I am involved in a social community local to the San Francisco Bay Area called Bay Area Linkup. I’ve been hosting hiking events with this group for nearly five years and wine-tasting events for the past three, and I’ll continue to do so simply because I’m having the time of my life.

While my hiking events often occur on weekends, the tasting events I’ve hosted have typically occurred on weeknights; that’s just how it fits my schedule. However, that kind of scheduling hasn’t particularly allowed guests who might be coming to Sunnyvale - where I live - from much farther than the local San Jose-Palo Alto corridor. Alas, most of the wine-loving membership on Bay Area Linkup exists in San Francisco - about 50 miles away - and there simply isn’t enough critical mass in the South Bay. And, after all, a night involving alcohol followed by a long drive and another day at work is not easy to bear, nor something I readily condone.

Therefore I’m hereby opening up the possibilities to a wider audience.

If you plan to be in the area on the evening of Thursday, May 8th and would like to participate in a group evaluation of six top-flight Central Coast Chardonnays, write me at winehiker [@] californiawinehikes [dot] com, and I’ll be happy to send you some details. (Cost is $30, in advance via PayPal.)

But hurry! Those that pay first, play first, and I only have five seats available at the time of this posting.

Thanks! I hope to clink glasses with you.

~winehiker

This Earth Day - and every day - consider asking yourself if you are truly changing your habits to do the things that really matter.

• Are you using low-flow shower heads?
• Are you considering the type and amount of packaging in the products you buy?
• Are you using canvas shopping bags for your groceries instead of paper or plastic?
• If you have a lawn, have you opted to use a push mower instead of a power mower?
• When you barbecue, are you using a chimney starter (canister) as opposed to charcoal lighter fluid?
• Do you refuse to buy disposable razors, lighters, etc., when there are reusable alternatives?
• Are you recycling your used batteries properly, or just throwing them away?

I’ve changed my habits to accommodate all of these things. In fact, I’ve been practicing these “new” habits for years and, fortunately, making these adjustments hasn’t been rocket science. The plain truth is, if I can, you can! Now, more than ever before, it is time to LOVE YOUR MOTHER. After all, she’ll continue to support you your entire life, if you let her.

And yes, you do have a choice in things that really matter.

Meanwhile, here are some entertaining and informative Earth Day links worth checking out.

• Al Gore’s New Slideshow
  From TreeHugger: Uncle Sam is the Man With the Golden Arm (30 second video).
  (tags: carbon climate earth ENERGY environment video al gore)
• Huffy Green Machine: Squirting Power Full Throttle
  From Ecofriend: Worried that your pasty-faced kid spends too much time playing Wii or Nintendo? Get him a Huffy Green Machine H2O Trike with Water Guns and you’ll soon have him (or her) spending time outside where he (or she) needs to be.
  (tags: bike water gun toy play kids children fun)
• Air Cars
  Is it time for cars to run solely on air? The folks at start-up Air Car Factories are betting on it.
  (tags: air cars transportation vehicles automobiles fuel environment)
• The Venus Project - The Redesign of a culture
  When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, what does it mean to be human?
  (tags: human civilization environment philosophy society world)
• Climate Change
  The EPA’s Climate Change portal references a number of informative sites.
  (tags: climate ecology education environment research resources Science)

Westerns are so much a part of American culture that it’s a rare channel-surfing moment when you won’t see at least one classic western on your TV. Like my dad before me, I cut my teeth on westerns - first in film and later in print - and they began to influence the outdoorsy person I grew to be.

I was about to enter new frontiers in my life when I wrote the following prose; I was 17 and soon to leave for college.

VASHTI

I lie here, dry-gulched, alone
Lifting my head, though I barely can
I survey the broken juniper near me
Like me, it suffers from the effects
Of ricocheting gunshots

I swear softly
And think of Vashti

With dusty hat-brim pulled low
I scan each tree within vision
For my assailants

Here I lie
Exposed, open, panting
Like an injured fawn
Surrounded by the ghosts
Of mountain lions

The sun is unbearably hot
And my forehead aches
For Vashti’s cooling caresses

My two Smith & Wessons
Are old, but they’re loaded
Yet my rifle is gone
If my aim is true
And they don’t see this bright red shirt
Before I see them moving
I might as well consider myself…

Faraway, dim reports
A small battle has ensued
And I know
I’ve got friends

Such a waste it is to take a life when
One is so unwilling a character
As I

Shots getting closer
Gotta
Keep my eyes
Peeled

Footsteps!
No…
Only my heart beating

Then a sharp heat tugs
At my shoulder
What?
Who…

My mind races
Madly
I fight to
Turn around
Ever
So
Slowly, to meet…

Blackness.

Yet I feel something
Dim, unreal
Soft, pleasantly disturbing

Death?
Surely not Death,
For how could Death
Feel so wonderful?

No it is not Death, for my soul stirs
Sensations on my forehead
Smell of corn!

I awaken to find before me
Vashti’s brown-eyed smile

~winehiker

I’ve been wanting to write a post about an April 5th collaborative effort undertaken by five South Bay Area hiking bloggers, yours truly being among them. I’d heard about a local fourteener that was only climbable one day out of every year. I’d certainly never climbed it.

“A fourteener?” I had asked, making no attempt to conceal my mocking incredulity. “A fourteener, in Santa Clara County, California?”

I’d begun, suddenly, to wonder who put what in my oatmeal. After all, I have climbed a handful of fourteeners in my life - real mountains with summits actually measured to be at least 14,000 feet high. This notion of a peak in my own home county being a fourteener was beginning to smell like odeur d’ bull to me.

And bull it is! Well, sort of: the height of this peak is only fourteen hundred feet and change, and its name is, quite properly, El Toro. It’s a pyramid-shaped chert-and-limestone mountain - or, more appropriately, hill - that juts up prominently from the valley floor on the west side of Morgan Hill, and a landmark easily seen by anyone passing along Highway 101 in south Santa Clara County.

Morgan Hill’s pyramid-shaped El Toro Peak juts up prominently from the valley floor on the west side of town.

Being that the peak is on private land, but being that the Morgan Hill Historical Society has a relationship with the landowner, the peak is opened to public hiking access every first Saturday of April. To admire the view from atop El Toro’s commanding summit - a view that is only gained by huffing it up its steep, rough, and ornery eastern slope, one must necessarily have a little patience. With only about three miles total distance from the town’s public library to the 1,423-foot summit and back, one rubs shoulders with about 1200 or so people. People of every age, every size, and every walk, but people united by one simple fact: we’re here today because it’s there.

A lone oak greets a handful of hikers, the first of many to ascend El Toro’s lower slope.

It was only moments into this hike that we blogging hiker types were comparing the scene to that of Yosemite’s Half Dome, which regularly draws 5000 or so summiteers every summer weekend.

On the ascent: a line of early hikers climb along stair-steps carved into the steep dirt path. 

So far, this climb has been easy for most people. But while it’s been cool and overcast, folks are shedding a layer or two. 

Turning around for a moment - ostensibly to see the view over whence I’ve come - I spy Rebecca, who’s smiling contentedly and in her element.

Indeed, getting together with my local hiking literati was, truly, a very fun thing to do. I’ve always believed in a sentiment which suggests that we should use our computers to get away from them. But I must admit that while hiking El Toro’s steep and poison oak-strewn slopes - and especially while descending them - it was mildly amusing to us veterans how unprepared most people were for El Toro’s rough and slippery terrain. Oh, the footwear faux pas we saw!

But at least everybody was out there pursuing a lively and engaging once-a-year experience…

It didn’t matter that people had never met each other - the camaraderie was there, on the surface. 

…and the views weren’t bad, either.

A lichen-covered outcropping of chert lends color, form, and contrast to this Spring morning vista.

Mule’s Ears bloom on El Toro’s western slope, just below the summit.

That’s what it’s all about: getting out there, seeing what there is to see, and coming back to tell about it, whether the destination be near or far.

Oh, what I’d give - if I had it - for just a chance to own a Syrah vineyard down there.

A lot of happy people did just that. And now I’ve added yet another fourteener to my life list. Well, sort of.

Another peak experience in a life only half full of them.

And speaking of happy people, if you’re into hiking - or even if you’re not - the following blog posts and photosets are highly recommended. I especially recommend you read Tom Mangan’s “The Fourteener of Morgan Hill,” which, to me, is simply divinely-inspired hilarity - though I’ve known Tom to be bovinely-inspired more often than not.

Check ‘em out:

• Rebecca of Calipidder’s El Toro in Morgan Hill - that Peak that beckons from 101, and her excellent photoset.
• David of Random Curiosity’s Return to El Toro and his fine photostream.
• Ann L.’s El Toro Hike on Yelp.com and her slideshow.
• Tom of Two Heel Drive’s photoessay, The Fourteener of Morgan Hill and his follow-up thoughts, Morgan Hill El Toro Hike of ‘08, what I really think.

~winehiker

Friends, it’s time, once again, to play…

[Studio audience chants in unison]

…Spin! That! Wine Bottle!!

[Feigned hysteria]

Today our contestants are: wine book authors from Earth! And to start things off right, let’s give our bottle a good spin, shall we?

[Background swell of vacuum racking equipment, clacking and humming merrily]

Yes, friends! Round and round the bottle goes! Where it stops, somebody glows! And today’s winner is (barrel roll, please!): Why, it’s Wine Across America: A Photographic Road Trip by Charles O’Rear and Daphne Larkin! And they’re most deserving, I can assure you!

[Wink, tilt of head, toothy grin and grudgingly perceptible sincerity from our show’s emcee as he proudly displays The Book]

So friends, just what is Wine Across America, you ask? Is it a collective wine blogger reaction to presidential politics? Is it the latest Fifth Avenue color ensemble for newly-decanted 20-something fashionistas? Could it be a continent-wide reservoir filled with wine?

Stay tuned, America, as we examine these questions - and more! - right after we break for these words…

[Fade to ubiquitous male-enhancement car commercial]

——————————

For wine lovers in any of America’s 50 states, the lovely coffee table book that is Wine Across America isn’t your standard wine read. Indeed, if you’re really into learning about wine, this won’t be the first book you’ll reach for. But chances are you know somebody in your life - perhaps a few somebodies - who don’t have much of a clue about wine - its origins, its growing American appeal, or the passion behind all that goes into making wine. That’s why it is precisely the kind of book for the people in your life who don’t quite understand why you, as a wine lover, feel the way you do about wine.

And so, being the perfect coffee table book - and therefore an easy read - you could do well to have this book on hand for those times when you entertain family and guests who may enjoy wine, and may just find themselves attracted to its lovely photography.

For it is photography that this book showcases, in spades. After all, Charles O’Rear is a skilled photographer with a long-time emphasis on the world’s wine regions. And Daphne Larkin is a writer who specializes in conjuring words that describe all things wine. Together, this husband-and-wife team embarked on a two-year cross-country jaunt that covered 80,000 miles of American road so that they could record the country’s growing love affair with wine.

Come to think of it, this book should be a wine table book! But we’ll leave that to the wine feng shui practitioners. Suffice to say that for the newbie, Wine Across America may just have the ability to open a new - and quite personal - door to the nation’s wine country.

Indeed, this book can open many doors, as this centerfold depicting a number of America’s barrel room entrances can attest. Interestingly - if only to me - I’ve actually sauntered through four of them. Maybe five.

Charles O’Rear’s photos range from the artful…

…thru the intricate yet functional (note the shot glasses as bunghole covers)…

…from landscapes of Spring Mountain in California’s Napa Valley…

…to a tasting room scene many of us are familiar with.

Gee, I think I know that guy in the ballcap, getting a second pour from a presumably harried tasting room staffer. I would probably have offered that glass to the blonde standing nearby. It’s likely, however, that I would have quickly embarrassed myself by aiming for the spittoon and missing.

Not that the derisive laughter of pretty young women bothers me. Anymore.

Yep, there’s a story in every shot. Or, you can simply view this book as a nice, light flipper-througher. So if you’re thinking that you want to begin educating visiting friends and family about wine, this book is a fine place to start, and a stomping good time!

——————————

The Wine Book Club (WBC) is hosted by Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 and Tim Elliott of Winecast. WBC is a relatively recent phenomenon, having hosted the first of its blogger-inspired bimonthly group reviews in early March (see David McDuff’s round-up of Vino Italiano). Spin The Bottle wine book reviews like the one above are occasional individual contributions to the WBC.

I purchased Wine Across America: A Photographic Road Trip in early January, 2008 from Amazon.com for about $23 plus shipping and it arrived at my home six days later. Today it boasts a conspicuous and well-thumbed residence on my boomerang table, a place where many wine glasses have resided.

~winehiker

“The Fantesca story is as much a history of our experiences, our property and the people who have produced our wine as it is a story of the alluring and fun-loving Fantesca character that personifies it,” say Susan and Duane Hoff.

If you love Napa Valley wines but haven’t followed the history of winemaking in Napa Valley, there’s a name you still quite possibly have heard of. Even if you haven’t, you can soon expect to be hearing it a lot. That name is Heidi Barrett, who has been celebrated worldwide as one of Napa Valley’s finest winemakers. Regarded for the exceptionally high quality of the wines she has produced for Amuse Bouche, Screaming Eagle, Dalla Valle and her own winery, La Sirena, Ms. Barrett has garnered not only one perfect 100-point score for her wines, but four perfect scores! It’s a record that is unrivaled by any other single winemaker. Indeed, Heidi Barrett has assured her place as one of the world’s premium producers of Napa wines, many of which - if not most - have rocketed immediately to highly sought-after “cult” status.

I have never met Heidi Barrett, but I feel as if I’ve come to know her - if only just a little. That’s because during the first quarter of this year, I was privileged to assist Susan and Duane Hoff, proprietors of Fantesca Estate & Winery of St. Helena, with a rebuild of their website at fantesca.com. I knew that Ms. Barrett would be joining the Fantesca winemaking team, but couldn’t really share that news until today, now that the Hoffs have officially announced her participation as Fantesca’s new winemaker, and have included a video on their blog featuring an interview with Ms. Barrett.

I can tell you that I really enjoyed involving myself with the wordcraft that presents Fantesca Winery and the limited-production wines they produce. In my correspondence with Susan and Duane, I have been continually impressed with their passion for winemaking and focus on presenting not only world-class wines, but a world-class presentation of their Spring Mountain-appellation wines. I believe I’ve done my best to help make that presentation a reality. I also believe you will enjoy reading about the Fantesca character inspired by the comic Zanni theatre of the Italian Renaissance that fascinates Susan and Duane. But don’t stop there - take a look at the history of the Fantesca vineyard and cave, the Spring Mountain District and the Hoff’s role in its sustainable production, their active role in supporting the Arts, the Hoff family’s Fortune Corkies tradition, Fantesca’s Adopt-A-Grape program, and the good people that make this boutique-style winery the new buzz that it is about to be.

I believe you will agree that Fantesca’s current line-up of estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignons and Carneros Chardonnays are quite buzzworthy, too, so I recommend you check out their three Zanni-themed wine clubs, which offer Fantesca’s exclusive wines at differing price points. And now that Heidi Barrett is part of the Fantesca team, you might want to hurry to get your own stash of Fantesca wines before they’re elevated to cult status and become part of Napa Valley history.

~winehiker

I read Joe Roberts’ post this morning on 1WineDude about how smoking can diminish the value of tasting wine, and immediately felt obliged to respond. After all, I grew up in a family in which cigarette smoking was nearly de rigueur - everybody smoked, upwards of 3 packs a day.

I remember occasionally volunteering to cook for both my dad and his second wife, who also smoked. After taking pains to shop for and craft a fine dish only to see them both pour gobs of salt at the table, I would find myself offended nearly as much by this habit as by their tobacco habits. I tried in vain to salt their thinking with the many promises of adopting healthy habits, but alas - at least in my dad’s case - it was not to be.

My mom quit back in the late 60s and tried to get dad to do the same. His refusal to give up the addiction was the reason she left him. But she suffered through it for years until my sister and I were both out of the house.

I lost my dad at age 70 to his life-long cigarette habit. The lung tumor that killed him was the size of an apple. Fortunately my stepmom saw the light, took the cue, and quit. It probably was not easy for her; she had been smoking for over 60 years. But she’s still with us today - she’s going on 80 years young, and feels more energetic now than she did most of her life.

I’m the winehiker today because of my intrinsic desire to reverse the unhealthy (and sedentary) course of my upbringing. I simply had to buck family tradition; smoking was my impetus for getting outside, for blossoming into who I am with those very first forays into the wilderness.

I appreciate the fine points of tasting wine, too, simply because I can.

~winehiker

As you may have noticed, gentle reader, I’ve been absent from all things blogadelic lately. My contract of 22 months at VMware IT had ended as February had come to a close, and while I had intended to spend some vacation time on the trails admiring a bounty of Spring wildflowers, I quickly found myself mired in the insufferable angst of repairing my PC - angst one doesn’t particularly seek while on vacation.

After a week of that crapola, I had felt it necessary to simply sever the tether that bound me to nearly all things computer-related. While it wasn’t strictly a conscious decision, temporarily weaning myself off the technology was, in retrospect, a very good decision. Indeed, I’m all about balance in my life; I don’t wish to sacrifice my health - mental, emotional, or otherwise - to the bristly siren, the Pavlovian maw, of the PC.

I know it’s not always easy for us to do.

Yet I wasn’t a total slacker, mind you. With roughly the entire month of March ahead of me, I tackled a few projects that I had back-burnered for some time. Things pile up, you know? And so I responded to the reveille of Spring: clean the house, pull the weeds, read a book, see some friends, plant a garden, cook up a storm, clean the house some more. Heck, I even replaced a few electrical outlets and switches and repaired a niggly little plumbing issue under the kitchen sink. I got a little hiking and bike riding in and even took my mom out