Congratulations to the winners of the bottle of Kaz Red Port, signed by the wine maker himself. Brian and Mary C of Mississippi are the lucky listeners of this contest! Thanks to everyone who listened to Episode 37 and entered to win. If you didn’t win this time, don’t fret, we have additional bottles of wine to give away for future episodes, along with other goodies as well.
We are losers. After failing to participate in the last several Wine Blogging Wednesdays, we decided - at the very last minute - to record a quick episode and join our fellow oenophiles, especially since the topic du jour is Biodynamic Wines. So, what could possibly go wrong? In short, Everything. First - Joe (I) was late in getting home from work, not showing up until around 9PM. Next - I was responsible for picking up a wine, and we had a good one picked out, an excellent selection from Benziger Family and one that complied with the rules that Jack and Joanne of Fork and Bottle had laid out. Unfortunately, although our local store has a great selection of Benziger wines, they didn’t have the Benzinger Tribute that we needed for the show. Instead, I picked up a bottle of the 2002 Benzinger Syrah, and a 2003 Benziger Merlot, and on the drive home, thought how about how we could still play the game with these excellent - although technically disqualified - wines.
After getting home, yet another distraction - the god forsaken American Idol was on TV and although we have TiVo, the show was just a train wreck and we had to watch parts. (Please pray for our souls). After setting up the recording gear, we cut through a show, mixed everything up, and low and behold, our levels were way off, and by this time, we weren’t in a position or a mood to re-record. Insert Frowney-Face here.
In short we were bummed. We have some great audio that we wanted to share with you as part of a larger show, but we couldn’t pull it together. We do have some audio of not only Bob Benzinger talking about Biodynamics, but also the reclusive, esoteric, extremely verbose, and all around great guy Randall Graham talking about Biodynamics.
What we learned from our previous outings is that biodynamics is the science of the life forces, a kind of earthy, nature spirituality, recognizing the basic principals at work in nature and the cosmic rhythyms. A biodynamic farm is totally self contained by preserving and recycling all the life forces, such as manure, leaves, food scraps, thus making composting the key in biodynamic farming.
So where does that leave us? No official participation in WBW#29, no new episode of A Guy a Girl and a Bottle, and some significant time lost on our end. The non-biodynamic wine we chose was a 2002 Benziger Syrah, we figured since Benziger is Demeter certified biodynamic producer we were in the spirit of the challenge. We both enjoyed drinking this wine, it was very smooth and very drinkable at 14.5% alcohol, and not very tannic.
This leaves you, reader, without a new podcast but for your listening enjoyment we are posting the two short clips we mentioned above. Enjoy, and as Arnold says - “We’ll be back”!
Don’t forget!, here are a few codes to save you some wine money next time you have to order some domains:
Bottle1 - Save 10% off any order. Everything. Bottle2 - Save an additional $5 of any order $30 or more. Bottle3 - Get any .COM domain name for only $6.95/yr.
In today’s wine podcast we visit the eclectic and eccentric KAZ winery in Kenwood, California. Kaz is the smallest winery open to the public in all of Sonoma county, and is known, at least in wine circles, for the extremely tasty ports that they produce. Kaz also loves to experiment with blends, so the wine lineup changes quite frequently. Only 2000 cases produced each year, spread out over 12 or so different styles, so you certainly won’t be finding these bottles on your friends (or your grocer’s) shelf.
Pam and I have enjoyed coming to KAZ over the last few years. If you are looking for a very formal wine experience, please pass KAZ up, cuz you are certainly in the wrong place. If you truly enjoy a wine adventure, don’t miss this winery. There is something always going on at KAZ, tour groups, picnics, and of on occasion, the random light saber battle in the tasting room. Richard Kasmier, “Kaz”, has been making wine since 1985 and the winery was bonded in 1994. Formally a professional commercial photographer, you can find many of his images adorning the labels of the wines, as well as the food items that Kaz puts together as well. Kaz’s wife Sandi hand colors all the photos, and his son Ryan, passes the time photoshopping his father into, well, interesting situations. Check out their website for a sample of the tomfoolery that goes on at this winery.
Don’t let the fun stuff distract from the wines, as while the KAZ family enjoys having fun, the wines are top-notch. Ever tasted a white port? Made from Chardonnay, it is one of the more unusual ports that is made for the Bodega Bay Port Works label under which Kaz bottles his all his ports. Very delectable, and even reminds one of cookie dough, if you can believe that. Dog friendly, and just down the street from Sugarloaf state park, bring the whole family for a true California experience. If you are coming in from out of town, and are looking for a place to stay, ask about The Little House located on the Kaz property, kinda gives you an excuse to sample all of the different varieties Kaz has to offer.
Tasting Room is open Fri-Mon, 11am-5pm (or by appointment)
Contact info:
Kaz Vineyard & Winery
233 Adobe Canyon Rd.
Kenwood, CA 95452
Phone: (877) 833-2536
Fax: (707) 833-1244
w. http://kazwinery.com/ Google Map
SPECIAL OFFER - Tell them that you heard about the winery on a Podcast and your tasting is FREE (and you might even get a special surprise!)
The song for this episode is by Alden and the song is Snapshot, from the CD of the same name. Don’t forget, if you like this song drop the artist a line and let them know what you think and tell them you heard them on A Guy, A Girl, and a Bottle wine podcast! Buy it here:
We hope that you enjoyed our show, and hope that you listened as we are giving away a signed bottle of their Red Port! You have to listen to the show to find out how to enter the contest, of course.
Let us know what you think. Simply call 408-627-7796 and let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or simply want to provide some comments. If you prefer email, you can drop us a line at guyandgirl ~AT~ gmail.com.
Don’t forget!, here are a few codes to save you some wine money next time you have to order some domains:
Bottle1 - Save 10% off any order. Everything. Bottle2 - Save an additional $5 of any order $30 or more. Bottle3 - Get any .COM domain name for only $6.95/yr.
In today’s podcast we deviate from wine once again, and visited Ariella Toeman at Cocoa Designs. Actually, the pairing of wine and chocolate has been a constant favorite of many, although some claim that not all chocolate pairs well with wine, but in our opinion just like our attitude towards wine, if you like it then go ahead and do it anyway.
Ariella was born in Brazil, raised in Montreal, and is a professional pastry chef who has worked in France, New York, and her former hometown of Montreal. It wasn’t until she met her husband and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where she came up with the idea for Cocoa Designs. Her first product, Cocoa Nuts, just like all her other products are all hand made in her one woman commercial kitchen in Burlingame, CA. These little hand made addictive nuts are praline almonds dipped in Venezuelan chocolate covered in cocoa powder and spices. My favorite was the Azteque, which also happens to be one of her best sellers. These praline almonds are roasted dark on the inside and crisp caramel on the outside, then they are covered in dark chocolate and dusted with freshly ground cinnamon, New Mexican chile, and cocoa powder. Eating these reminded me of the Mexican hot chocolate my abuela used to make for me when I was a kid.
Ariella’s products don’t just stop at just Cocoa nuts as she also makes chocolate bars that are filled with Cocoa Nuts, we made a couple of these during our podcast with a little help with our daughter Madison. I took one of the bars to work and I have to say it didn’t last long because my coworkers said that it was amazing and they kept coming back for more pieces of MY bar. She also makes handmade caramels infused with Thai tea, Jasmine, and Earl Grey tea, I haven’t tried these yet but my mouth is watering just thinking about them.
So join us on our little chocolate making adventure with Ariella and our little Oompa Loompa Madison, as we learn a thing or two about making chocolate and those delicious Cocoa Nuts.
Contact info:
Ariella at Cocoa Designs:
10am-5pm PST, Monday-Friday.
t. 415.407.8268
f. 501.641.0451
e. info ‘AT’ cocoadesigns.com
w. http://www.cocoadesigns.com
SPECIAL OFFER - Use coupon code “guyandgirl” and get a free gift with every order of $50 or more.
The song for this episode is by Pennyshaker and the song is Candy. Don’t forget, if you like this song drop the artist a line and let them know what you think and tell them you heard them on A Guy, A Girl, and a Bottle wine podcast! Buy it here:
PS - I know we diverted away from wine again but really who can say no to chocolate? We hope that you enjoyed our little diversion, let us know what you think. Simply call 408-627-7796 and let us know if you like what you hear, have suggestions, or simply want to provide some comments. If you prefer email, you can drop us a line at guyandgirl@gmail.com.
PSS - Oh yeah, we’re back in the saddle. Thanks for being patient and stay tuned for more, much, much more!
Don’t forget!, here are a few codes to save you some wine money next time you have to order some domains:
Bottle1 - Save 10% off any order. Everything. Bottle2 - Save an additional $5 of any order $30 or more. Bottle3 - Get any .COM domain name for only $6.95/yr.
Just a quick message to let you know that due to popular demand, we are now offering A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle T-shirts! These shirts are available in both Men’s and Women’s styles. We have partnered with Shirts By Mail and they will handle all aspects of your order. Let us know what you think! Go to the wineries sporting your favorite Guy and Girl! Tell them you heard it on a podcast!
We are losers. After failing to participate in the last several Wine Blogging Wednesdays, we decided - at the very last minute - to record a quick episode and join our fellow oenophiles, especially since the topic du jour is Biodynamic Wines. So, what could possibly go wrong? In short, Everything. First - Joe (I) was late in getting home from work, not showing up until around 9PM. Next - I was responsible for picking up a wine, and we had a good one picked out, an excellent selection from Benziger Family and one that complied with the rules that Jack and Joanne of 
A Guy, a Girl, and a Bottle Wine Podcast EP37: Kaz Winery
