Cargo Shorts of the Winemaker

There has been some real outrage regarding the cargo short; referred to as "a deadly plague" by some in the fashion community. Others treat the cargo short more fairly

I come to the defense of the cargo short, specifically in the work environment. As a working winemaker, I've stuffed all manner of items in various pockets throughout the harvest. On the crush pad, we win wine awards for wine making, not fashion.

The picture and list below is by no means exclusive or exhaustive. It was a picture taken one day with the things I was using that day. Refractometer, lighters, and a fine mesh strainer have been in my pockets too. And yes, women and men both wear cargo shorts on the crush pad.

Mastro_Scheidt_winemaker_cargo_shorts

1. Surgical tubing - Helpful for siphoning wine from one barrel to another barrel or keg
2. Spray bottle - Filled with grain alcohol, it's good for cleaning things (not drinking, well maybe)
3. Whisk - Wanna mix some yeast?
4. Infrared thermometer - point and shoot in C or F
5. Tape measure - tanks needs a tape measure to figure out the volume of wine in them
6. Cork screw - Duh!
7. Box cutter - Breaking down cardboard, cutting plastic, shrink wrap, yeah, you need a box cutter
8. Sample containers - juice and wine are always being sampled and these are the smallest the lab will take
9. Mini-flashlight - wanna look inside the bung hole? Of course you do.
10. Bungs - when you're finished with your flashlight, use these. One is for fermentation.
11. Wine Thief - When you wanna do a barrel sample, this is the tool for the job.
12. Tri-clover and gasket - ubiquitous around the winery
13. Leaky Barrel Fix it Kit includes wooden skewers, diagonal cutting pliers and a ball peen hammer
14. Bin/Barrel/Tank Label and Marking Equipment. One can never have enough Sharpies
15. Box Tape Roller - useful for boxes (not pictured, Duct Tape, because we used it all)
16. Finished Barrel Tagging - index cards, staple gun and Sharpie. Some winemakers use envelope labels.
17. Hand Held Density Meter - for daily brix and temperature testing
18. Fuel - There is a lot of wine made on Energy Bars and Cheap Beer (sorry craft beer enthusiasts)

Mastro Scheidt Family Cellars Harvest 2015

"He who labors diligently need never despair;
for all things are accomplished by diligence and labor." Menander

First off, I’d like to thank each of my friends and relatives who came to Healdsburg to visit me during the harvest; to view what happens behind the scenes and participate in this unique moment, Harvest 2015. A special thanks to my brother John and father T.L. for their early morning efforts.

Harvesting wine grapes, in the moment, is romantic, primal, and laborious. Harvest is unique to the season and begins a series of actions and reactions until the wine is finally uncorked and consumed.

Beyond the romantic and primal urges of harvest, the job of wine making is having an adaptable understanding of process, labor, environment, science, and art; these are the components of wine making. Understanding how to make wine is not enough. Having the ability to be adaptable to the changing nature of each and every harvest combined with the constant evolution of the wine in barrel and bottle is the diligence and labor.

I only have one chance each harvest to get the whole process right.

In these pictures, I’ve captured some of the labor, diligence, process, art, science, character and a smile or two, during the most primal and romantic time of year, harvest.

David Scheidt
Picker, Sorter, Tester, Hauler, Long-Haul Driver, Crusher, Taster, Barrel Washer, Bin Cleaner
Owner and Winemaker

Brunch, Lunch and a Wine Dinner

It's been just over two weeks since I've settled into McGee Creek and the East Side (a.k.a. Mammoth Lakes) and my summertime cooking gig.

I've visited an organic farm, Apple Hill Ranch near Bishop, got invited to a BBQ in Paradise, made an apricot dressing for the first time, co-hosted a wine dinner and cooked several meals at McGee Creek (and poured a lot of wine).

Savory scone, with country gravy and a runny egg

Savory scone, with country gravy and a runny egg

Bowl of Chicken Pho

Bowl of Chicken Pho

Winemaker David Scheidt snacking on eggplant parmigiano scraps

Winemaker David Scheidt snacking on eggplant parmigiano scraps

Chicken and eggplant parmigiano over polenta

Chicken and eggplant parmigiano over polenta

83 Dishes means...someone has to do dishes before we serve dessert

83 Dishes means...someone has to do dishes before we serve dessert

Cooking in Mammoth Lakes this Summer

It's going to be a great summer in the Eastern Sierra!

I'm cooking all summer long, starting Friday, June 12 in Crowley Lake as the guest chef at the McGee Creek Lodge, just south of Mammoth Lakes. As many of you know, I love being on the East Side of California and I also love to cook, so why not combine them, right?

David Scheidt, Winemaker and Cook

David Scheidt, Winemaker and Cook

I've been no stranger to The Lodge and East Siders' the last two years, cooking on and off; everything from the El Super Burrito to fresh pastas and slow cooked pork barbecue. I've even widened my own culinary horizons creating vegan and gluten-free dishes. Lots of these favorites will return during the summer, especially the El Super Burrito.

So what's new? I'm committing to Fresh Pasta Friday, which means I'm making and rolling fresh pasta dough every single week, no exceptions! So expect to see ravioli, pappardelle, tagliatelle, agliotti and gnocchi a lot.

Pappardelle Bolognese

Pappardelle Bolognese

Garden fresh is another goal. I was able to use the resources right outside my kitchen door last year, lettuce, tomato, squash, herbs, whatever else I can get and I'm going to do it again for guests all summer.

Thirdly,  brunch!!! Think savory scones, fresh frittata, chicken fried steak and my personal favorite Uova al purgatorio or Eggs in Red Sauce. Hearty food, fresh food, great food. And yes...there will be more house cured bacon.

Don't forget, live music every Saturday night at the McGee Creek Lodge (which is why I've included the music schedule through 4th of July weekend). I hope to see you this summer on the East Side.

Summer Dinner and Sunday Brunch Hours
Starting June 12 in Crowley Lake at The McGee Creek Lodge

Friday 5:00 - 9:00pm
Saturday 5:00 - 9:00pm
Sunday Brunch 10:00am - 3:00pm

Live Music Schedule
Music Starts at 6:30pm

Greg and Gilly            June 6
Double Coyote            June 13
Cruiseship Volunteers        June 20
Driftwood Creek            June 27
Good Medicine    (Friday)    July 3
Bodie 601    (Saturday)    July 4

Valentine's Dinner and Sunday Funday

It's been at least a month, so I must be traveling to Mammoth Lakes and the East Side (and then back up to Healdsburg...deja vu all over again)

Valentine's Dinner is usually one of the busiest nights in the restaurant trade and the East Side is no exception. The wrinkle is that the crowd at Crowley Lake is not just couples coming for dinner, rather, whole families are coming in for dinner and listening to bluegrass. 

The dinner menu at the McGee Creek Lodge Valentine's Day:

Starter
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Wedge Salad with Bleu Cheese Dressing with bacon and croutons
Main
Roasted Chicken with Quinoa salad of yams, dried apricots and dates in a Meyers lemon vinaigrette
Pot Roast, Potato and Root Vegetables with pan gravy
Dessert
Chocolate Mousse
Bread Pudding

Prep for dinner started on Friday night when I arrived, trimming and seasoning my chicken and pot roast. The pot roast needed to be perfectly fork tender, so an early morning start in the oven was essential. Seasoning was basic, salt, pepper, carrots, onions, celery, bay leaf, water and Cabernet Sauvignon

Pot Roast is the perfect pairing for Cabernet Sauvignon

Pot Roast is the perfect pairing for Cabernet Sauvignon

As much as I'm a fan of meaty proteins and plenty of gluten, not everyone else shares my enthusiasm. Therefore, I often create at least one dish that is vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten free. Taking a page out of a recent trip to Santa Barbara, I reinvented my quinoa and butternut squash dish and used it as both a side to my roasted chicken entree and as a stand-alone meal for any vegans that walked in.

Quinoa with yams, dried apricots, dates and chives in a Meyers lemon vinagrette

Quinoa with yams, dried apricots, dates and chives in a Meyers lemon vinagrette

Finishing the evening were a couple desserts, Chocolate Mousse and Bread Pudding. I used sourdough bread as my base for the bread pudding. Just good old fashioned sourdough bread. Then I soaked it in cream, eggs, vanilla, sugar and maple syrup before I baked it in the oven.

Bread Pudding and Chocolate Mousse for dessert

Bread Pudding and Chocolate Mousse for dessert

Part two of the blog post title, Sunday Funday is up next. I check out Ohanas Food Truck in June Lake at the June Lake Brewery.

Football, Food and Wine

Sitting around on the final Sunday of football season has become a tradition with some close friends.

Winemaker, David Scheidt slicing up BBQ pork ribs

Winemaker, David Scheidt slicing up BBQ pork ribs

Always a pot-luck event, there is no real theme to the day, other than perhaps excess and quality. Guests are welcome to bring anything they'd like. There have been a few coordinated efforts over the years to not cook "one too many tri-tips", which seems to occur at many events in Fresno.

Mastro_scheidt_proprietary_white_wine

However, 'one too many ribs', 'too much sashimi' and plenty of wine is not a problem. Below are a few pics from the evening.

2015 Starts at the Beach then heads to the Mountains

After driving just around 40,000 road miles in the state of California in 2014 (unfortunately there is no 1K Club for driving), I've already started logging the miles in 2015; ringing in the New Year in Santa Barbara and then heading to the East Side and Mammoth Lakes to round out my first weekend in 2015.

New Years Eve Menu 2014...Tuna / Twice Baked Potato / Whole Loin of Beef

New Years Eve Menu 2014...Tuna / Twice Baked Potato / Whole Loin of Beef

A totally relaxed evening with friends over dinner and Cards Against Humanity for NYE. A real pleasure to drink several wines that night reinforcing a wine can taste great, age gracefully and use AMERICAN oak...Silver Oak Napa Valley 1997 and 2004 both tasted spot on (there's a reason Silver Oak is the #1 selling wine in American steak houses and it's a lesson learned).

And yes, I drink every wine I come across, not just mine. We also had a terrific Blair Fox Syrah (Los Olivos) and Stoller Pinot Noir (Oregon).

The East Side

It was off to Mammoth Lakes and the East Side to cook and take in the final performance of the Winter Wonderettes at The Edison Theatre...and maybe, just maybe catch some snow (not ice).

Had a full house for Saturday night dinner at the East Side Bake Shop, knocking out one El Super Burrito after another. As usual, the Saturday Night Bluegrass Jam was in full effect, with a solid group of players, elements of Bodie 601 and Sweetwater String Band and lots of familiar faces I'm getting to know.

More music on Sunday, with the final show of the season of The Winter Wonderettes at The Edison Theater. Friends from Bluegrass Night and the Mammoth Lakes Foundation (Juliana and Shira I'm talking about you!!!) kept encouraging me to take a front row seat for the performance, which made me slightly suspicious. I admit, I'm happy to take a great seat, but the coaxing led me to believe something was up.

Winter_Wonderettes_Mammoth_Lakes

Sure enough, Wonderette Missy (a.k.a. Kristin Reese from Bodie 601) points to me in the crowd as "Bill...her husband" and we did a short dance number in Act 1. 

However, Act 2 of the performance required "Bill" to step up on stage, wear a Santa hat and sit in The Big Chair (think Santa and The Big Chair). The Wonderette's surround me and sing a rather entertaining "Santa Baby"...but wait there's more! The Wonderettes then wheel the chair under the mistletoe...and well...

Welcome to 2015! 

Scheidt_Wonderettes_Mammoth

Mastro Scheidt Cellars wine dinner with Chef Tommy Chavez

Chef Tommy Chavez is back in Visalia! 

A personal note from winemaker and proprietor David Scheidt

Chef Tommy Chavez and I have collaborated many times over the years, from casual, backyard events to intimate private dinners

A SOLD OUT dinner on August 7,  2014 was proof Tommy was ready for the big game. Always leading with his strengths, Chef prepared a four course menu of his signature items, Italian inspired duo of Salad and Pasta alla Gricia followed up by two American classics, Porcini rubbed Rib-Eye and Tommy's Bread Pudding. Click on Chef Tommy's left arm below for a brief re-cap of the night in pictures.

I personally paired each of the courses to match Chef Tommy's Italian-American inspired cuisine, including two allocated wines from my personal library, my 2013 white wine and my 2012 Sangiovese. I lead off with my proprietary white wine, a crisp match to Chef's salad, followed by a Dry Creek Valley Sangiovese, the perfect pair with Chef Tommy's pasta. Only full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon was appropriate for Chef's porcini rib-eye, my 2010 single-vineyard Cabernet and my 2011 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon dominate blend.

I would like to personally thank everyone who attended, with a personal thanks to Chef Tommy and Vanessa for their support and confidence in my wines for their first wine dinner.

A culinary star has returned to Visalia

...Chef Tommy Chavez.

Mammoth Burger Battle 2014

The Mammoth Food and Wine Experience 2014 in Mammoth Lakes, CA was a jam-packed event for everyone at Mastro Scheidt Cellars.

CJ_Grill_Mammoth_blackboard_sign.jpg

In a repeat of last year, The Best-of-the-Best Burger Battle kicked off the weekend Friday afternoon. However, this year was special, as Chef and Co-Owner Jason Hoeltzel of CJ's Grill incorporated a secret ingredient in his house-made ketchup...Mastro Scheidt Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar.

Craft Ketchup.png

This is the second year that Chef Jason and Winemaker David Scheidt have collaborated at the Mammoth Food and Wine Experience. In 2013, Jason and David paired wines with Alpers Trout, a specialty in the Eastern Sierras.

The stakes were raised this year for The Best-of-the-Best Burger Battle, as the winning Chef would qualify to compete in the World Food Championship, Best Burger Specialty, in Las Vegas later this year.

CJ_Grill_Mammoth_winning_burger.jpg

Photo Courtesy of Kendra Knight...Blue Bird Imaging

Chef Jason walked away with the First Place prize in this year's Mammoth Food and Wine Experience Burger Battle 2014 and was automatically entered in The World Food Championship. We're very pleased to have our very own Mastro Scheidt Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar play a supporting role in Chef Jason's hand-crafted ketchup.

Everyone at Mastro Scheidt Cellars wishes Jason and CJ's Grill the best of luck at the World Food Championships later this year.

The East Side Experience

While I've been looking forward toward the end of the week and the start of the Mammoth Food and Wine Experience 2014, I've already logged a few round trips over Tioga Pass this season.

I stayed in Milan for several days...(thanks...you know you who are)

Disconnected from the Social Media...(Twin Lakes Campground)

Put my toes in the sand at the Beach (June Lake)

Listened to some music from Sweetwater String Band at The Mobil Mart

And of course I cooked 

Looking forward to updating everyone again in a few days...Ciao.

Recycle or Upcycle:Using Half Wine Barrels

We retire several barrels from our oak aging program every season. We recycle or upcycle every oak barrel we use.

One way to recycle a barrel is to cut them in half and make planter boxes out of them. T.L. demonstrates how to cut a barrel in half. In under a minute, we cut up several barrels for our upcycle program.

Using the galvanized metal rings, a kettle-style BBQ/smoker was created from scrap, a disk blade from the farm and a little know-how. And yes, we're even burning the oak from the barrel itself for the fire.

We are constantly thinking about ways to use and re-use our retired oak barrels at Mastro Scheidt Cellars with T.L. taking the lead on fabrication and David thinking about new ways to use a field disk blade to make a BBQ.

The Jug Debut

The Spring Tasting in Bakersfield was the official debut of the Mastrogiacomo Wine Growler, a.k.a. The Jug.

Mastro_Scheidt_Jug_Wine_Growler.jpg

Known to beer enthusiasts as a 'growler', the wine world has rarely seen a growler available for commercial sale. Let's define a growler:

  • 64 Ounces or
  • a Half a Gallon or
  • 1.89L (for the rest of the world) or
  • Nearly 3 bottles of wine (for those wine drinkers out there)

100% of the wine contained in the jug is from Sonoma County. The dominant varietal used in the Spring Blend is Sangiovese. While the dominant variety used in the Fall Blend is Cabernet Sauvignon. 

All of the jugs are gravity fed, hand blended and hand bottled, unfined and unfiltered without additional sulphites. The Jug is a pure expression of high-quality Sonoma County fruit that is ready to drink.

If you would like to purchase The Jug, call us at 707.385.1460 or fill out your contact infomation here. Our Jugs are in limited supply and only available to residents of California.

Fishmas Weekend in Crowley Lake

Another trip to the East Side of California...a.k.a. Mammoth Lakes for the opening weekend of trout season in the Eastern Sierra.

We were traveling heavy this trip and loaded up the F-150, as we tried out TL's latest custom BBQ. 

We also had our 1.89L Sonoma County Red Wine Jugs and custom 6-pack cases for delivery and the perfect wine to share with friends from some front-country camping and BBQ.

Naturally, we set up shop at the McGee Creek Lodge.

It snowed a little bit...(like 40 inches in Mammoth!)

I cooked...

Bluegrass Played...

People fished...

And we're looking forward to coming back again soon...

Soil and Minerality

I wanted to share a couple shots I took recently of two vineyards I've been using for several years.

Notice anything?

Rocks!

Lots of rocks. These are hillside vineyards or more specifically, vineyards located on the tops of hills across Dry Creek Valley. The topography and geology of these sites is very different than the Dry Creek or Alexander valley floor.

Very rarely are things perfectly uniform. Soil types can change in the vineyard, warming and cooling patterns, water drainage, and sun exposure are all different even within a single vineyard site. Knowing these differences between vineyards and intra-vineyard are critical details for both the winemaker and vineyard management teams throughout the season, not just at harvest time. When to prune and water is part of the cause and effect decision chain that ultimately results in when to pick.

East Side, Valentine's Dinner

Back on the East Side of California for a triple whammy, Valentine's Day, Bluegrass Saturday, and SNOW!

I've got a few pictures from last night, including an OUTSTANDING Cauliflower Cheddar Custard Pie from, Elizabeth McGuire.

Mastro Scheidt Wines were featured for the Valentine's Dinner Menu, including the debut of the 2012 SuperStrada super-Tuscan wine (aka...The Ferrari), which was paired with Elizabeth's iron skillet roasted French Country pork chop and quinoa.

Arrived in Mammoth Lakes

Dispatch....Mammoth Lakes, California....July 3, 2013

The 2013 Mammoth Food and Wine Experience kicks off tomorrow and everyone at Mastro Scheidt is looking forward to it.

Our winemaker, David Scheidt, is already on the ground doing exactly what you'd expect him to be doing...eating and talking with chefs.

Last night, David dined with Carrie and Jason Hoeltzel of CJ Grill. In fact, we started dinner, appropriately, with a Fritz Rose'. Jason and David are speaking together at the Mammoth Experience on Friday for the seminar: Everything You Wanted to Know About Trout But Were Afraid to Ask.  I'm sure David will be snapping some photos of Chef Jason in action this weekend.

Jason will be leading the cooking demo, while David will be pairing some of his favorite wines from Dry Creek and Russian River Valley with Chef Jason's trout creations....such as:

Jim Rickards Aglianico/Syrah Rose 2012

Philip Staley Duet 2012

Forth Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc 2012

Roadhouse Pinot Noir Yellow Label 2011