Oz Clarke and James May ~ Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure California BBC2 8.00pm Tuesday 30th October 07
Second Series, eight programs in California.
Program Three ~ Monterey County, California
Now our fave two, are off to the largest vineyard in the world! Well it is California! Apparently it is so vast there are three different climates, this should assist with the different grapes they grow. See their website ~ Delicato and for the range of wines they offer ~
The boys go fishing with their friends from the vineyard and open a number of wines to taste, but I think they get a little tipsy and start talking about combining white wine with alot of UK foods, 'jammy-doggers'?
A quick race with two of the collection of classic cars with 500+ cu in engines. I notice they don't get to drive but have to sit there looking happy, Oz certainly does not look happy.
Next they visit Carmel home of Clint Eastwood and a very wealthy town. They visit the L'Auberge, in Carmel by the Sea, a restaurant beiving that red wine tastes goods with fish. But then it is all to do with the flavours in the food and whether sweet or sour also it depends on individual palate.
But in Carmel what they really do is go to a classic car show, the Monterey! And Oz has to select a wine to go with each of four cars that James selects. Works quite well!
Oz and James visit the Calera winery, and Josh Jensen who has struggled for years to make the perfect Pinot and Chardonnay in one of California's most remote and difficult vineyards. One spot gives a very poor wine and yet all the other vines he has are producing world class wines. James however like the poor pinot noir wine and there is a bit of banter from Oz who tells James he should remember he is not the wine expert, Ouch!
The end of this evening's program sees the team visit Gary Pisoni, who invested his parents' money into planting Chardonnay. See more about Gary Pisoni here. Now his guy is really nice, James spots a lone pinot noir vine in amongst the chardonnay vines and ofers to buy it. Gary gives it to him for nothing, so I wonder will James return year after year to check it? The finale is a challenge for James. He has to shoot at the four bottles of wine from the Carmel car show to leave the one that he thinks Oz likes. Success after getting two bottle with one shot!
This is so much fun, great tv! Just open a bottle and enjoy the show, probably better to be slightly intoxicated.
The music is quite good too.
Oz and James you have to go to Australia next!
Next show, Santa Cruz, blending wine and money! James smacks the camper van, oops!
Remember the guys are back in THREE weeks!!!
Recipes ~
Link to the BBC2 Food page matching food with Monterey wines.
Interview with James May about the program.
Previous Big Wine Adventure in France Series on BBC2 with Oz and James.
Previous series blogs ~