We recently had the chance to connect with several of Ernie’s cousins out in San Diego. There were four of us from the East Coast (us, plus Laura and Steve from NJ) and three from the West Coast (sisters Nancy and Celia and Nan’s daughter, JoMarie). As is the case when the Carbone clan gets together, there was a lot of hilarious storytelling of various events from the past, and lots of eating as only New York City-raised Italian Americans can put on. What a great time.

We stayed at the Four Seasons in Carlsbad. The Season Restaurant there has a great treat - groups can have a family-style dinner at their Chefs Table. We all gathered for a great feast - salads, risotto, chicken - yum! A special treat was Polenta by the Yard: the waiters lay out a swath of paper down the middle of the 9-foot-long table, then the Chef pours polenta down the length of the paper. We each were able to scoop up the polenta, then top with lovely toppings such as meat sauce, roasted eggplant, pesto sauce, shredded beef, parmesan cheese, and so on. It was so inventive, and great fun! Each course came with wine, so we had a wonderful time indulging in all the treats!

Menu from the Chefs Table at Seasons Restaurant

Cousins and Chef flanked by the two "Coca Colas", Steve and me

The next day, we traveled out to Ramona to meet some new friends, Cary and Nancy. Cary’s dad, Richard, is a buddy of ours from the Amici Miei cooking classes. Richard has long talked about Cary’s vineyards and wine making, plus he had shared some of Cary’s wines at one of our parties. So I shamelessly begged Richard for Cary’s contact information. They were gracious to accept seven of us, so out we went.

What a wonderful day! There were the seven from our party, Cary and Nancy, Nancy’s mom, and also two of their friends. We all met at Cary’s home, which is gorgeous. First up - a tour of the vineyards. The grapes had recently been picked, so the wine was being made in high-tech vats in several out-buildings. It was so interesting to hear how Cary had taught himself, with the help of a mentor, to make wine.

Two Nancy's and JoMarie discussing the vineyards

Then we went on a trip over to the Oasis Camel Dairy farm, as the owners are friends of Nancy and Cary. We had such a good time, talking about the exotic birds they have and then seeing all the camels. It was quite an adventure that we definitely don’t have in the Baltimore area!

Then back to Cary and Nancy’s. After all, it had been at least three hours since we had eaten, and they were sure that we were famished! As with all good Italian hosts, they pulled out the stops with the food. Nancy is an excellent cook - paired with Cary’s fabulous wines. Cary opened several different years of his bottles. It was fascinating to hear what decisions he had made about storing on oak or in a steel container, how long in the barrels, and so on. Each bottle had such a distinct personality. We argued happily about whether we liked one better than another - but there wasn’t one that we wanted to throw out!

I think I'll just stay here and find a new career helping Cary!

It was wonderful. And best of all was sitting on their back deck and looking out at the valley, the vineyards, and talking about anything and everything. It was as if we had known these folks all our lives - just a perfect day. The sun started to set, and we reluctantly pulled ourselves into the cars to head back to Carlsbad. A perfect day that we will all hold close, with new friends we want to see again.

The group doing what we do best - eating and drinking!

Cheers, Cary and Nancy! Good luck with the 2015 bottling and the 2016 growing season!