May 20, 2022 Breakfast - Mama’s Snack at Vichy Hot Springs. Dinner - Anderson Valley Pinot Festival BBQ

May 20, 2022 Breakfast - Mama’s   Snack at Vichy Hot Springs. Dinner - Anderson Valley Pinot Festival BBQ

We had a full day of activity today.  At 7:30 we drove to Mama’s in downtown Ukiah.  I ordered a dish I had never eaten before, a baked pancake stuffed with ham, scallions, and three cheeses with two sunny side up eggs and served with a small pitcher of maple syrup.  I have never eaten a baked stuffed pancake and I can tell you I did not like as much as I thought I would.  I enjoy pupusas much more.

Suzette ordered a bacon, lettuce, avocado, and egg sandwich on a freshly baked bun made at the Mama’s Bakery next door.

We then drove the few blocks to Craft Distillers at 108 Clay St., the retail showroom of Caddell and Williams to taste their wide assortment of cognacs and mezcals. Caddell and Williams used to produce Germain Robin cognac, probably the best American made cognac, but Christie, the proprietress told us that almost five years ago Gallo bought all the equipment, the name, and 1000 casks of cognac from Germain-Robin with a five year non-compete agreement. So, Caddell has added new lines of spirits including lots mezcals and still imports French Maison Surrenne cognacs.  We tasted lots of cognacs and mezcals and bought Caddell’s last bottle of Maison Surrenne VSOP available at this time and an attractive bottle of Raicilla from Jalisco with a Huichol beaded plaque pasted to the bottle made from the largest sub-species of maguey, Maxmillano.  All tequilas, mezcals, and Raicilla are made from maguey using more or less the same process of removing the leaves, roasting the pina/core, and pressing and distilling the juice from the roasted core.  But there are approximately 200 sub-species and varieties of maguey of which about 30 are grown commercially, depending upon locale in Mexico.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezcal

After our spirit tasting we drove to the Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery but it was closed so we drove south looking for and open winery.  We did not find any so we turned around at Hopland where Suzette said, “Stop.” 

We were In front of a shop offering 3-D printed fabrics. Suzette bought 5 for $40.00 each. 

We then drove back to Ukiah, stopping at a winery and olive farm that was supposed to be open but was not.

At 12:30 we drove east out of Ukiah to Vichy Hot Springs.  This is a hot springs used by the Indians until Anglos ”discovered it” in 1848 and turned it into a resort in 1854.  It is named Vichy because its water is slightly carbonated and bubbles out of the source, similar to the Vichy springs in France.

We soaked in tubs for about 30 minutes and then in the larger hot tub for another 45 minutes.  I loved it.  I sat in front of the jet shooting the bubbling water at my lower back for about 15 minutes.

I felt that my joints had loosened a bit when we finished soaking.

I was getting weak and after I shaved and dressed and Suzette changed up into her clothes for the evening, we sat at a picnic table in the shade of of a tree on the lawn and ate bread and goat cheese and with blueberries and drank the Rickshaw Pinot we had bought for a few pleasant minutes.

The grounds are beautifully maintained and there was even a peacock walking around.

On the way back into town we saw a Turkey cross the road.  This is still rather wild country.

It was 3:30 when we drove back into Ukiah so we drove to Anderson Valley for the Pinot Fest BBQ.  We arrived 30 minutes early at 4:30, were able to park inside Golden Eye’s parking lot. When I told the attendants I had a mobility problem.

We walked around the tasting room and checked in. We then were given a glass and wandered down to the twenty or so picnic tables in a grove of trees.  We joined David and Lynn who live in Palm Springs and sponsor a Pinot Fest in Palm Springs.  Soon George and his wife joined us.  George is an oenologist who taught organic chemistry for many years at Harvard and Rice University.  

Between David and George they seem to know most of the wine makers at the event.  More interestingly, George knew which wines were the best wines and brought us several bottles to try.  I recall drinking Mary Edwards Meredith Vineyard Pinot and Handley Reserve Pinot on my own and Cobb and Witching Stick thanks to George.

People are encouraged to bring a bottle or two to share and under a gazebo two or three tables had been set up where there were hundreds of bottles of wine that you could open and pour. 

Suzette had a lovely experience. As she approached the wine tables an olde man walked up with two bottles of wine.  Suzette asked up if it was good and he said, “I think so, I made it.”

Suzette asked, “May I try it?

The Roma owner opened a bottle and poured her a glass.  She was kind enough to share it with me.  We both liked the Roma Pinot because it was light in color and had an elegant finish, just the kind of Pinot that makes me love Anderson Valley Pinots.  It could not be produced anywhere else in America in my opinion because Anderson valley protects the grapes from extreme conditions and allows them to mature in a cool climate that protects their delicate Pinot flavor.

We ate plates of BBQ brisket and pork, a horseradish coleslaw, baked beans, Mac and cheese, and corn bread.  I thought the creamy cheesy Mac and cheese was the best dish, although I did return for some good BBQ chicken with a rather Moroccan herb seasoning and some wetter brisket properly cooked and more Mac and cheese.

At 7:30 as the sun was beginning to cast long shadows, we told everyone we would look for them tomorrow at the Grand Tasting and left so we could drive back over the mountains in sunlight.

California Highway 253 is a scenic byway that runs from the Russian River over a series of hills into the Navarro Creek watershed where Boonvile and Philo are located.  It is 23 mikes of winding road full of switchbacks that required 45 minutes of intense concentration. We saw a deer eating grass on the side of the road as we drove over the hills.  I am sure there are more deer than people living between Ukiah and Boonville.

When we returned to Ukiah it was still light so we celebrated by sharing scoops of Jamaica Almond Fudge, pistachio almond, and Coconut Nut ice cream at Baskin and Robbins and then returned to our room for the night.

Suzette said it was a great day and I agreed.

Bon Appetit