perfect weather!

Was such a nice change from last year's rainy evening... we have now attended three years (all three years) Wine Walk to Ca d'Zan the Ringling mansion and estate. For those of you who know us or have attended the IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) with us in Oregon, the ALL three years will not surprise you. My IPNC attendance -at ten plus years- and Phil's -at closing in on- 20 years would indicate that we are loyal to our wine events LOL....

here were the good and bad things about this year's Wine Walk

THE GOOD:

• Number One thing - the weather was perfect
• Number Two thing - the terrace at the Ringling was the VIP Lounge and was an absolutely perfect spot to - well - lounge around waiting for the sunset and finish off the eating path that takes you from the front door to the Bay... 
• Number Three thing- although I found nothing fabulous in the extra wines poured for the VIP ticket holders - it was a nice idea to have some extra stations along the way
• Number Four thing- several of the food stations were wonderful! The France one was my personal favorite but the American and the Spanish also had some good eats as well. 
• Number Five thing- the band was really good and well located so the music could be heard but wasn't overwhelming.
• And a shout out to the Cake Zone for the fabulous cup cakes!

THE BAD:

• The very first station was not at all ready and had no food or wines out despite it being more than five minutes after the opening time when we arrived  - hence no review of the German station except to say I would recommend against using this caterer as they clearly can't get their shit together...
• None of the wines were fabulous- and now I know that we have been seriously spoiled at the IPNC over the years with fabulous tastings of wines up to and including the Madame Bize-Leroy's wines, but seriously, this is a one night event - not a three day festival and yet a higher per hour cost than the IPNC.... 
• On a beautiful night like last night NOTHING should be held inside like the American station was last night - not that I don't like the circus museum but with such stunning weather - this part should have not been in a dark hall inside - and they too had issues - no one there to serve the beer they were hyping (not that it matter to me)  and the security woman was way over the top officious at that location - she clearly had the "gun and badge" syndrome...

However- nothing could have put a damper on the lovely evening - a great way to spend a few hours!

here are links to the two prior years:

http://semifreelife.semifreelife.com/2014/03/we-walk-walk.html

http://semifreelife.semifreelife.com/2013/04/march-madness.html

the entrance - you can see the blue sky weather we were blessed with!

the bay side of the house-

 
as the sun set the windows reflect its glorious hues

the menus-

an interior view

this would be an impressive thing to win-

because you can see the view of the tower in this aerial shot of the mansion-

and here is the menu that we missed because they weren't ready despite the security forces holding everyone for five minutes past the opening hour- I would definitely skip having these folks do any catering for you!

all in all a lovely evening but with some execution of logistics issues that made it just a shade under perfect...but hey, not everyone can be Pat Dudley! (the woman who ran the IPNC for many years) and so we continue towards our season's end- up tonight Itzhak Perlman at the Van Wezel. Stay tuned for more...

we "walk the walk"

LOL- so to speak...  So last night CBGB came down and the four of us headed out to the Wine Walk to Ca d'Zan.  Phil and I had gone last year on a very busy Friday night just after we closed on our condo and really enjoyed ourselves. So this year we invited CBGB and we made a foursome...

the event is simple- wines from many countries/foods from many countries and a lovely setting alongside Sarasota Bay as the sun goes down...

the little passport has all the wines and foods listed in for planning your "trip" around the estate-

so we stopped in for sea bass and empanadas at the Chile/Argentina station and sushi and sake at the Japan station.... terrine and tenderloin pizzas at the California/Oregon one and salumi at the Italy stop--- then topped it all off with tenderloin from a carvery station at the VIP tent- then we walked to the Terrace to sit for a bit to end the evening-

the layout had been altered this year due to very heavy threats of rain and we liked the one from last year a bit better but the rain held off and we enjoyed the evening despite the changes necessitated by the threatening weather...

up next for us- a week of farewell touring for Phil (read - we go to all his favorite restaurants one last time before he heads north)

up next for me- the Sarasota Film Festival where I have tickets for five films.

Also 4000 Miles at the Asolo with Georgia (in the historic Asolo Theater) and lots of cleaning and putting away at the condo- for the summer away. And finally, once it has really actually warmed up - the girls and I will head home for the summer.

we have lots to catch up on at home (Ed's Potsticker House soup dumplings! for one example) and we have theater tickets for four plays and a concert and a Goosefoot dinner - in the first two and a half weeks after I am home.  Then, before we know it, we are off to France with CBGB for our barge trip with our friend Captain Anna! Lots of fun in store for us this summer, including a trip to the Maritime Provinces for an "Epicurean Adventure" LOL- sounds delicious!!! Stay tuned for more details.

the house of john

is what Ca d'Zan means in Venetian dialect.

well on the 14th of March we closed on our own "house" Ca d'phil & tor LOL-

here are a few photos of the place from the prior prior owner - who had a serious green thumb... but you will get the feel of it- a small two bedroom condo with nice outdoor space for our own Penny and Lucy to go gecko hunting!

photos run from the front to the back of the condo- which overlooks a small lake-

the very next day we had the cable people in to install cable and Internet and had beds delivered... then we zoomed off to the wine event a Ca d'Zan the Ringling Estate.

This was something I am so glad we made time to do-

here is the detailed run down of the enchanted evening...



we started off at the first station just inside the entrance building-  wines from Washington and Oregon from the Lange vineyard among others.  the food station there had duck terrine with Oregon berry sauce, pomegranate cured gravlax and rabbit sausage with mushroom ragout... along with a couple of other goodies.

then we moved on to the California stop where we feasted on mahi tacos and "In N Out" burgers and had seven California wines to choose from.  Next stop Argentina and some fabulous goodies of rock lobster skewers roasted on a salt brick and beef and cilantro empanadas served with four wines ranging from Torrontes to Malbec.  We stayed an extra long time here and went back for seconds of both the food and the wine.

then it was on to Japan and the sushi table along with Sake-tinis of various blends with things like Cucumber vodka and Peach tea vodka... excellent - although the sushi choices were limited by the time we arrived at this station.  then on Italy! where the food was a fabulous choice of anti-pasta and home made breads and smoked mozzarella along with super Tuscan wines. YUM!

by now the sun was setting on the house of John and it was looking very much like Hotel California...LOL

the front porch had wine bottles lining the steps with candles behind lighting them in a lovely manner and there we split up- Phil went back to find the New Zealand and Australia station for the shrimp on the barbie and lamb lollipops... while I went on to the France station and the incredibly beautiful array of handmade chocolates.

there was a band playing on the terrace and tea and coffee for all... we sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the lovely weather and the beautiful evening- before hopping a tram to the entrance and heading home... a long day but worth the effort to get to the evening event- we will definitely return next year for this wonderful event.

next up - two plays and another chance for the Cardinals!