These symptoms throw into relief that we've got a whole lot of mess going on, potentially resulting one day in there being no SoCal Wine Country. As temperate agricultural regions march steadily northward, we could find bananas and pineapples growing in California, while vineyards luxuriate in the northern reaches of Alaska. We're haunted by the specter of awakening one fine morning asking: "Dude, where's my wine?"

If this comes to pass, we can consider rendered moot any plans for our children's children to share our love of Wine Country. Considering that the measure of any society is the legacy left for subsequent generations, we're more fearful of posterity's wrath than our own personal consequences. We have the choice of accepting the status quo (the moral equivalent of holding a flashlight under our collective chins like the un-dead) or shining a positive light toward striking a blow for Mother Earth. 

Its a tall order, but it remains up to all of us to bring something to the table and - for starters - wine lovers are doing their part with their favorite pastime resulting in an increase in land devoted to agriculture.

As for the wineries? In word and deed, they're leading a sea change of rethinking how we tread on the land. Practical, as well as philosophic, wineries are well-aware that many green practices enhance the bottom line.

With these thoughts in mind, CAKE introduces an occasional feature - How Green Is Our Valley? With Temecula Valley's wineries serving as agents of change in sustainable agriculture, we're asking them to share their green approaches to husbandry of the land.

We're especially interested in thought-provoking efforts CAKE's readers will be inspired to echo. We all recycle our wine bottles, so we're looking for pursuits more on the unique side.

The first step is to become a member of a neighborhood CSA. Next, the fruits and vegetables are selected by the farmer and then the purchase is pre-paid through the CSA website. For those within striking distance of Wine Country, CSA boxes can be picked up at Ponte Winery on Tuesdays from 3:00-6:00 at the Smokehouse Restaurant hostess stand.

For more information visit www.LocalHarvest.org/csa.
To sign up for the Inland Empire CSA go to www.InlandEmpireCSA.com.

Wineries, venues & vendors: please contact CAKE to share your green efforts:
CAKE

GREEN TO THE EXTREME TIP:
(LET THE FLUSH BE WITH YOU)
"If its YELLOW its mellow. If its BROWN flush it down!"

CAKE. Wine Country Wedding Magazine. Temecula Valley & Fallbrook, California

people will stare

warning: please view responsibly!
this isn't your mother's wedding photograph!

shadowcatcher imagery

Photographers are invited to e-mail out-of-the-ordinary
Wedding photographs for CAKE's Photograph Of The Month to:
CAKE

"people will stare" photograph courtesy of shadowcatcher imagery

This is yet another delightful wine we stumbled across at our Wine Country market of choice - Barons Marketplace. The Sex-In-The-City-ish label was irresistible and as we learned sitting down to dinner that evening, so was the wine! Although to date we've only seen the merlot available, the Little Black Dress website makes mention that the Winery is also producing cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot grigio. There are 34 million-with-an-M! women wine drinkers in the United States and Little Black Dress is very successfully appealing to this demographic.

We officially tasted the wine along with Baron's pork chops on the bone, which were succulently barbequed to perfection and accompanied by a salad of homegrown lettuce. This merlot is light enough to drink with summer food, pairing well with the evening's seasonal fare.

Upon opening, the wine was bright and ruby-colored in the glass and moderately tannic on the tongue. The Winemaker's notes suggested aromas of cranberries, which would go hand in hand with the tannins. As for ourselves, we tasted cherries and blackberry juice. As the evening wore on, the tannins subsided and we concurred with the Winemaker that following in the wake of a rich feel in the mouth, was a lingering finish.  

The wine is aged in a combination of French Oak barrels - including new, 1-year old and 2-year old barrels- plus further time is well-spent in 2-year old American Oak barrels, adding wood notes to complement the strong fruit.

$7  13.5%  

LBD Vineyards
Hopland, California
Brown-Forman Beverages
502 774 7000
maggie_peak@b-f.com

Barons - The Marketplace
31939 Rancho California Road
Temecula, California  92591