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I spend one entire day at K-J winery for 2 reasons, 2 steps.

At 10,00 I have been invited to assist the shooting of a cooking show there, in the vineyards of K-J (see pic).

cooking show, laurie figone, california

cooking show

The cook-a-holic  Laurie Fegoni had to realize a pilot episode of her popular show www.cookingwithlauriefigone.com for the Petsluma Community Access TV. For the occasion she prepared a wonderful (Arborio) risotto with prawns adding these smash tomatoes produced by the Smash Foods co. Some very popular messages (currently in US) have been clearly communicated: the Italian cousine, the wine&food pairing, the organic food and above all healthy products! This is also what Jennifer, Founder and CEO of the Smash Foods co. underlined often telling about the experience of her family and her children. I have tried and appreciated them: a balanced acidity without excess of sugar or salt, somehow similar but healthier and of course much tastier than ketchup, widely approved for fries, steaks, fish sticks and food for children in general. Congratulations to both the ladies, professional and hard-working too! It has been fun to take part of the TV crew and help sometimes! Not before having tasted Laurie’s risotto, I have been warmly welcomed to join a wine&food pairing at K-J, one of the largest winery in Sonoma, more than 5000 cases, several locations worldwide, including one in Tuscany.

What has impressed me at Kendall Jackson, also known as Jackson family) has been the quality of the food and the attention paid  to the pairings. I did not expect this level of quality here in CA, and I immediately ask how Americans appreciate that. The answer has been clear: after having reached a certain success all over the world the current goal is “educating people” state Will the VIP Host of the tasting room. So they invested a lot in the kitchen here at the winery to propose this kind of pairing experiences, they have opened a restaurant proposing wine menu with the purpose to guide people and make them more conscious about what they drink and eat.

I appreciated a lot their white wines, but this is why I do not like “acidity” as general taste (a common and typical characteristic of white wines especially) and so I prefer reds better than white. In this case I have had pleasant-tasting whites, a little bit more standard the reds,still very enjoyable. And considering my love for tomatoes I had a great pairing their: AVANT Chardonnay paired with 4 different kinds and colored tomatoes (see pic)!

tomatoes tasting

tomatoes tasting @ Kendall Jackson

Interesting, moreover, to see the exposition of the vines opened to the public, a tiny vineyard where they do not pick the grapes to show them to the visitors and let them try the different grapes; yet, it is funny to see the space of the gardens where they grow, for each varietal, the plants which represents the descriptors of a specific grape and on the other side the plants of elements which are affine to it (see pic).

See you soon everybody!

 

grapes descriptors

grapes descriptors

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