June 14, 2026 Breakfast - The Apple Farm Lunch - Winery Open Houses with Snacks. Dinner - Sobo Sake Bar, Boonville
Again a breakfast of drop biscuits, apricot jam, strawberry jam, strawberries and blueberries, granola, yogurt, and cream.
This morning Karen prepared breakfast and I talked to her briefly in the kitchen as she finished preparing breakfast about how we who love to and find it easy to cook well, and more particularly her, who has made a living from cooking, often were trained by osmosis helping our mother prepare meals in the kitchen.
Today, I ate two biscuits, a cup of coffee, and a few bites of strawberries, blueberries, and yogurt. During breakfast Karen discussed how proper drop biscuits were made. The two interesting aspects she mentioned was to leave the rough spikes of dough untouched so they brown into a browned crust and her use of milk to get a firmer texture or cream to get a softer richer texture in both her biscuits and pound cakes. She also mentioned the addition of a small amount of grated mozzarella cheese for added flavor.
At 10:30 after breakfast we drove to Roederer for a tasting and joined two of our breakfast mates. Roederer is the largest producer in Anderson Valley with 680 acres in 7 plots in production, approximately 25% of all grape acreage. We tasted three sparkling wines, a 2023 Apple Tree brut, a L’ Hermitage brut, and a Sparkling rose magnum. We liked the L’ Hermitage Brut best with its clarity and dryness, especially with the small plates of potato chips garnished with a thin round slice of goat cheese and a large dollop of Tsar Nicoulia Barrii Mallosai Caviar. There is something very French about caviar on potato chips with champagne in the morning.
Roederer
Sitting on the patio overlooking acres of vineyards in all directions is both calming and exciting. I had the feeling that the French were suggesting in a not so subtle way, “We are the best at this and we have this under complete control.” And all we had to pay for this tasting and the view was $30.00 each.
At 11:50 we were awakened from our reverie when our table mates from San Jose said a hurried goodbye as they were due for lunch elsewhere at noon.
We realized it was time to try another winery. We had already decided to try Foursight because they had said they would be offering oysters, but we stopped at Lichen/Breggo on the way. At Lichen/Breggo we were seated in large Adirondack chairs on the patio overlooking the highway and served both Lichen Estate bottled wines and the more traditional Breggo wines with a really delicious refried bean and carnitas tostada. We loved the wines because they were made with Ferrington fruit, which is famous in the valley as being some of the best. We bought two Ferrington Breggo Pinot Noirs, two Gewertztraiminir, and two Ferrington sparkling wines to get a 10% discount.
Then around 1:30 we finally arrived at Foursight which was highly recommended and was still shucking Japanese oysters with sparkling white wine and also serving four Pinot Noirs, including Paraboll, with lovely sliced lamb sliders. We ate and drank for another hour. Then we went in and bought four bottles and were served a late harvest gewertztraiminir with decadently gooey chocolate brownies. We bought their discounted four pack for $142.50 that contained a bottle of Paraboll. I was thrilled that I had not drunk my last bottle of
The true Paraboll story was revealed to us, perhaps. Suzette was told that Foursight’s winemaker was Londer’s original winemaker, before Rick Davis and that he invented Paraboll. Regardless of the true story, Foursight now is growing the same two Pinot hybrids originally used to make Paraboll and recreated it. We fell for that story completely and bought the four bottle sampler.
We now had one slot left in our 12 bottle wine suitcase and Suzette had her heart set on buying a Chenin Blanc we had tasted yesterday, so we stopped at Disco Wine Bar where Minus Tide was pouring its Chenin Blanc and bought a bottle.
When we returned to the Apple Farm we packed our wine suitcase with our bottles and a young lady took it to their cellar.
We then rested until 7:00, when we drove eight miles to Sobo Sake Bar in Boonville for dinner.
Sobo is tiny with five tables and bar seating, not unlike a Japanese sushi bar, and highly rated at 4.9 of 5.0.
Its food was decidedly different than most other American sushi restaurants and we were surprised because we ordered what we thought would be straightforward dishes.
We started with bowls of miso soup with Wakame, Kai-Take Mushrooms, Tofu, and Scallions. I never had had a miso that was 80% fresh wakame, 10% white miso and 10% tofu, mushroom, scallion, and broth. I liked the fresh wakame a lot and counted the soup as our vegetable dish. There would be more surprises, both good and bad.
I ordered Yellowtail with a Yuzu Koshu Drizzle, Ponzu, and Pickled Onion with a side order of sushi rice. When the platter of marinated yellowtail slices arrived I was unprepared for its spiciness and vibrant citrus flavor but as I ate it with rice and my lips numbed it became quite tasty. Suzette’s comment was, “People in New Mexico who lot piquantness would love this dish.”
I never quite got used to the spiciness, but I cut the large slices into bite-sized slices
and ate each with lots of rice.
The combination of Yuzu Koshu paste and Ponzu sauce provided a citrus double whammy.
A classic Japanese condiment, Ponzu Sauce is a citrus-based sauce with a tart-tangy flavor similar to a vinaigrette. It contains a mix of ponzu (citrus juice of sudachi, yuzu, and kabosu and vinegar), soy sauce, sugar or mirin, and dashi.
Yuzu kosho is a vibrant, fermented Japanese condiment made from three simple ingredients: fresh yuzu citrus zest, chili peppers, and sea salt. It delivers an aromatic burst of flavor that is simultaneously spicy, citrusy, and deeply savory. It is commonly used as a finishing touch for grilled meats, sashimi, noodles, and soups.
There was in intervening birthday celebration that delayed Suzette’s salmon sashimi which gave us time to finish the yellowtail and order another beer in preparation for another assault on our palates, but when the salmon sashimi arrived we were surprised in a good way because it was laced with Ponzu, Sweet Chili Mayo, and Micro greens and Cilantro. The Mayo was creamy, not spicy. Suzette liked the micro greens garnish and the Ponzu alone was not overwhelmingly citrusy. The salmon was a very pleasant dish.
We were full after eating sushi rice with the two fish dishes washed down with two beers, so we paid the $114.00 bill and drove west back to the Apple Farm in the lingering sunset at 9:00.
We love the tradition of leisurely drinking and eating that typifies Sunday open houses at the Pinot festival.
Bon Appetit
