Hello Everyone!
The most annoying thing about being out of school has been the loss of my transit pass. Between semesters, the passes deactivate, and it has strongly de-incentivized taking any form of public transit (and is why I have not made as many trips into the city over my winter break). That being said, my transit pass has finally reactivated, and with it, the world (read: SF and the greater Bay Area) has opened back up. There’s so much to explore, and once again, there is nothing holding me back. Let’s go!
Time to find out What’s Up With Will…
We woke up on MLK Day to a Nippy Napa morning, but with us well rested, we were ready to go for another day of wine tasting.
Our first stop was Museion, a family-owned winery as well as a custom crush facility, allowing those without a winery of their own to produce wine. The name is a nod to the Muses of Greek Mythology, and while the wine was okay (a standout being their Provence-style Rose), the real divine experience came from their sister business, Grove 45.
Grove 45 produces Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO, as the cool kids call it), extracted from 140-year-old olive trees in the Chiles Valley and Saint Helena, planted by winemaking great Charles Krug himself.
We got to try three different olive oils and two different balsamic vinegars. I was fascinated because, like each wine, the location of the olive trees changed the flavor of the EVOO itself. The Chiles Valley had more earthy notes, while the Saint Helena displayed more herby spicy notes. It makes me think about how this idea of terror can be applied to more things than just wine. Can there be the terroir of a tomato? What about an apple, a cucumber, or practically anything that can be grown from the ground?
Fun fact: For it to legally be considered Extra Virgin Olive Oil, the olives need to be pressed within 24 hours of being picked.
Our second stop of the day was Girard Winery. Girard had a nice tasting room, but the wines had these absolutely insane smells. The Chardonnay smelled of Funyuns, and the Grenache had a distinct bubble gum followed by root beer note. However, I was able to try a Charbono wine for the first time ever, which is a red wine with similar qualities to a Pinot Noir. It’s not often that you get to try a brand new grape!
The last winery we stopped at was a special treat: Stag’s Leap Vineyard. While not on the Calistoga wine passport, the Napa Valley Vintners Association throws an annual Napa Neighbor Month to all California residents during the month of January, offering several free or discounted tastings, one of which is Stag’s Leap. We just learned about this program this year, but would strongly recommend for any of our California friends to give it a look at in the future.
For those who remember last week’s newsletter, I talked about the Judgement of Paris, an event that put Napa on the map in the Wine World. We visited Chateau Montelena, which won the white category. With this lead-up, you might have already guessed that the winner of the red category was none other than Stag’s Leap.
Stag’s Leap had the most stunning tasting room/vineyard that I have ever been to, hands down. In addition to trying the newest rendition of the wine that won it all, we also got to try several other reds. As we sipped through each Cabernet Sauvignons, all made the same way using grapes from the same year, we pointed out the differences while a wine educator pointed to the exact vineyard where each was grown. You would have never guessed that they were grown right next door to each other, and it was probably the best example of terrior that I have ever experienced.
And with that, we drove home to end our Napa MLK Weekend.
It seems as though I had become disoriented again. However, have no fear, because this Wednesday was an all-day orientation for graduate teaching associates. However, I decided to go off on an excursion to start the day off with a bang!
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden provides free admission to anyone who enters between 9 AM and 10 AM. The only issue for me is getting there that early. The orientation’s early start time meant that this would be one of the only times I was going to be in the city this early.
Sf Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest operating public Japanese Garden in North America, built originally for the World’s Fair in 1894. I felt a sense of calm and tranquility walking through the meticulously landscaped garden, a good headspace to be in for an all-day orientation.
The orientation was a lot of learning the ropes, who to contact, and resources to help make the semester as good as it can be. I have already sent out some emails to schedule opportunities for the students. I also got to tour the prestigious GTA shared office space, which, as minute as this may seem, is my first ever personal office space for a job. I’ve only ever worked from home, so having a workspace of my own is pretty cool!
For lunch, SFSU catered Boudin Bakery. Boudin is one of the restaurants that feels like a tourist trap, in spite of being one of the oldest continuously operating businesses in SF. I got a French Dip sandwich on sourdough bread, made with the same sourdough starter used by Boudin since the Gold Rush. The sandwich itself reminded me of car rides from home school growing up where we would sometimes stop at Arby’s and I would order a French Dip and Swiss. I would always spill au jus all over as the car drove down.
Side Note: I did not spill any au jus on me that day.
Side Note 2: I want to emphasize that this sandwich was definitely better than an Arby’s French Dip and Swiss.
A good bit of the remaining week was spent lesson-planning, something that I repeatedly said I should do over the break, and then repeatedly procrastinated. However, we did pop down to Disneyland for its Lunar New Year Celebration, eating some interesting foods like Quesabirria Eggrolls and Firecracker-Shaped Chocolate Mousse, and overall having a fun time. This is the Year of the Horse, so they brought out a lot of branding for Horace Horsecaller, a rather unknown Disney character as opposed to the big guys like Mickey.
As I am getting ready for the first week of the new semester, I am getting a little bit nervous. It is equal parts cool and scary teaching my first class, but I know I am ready for this next step. The moment this newsletter goes out is when the class that I am teaching begins, so I’ll let you know how it all goes next week. Wish me luck!
My hope is that I will be just as much of a gamer when I am older as Jan is. Once a gamer always a gamer!
