Pizza, Pinot, Steak, and Cigars

At GCWC we love the good life. Getting together with friends and family, time out for rest and enjoyment, travel, cooking with friends, and of course, great wine. Everything from poolside Rose" all day to the last drop of a bold Cab or port with cigars to finish.

Here's our how to guide for making the most of your summer while staying cool and keeping those wines at the right temp:

Start with your guest list! A simple but overlooked step in planning any get together: Know your audience! Learning from experience, if you stock up on bold red wines but your guests are beer drinkers, or something else, it won't make for a happy event. I've done this several times where inviting both vineyard workers, wine makers, and tasting room professionals were in the same room. The harvest workers brought magnums of red wine for the hospitality folks, even though they don't drink it, while the winery owners purchased beer kegs for the harvest crews. In addition, we always wanted to treat them to a  special catered meal, but inevitably they always preferred burritos, tacos and the like. Understanding what your guests want is key so you're not serving smoked ribs to vegetarians or champagne and caviar to folks who just want a good taco.

Next, craft your menu and how you want it served. Summer parties call for low key, casual and fun food like a wood fired pizza made to order, a brisket, ribs or smoked pork butt for carnitas on the smoker or grill, large bowls of salads and side dishes, and of course, your favorite beverage. This is also a good time to start thinking about your music list, and setting up an outdoor DJ station or at least line up your favorites on your music app.

If you've installed an outdoor kitchen you'll want to make sure you have the right kegerator for groups. Browse our kegerator selection for your perfect outdoor kitchen. Another very popular item right now is the wine and beverage combo for undercounter use. You can find those in our Under Counter Cooler Section  along with the THOR KITCHEN outdoor sink. 

The key to all this is to make sure your fridges and kegerators are fully stocked the night before. a 24 hour period of chilling wine and beer is essential, especially in warm weather. 

Marinate all of your meats the day before so they are ready to go first thing in the morning for slow cooked juiciness.  We recommend pouring yourself a chilled glass of white or rose from Fortunati Vineyards  to get the process started.

The question we get asked the most is about pizza ovens. We searched far and wide before settling on this top of the line pizza oven from THOR Kitchens.

As the day gets rolling, and people start drinking, there is usually a shift away from whites towards the reds, at least here in Napa Valley where Cab is King.  Start by introducing some of your Pinot Noirs or Zinfandels, as Zin goes quite well with pizza. And although Merlot fell out of favor years ago due to a certain Hollywood movie, it is making a comeback.

Another favorite varietal is Sangiovese which very few people seem to my more. Our current fav is Earthshine Vyborny Game Farm in Oakville.

Crafted by Shawna Williams, formerly of Luna Vineyards, this vintage is an exceptional varietal with a soft balance and yet firm enough to pair up with any of your BBQ festivities.

When the sun goes down, and the heat takes a break, the music usually turns up and it is now time to bust out the cigars. You can find a great selection of Cigar Humidors that will finish off the evening nicely over a glass of port, cab, or even bourbon.

Let us know what your favorite way to celebrate summer is, and share some of your recipes. Let the Good Times Roll!