Ceja Vineyards

Ceja in Yosemite!

A few weeks ago my mom and I took a quick trip to Yosemite for the Ahwahnee Vintners’ Holiday Tasting. It was quite an honor to be invited back considering that most of these legendary vintners have been coming for the past 20 years {can you blame them?!}. This place is a nature junkie’s heaven, with its vast array of hiking, waterfalls, biking, lakes, wildlife, breathtaking views and insanely gorgeous scenery.

The wine sessions took up the majority of our time {no complaint here!} but we did have a chance to escape into the forest and explore the park by foot. Despite the freezing chilly weather, it was instantly therapeautic, breathing in the clean and pure smells of pine and fresh rain. We were even lucky enough to see a bear in the middle of our trail, but in the midst of yanking out my camera my mom fled the scene in a yelling panic attack, poor thing {insert laughing here}. Love you mom!

P.s. I could go on for hours about this place but I will leave it up to you to see the beauty of Yosemite… Ole!

A Grape Adventure in South America

Who new a bottle of Ceja Pinot Noir could be the perfect travelling Gnome? Dalia Ceja talks about her trip to South America she recently went on along with her trusted vino. Both Dalia and bottle embarked many adventures. Enjoy!

 

Living la Bella Vida in South America

2010 has already proved to be an exciting year for me and my traveling gnome – a bottle of sexy Ceja wine. Traveling has always been an addiction and a passion in my life so last year I embarked on a five month backpacking journey to South America, exploring 5 different countries with my best friend Katie, a bottle of Ceja wine and our crazy imaginations. Unfortunately, the bottle of our 06’ Red VDC only lasted until Peru, where we thirstfully enjoyed it sitting in the magical ruins of Machu Picchu. Quite appropriate don’t you think? From that moment on, I decided that anywhere else I traveled in this world I would take along my little traveling companion and represent Ceja bringing on interesting adventures, sometimes strange looks, but always good luck!

My most recent trip to Brazil and Argentina proved to be very enlightening and unforgettable. I spent the first part of three weeks in Rio where I celebrated the New Year on the beaches of Copacabana dancing to Samba music in a sea of two million people dressed in white (as a symbol for luck and peace), while the starry skies illuminated with thousands of fireworks. Besides the cheers from the crowd, the thunderous pop of thousands of Champagne bottles reverberated through to our souls. It was beautiful to see that even sparkling wine could be appreciated in the hot and tropical parts of the world. After all, bubbly is the sweet nectar in life and I never need a reason to drink it...enough said.

The next several days in my beloved Rio were spent marveling over the gorgeous beaches that surround the city while educating my palate with the variety of passion fruits, juices and baked delights that were available at every corner. Considering the heat and humidity of Rio I thought it best not to open the bottle of Ceja wine until a more suitable setting presented itself; the cool and seductive metropolis of Buenos Aires struck a chord.

Leaving behind the beaches and intense heat, I found myself excited to return to Buenos Aires, a city that never sleeps and is alive with Tango, wine and the delicious Argentine gastronomy. I spent a lot of time in Buenos Aires last year but I was determined to revisit and explore the city with the intensity of a Porteño (a local) and not a tourist. I would wake up in the mornings and go for walks through the old streets of San Telmo, a charming and colonial part of the city and would stop at a local cafés and sip espresso paired with yummy breakfast empanadas - my favorites being jamon y queso or carne con cebolla. Mmmm…I can almost taste the fresh baked empanadas right out of the oven.

I was on a mission to seek new adventures and find the hidden treasures of such a fascinating city. One gorgeous afternoon, a group of lovely hostel friends and I decided to explore La Boca barrio which is known for its colorful houses and street tango. En route, we encountered a Porteño who informed us that La Boca tended to be a bit dodgy and that we should keep a watchful eye on our belongings. I was not too worried though as we’d be visiting in the middle of the day. Besides, my trusty gnome was on-hand to protect us should any debauchery arise! In the end, my risky curiosity paid off as we descended upon La Boca and had a magical time.

Tango and wine anyone? Tango has to be one of the sexiest and most sensual dances in the world and this charming duo happily agreed to strike a pose with my little gnome. Hot right? I found the colors of these old houses to be quite striking and couldn’t resist having them as my backdrop.

The rest of the week passed by too fast and finally the day came that I turned 25. Yep, I turned a quarter century in the midst of my South American travels. My Birthday could not have been more memorable. Surrounded by good food, marvelous friends and Ceja wine…what more could one ask for? We ate, laughed, danced and lived in the moment...we conquered Buenos Aires that evening.

Celebrating the New Year in Rio and turning 25 in Buenos Aires was a dream. As I write this I am flooded with all the delicious memories from the trip that will live with me forever. I am also reminded of my own philosophy in life: live your passions. Now, I ask you, are you living your passions? If not, I invite you to spread your wings, open a bottle of wine and ponder what your passions in life are and live them.

Until the next adventure amigos…

Besos,

Dalia

Which Came First, the Wine or the Cuisine?

It was during my last trip to Italy while walking through Rome in the Piazza della Rotonda with its fountain and the Pantheon both in view, that I and a couple of very dear friends decide to take a break from our sight seeing and stop for lunch.

A little café with tables sitting on the Piazza would allow us to keep our spectacular view while dining. Two men were sitting on the steps to the fountain singing in Italian, one clutching his guitar as it rested on his leg, the other slapping on his knees to keep the beat. It was one of those moments in time that you want to last forever.

We ordered an antipasto tray of local favorites, a traditional Roman pizza and some cured olives. To drink we ordered a carafe of the house white wine. It was not an overly complex wine yet it had good aromatic qualities of fresh pear and wild flowers with crisp minerality on the pallet. A Pinot Grigio I thought, but that was not important.

As the wine geek (that’s me), the Chef and the Fashionista all sat enjoying this simple lunch with the house wine, we were amazed at how all the flavors came together. While ordering we had decided that we would be drinking white so our menu choices were skewed in that direction. We had a hunch, however, that any dish we ordered would have paired quite nicely with the white vino della casa.

This would be a common thread in our dinning experiences throughout the rest of the trip. The local cuisine with the wines of the region would continually blow us away with how perfectly the flavors complemented each other.

Were the winemakers crafting a style of wine to complement the local cuisine or were the chefs creating dishes to complement the style of the regional wine?

I think it’s a little bit of both, but this was not done specifically for me on this trip. Nor was the Chef and Sommelier conspiring to supply these three random tourists with a perfect food and wine pairing at the cafe. It's quite clear that wine has a rich history in serving as an accompaniment to food. When wine first entered the scene, it was often safer to drink than the local water supply with little thought given to it as a "sensory enhancing" beverage. Over time though, as regional cuisine and local wine-making traditions developed, gastronomy emerged as link between culture, food and drink. This is true wherever you travel or whatever style of cuisine you are enjoying: bratwurst and sauerkraut with a dry German Riesling, thinly sliced Serrano ham with a glass of bone dry fino sherry or boeuf bourguignon with a red Burgundy.

Next time you visit your favorite restaurant or travel abroad, select a wine that comes from the same region as your dish and you will be pleasantly surprised how well they conspire to pair beautifully together.