Category Archives: Wine

A Visit to Merced, Part II: Hi-Fi Wine and Vista Ranch

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Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.
Visit Hi-Fi Wine to discover a unique tasting room devoted to boutique wines.

Merced, CA — During the pandemic, while the rest of us were binging Netflix and trying to keep sourdough starters alive, Tracy Proietti was dreaming up her ideal wine shop, Hi-Fi Wine.

In 2019, the former lawyer and middle school language arts teacher moved from Baltimore where she lived in a historic building above a wine shop. With time on her hands when life shut down during Covid, she and her mother, her business partner, set about creating this inviting wine bar and shop.

Opened in May 2022, the light-filled, cozy community gathering spot was designed to be a place where wine was eminently approachable.

Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.
Lawyer-turned wine shop owner Tracy Proietti.

A restored hi-fi that has a variety of LPs to play is the focal point that gave the establishment its name — for good reason.

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February Sips

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A Pinot Noir to savor.
A Pinot Noir to savor.

2021 B. Wise Vineyards Lucky Well Vineyard Pinot Noir

When Brion Wise spotted the former Sonoma cattle ranch property in the 1990s with a dirt road, and no easements, buildings or infrastructure to speak of, he didn’t hightail it out of there; he had found his paradise.

An engineer who grew up on a farm in rural Washington, founded his B. Wise Vineyards there, planting the vineyards in 2002 and constructing a home for himself and his wife Ronda West Wise.

The winery specializes in single-vineyard wines, each made by a different veteran winemaker.

I had a chance to try a sample of its 2021 Lucky Well Vineyard Russian River Pinot Noir ($75). It’s made from grapes from the Lucky Well vineyard near Occidental that gets its share of breezes off the Pacific Ocean.

It’s an inky plum-garnet color with the fragrance of summer berries, and the taste of cherries and boysenberries with a hint of cinnamon, mint, and brambly earth.

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Holiday Sips, Part I

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A holiday-ready 2018 Piazza Del Dotto Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
A holiday-ready 2018 Piazza Del Dotto Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.

2018 Piazza Del Dotto Estate Family Reserve Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

If you’re opting for prime rib or roast duck instead of turkey at the Thanksgiving table, a bottle of 2018 Piazza Del Dotto Estate Family Reserve Oakville Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon would make for a splendid partner.

Family-owned for more than three decades, this winery with operations in St. Helena and Napa focuses on small-production Cabernet made from estate-grown grapes. These particular grapes come from the Oakville AVA, known for producing wines of powerful yet smooth textures.

This wine, of which I received a sample, is no exception. Deep purple garnet in the glass, it exudes notes of black cherries, currants, graphite and cedar with a touch of anise, and sage. It has firm tannins, making it a robust wine able to stand up to showy centerpiece meat dishes.

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A Pasta That’s Elementary and A Wine That’s Elemental

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An easy and nourishing vegetarian pasta dish with the buttery taste of pine nuts.
An easy and nourishing vegetarian pasta dish with the buttery taste of pine nuts.

One can never have too many simple, no-brainer pasta recipes to fall back on during a hectic weeknight. Nor one that goes so perfectly with a freshing wine that’s breaking new ground in packaging.

“Penne with Broccoli, Pine Nuts & Ricotta” is ideal for those times when you have leftover ricotta from baking a sweet treat.

This quick and nourishing vegetarian pasta dish is from the cookbook, “The Mediterranean Cook” (Smith Street Books), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Meni Valle, an Australian cookbook author of Greek heritage who’s an expert on Mediterranean cuisine.

Arranged by the seasons, the no-fuss recipes include “Watermelon & Feta Salad with Flaked almonds, Honey Vinaigrette & Mint” and “Pumpkin & Feta Piet” in spring-summer; and “Green Minestrone” and “Roasted Eggplant with Cannellini Beans” in autumn-winter.

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The Fine-Dining Anomaly

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This is how they do shrimp and grits at Anomaly.
This is how they do shrimp and grits at Anomaly.

When Mike Lanham was a young cook, he’d dress up in his one set of nice clothes and use his meager savings to dine at a two- or three-starred Michelin restaurant. Admittedly, as early as 2 hours beforehand, he’d find himself getting nervous, anxious that he’d fit in properly or commit a dining faux pas.

So, when it was time to open his own restaurant, he knew he didn’t want his diners to feel the same jitters.

“Fine-dining should be fun,” he explains, “and well thought out.’ But certainly not intimidating.

His aptly named Anomaly aims to deviate from the expected stiff formality one sometimes associates with highfalutin dining.

The tasting menu-only restaurant started out as a pop-up before opening its own brick-and-mortar in San Francisco’s lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant, which received recognition from the 2024 California Michelin Guide.

Executive Chef Mike Lanham in the open kitchen.
Executive Chef Mike Lanham (right) in the open kitchen.

The restaurant has two dining rooms, the front one right behind a lounge-space where diners can enjoy glasses of sparkling wine before they are escorted to their tables; and a second main dining room that affords a bird’s eye view of the open kitchen.

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