot.com or email her at ebushman@earthlink.net. Her commentaries represent her own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization she may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon. Eve also writes at http://scvelitemagazine.com and you can follow Eve’s Wine 101 on Facebook and Twitter! 

But nonetheless it was a wonderful time on the upper mid-coast area of Maine. Fortunately I was north of the big heat wave that hit Boston and New York most of last week. I experienced near perfect weather; upper 70’s low 80’s clear blue skies and a light onshore breeze. It couldn’t have been more perfect as far as I was concerned.

As I always do when I’m up in Maine, I reflected on this past year and thought about the year ahead including the growth of The Beacon. This on-line publication; blog; website, whatever you want to call it has and continues to exceed my expectations. It is now widely read and has had an important impact locally on many issues. It has been ripped off, quoted, angers, shocks, informs, exposes and is buzzed about regularly which is what it should do!

We were thrilled that not only have all of our advertisers renewed their ads but we have picked up some new ones that will be popping up in the next couple of weeks or so. That, in and of itself, is a testament to the fact that these businesses want to be where the readers are daily. Although, the focus has never been on getting advertising, rather it has been on building the readership with great columnists, provocative articles and exposé that you won’t find elsewhere in the Santa Clarita Valley.

I’d like to think of The Beacon as kind of a writers co-op in the sense that much of the ad revenue is shared amongst our regular columnists; Eve Bushman, Chris Sharp, and John Boston. Unlike some old media outlets that don’t pay their local columnists a nickel; I’m can happily and confidently say that The Beacon writers are some of the best paid community columnists in the Santa Clarita Valley.

And rightfully so! In my book you can’t call yourself a writer or an artist or anything unless you get paid for that skill, craft or performance. L.A. is full of “screenwriters” that have never sold a script and “actors” who have never been paid to perform. Just go to virtually any restaurant and see for yourself. There are an awful lot of wannabe’s out there!!

That said; I not only thought about this site but also about the many challenges facing our valley including the ever present local developement; the hospital; the scammers around SCV that are pulling some dishonest crap and seemingly getting away with it; and of course the future governance questions for the unincorporated communities.

There is no shortage of local topics to write about and certainly you will get the whole story here; not some watered down skewed version or worse yet no coverage as we have all seen in the local old media outlet. There will be some controversial pieces coming up in the next few including the destruction of some endangered species, unmitigated greed, and of course some great bits of history, food & wine, and thoughtful commentaries from all of our contributors.

It’s great to be back, refreshed and rebooted!  

Dave Bossert- Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

“This gum tastes funny.” – Message scrawled on a condom vending machine

A friend and I were driving toward some social obligation a while back and she held out the pack and nonchalantly asked, “Gum?” I glanced at the pink pack. I looked at the road. I glanced back at the pack. I said sure. Why not. It started as simply as that. I am a gum chewer, again, enemy of elementary school teachers and movie house ushers everywhere.

 I know it’s a phase I’m going through. Like beer. Some day, I won’t chew bubble gum and life will return to normalcy. Maybe it’s my revenge for a frustrated youth in which my spare earthly possessions were constantly being confiscated by the Gestapo roaming the classrooms of my primary grades. I could not chew gum from kindergarten through my senior year in high school and that’s fine and acceptable. What was maddening was being asked the question, by an alleged adult: “Did you bring enough for everybody?”

That inane accusation floored me in the 2nd grade. It makes me dizzy today. I’d be busted for chewing gum in class. Fair enough. But then, a grown woman, bent at the waist, would lower herself like a construction crane to my eye level and ask me if, on my way to campus, did I bring enough for everyone?

Define, “Everyone?”

Everyone in class? Everyone in school? Everyone in her immediate, back-shaving family? And, if I said yes, if I started to throw out those little pink dollops of Double Bubble to all my compadres, could we then get on with the lesson of coloring in the giraffe so I could hurry up with my life, marry poorly and torture myself with the paradigm of “Here I am on clown planet and what does one make of that?”

In the oddest of happenstance, I have General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (pictured) to thank. You know. The guy who killed Davy Crockett at the Alamo?

Chewing gum has been around for centuries. You can usually point to a Greek for being at the bottom of something and in the case of gum, this would be true. For thousands of years they chomped on a substance called mastic gum. It’s a tree resin and people still work their molars around it today in Greece, Turkey and the Middle East. Native Americans used to chew on a similar natural latex sap from spruce trees and settlers up until the early 20th century followed suit.

But it was Santa Anna, the famed Mexican general, who has this strange connection to my modern addiction. The dandified military man lived in exile in America of all odd things and can you imagine that? You are the man responsible for the defeat and death of not just Crockett, but Jim Bowie and a host of American frontier heroes and you live in semi-hiding in New Hampshire.

Anyway. Tony Anna brought some chicle, a sticky substance from the sapodilla tree, to the inventor, Thomas Adams Sr.

Santa Anna and Adams felt they could use it as a rubber substitute for carriage tires. History is filled with attempted inventions that lead to the discovery of something totally different and such was this case. Adams noticed his Mexican friend kept working this wad of chicle through his molars. Instead of dumping 2,000 pounds of this gummy pulp into the river, Adams packaged the stuff in tissue paper and stuffed in boxes that had a picture of the City Hall of New York. That first pack of gum was called, “Adams New York No.1.”

You had to have some pretty tough teeth to work these early sticks and bubble gum wasn’t invented until about 1906 by Frank Fleer. His product was called Blibber-Blubber, but it was so sticky, it was considered hazardous. It wasn’t until 1928 that a Mr. Walt Diemer of Fleer’s company invented the modern formula. Oddly enough, Diemer wasn’t a member of the Fleer research and development team. Diemer was an accountant. That first batch he made was pink because pink was the only color on hand in the factory.

All brands have been pink ever since.

And that, boys and girls, is the epic tale of sugary oral fixations.

I wonder how Joe McCarthy dealt with pink bubble gum during the Cold War. And what would Freud say of the endless psychological metaphors of the bubble gum cigar with its heaving pink hemispheres and anatomical suggestions?

I’d hope he’d amend himself to include, “Sometimes, a bubble gum cigar is just a bubble gum cigar.”

That works for me. 

John Boston is the preeminent local writer and humorist who has won 118 national writing awards. He is a wonderful human being and it is a privilege to call him a friend. John will continue to live in the Santa Clarita Valley and write about anything and everything. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

The Food 

The excellent “sides” were from Chef Liz Pack: “We had a Southwest Salad consisting of Roasted Corn, Jicama, Cilantro, Cheese, Red, Yellow and Orange Peppers in a BBQ Ranch Dressing. I made Baked Beans with Bacon, Caramelized Onions and Sweet and Smokey Flavorings. Roasted Corn brushed with garlic butter. It was a fabulous evening and we had a great turn out. As I was working in the kitchen, I was hearing all the laughter and joy coming from the guests and I loved it!! Can’t wait to do it again…Happy 4th!” 

BBQ Galore  

I spent quite a bit of time listening to, and learning from, Jeff Marr Area Manager for Barbeques Galore.  The tri tips we were enjoying had been cooked in a Big Green Egg with flavored wood added on top of the charcoal. 

Duplicating the smoke flavor on a gas grill is simple and only requires a $10 smoker box and some flavored wood chips. 

“The smoker box is for a gas grill and the flavored wood you place in the box, Hickory, Apple, etc. is what provides flavor, “ began Jeff.  “On a charcoal grill the charcoal is your heat source. The wood would go on top of the charcoal and no smoker box is needed.”  

Jeff was very amicable to teaching us how to cook at the Valencia store: Call ahead and arrange to bring in your own meat, and either come back in 3 hours to taste the end result or stay and learn.  They bring the grills outside to smoke them up for you. http://www.bbqgalore.com/ 661-284-6880.  (I’m taking Jeff up on the idea of doing it at my house.  Three couples, my meat, their BBQ and a story in the making!) 

Sandi Gordon, a guest at our table had this to say, “I would also like to add that Jeff’s passion on food being so evident, really drew us in to want to know more about different sources of the food’s preparation. Why not learn more about the endless eating pleasure of BBQ-ing, which in California lasts even through the winter months!  Lots of great food to pair with tasty wines.” 

BBQ Galore CA Cooking School Address: 10455 Reserve Drive, Ste 152?San Diego, CA 92127?At the 4S Commons Town Center ?Just 2-miles West of the 15 Frwy at Rancho Bernardo Rd and Dove Canyon Rd ?Phone: 858.674.7399 

Seen Over Wine 

Michael and Karen Perlis, Bob Jones and Susie Q Majesky, Roger and Donna Green, Mike Harris and Donna Louis, John and Debora Martin, Eddie Bushman, John Adams and Sandi Gordon, David Schutz, Chef Liz Pack, DiMaggio Washington, Shannon Bohte, Trisha Lucero, Norm Amabile, Andrew Kahn, Jeff and Ruby Whitefield, Bill McBee and Debbie Clark, Derrick and Maureen McKaughan, Shipwreck Bob Schwemmer, Doug Gould, Jeff Marr, Chuck and Marca Johnson, Steve and Julie Sturgeon, David Dow and Lisa Hawkins Blower and Vic Herstein. 

Highlights from the SCV Wine Calendar:   

Local Tip: Eve works alongside her Guru Guy LeLarge at Valencia Wine Company 7/12 from 6-10pm.  What will she do?  Who knows?  But, it shall involve wine and most likely, a little craziness. Valencia Wine Company 661-254-9300 

Wine Tasting: After you visit me on Monday taste Merryvale wines 7pm at Wine 661 on July 15. 

Yours, in wine and out,

Eve Bushman- commentary

Eve Bushman is a local writer that specializes in writing about wine. You can find great articles by Eve on her blog at http://www.evewine101.blogspot.com or email her at ebushman@earthlink.net. Her commentaries represent her own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization she may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon. Eve also writes at http://scvelitemagazine.com and you can follow Eve’s Wine 101 on Facebook and Twitter!