Jesse Katz Aperture Cellars: Dreams Do Come True

Recently I had the opportunity to do a tasting of Aperture Wine at Draeger’s Market in Danville.
This wine is being made in Healdsburg by one of our favorite winemakers Jesse Katz.

Jesse recently built a winery there. The good news is that his winery had no damage in the recent Healdsburg fires.  We had the pleasure to meet Jesse when he was the winemaker at Bill Foley’s Lancaster Winery. His father Andy Katz is a famous photographer and has an impressive gallery in downtown Healdsburg.  Andy has traveled to over 90 countries, written 14 books and his photos have been on the cover of music groups like the Doobie Brothers and Dan Fogleburg.  His photos also grace the bottles of Jesse’s sensational wine creations.  Jesse has lived all over the world and also worked at famous wineries including Petrus in France and Screaming Eagle in Napa.  He also made Justin Timberlake’s wedding wine and the most expensive wine ever made to date that sold for $350,000 in the Napa Auction.

His new winery Aperture is a dream come true for him.  The modern 20,000 square foot winery is functioning but the hospitality room won’t be officially open until Spring 2020.
As a result, we were pleased to taste his 2016 Aperture Bordeaux Red blend and 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon at Draeger’s market in Danville

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Draeger’s has weekly tastings every Friday from 4-7. The tastings cost $10 and wines tasted are sold at a 20% discount.

The 2016 Red Blend is 52% Malbec and 48% Merlot. It’s elegant and silky texture make this a wine that is drinking beautifully now.  The Cabernet Sauvignon is from four mineral rich volcanic soil sites nestled on the cooler hillside Alexander Valley slopes.
It is a soft and silky blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon with delicate inclusions of Merlot and Malbec.

For more information and to make an appointment go to: https://www.aperture-cellars.com/

Nashville: Country Music, Food and Fun

Recently my family enjoyed a visit to the country music capital of the world Nashville, Tennessee.  From the Oakland airport, you can get a direct flight to Nashville.

In Nashville, we stayed at the elegant and centrally located Hermitage Hotel.  This landmark hotel has been providing Southern Hospitality since 1910 and is a Forbes 5-star rated hotel. The newly created grand foyer leads to the stunning lobby, called one of the most beautiful public rooms in America.

After we checked in, we took a short walk to Kid Rock’s newly opened musical playground. It has 5 stories of food, live music and fun. It also has a rooftop bar with stunning views of downtown Nashville.   Kid Rock is known as ‘America’s Bad Ass’ and originally from Detroit.   His new Nashville establishment opened last October and rocks with lots of energy every night until 3 am. It is the hot new spot In Nashville and packed with a lot of happy music lovers.

The next day we took the ‘Hop on Hop Off’ tour eyeing the many sights of this vibrant city. We especially enjoyed the Country Music Hall of Fame and Vanderbilt University. For lunch, we enjoyed a famous ‘hot chicken’ sandwich at BB Kings Blues Bar with live music.
After lunch, we went to long-time favorite Mike’s Ice Cream and enjoyed a ‘Tennessee Fudge’ waffle cone.  After a brief rest at the hotel, we had a driver pick us up and take us to the famous Grand Ole Opry and experienced one of my son’s favorite country singers, 

Lee Brice.  In addition to Lee Brice, the show had ‘outstanding‘ performances from John Conlee, Jimmie Allen, The Whites, Thompson Square, Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Dusty Slay and Maggie Rose. The entire show was 2 hours of ‘high energy country star excellence".

The next morning my long-time friend and Nashville resident picked us up and drove us to Lynchburg to tour the famous Jack Daniels Distillery.  Lynchburg is about 1.5 hours from downtown Nashville and the tour was very informative and interesting.  We tasted 6 of their great whiskeys. Our favorites were old number 7 with its creamy and clean finish and Tennessee Fire with the unmistakable character of old number 7 combined with an intense warm cinnamon taste. The Honey Whiskey and newly released Apple Whisky would also make for a great after dinner drink when served chilled.

After the tour we drove to Brentwood and had a great lunch at long-time favorite Mere Bulles.  It is located in a former southern mansion with stunning art work, and excellent Southern Food including a few we tried as hot chicken salad, carrot cake and key lime pie.

Our final day, we toured the Musicians Hall of Fame. It is more extensive than the Country Music Hall of Fame as it has a variety of music history from Motown to Jimmy Hendrix to Johnny Cash to mention a few. If you are brave and feeling on the wild side, you can play instruments on stage and even do Karoke with Ray Charles.

After the tour we enjoyed dinner at famous Tootsies and a concert at the Ryman Theater featuring the Gatlin Brothers and Crystal Gayle. This 2000 seat theater is a ‘must do’ and features a variety of great entertainers.

In conclusion, we would highly recommend a visit to the ‘country music capital of the world’. It is no wonder that 100 people are moving here every day. Low taxes, good weather, and lots of fun things to do is attracting many new residents.

We look forward to returning soon.

For more information and to book a reservation go to:
https://www.thehermitagehotel.com/