Wine Guys

Wineapalooza Day 4: July 26, 2011

The easiest way to tell we were tourists in Oregon would have been to count the number of times I said "Look at all these trees!" It's really a beautiful state. And the drive from Florence to the Umpqua Valley (conveniently located on the Umpqua River) is gorgeous and serene. To wit:

And yes, I made Chris stop so I could get out and take a picture. He's an excellent traveler like that--doing all the driving and perfectly agreeable to stop whenever and wherever.

Of course we stopped for wine too. First was Brandborg Winery in Elkton. We had a great time tasting wines with Terry Brandborg himself. In fact, it was such a nice time we ending up tasting 12 wines. 12! Our favorites were the 2010 Fleur de Lys White Pinot Noir, the 2008 Reisling and 2007 Love Puppets Pinot Noir. (I also happen to love the name of the Pinot Noir--it's got a romantic story behind it having to do with a painting and Terry and his wife Sue's courtship; very sweet--the story, not the wine.)

Chris with Terry Brandborg

 

We couldn't resist heading over to the winery across the way from Brandborg. River's Edge winery sits....well, on the edge of the Umpqua River.

Eight wines were tasted with the 2007 Barrel Select Umpqua Pinot Noir as our favorite. It is hard to beat an Oregon Pinot Noir.

Our next stop was a doozy. We'd been visiting mostly smaller wineries--beautiful, rustic places with small productions. So we were not prepared for what Reustle Prayer Rock winery and vineyards looked like. The drive in was, in keeping with Oregon's custom, gorgeous. And then the winery appeared. And, well...wow. See for yourself:

Gloria Reustle gave us a tour of the winery and some of the most elegant private tasting rooms I've ever seen.

But as beautiful as the winery was...the wines were even better. Steve Reustle joined us for what turned out to be a 3 hour tasting. Steve is passionate about his grapes, his wines and winemaking. Chris is, as we know, also very passionate about those things. There was wine. There was talking. There was more wine. More talking. Repeat. A fabulous afternoon! The 2010 Gruner Veltliner was the favorite (and the 2009 reserve was also excellent). I also must give a tip o' the glass to the kitchen at Reustle Prayer Rock. They serve small bites with each wine (okay, not each wine we tried...that would be two meals worth; but each wine in the "normal" tasting) and everything was delicious. Loved, loved, loved the rice cracker with goat cheese, avocado slices, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.

We spent so long there (that's Chris still chatting with Steve) we thought we'd probably not get in another winery that day. But, Steve picked up the phone and called John Olson over at Tesoaria and asked him to stay open for us. Boy were we glad he did that. I'll tell you all about that tomorrow. Let's just say it involves not just wine, but dogs and donuts.

Willamette, Damnit

July 24, 2011: Day Two of Wineapalooza

We were not up at the crack of dawn. We were however up and out the door at an hour that was too early for Michael's boyfriend Brian or friend Carmel to join us. And really, they live there, so I can see their point. Why is it that wine tasting rooms open at 10 (freakin'!!) a.m. and close, mostly, at 5pm? Them don't seem like normal drinking hours to me. And I'm a seasoned pro.

Nonetheless, after a lovely room service breakfast, we met Michael in the lobby and we were off in our trusty white wine-mobile. Headed to the Willamette valley, which, yes, is pronounced to sound like Damnit, not William's diminutive (much as Chris tried, he continued to say William-ette all day....causing several cheerful folks to respond with the helpful "It's Will-a-mette. Damnit." For the record, Chris also can't say "query"--he says "quarry" instead. Other then that though, he's perfect. Which is why I share those two things.)

Chris on left, Michael on right; box of heaven above

Our first stop was the beautiful in name and in reality, Four Graces Winery. And I'm just going to stop right here and say: Pinot Blanc. Buy their Pinot Blanc (and send it to me!!!). We all loved it and we all bought it. Chris's notes say "good citrus with candied orange. Long finish. 500 to 700 cases made." My notes say "Oh my god! Oh my god! Ohmygawd!!" (You can tell which one of us is the professional.) I was also a fan of the Pinot Gris. And you can (almost) never go wrong with an Oregon Pinot Noir. Purchases were made.

We moved on to Winderlea Vineyards and a truly spectacular tasting room (also, the beginning of our "let's find the best tasting room bathroom" game! It was also the end...it was awesome and unbeatable. Think fancy hotel bathroom. Sorry, I did not photograph it. I don't actually take my camera to the bathroom with me, which I now see as a character defect.) But look at this place!You just know they have a fabulous bathroom. (And this is coming from a woman who spends a lot of Sunday in the kitchen and bath showrooms of Standards of Excellence where Chris does his Sunday Night Chef Fights.)

They are known for their Pinot Noir (which is not a Forgotten Grape, Chris's specialty, but tasty nonetheless). We tasted five wines and preferred the '07 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir. And this view:



We couldn't help but venture across the street from Winderlea to this clever looking winery called Barrel Fence Cellars. You can see where the name came from, no?

Does this help? See? The fence has barrels in it? Oh and a giant corkscrew sticking out of my head the end barrel.  The winemaker also owns a vineyard in New Zealand which just happens to be located at the 45th parallel south and his vineyard in Oregon is at the 45th parallel north, which is a fascinating coincidence and also allows for a very unique vertical...no, wait...horizontal...no, parallely-elle, no...well, a unique tasting of these two wines. Same grape varietal (Pinot Noir), different vineyards on these two parallels. Way cool. And for the record, I'm a south-y.

You'll be happy to know we had lunch next.
I was happy to know there was such a thing as a hot dog, wrapped in bacon, snuggled in a fresh bun with a slab of blue cheese, served with potato salad and baked beans on the menu at the Horse Radish Wine & Cheese bar and cafe in Carlton.

 Hey, one needs to keep nourished with all that wine tasting going on! And note...there was iced tea to drink. A little break in the wine tasting to let those taste buds relax.. And speaking of relaxing, we're only at lunch on this day. I think we'll take a little bloggy break and split this day up into two posts. I'm sure you're feeling a little tipsy after all those virtual wines anyway.

PR PTII

Also known as "Paso Robles, Part II."

Yeah, I know...it's taken me awhile to get this posted. Well, all I can say at this point is that it's been a really, really busy week or so as both a lawyer and a writer. I will have very exciting writer news to share very soon (lawyers aren't really allowed to share their news..oh, and it's rarely exciting to non-lawyers)! In the meantime though, I wanted to share a bit more about my Paso Robles week of wine and writing. I mentioned our neighbors in PR. They were awesome. So cute. So well behaved. Perfect in every way. Allow me to introduce you to a few of them:

This is Clover (so named because he has a brown clover-shaped marking in the fur around his butt). He lives at Venteux Winery. (Let me also highly recommend their Hospice du Bone wine...mmmmmm).

This is El Cid from Ambyth Winery (he's a golden-doodle!). Simply adorable. Also, I'm going to recommend the Ambyth Rosada Rose...and just going to this absolutely spectacular vineyard. The views are incredible. The wine is delicious and if you are as lucky as we were, the caretaker Gustavo and his lovely wife just make a deliriously fabulous shrimp Veracruz and chips and guacamole (she put cucumber in the guac! never hear of that but it was fabulous!).

This is El Cid's pal at Ambyth whose name is momentarily escaping me. But he ran way out ahead around the entire vineyard leading the way as Gustavo drove Chris and me around in the Polaris for a tour...wineglasses in hand.

This was our next door neighbor for the week. Never did catch her name; she mostly kept to herself.

This is Cabernet. He lives at Eberle Winery with his less-willing-to-be-photographed sister, Roussanne.

I did not catch these girls names either, but clearly they were having their own girls' weekend.  We'll just call them Lori, Jane and Teresa. (The photo is taken from the car, through the windshield while we waited for them to cross).

Bartender Zachery. Cute waiters are also part of the native wildlife of Paso Robles. (And Zachery was an English major in college. Mild swooning.)

T (heart) PR.

200th Post--and it's Deja Vu all over again

Yep, it's the 200th blog post. And coincidentally, I journeyed back to UCLA and the good and great Dr. Karam again yesterday. And, for those of you keeping track, you'll quickly figure out that my 3 month check-up was only a month ago so there's no way it's time for the 6 month check-up. No, I went back because I found another lump in my right breast. This time it was right breast 2 o'clock. Deep breaths. This time, it's only a build-up of hardened tissue caused by all that radiation. But what a couple of weeks it was worrying about it! There's actually a funny story here and now I can tell it (because my parents read the blog and others who don't need to be worrying about me right now, I didn't post about this until I knew it was nothing to be concerned about).

A couple of weeks ago, I felt the lump. And just like last time I got a second opinion from Chris. He didn't think it was anything, but I did. In fact, I had a whole little spiral downward of "oh shit, here we go again." (You may remember I mentioned having a really shitty week? Yeah, this was the beginning of it). And then a couple of days later was The Pink Ribbon Place's professionals panel that I was moderating. Of course, Dr. Karam was one of the speakers. So after the event, when folks were still hanging about chatting, I mentioned the lump to Dr. Karam. He offered to exam me... uh...it..uh, the lump. It seemed like the prudent, if somewhat odd, thing to do--hey, it would save me from driving to UCLA. We set about trying to find a private room for a private exam. Recall that the event was at the Community Room of the Riverside Police Department, which isn't really set up for, you know, breast exams. But it was Captain Meredyth Meredith to the rescue. She's a breast cancer survivor herself so she understands the sort of panic a lump can cause. Off we went to her office, and yep, Dr. Karam examined "right breast 2 o'clock" in the privacy of the Captain's office, with her stationed outside (weapon and all!). Too funny. If, you know, I hadn't been worried that my cancer had come back before I'd even grown my hair back out! Dr. Karam's opinion (which turned out to be correct, naturally) was that it was hardened tissue caused by the radiation. I was relieved, but also noted that his bottom lip was sticking out during the exam and to me, he looked more concerned than he was letting on. Or, maybe that was just me. He suggested that I come in for an ultrasound, just to be sure.

I, being me, decided I'd rather wait until after Thanksgiving and getting some stuff taken care of at work before thinking about being cancer girl again. I underestimated how much the not knowing would weigh on my mind. I should have just recalled the "if this were any other dog" lesson I learned when Seamus was post-treatment. I should have just remembered that I once upon a time (long, long ago) had cancer and therefore I'm always going to get "special treatment" and need to have things checked out. It doesn't mean it's cancer. I'll have to get used to that.

Yesterday I and my lump and my entourage headed out to UCLA. Because hey, we may as well make a fun day of it, right? Brein and Roryann Clements and Sheena Meder and Ronaldo Fierro joined us for the afternoon--which started with Bloody Marys (aka spicy courage) and French Dips at Cole's in downtown LA.

Then, we were off to UCLA for my ultrasound. The entourage had Starbucks (and worried about me, I'm sure) while Chris and I visited with Dr. Karam and the ultrasound machine. The good news was, as mentioned, it's just hardened tissue. The bad news was my cough--which is just not going away and my ribs on the right side (weakened from the radiation) are really painful. So, I got a Z pak prescription (antibiotics). We'll see if that kicks it. But hey, no cancer! (The top picture is me with the entourage after I came out and gave them the thumbs up that we were free to proceed with our fun LA day without any cancer tagging along; which is good because Ronaldo "hates" cancer people. So he keeps telling me.) The ultrasound was otherwise uneventful. Chris did ask if it was a boy or a girl and looked really emotional staring at the ultrasound. But that's because he says it looked like pork belly, and he's a big fan of pork belly.

After those touching moments, we were off to the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop. Mmmmmmmm!!

And because that wasn't decadent enough, we made our way back downtown to the Pacific Dining Car for Caesar salads, steak in Bearnaise sauce, creamed spinach and onion rings. Oh, and there may have been a celebratory martini. And wine.

Ironically, in celebrating my good health, I managed to over-eat, over-indulge and feel not so hot that night, but hey, you know....it could've been a lot worse.

And that's my 200th blog post! (Now, just leave a comment so I know you're still out there!)

Three in A Row

Three good days. In a row. I hesitate to even say it, especially with the danger zone days 10 to 14 starting tomorrow. But, it's 8pm on Friday and it's been three good days in a row.

Thursday was a busy day. My secretary Michelle dropped by with baby Jayden (aka The Hair Competition). Seems Jayden hasn't really hit a hair growth spurt just yet, so we're still about even. You can see for yourself.

We also went back to see Dr. Karam at UCLA. I'm officially doing good. Dr. Karam is unofficially doing very well himself (mine is not a professional opinion in the same way his is). The even better news is that it will be Dr. Karam who stays in charge of me (well, me medically/cancer-ly speaking) for the years to come post-chemo and post-radiation. I'll go back and see Dr. Glaspy, the UCLA oncologist, from time to time as well, but mostly it will be Dr. Karam. And he's going to call and check out the radiation place he found that is nearby my office. If it gets his approval, I'll go check out the actual facility. Seems I need to do that soon, since I now know (from the great and good Dr. Karam--not from my tight-lipped oncologist) that there is a lot of prep time for radiation treatments. I also now know it's my entire breast that gets radiated. Owww. So Chris and I have begun plans for a mini 5-day vacation down in San Diego and La Jolla for an extra long Memorial Day weekend--that will be right between chemo and radiation. I should be sufficiently recovered to sit on a balcony overlooking the beach watching the sunset with a couple of glasses of wine. Repeatedly. And it's not that far away.

Anyway, here's the reunion photo. Dr. Karam looking like himself, and me in a hippie version of the Britney, bitch look.
Our next appointment with Dr. Karam is April 25th--when we're treating him to dinner at Omakase (he's curious, since they beat him out on the Break-out blog star poll). And yeah, that means he makes hotel calls and drives all the way to Riverside...for fine dining.

We then went over to the Century Plaza hotel to meet up with our friend JANE GIDEON who was in town with her two kids on a little mini-vacation herself. The kids played in the pool while we hung out at the poolside bar (of course we did). In LA, this look of mine doesn't get a second glance. See how we blended?
Jane is a busy mom of two who runs her own successful PR company, so she doesn't read the blog daily (shocking, I know). No worries though, I filled her in on the cancer experience. Turns out, my cancer is damn funny. Who knew? Well, maybe it was the wine. (And Jane, really, it's okay that you laughed at my cancer. No, really. I do too.)

Speaking of wine...I have sadly, tragically discovered that the wine does indeed exacerbate the hives. I may not be able to have any more wine for the next 5 weeks (watch as the blog posts get nastier and bitchier...which is actually possible. Trust me.). I had no wine or alcohol at all at the hotel, or when we went over to Houston's for dinner. (Where I did have to pause for a moment when the waiter asked if I wanted anchovies on my Caesar salad. Normally, yes, of course. But are anchovies on the "no eat" list like sushi? I don't know. I hope not, because I told the waiter yes.) On the upside, this meant Chris was free to wine away, since I was the obvious designated driver. I had a latte' for dessert and that helped me make it home and through the day without a nap. We got home at 9:30. And now you know why there was no blog post last night. Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy.

Today was a nice productive day. Chris went into the office and I worked from home. I also got my hairs cut. And by that I mean my wigs. I gave up and asked my hairstylist to come by and cut and style the wigs. We practiced on the Sienna/ meth-maven blond wig (the short one I only wear with a scarf or hat) and gave it bangs. It now has a definite 60s vibe. Then she trimmed up Britney so it doesn't have those straggly uneven ends. With that practice, we went ahead and cut bangs into the red one. I really can't stand all that hair in my face and it will just be a lot more comfortable now. I like it a lot. (Pictures will be produced eventually).

Tonight , I may test the martini tolerance. We were debating whether gin (my preference) or vodka would be less likely to exacerbate the hives. Chris thinks vodka is the way to go (something about what gin is made from vs. vodka...there was a berry involved somewhere. I really should concentrate harder).

And speaking of Chris...the best part of Friday was an email from him. See the photo of the two turtles on the rock up there? That's the pond in front of my office, which they've been cleaning and repairing for the last week. Today the turtles were returned. Chris sent me this photo with an email that said "This is how we should be spending our days." I have to admit, I teared up.

It's (Old) Britney, Bitch

Eh, Friday after chemo, overcast rainy day, drive to Rancho Cuc for a Neulasta/bone pain shot...why not rock the (old) Britney look. I mean, she was bald once too. Here's what I like about this wig...that's pretty much the hair I had through most of high school (right, Corby?) and, it's not an entire wig. More like a head band of hair, leaving the top bald/open (hence the hat). Much, much more comfortable. I sort of thought it was a blonde Cher look (so, I kept flipping it back behind me and doing that tongue in cheek thing she does), but I much preferred saying "It's Britney, Bitch" so that stuck. But then at the oncologists office the nurses all chimed in too (this is the 4th look they've seen) and depending on age they went with either the Britney thing or...Peggy Lipton on the Mod Squad. (And yes, one nurse said "What is that??"). Whatever the description, it was kind of a fun, comfortable look for the day.

Stacey Aldstadt gave Chris the day off and drove me to get the shot. Then she took me to lunch at King's Fish house where I had a wonderful and reasonably healthy white bean and smoked salmon soup with a hearts of romaine salad (smothered in bleu cheese...there went the healthy). Very tasty. And hey, I had an appetite on the day after chemo. This is good. Stacey even ran me by Target to pick up my steroid and Starbucks refills. Those are important these days. So obviously I was feeling good today. Fingers crossed that they've got my "cocktail" right this time. When I got home, Chris had the house all cleaned up, the dishes done, and was busy with his wine projects (have you checked out ForgettenGrapes.com this week--it's a great one, go! Go!).

Even the mailman and delivery people were wonderful yesterday and today. Chris received 3 boxes of wine (two bottles in each) from three different wineries sending him (free!!) wine to try for his Forgotten Grapes review!! And the mailman delivered a box with a Nordstrom box inside with a beautiful scarf from Gary Berg and Rich Gold to get me through, as the card said, "my follically-challenged days." Cute! It may be my Easter scarf too--beautiful aqua color. My mom sent three head scarves that she had sewn with a little padding up front (makes it more comfortable and stands it up a little--almost like there is hair underneath!). And there was another package from Trai Cartwright, a fantastic writer friend of mine and Chris's in Colorado. She was "inspired" by my blog (and me; I blush. Who knew? ;-) and had a shirt made up just for me. It's a black v-neck t-shirt with hot pink writing that says "Back off people, I have cancer!" and then has a bald woman logo!! So funny. Clearly the shirt to wear when I decide (mid-summer?) to just go bald. I'll wear it before then though--it's awesome!

The good day just rolled on when Sherry Landrum and Becky Whatley came by with Chinese food (and a stash of chips and guacamole to leave with me for later!). I'd been craving chinese food (I know, odd...Back off people, I have cancer!!....Okay, dad, had cancer. I had cancer. I have chemo.) So good friends, good food, I even sipped a little wine. (Shhhhh.) Nice day!

I'm good. I'm looking forward to a nice quiet day at home tomorrow, resting, reading, more blogging of course, and taking it easy. With any luck, my biggest stress will be picking out my Easter Brunch outfit--and hair. (Yeah, I know...we're knocking on wood here too.)

P.S. What do we think of the new blog look? The pink was wearing on me, and I thought this might be easier to read. Yes? No? Thoughts please!

My Chemo Calorie Counting

Yeah, that's not really happening. There are certain rules... well, no, not really rules...guidelines...for things to avoid. I think I've mentioned a few ...sushi, mushrooms, raspberries, anything that maybe is difficult to wash. To be honest, I 'm not real sure. It's all about avoiding any kind of bacterial infection and of course not upsetting my stomach, which is already battling well, ah, chemo and all. So far one of the hardest things is actually remembering that I'm sick. And that I need to think about what I eat or do. Yeah, I'm not good at that. I eat like a teenage boy. Always have. Which is to say, I eat a lot and I pay no attention to "health." (Yeah, yeah, go ahead and tell yourself I got cancer because of my eating habits and so it won't happen to you. What. Ever. Science is not on your side on that. Um, or mine.) But now, I'm trying to pay attention. Trying to not eat anything that might cause problems. Only I'm hungry all the time! I can't eat as much in one sitting as I could before (this, I'm sure, is a really good thing) but I need to nibble or snack every hour or so. Despite this, I've lost 4 pounds in 5 days. Really hoping that keeps up!

So here's how my care and feeding plan went today: Breakfast was a piece of wheat toast with peanut butter (which took two tries, I made it and then left the room momentarily and of course, Seamus stole the first one). Lunch was In 'n Out--cheeseburger, fries and an iced tea. The fries tasted funny to me (the metallic taste in my mouth thing), but otherwise, mmmmm. I did manage a couple of carrot sticks as a snack (because right, you need a snack when you've had In 'n Out for lunch!!), but then dinner was....Omakase!! Tonight they switched to the Spring menu so they had a special tasting and wine pairing. Not to be missed. But I had to carefully consider the menu whereas normally I would have just said "whatever the chef is making" (yeah, he's that good). I thought I was being really good--garden salad (that's it in the picture up top), potato gnocchi and belly of Vande Rose Pork and I limited myself to one beautiful glass of wine. But the food was so dang good I kept stealing from Chris's plate...and glass. Which meant I also "tasted" Fuet de Vic and Roast marrow of Brandt Beef. I did stop at Sweetbreads of Milk-fed veal (Chris didn't stop). I don't know if this means I'm doing chemo all wrong or all right. I suppose time will tell. But right now, tonight, I feel really good. It's nice to still be going out, still have energy (yeah, I did have to take a nap between work and dinner), and to be able to enjoy a really, really good meal (two actually--come on, In 'n Out is really good too!).

4a.m. Follow-Up (How to and not to respond)

Yeah, more insomnia. This is fun. I am steadfastly ignoring that I was up at three in the morning when I had fettuccine alfredo (and wine), and now I'm up at 4a.m. after having fettuccine in a Gorgonzola cream sauce (and wine). This is pure coincidence.

But it is also giving me a chance to read your comments here and on Facebook and in emails. Perhaps I was a bit strident in my directions on the "care and feeding" of "cancer person." Perhaps. But it's working! Here is what may be my favorite response to date:

"...[I] was led to your blog which made me cry and laugh and cry. But I am glad I found it because I would have said something foolish to the effect of 'my grandma beat it and you'll beat the odds too.' But that's not what you said you need, you need numbers tipped to your side and she is just taking away from your chances. The bitch!

So here goes (remember, I am Holly's child and with that comes her sense of humor)

'I am so sorry, especially because the ten people I have met with breast cancer have all died.'

I hope that helps to put the numbers back on your side again! And if you need anything at all, just ask. Especially chef services, I'll whore Brein out to you and Chris any time!

That's from Roryann Clements. And it's my favorite for two reasons: 1) it's damn funny, and 2) she and her husband Brein are the owners of my favorite Riverside restaurant Omakase, so I'm all over that chef services offer!! (He is unlikely to prepare fettuccine in any kind of cream sauce, so I'm okay there).

And then there is my least favorite response to date. Both of my parents (who have agreed on precisely two things ever in life--one resulted in me and the other resulted in my brother) suggested that I should tell my ex-husband about the breast cancer. So I did. And three days or so later, here's the email I got in return. Get the tissues ready:

Teresa:

Sorry to hear about your health issues. I had no idea. I really do hope that the doctors at UCLA and the science we have today will be helpful in treating you successfully. I wish you all of the best.

Okay, now wad up the tissue and throw it at the computer screen!! I promise you that is the entire response. I spent ten years of my life with this man! Clearly he has been beseiged with emails from ex-wives recently diagnosed with life threatening illnesses and he was forced to develop a form response so he could just hit "send" as necessary. But I'm not bitter. I understand. He was raised to think emotions are like dirty underwear--you don't display them. I know deep down though he's worried. He's worried I won't be able to pay my medical bills and this will damage his credit report since I still have his last name.

Oh good, I feel better now. And it's 5:15a.m. and I can hear that in the other room Chris is now wide awake and watching TV. Poor baby. This is going to be a long 8 months.