Cory J wrote: WOW! that's awesome. Now do any of these send you wines from different wineries?
Yes, Naked Wines represents a number of wineries, worldwide. Gary's membership at individual wineries only market their own wines. One membership is with a winery which owns four very different wineries, each in a different climate zone and different soil zone. The single membership is good at all six wineries.
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
Ian Stone wrote: How many wineries do you have around you?
Don't get Gary talking about wine ... lol
There are splashes of "good" wine areas all across California. Gary lives in La Mirada, which is about 15 miles or so southeast from Los Angeles. The closest "wine country" to Gary is a little over an hour away in Temecula. Temecula has about 40 wineries. Santa Barbara County is another splash of good wine country and it's about two hours to the north. Santa Barbara County's, Santa Rita Hills is one of the best Pinot Noir producing areas in the world (see the movie Sideways, lol). A half days drive will get Gary to Paso Robles and another three to four hours will take you to Napa and Sonoma. All three of these areas, Paso Robles, Napa and Sonoma produce world class, exceptional wines. There are some wineries popping up in the northern Central Valley (Lodi and Livermore) which are making some wonderful Zins. There are some wineries in the Mother Lode Country along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, a few in northern San Diego Country and a few in the Santa Monica Mountains next to Malibu, but these areas are not producing the world class caliber of wines found in the more established, Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Santa Rita Hills areas. (see the movie Bottle Shock)
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
James F wrote: Is Napa Valley still the largest area for vineyards in California?
Hey James. I dunno about size, but Napa is certainly one of the first, one of the finest and Napa put California wines on the map. (Watch the movie Bottleshock.)
This is an interesting link which summarizes most/all of California's wine producing regions.
Gary personally does not appreciates Napa. It is just too expensive to visit, to eat, to wine taste and to purchase. It is like an adult Disneyland, too commercial ... overly commercialized ... Gary wouldn't be surprised if there will be a cover charge on every vehicle entering Napa County.
Sonoma County
Napa is surrounded by equally great wine country (AVA) in Sonoma, Russian River and Mendocino County. These places produce equally great wines at significantly reduces prices for everything. In places other than Napa, you still can find the smaller, Ma & Pa joints, where the owner/vintner will pour you a taste and then have a chat about the wine, where to taste next, Trump and baseball. At the Russian River Vineyard, which has absolutely wonderful wines, a super restaurant ... Gary helped the owner fix the fencing around his garden. Later at dinner, Gary learned later he was the owner.
Wine tasting is sorta a hobby for Mary Lou, Maggie and Gary.
Note for Wine Tasting: Gary has discovered photographing the pour will get you a longer pour.
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
Nope, easy as pie. Good bread is pretty easy. Great bread is hard. Bread takes time to rise ... but flatbread takes nearly no time at all. Plus you can load up flatbread like a pizza, with artichoke hearts and peppers and it is absolutely delish. Just Google up some recipes, slip into an apron and go. If you bake the bread in an open oven, be sure to insert a small open container of water with the bread. If you use a Dutch Oven, sprinkle the bread with water prior to baking.
There are photographs everywhere. It is the call of photographers to see and capture those images.
www: garyayala.com
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