OK, now check this out: That Kathy and I have a raw oyster jones is no secret, but when The Oyster Girls pulled in to Sonoma County’s Iron Horse winery we were on board.
I’ve posted before about how Lot 18’s winery card helped us navigate (i.e. “avoid”) Napa’s bloated tasting fees, but they have several Sonoma and Central Coast joints, too.
Welcome to Iron Horse, a Sonoma sparkling house waaaaay up in the hills west of the 101. Back in the day, Iron Horse Pooh-Bah Joy Sterling led a tasting dinner at a downtown Seattle restaurant, when Kathy and I were once young, foolish and burgeoning wine consultants (redundant?).
So we finally make the trek following Google and MapQuest (Hell, the only Garman I trust is Ralph, the co-host of “Hollywood Babble On,” though I think he is inordinately harsh on Chelsea Handler), and eventually get to Iron Horse.
Could not believe the number of people already there; how’d these mofos navigate this non-navigable road? Kathy and I always admire a huge and beautiful compound built in the hillside, and then we crack up when we think of who forgot to add milk to the shopping list, or who has to return the disc to Redbox. $4.39 a gallon? D’oh!
It took a while, and then we made our way up the hill to das event. Iron Horse has their tasting “room” outside, a basic lumber overhang over another lumber standup bar. Perfect on a Northern Cali Sunday afternoon.
Our Lot 18 Card? No prob. Two flights, no waiting. Between sparkling and still wines, we savored, in the picnic gazebo, the best that le cheval de fer had to offer us. Much to our surprise, it became clear that at least two generations of Iron Horse were sitting at the adjacent table. I had gone to get our next selections, waiting for an elderly couple to ascend the steps as I returned. They apologized for making me wait; I can only hope that I was gracious enough. Turns out that they were founders Audrey and Barry Sterling; they still live in their house on the property.
CEO daughter Joy turned out to be at the next picnic table, picking up broken stemware behind us; we engaged in convo about erstwhile Seattle tasting dinners, and then, while I picked up our final wine flight selections, found out that Kathy and Joy had a nice chat. As Kath would say, “Class act, man, class all the way.”
But wait! We haven’t even talked about The Oyster Girls:
www.theoystergirls.comThese classy pearls brought in the freshest bounty from Tomales Bay Oyster Company. I talked today with co-owner Aluxa Lalicker, who told me that the 4-year-old concern began with her and co-owner Jaz leading kayak tours past the bay. As I was ordering our first (and only; they quickly sold out, despite the difficulty finding the winery) dozen, I overheard an ad hoc biz plan reinforced on the business card: “A Traveling Oyster Bar.”
If you are keeping score, Aluxa: newbie Liz is a keeper; Odessa is a veritable dream.
They don’t do retail, but The Oyster Girls certainly hooked us up with a nice mix of bivalves and Brut.
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