Pandemic

  • Postcards From Home

    April 10, 2020 09:48

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    Postcards from Home

    Bee in RosemaryI send my grandsons postcards from the road when I travel on business and of course when we are on vacation. I thought I would share ‘postcards’ from home with you.

    I’ll take you all on a walk around the winery and vineyards for some spring views, sharing the beauty we are experiencing in my former home and surroundings.

    As I have indicated spring is definitely in place around the winery and vineyard and Easter seemed like a good time to share the hopeful sense that nature and the season brings to us.

    The 2020 vintage is in place and beginning to show among the vines with budbreak beginning in mid-March and followed by first leaves. The natural progression and timing has the vineyard right on time for this part of the growing season. We received a couple of inches of rain in April which helps keep the vines happy and without damage to the new growth. First Leaf

     

    In other areas around the winery the hills are a soft green and show the promise of spring in the flora and fauna around us. Nice warm days are ahead and all the more opportunity to get out and enjoy these moments, even virtually.  Green hills and vines   Spring Barrel  Jasper in the Daisies  Yellow Rose

    Hope does spring eternal as the curve is flattened, we stay at home connecting in different ways with our friends and family, and knowing that nature hasn’t recognized we are at a stopgap and will continue her march toward summer and fall without fail-bringing great hope to me and I hope to you.

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Pandemic, COVID19, Springtime, Easter, note from home
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  • Note From Home: Holding Steady

    April 2, 2020 08:48

    Note From Home: Holding Steady

    Knee deepWe’ve been knee deep before-take a look at my uncle John standing knee deep in a flood-this is right outside of our cellar some 60 years ago. We’ve seen a few decades of challenge, we’re farmers after all and are holding steady. This current crisis, while we stay at home and do our best to keep our heads above water, is another challenge much like the Great Depression, recession, fires, or 9/11. 

    What did we do when met with those challenges? We held steady and found ways to deal with the situations. My grandparents, who had just bought the property two years ahead of the Great Depression and in the middle of Prohibition, managed by working the farm to support their young family as well as selling the grapes to make a modest living.  My dad Jim created friends.red to offer a recession-friendly priced wine and found a spot for grapes without having to pull out vineyard. Two years of major fires tested us and made us more resilient-bringing the community together. And the 9/11 tragedy brought the country together.  

    One of the joys of writing these notes are the responses I am receiving from you. You inspire me with your stories and memories, you’re keeping busy with eyes to the future and the end of this thing called Shelter in Place. Here are some snippets of the comments and observations:

    We are hanging in there discovering how to clean closets, walk together and talk to one another. It will pass and maybe we all can learn from this.

    We are hanging in there. I am bored sitting at home. Over 40 years of making (sales) calls and now a different world.

    We are using this time to relax but be productive, too, because once we can bust out into the real world, I’m planning to visit as many restaurants as possible and get back to the gym! 

    Wisdom from a 70+ year old friend: "What is this teaching me?" For me it's teaching me to be resourceful with what I have. I have a garden that feeds us. A refrigerator full of main staples. A sink with running water. A husband that can still provide. Two sons. One now living in with us and the other getting home safely from Brazil and quarantining in the bay area for 2 weeks and soon will join the clan. My love language is cooking. So this is where your wine comes in...I open a bottle of Pedroncelli wine, play some country music in the kitchen and create a yummy, intentional and nutritional meal for my family. That scenario is my solace, my peace of mind. Thank you Julie for your heartfelt and authentic correspondence. 


    Hold Steady LadsAs a healthcare worker in Washington State I am directly involved in caring for patients who are infected I would just like to say thank you. You and all the others who are sheltering at home are all playing a big part in beating this beast. We will get through it! I have a trip to Sonoma County tentatively planned for June and am hoping and praying it will happen as planned.  I can't wait to drink some Friends with friends. Stay well. 

    I'm inspired to spend this time to be more productive in my writing, I've cleaned out my 'closet' of files, I'm spending time being thankful for what I have, learning to be patient while waiting to hug my grandsons (especially my newest one), following Shelter in Place orders because it will help end this, and holding onto hope for gathering together again.

    What does it take to hold steady? How about courage and wisdom. It takes courage to be a farmer and producer to get through this time, it takes courage to rally the forces around us, be creative and not be overwhelmed. It takes wisdom to know 'this too shall pass' and learn what this situation is teaching us and then passing this wisdom along. Hold steady, hold tight and hold on-6 feet apart. 

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Pandemic, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, COVID19, Holding steady, note from home
    Categories: pedroncelli
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  • Pantry and Wine Friendly Recipes for a Pandemic

    April 1, 2020 14:08

    Pantry and Wine Friendly Recipes for a Pandemic

     In a recent post I mentioned I was trying to come up with wine tips-outside of hand sanitizer-and cooking with it was one of them along with what I have learned about the chemistry of using wine in a sauce. I have gathered hundreds of recipes over the years and always strive for what I call 'pantry friendly' recipes-you know, the ones where you don't have to go to a specialty store to buy an ounce of caviar.

    Let’s begin with one of my favorite recipes because polenta is a comfort food I grew up with-think of it as Italian grits. Parmesan Polenta with Sausage Ragu

    I found this recipe while searching for easy dinners and while it takes a little bit of time between cooking the sauce and the polenta, Sunday dinner anyone?, this brings simple ingredients together deliciously. Here are a few photos when I made this not long ago.

    Pantry ingredientsHere are a few tips: buy fresh basil-nothing like fresh to give a dish the best taste but in a pinch use dried basil-a teaspoon of dried to a tablespoon of fresh herbs. I buy the better grade canned tomatoes-but whatever you have on hand should work. Regarding the type of sausage, I like spicy but you can use the sweet Italian type and will still work, you can also replace pork sausage with turkey sausage very easily. 

    garlic and onions

    pouring in the tomatoes

    Your pantry, my pantry-there may be a difference in what you keep or have on hand. Sometimes Ed just shakes his head at my ‘substitutions’ and I admit they don’t always create the same recipe. Don’t be afraid to be creative-if you don’t have leeks use onions. If you don’t have ground turkey use ground beef. Cooking at home doesn’t have to be difficult. Follow the instructions, measure out the ingredients, take your time-we have a lot of it these days. Planning ahead-there’s another tip. Pre-COVID119 I would go to the store almost daily after work to get a quick weeknight dinner together. Secretly I love grocery shopping but let’s keep that between us. Now I plan ahead to go to the store twice a week so I am following our shelter in place order.

    Now, besides the tips I received about ways to use up wine, like turning leftover wine into ice cubes and later on using them in sauces or drinking the same wine you used in the recipe at dinner, I also received a question about the bank of recipes I have stored on our website-I have been adding to the different categories for many years. I am a recipe hound and have collected quite a few from many sources including family, staff, newspapers, local chefs, authors and recipe sites. Here are some of my favorites and I hope they become yours!

    You know the can of chickpeas taking up a spot in the cupboard? Dress it up by roasting them-use as a snack or in a salad for lots of flavor: Spice Roasted Chickpeas

    This soup is a staple in our household-spicy, tummy filling and healthy: Chicken Tortilla Soup

    Alternately this soup uses up lots of veggies, the kitchen sink approach: Minestrone

    Here is a simple, tasty and easy dinner idea: Chicken and Rice Pilaf

    My mom Phyllis has been making a version of this for many years-both Mom and I find we do it a bit differently each time: Chicken Scallopini a la Phyllis

    Here is a family favorite from our pre-empty nest days-I found this in Adrienne’s cookbook for kids. Easy, flavorful and filling-the trifecta of the perfect family recipe-use beef and make it Sloppy Joes: Sloppy Toms

    Each month I send out an enewsletter and part of it includes 2-3 recipes I find that are wine friendly. If you’d like to be on the email list let me know and send to julie@pedroncelli.com I'll sign off here like I do in the column: don’t forget the vino!

    Tags: Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County, Recipes, Homecooking, Pandemic, COVID19
    Categories: pedroncelli
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  • A Note From Home: How Are You Doing?

    March 21, 2020 09:25

    A Note from Home

    JasperSo how are you doing? I hope this finds you coping with the new restrictions in our lives-! I know many, many things have been cancelled or rescheduled for another time. Are you catching up on personal correspondence? Tackling those household projects you’ve put off like painting the bathrooms or adding a she shed? Homeschooling your kids? I personally will be reading more, walking more with #JasperWineDog-who by the way loves us working from home-he thinks we are on vacation and totally ignores the virus thing. I’ll do more home cooking while also supporting our local restaurants for take-out and of course enjoy a glass of wine or two while kicking back in the evenings.

    How are you? This simple phrase seems so much more important now as we are physically distanced from each other and our daily lives. I typically write this note from my office, my former bedroom in my childhood home, which overlooks our Mother Clone zinfandel vineyard. Today I am writing from my own home in Healdsburg with a view of spring burgeoning in the new leaves on the oak trees and birds singing just outside.

    For me yesterday was a wonderful day because two things happened: I have a new grandson and my niece Sarah (Lisa & Lance’s daughter) was married-in Brazil of all places-they watched the ceremony at 6am that morning from their home. Galen Kurt Edwin Rule was born a few hours later. 3/20/20 will be remembered with joy amidst such a time and I look forward to hugging him once this is over-I am thankful for our ease of communication so I can see all the fingers and toes and make sure mom Adrienne is okay and dad Jason is holding the baby correctly.Baby Galen

    Home AloneWhile we hunker down with loved ones I know there are many challenges ahead. Those parents with kids home for the long term-I received an email yesterday from a mom who had our wine at their wedding and now, 9 years later, has kids home and needed a case of wine to smooth the rough edges! (pretty sure my own parents would have gone crazy with the four of us girls bouncing off the walls). Work and the interruption of regular life is a challenge and a change. If you are at home alone reach out to neighbors who might also feel alone-keeping your distance of course! You know Wilson had it right by visiting over the back fence. If we keep socially connected in our age of technology we’ll know we are not alone.Wilson over the Fence

    How are we doing at the winery? The Governor of California has put the whole state from tip to top in a Stay at Home order. Our trade group Wine Institute just confirmed that, while our tasting room remains closed, the new order allows winery and vineyard operations to continue under the Food and Agriculture Sector critical infrastructure plan. We can keep things going in the vineyard and cellar! Probably more important to you is that we are still processing and shipping orders. While we can’t offer tastings, we are working on how to do “take-out” at the winery. Stay tuned for developments. Meanwhile we wouldn’t want our friends and neighbors to run out of wine. If you’d like us to ship you some wine click here.

    Until the next time, keep healthy, stay inside and reach out even if just an email or call! julie@pedroncelli.com or 707-857-3531.

    Stay well and don’t forget the vino. Julie

    Tags: COVID19, Pedroncelli, Dry Creek Valley, Courage Zinfandel, Wisdom Cabernet Sauvignon, note from home, Sonoma County, Pandemic
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