At the Top of Old Priest Grade

We had a little winemakers dinner over at the Groveland Hotel last Friday night. Fermento was chained to the crushpad so Pimp Daddy presided over the event (that's him on the right, above.) A packed room included old friends and new friends, including a couple visiting Yosemite all the way from Dublin, Ireland!

Peggy and her staff always do a great job on the food. Exceptional pairings included a mulligatawny soup with the Viognier, and a dark chocolate cake that held up nicely with the new Pig Stai Pour't. I had the Tempranillo with about the tenderest duck I've ever had. (you can view the whole menu here if you like.)

The town of Groveland is located at the top of the Old Priest Grade on state highway 120. If you've never driven this you should really try to - it is a real treat in a winding road of death sort of way. I understand that in about a year they will start "fixing" it, so catch it now while it is still fun.

Plan is to have another dinner there in the Spring, so mark your calendars! That would be March 21 through July 21, so block it all out, just in case...