We just had some friends from San Francisco come up for a visit. When I ran into them in SF last month, they mentioned their interest in working in the vineyard for a day or two. I tried to play it cool, but the thought of having a few extra sets of hands in the vineyard was thrilling!

So, Scott and David made it up on Memorial Day weekend. They put on some sunblock and overalls (not joking) and we headed out to play in the vineyard. We mostly cleaned up some suckers from the vines and shifted some mulch around, but David was stoked to take a turn on the tractor. It was a blast chatting and laughing the day away. I gave them lots of rosé breaks and enough water to balance it all out.

The day was really great, but the MAGIC happened that evening! My parents had a few friends in town and my brother and and sister came with their families. We set up some tables amongst the rows of grapes and we enjoyed some oven roasted pork with a beautiful tossed salad. I'd been dreaming of this back in LA—good friends and family, enjoying hard day's work over a delicious dinner in the vineyard. It's the best.

We ate a simple meal of pork loin, salad, rice and of course, kim chee. For desert we had a stone fruit berry crisp with coconut whipped cream. The wine was flowing and the night was perfect! Aside from my Dad's wine we had a few other yummy selections—here's the list:

Patrick Javillier Meursault 2010 — Creamy and subtle, well balanced Chardonnay from Burgundy.

Domaine de Beaurenard Chaneuneuf du Pape 2014 — Fresh and bright white with flowers and zesty fruit. Beautiful.

Premices Chateuneuf du Pape 2012 — This wine was perfect with the pork. Juicy fruit, plums and cherries with some earthy undertones to keep it grounded. A real crowd pleaser.

St. Amant Old Vine Zinfandel 2012 — This wine from Lodi is exactly what you would expect from an old vine—lots of peppery, jammy goodness.

Wind Walker Midnight old vine Zinfandel 2012 — This is like velvet in your mouth. Perfect after dinner—it's rich and has a bit of residual sugar, making it a good pairing with dessert.

I'm just going to throw this out there—if anybody wants to come do some hard work in the vineyard, come hang out and we'll reward you with a fun and yummy evening too! Just say the word!