In time to celebrate warm summer months comes a fabulous 2018 Sparkling Riesling. Made by accomplished winemaker Nicole Walsh, this Wirz Vineyard Riesling ($34) is an impressive sparkler that’s sure to bring out the festive in you. Made in the Methode Champenoise style, the wine spent 16 months en tirage. Walsh describes the end result as “bright acidity with citrus and green apple aromas and flavors. Bubblicious!”
Walsh has collaborated with Chef Katherine Stern and her company the Midway. Regular checks of Ser Winery’s website will inform you of upcoming wine and food pairings. What could be nicer than ordering a delicious plate of La Quercia prosciutto, Black Mission figs, sorrel and walnuts for a mere $14 to pair with Walsh’s Sparkling Riesling? And then finish with a marvelous dessert, like the Peach and Almond Galette ($8).
Ser Winery’s tasting room in the newly vamped up Aptos Village is well worth visiting.
Ser Winery, 10 Parade St., Suite B (next to Cat and Cloud Coffee), Aptos, 612-6062. Serwinery.com.
Stay Cool Ice Cream Casey Cowden realized that all those good-old ice cream trucks of yesteryear that used to drive around the neighborhoods seem to have disappeared. So Cowden (who is no relation to me) decided to go into business doing just that. He has called his new venture Stay Cool Ice Cream. “We’re carrying Marianne’s ice cream,” he says, “with lots of fun stuff such as Ninja Turtles, Cookie Dough, Rocky Road, Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Mint Chip, Neapolitan, and more.” Cowden says there will be heart-healthy choices on the menu, including organic fruit. Spoons are made of wood, not plastic, and the bowl-shaped Waffle Cone means zero waste. Look for the Stay Cool Ice Cream truck in Santa Cruz and Capitola, and then Seacliff and Rio Del Mar beaches. Cowden also caters private parties and functions. “We are the only ones right now who do deliveries and have an ice cream truck,” he adds.
Visit staycoolicecreamsc.com or email [email protected]. 831-234-1912.
