Pour me another glass...

Today was off to a great start as we headed into Oakland, CA to visit Mariposa bakery. The place is entirely gluten free and fabulous by my made from scratch standards. Joel and I feasted on wheat free pizza and brownies and I got bagels and muffins for tomorrow morning. :) It was so nice to be able to walk into a bakery and actually eat something instead of eyeing the glass and trying to figure out how to make a wheat free version at home.
I had decided that nothing could be more breathtaking than the coastal views in Monterey, and then we entered wine country. If I could ever bare to live farther than 2 hours from my family, I think I would pick up and move out to Sonoma, California. Joel could open a winery and I could teach. During the summers I could assist with the gardens and chat with the visitors. If that didn't work, we could run a bed and breakfast. A person can dream, right?
I have seen my fair share of wineries in my time and have never been all that excited by what the tours have to offer. However, today, at Benziger I was blown away. I wanted to ask if there was a position open for someone like me. I'm not even a big wine drinker. In fact, I'm a terrible drinker, I don't appreciate fine wine and I get half a glass before I'm ready to fall asleep in the middle of a dinner party. That aside, the philosophy behind having a family run winery centered around the ideas of being a sustainable organic and biodynamic farm was incredible. The water is reused, the animals help the plants, the plants feed the animals, the people merely assist in the process instead of trying to manhandle it all, and at the end of the day....a beautiful wine is born. It makes me excited to hurry home to our small garden and almost makes me want to move to Gainesville and be the experiment that is Green Market.
We are staying here on the property in what was originally one of the brother's houses. It is huge, way too much for 2 people. I feel like inviting up the town to come have dinner and entertain, as this house obviously calls for a couple who know how to throw a fine dinner party.