When conceiving ideas for menus, we work backward: We start in the garden and at the store, taking inspiration from the seasonal fruits and vegetables available. The citrus season is at its peak, so beautiful, ripe blood oranges and Meyer lemons were the cornerstone ingredients in our dessert served Thursday, a financier pastry topped with a blood-orange, [...]
Chef Todd’s tip #1: the Marcona kick stand
by Todd on February 2, 2010 in From the Kitchen
Welcome to The Journey: a message from John Jordan
by John on January 31, 2010 in News
About our blogroll
by Lisa on January 31, 2010 in News
It’s an exciting time for wine enthusiasts. The wealth of online sources for information, enlightenment and enjoyment is unprecedented. That brings me to our blogroll. There are so many wonderful wine, food and travel bloggers out there we want to promote with recommended links to their blogs. We’re new to the blog world and plan [...]
FlightSafety training in Southern California
by John on January 26, 2010 in News
My friends and colleagues know I have three passions in life: running the winery, flying airplanes and bass fishing. Every January, I get to partake in one of the less-exciting aspects of being a pilot and operating a business jet: FlightSafety International training at the Long Beach Learning Center. FlightSafety is the world’s leading aviation [...]
John Jordan video: a life-changing vacation
by John on January 21, 2010 in From the Heart
While growing up in Alexander Valley, I never thought my career would involve overseeing the day-to-day operations of my family’s winery. An unexpected conversation with my dad during a family vacation in 2005 changed my career path.
A week of rain: good news for Sonoma County vines, fish and residents
by Dana on January 21, 2010 in From the Land
Blue Heron at Jordan Estate’s lower lake Over the last six days, our region has been blanketed with rain. Because the grapevines are currently dormant — and Sonoma County has experienced drought for four consecutive years — we welcome this heavy winter rainfall. While we’re pleased by these last series of storms, we continue [...]
White asparagus arrives two months early
by Todd on January 15, 2010 in From the Kitchen
In the Jordan estate garden, we focus on growing heirloom varieties and other fruits and vegetables that demand meticulous care. Our white asparagus arrived two months early this year (see winter garden post), so Sous Chef Manuel Reyes rushed out to the garden on Friday to bury all the asparagus spears in the ground. White asparagus [...]
A winter growing season update from our organic garden
by Todd on January 15, 2010 in From the Kitchen
The mild winters of Alexander Valley mean our organic gardens continue to afford us a weekly bounty of vegetables to inspire dishes for our guests. In this video, I discuss what’s growing this month in our garden behind the winery, as well as the early ripening witnessed this season, which may be attributed to El [...]
Winter in the vineyards: double-pruning
by Dana on January 14, 2010 in From the Vineyards
While grapevines are dormant during winter, they still require a great deal of care. Pruning is the first step in nurturing these plants for the following season, and this critical work is completed during January, February and March. Our Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot vines are cordon trained, and we leave only a two-bud spur per vine to grow grapes [...]
Recycling and Chardonnay winemaking
by Ronald on January 13, 2010 in From the Cellar
One of the vital steps to crafting a great Chardonnay involves lees, residual yeast cells that remain in contact with the wine during fermentation and aging. The lees help give Chardonnay its round mouthfeel and mild tannins. When fermentation and aging are complete, we rack our Chardonnay from the lees, leaving the yeast cells as a by-product. In keeping [...]
