[friday-follies] Dinner at Chef Chu's on Friday May 13

[Rick Moen]

Great to see everyone!

Jim Dennis asked me to post the name of the brandy distillery Deirdre
and I visited in Soquel.  It's 'Osocalis Distillery', run by
geophysicist Daniel Farber, and the name is said to be the Ohlone
original of the name Soquel.

http://osocalis.com
http://www.sfgate.com/wine/article/Brandy-maker-Osocalis-blends-quality-spirits-6207270.php

Deirdre and I visited there as part of a group visit by her fountain
pen club, the Pen Posse, and Dan Farber showed us around the whole
place.  The still and other main equipment are at some distance from
Farber's house, as a safety precaution.  He told an engaging story of
having all the copper vessels custom-made in Italy, how of course
nothing quite worked when it arrived, and a lot more.  

I learned that although I do like the toned-down taste of aged brandy,
I don't love it enough to pay the high prices for the aged varieties,
whereas the non-aged stuff is a great deal cheaper but too 'hot'
(biting) in taste for me.

The Pen Posse finished that evening with a dinner party at Santa Cruz
Mountain Vineyards on the west side of Santa Cruz, owned by Dan's friend
and investor Jeff Emery.  I was so impressed by that winery serving up a
subtle Petite Sirah and an interesting Grenache that I joined its wine
club on the spot, and have been a happy customer ever since.
http://santacruzmountainvineyard.com