Chronic Negress

Better than a traffic cone, no?

In the past three days, the Negress has scarfed down handmade ice cream at Screaming Mimi‘s in Sebastopol, renewed her love for the sweet potato fries at what was once Taylor’s Refresher but is now Gott’s, meet wine social media guru Rick Bakas and bought a bunch of Petit Sirah to take back East since these people out here don’t share. Oh, and she made it to St. Francis and Gloria Ferrer for some drinking and balcony sitting.

And she spent sometime in downtown Santa Rosa at Cellars of Sonoma where store president Scott Jordan did a live UStream feed with Rick Bakas. Bakas is Mr. Wine Social Media for St. Supery vineyard in Napa. Bakas has just done a book of tips for social media newbies called Quick Bites, which will soon be available on Amazon. The Negress got him to sign hers. She also found out he is as fond of Petit Sirah as she is. Jordan and his son Kevin, plus Ron, the affable man behind the bar, hung out, quaffed some Petit Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and some Zinfandel. After the nuances of the Dooniverse, a little big fruit was in order.

Seven bottles were bought and made their way over to my hotel with some assistance from the store. Jordan’s spot has live music on Fridays and features boutique wines without you having to drive all over the counties to seek them out. Cellars sells nibbles and is on a block in Santa Rosa with good eats at every turn.

Rick Bakas of St. Supery (right) and Scott Jordan of Cellars of Sonoma

Nice while sipping bubbly. The Gloria Ferrer balcony view

The Negress is hoping a special occasion is coming soon, so she headed out to Gloria Ferrer to sit on their gorgeous terrace and drink some bubbly with smoky spiced almonds. She ended up buying their 2006  Brut Rose, which is crisp and fabulous. The 1999 Carneros Cuvee was deliciously toasty so I bought a cooler and iced those puppies down for transport back to the hotel.

Many years ago when I was in California after a Jeopardy! tournament, I discovered the St. Francis vineyard in Santa Rosa and fell for its Merlot. I decided to go back since, when in Sonoma, I usually look for old vine Zinfandel and theirs is usually worth seeking out. I tasted the 2006 Giovanetti Zin, the 2007 Bacchi Zin, plus a port with 5 percent residual sugar (interesting but not a keeper), their 2007 Dry Creek Petit Sirah, 2006 McCoy Cabernet Franc and the 2007 Tres Viejos Zinfandel. Giovanetti and Bacchi are headed home along with the Cabernet Franc, which was fresh enough to make me rethink my commitment to the Cab Francs of the North Fork of Long Island. I also got the Petit Sirah and hope Rick goes by to check it out when he gets a chance.

St. Francis patio view

Anyway, the mojito sorbet, the coconut galaxy, praline, strawberry  and pistachio ice creams were fabulous and the Negress may head back just for the Chocolate Chocolate Almond. Even with the new name, Gott’s was as it should be — bacon cheeseburger perfect and drippy, sweet potato fries enhanced by the yummy dipping sauce (not sure what’s in it but you have to try it if you can). My  pals from Team Challenge DC will get here tomorrow so I will go walking with them a bit. But this has all been too much fun to keep to myself.