07/01/2009 02:25 PM Posted by:

June 21st, the first day of summer brought the heat index into three digits for the first time this year. There are things to do, places to be but who wants to leave the air-conditioned indoors and step outside. Not me! To stay cool and entertained I decided to combine my two interests- movies and wine- and watch a wine movie at home.

I watched the movie ‘Bottle Shock’ which was released in 2008. I have been meaning to watch it since I heard about it several months ago, but got discouraged reading not so great reviews. Finally I decided to watch it without any expectations. The premise of the movie is the 1976 ‘Judgment of Paris’ wine tasting. This was when a small American winery outdid the glorious French wines of the time and sent the wine industry into a frenzy, putting California wines on the map. The movie is about the events leading up to ‘Judgment of Paris’ tasting, told through the lives of father and son, Jim and Bo Barrett, the owners of Chateau Montelena winery in Napa, California.

The character of Jim Barrett played wonderfully by Bill Pullman was the highlight of the movie for me. The movie portrays Jim Barrett as someone who is totally consumed with the art of wine making; he is a perfectionist who never thinks his wine is ready. He is very self-respecting and guarded in a way. He is suspicious of the British wine store owner from Paris, Steven Spurrier, who is sponsoring the ‘Judgment of Paris’. It takes a lot of convincing from his then slacker son Bo Barrett to enter their wines for the contest. The character of Jim Barrett is multi layered and I just loved some of the conversations that he has in the movie about wine and Napa terroir. He says, “It is alluvial, sedimentary, volcanic soil. You want to limit the irrigation because it makes the vines struggle, intensifies the flavor. A comfortable grape, a well-watered, well-fertilized grape grows into a lazy ingredient of a lousy wine”. He also says,” Vineyard’s best fertilizer is the owner’s footsteps” again underscoring his dedication to his vineyard. Other characters were fine but did not really stand out except may be, Gustavo Brambila, played by Freddy Rodríguez, who plays an employee at Chateau Montelena who secretly makes some fabulous wine of his own. It is interesting to know that now Gustavo Brambila owns a boutique winery in Napa called Gustavo Thrace Winery. The movie portrays him as an ambitious young man who does not want to end up like his father who was a field hand at a winery. He is a very soulful winemaker and knows that he has what it takes to produce great wine.

The ‘Judgment of Paris’ wine tasting scene is very amusing in a way with all French judges on the panel, on their home turf. The judges came in assuming a victory by French wines. Most of them thought that they will have no problems distinguishing California wines from French wines. Midway though the tasting some of them are confused and uncomfortable. At the end of the tasting as Steven Spurrier announces the results you can see the eagerness on the faces of the judges. It was a monumental day for California wines.

Jim Barrett, in a statement to The Time magazine said “It’s not bad for the kids from the sticks”, yet again showing humility in his character.

Although the direction leaves a little more to be desired, its all in all, a treat! Great views of Napa Valley and an enjoyable visit to a historical event. I would totally recommend it to all wine lovers. Do not forget to get yourself a nice bottle of California Chardonnay from ‘Vineyard on the Square’ while you watch a California Chard win French judges over.

I would love to hear from the readers. Please email me at gunjan@discovervineyard.com with comments and suggestions. Salud!

Vineyard on the Square

16135 City Walk

Sugar Land, Texas 77479

281-277-1851

http://www.bottleshockmovie.com/

http://www.montelena.com/

http://www.gustavothrace.com/

Categoried under: Wine

Summer Treats in Houston

05/18/2009 01:50 PM Posted by: Gunjan

It is a very typical summer for Houston, hot and sultry. Shorts, flip-flops, ice-creams, sodas galore! When you are indoors you can’t wait to go out and enjoy the bountiful summer and when you are out...well… you run for the shade.

With my resolution to eat healthier in 2009, I am always on a lookout for seasonal fruits and veggies. The mother’s day weekend felt like a great time to visit Houston’s local farmer markets with my three year old baby boy.

The Houston's first Texas State Certified farmers market is located in the Heights area. It is open on Saturday mornings from 8 AM to noon. We got there about an hour after it opened. The farmers market is tucked behind the onion creek coffeehouse. You have to carefully keep an eye out coz if you blink you’d miss it.

The farmer’s market felt a little anticlimactic, I was hoping to see a number of stands loaded with fruits and vegetables… but as I counted there were a total of 8 stands. There was only one vegetable stall with squash, cabbage, onions, and strawberries. There was other fun stuff like organic toiletries; handmade jewelry, fresh baked dog treats, honey, gourmet infused vinegars. I got myself a jar of body scrub which is so aromatic and wonderful. I would totally recommend those. I have listed the website below for those of you who are interested in organic toiletries.

This farmers market can be made into a fun experience if you make it just a part of your Saturday morning outing and not make your outing all about it because it can be covered in 15-20 minutes. I am sure there are Saturdays when they have much more to offer but for the purpose of my visit which was to load up on fruits and veggies for a week, it left something to be desired.

The very next day we were invited to go to a strawberry farm in Alvin by some friends. I didn’t think much of it going in as I didn’t know what to expect. We got to the Froberg vegetable and fruit farm at about 10 AM on mother’s day. It was much bigger than what I anticipated. Row after row of strawberry bushes loaded with ripe and juicy fruits. My son loved picking the strawberries. I plan to go there one more time before the strawberry season is over in June. You pay for the strawberries that you pick out. We paid $2.50 for a boxful which seemed reasonable for high-quality fresh picked strawberries. The Froberg farm has been around since 1936 and has a very loyal clientele base. It’s busy all year and offers seasonal fruits and vegetables when strawberries are not in season. They have a modest metal building where the freshest seasonal fruits and vegetables can be bought. Except for the produce, the farm is also famous for its pies, which you can order several during the holiday season, preserves, dried fruits, soup mixes, sausages etc. It was a 25 mile drive from Sugar Land where I live but it was worth every mile driven.

I would highly recommend Froberg farm for a long, lazy, relaxed family outing. I would urge you to visit them at least once before the strawberry season is over. On your way back… visit the Vineyard and pick out a nice Riesling or a Muscat which go perfectly with the strawberries.

-Gunjan

Email me at gunjan@discovervineyard.com with suggestions and comments. Let me know if there is a fun destination in and around Houston that you would want me to visit and write about.

The address to farmers market in Heights area, Houston:

3106 White Oak
Between Studewood and Heights Blvd.
Houston, TX 77007

http://www.houstonfarmersmarket.org/

The market is open Saturdays 8 a.m.- noon.

The address to Frobergs farm, Alvin: