Whitney F.: Adventures in Wine
Q1: Where did you grow up?
A1: On my family’s mountain vineyards between Napa Valley and Sonoma County.
Q2: What was the first time you remember drinking wine?
A2: First time you remember drinking wine? I remember being included in wine tasting dinners at about 7 years of age. I loved the smell of wine but did not taste much until I was about 12.
Q3: When did you start to like wine?
A3: I started enjoying wine in college
Q4: Where do you drink wine mostly?
A4: At home.
Q5: What are your favorite types of wine? Varietals? Regions?
A5: My favorite wines are from the Rhone, Piedmonte(Barolo) and Burgundy
Q6: What are your favorite kinds of food?
A6: I love great charcutterie, cheeses, soups and salads of any kind. Keep it Simple.
Q7: What are your favorite restaurants?
A7: Cook in St. Helena, Quince in San Francisco. I love small intimate dining experiences!
Q8: What is your favorite wine and food pairing?
A8: Recently I was treated to a sun choke soup made by Tyson Ducker at Fisher Vineyards paired with the 2006 Whitney’s Vineyard Chardonnay. Beyond words!!
Q9: Do you cook? If so, what kind of food and for whom?
A9: I love cooking for family and friends. We usually make sure to open a bottle of bubbly or a crisp aromatic white to start. All of our guests usually get to witness us cooking the meal as we have some very popular bar stools that surround our stovetop. We make a fantastic spiced chicken with lemongrass, thai chile, ginger, lime juice and kumquats served on fluffy rice and paired with a Auslese Riesling. Delicious!
Q10: If you were stranded on a desert island, what one type of food/wine would choose to have?
A10: A Cote Rotie and bacon mmmmmm....Wait, am I marooned in summer or winter….maybe I would want a big napa cab to cozy up to…
Q11: What are your favorite wine memories?
A11: My life is one long wine memory. My most recent favorite wine memory was doing a wine dinner in Jackson Wyoming with my husband. Since we both are winemakers, each of us got to talk about our wines and share them with food. We are continually reminded of how lucky we are to have a job that is our passion. The next day we skied the Tetons in 8 inches of new powder! Epic.
Q12: Do you have any wine-related disasters?
A12: Yes. Two of my close friends and I planned to ski in to a secluded bivouac in the Sierra’s for some backcountry skiing and each of us brought 1 bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner. When you are out in the backcountry cooking dinner, melting snow you can easily go thru your allocation of wine. We saved my bottle for last and I was so embarrassed to discover the Italian bottle I brought was “corked”. I have to say that we all drank it anyway. We were desperate
Q13: Which are your favorite Bottlenotes wines?
A13: 2006 Zacherle Viognier 2006 Dry River Syrah
