In the Bear's Den
For the last several days we have watched in shock as images and stories come out of Japan revealing the devastation after the earthquake and resulting tsunami. It almost doesn't seem real, until we see the fear and sadness on the faces of those who experienced it first-hand. Then it becomes all too real. It is at that moment that we realize how fragile life is and, no matter the miles that separate us, we are all connected.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this terrible natural disaster.
We encourage everyone to support the American Red Cross in their efforts to assist the residents of Japan. This organization is already on the ground and lending help where it is needed most.
https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=0&5052.donation=form1&df_id=5052
Happy Holidays!
"Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget."
With this thought, everyone at Huge Bear Wines wish you a very Merry Christmas, all the Happiest Holidays, and all the luck the New Year could possibly bring to you.
Happy Holidays!
Christmas is only 9 days away, but there's still time to get those presents wrapped and shipped out to your loved ones, including bottles of Huge Bear. Nothing says I love you more than a nice sample three pack of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc. If you order today, we should be able to ship our winesto your destination in time for Christmas.
You can also give the gift of a Huge Bear Wine Club, it's something that will bring joy all year 'round.
Procrastinating on shipping out those holiday gift packages? We found this useful recommendation from the U.S. Postal Service. They recommended the following "last minute" mail-by dates to ensure that gifts arrive on time:
Dec. 20 — First-Class Mail
Dec. 21 — Priority Mail
Dec. 22 — Express Mail
One of our favorite parts of the holiday season is baking. With so many festive parties to attend here in wine country, we're always baking dozens of cookies, treats, and other pastry goodness! But, each new holiday season brings the challenge to upstage the previous year's baking triumphs. Sound familiar?
This year we got lot's of help with these fantastic and proven cookie recipes from Sunset Magazine.
We personally enjoyed the Alfajores de Dulce de Leche (Caramel Sandwich Cookies) and Swirled Pumpkin-Cream Cheese Bars. HAPPY HOLIDAY BAKING!
Tonight is the 9th Annual Dining Out for Life here in Sonoma County. Enjoy an awesome dinner at some of the best restaurants in the region AND help an important cause. 
Dining Out For Life is an annual fundraiser where Sonoma County restaurants donate a portion of proceeds to local AIDS agencies, including Food For Thought - Sonoma County AIDS Food Bank. Last year's event raised over $80,000!
Some of our favorite restaurants are participating, including Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen where you can enjoy a glass of our Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Find out more details and participating restaurants in Sonoma County and other cities across the country at http://www.diningoutforlife.com/sonomacounty. Just click on the menu at the bottom of the page to choose where you live.
There is only so much turkey you can eat...especially after gorging yourself on Thanksgiving Day!
Check out these creative dishes using leftovers from yesterday. We especially LOVE the Turkey Sandwich with Shallots, Cranberries, and Blue Cheese. They pair beautifully with our Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.
Gratitude is something of which none of us can give too much. For on the smiles, the thanks we give, our little gestures of appreciation, our neighbors build their philosophy of life.--Author Unknown
All of us at Huge Bear Wines have a LOT to be thankful for this year! We survived a crazy harvest season with beautiful wines that we can't wait to share with all of you. We live in one of the most gorgeous places in the world. And, we've got the most amazing, enthusiastic, and loyal wine lovers that any winery could ever ask for. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
When we gather around our dinner table to celebrate Thanksgiving today, we will toast all of you for your friendship and support!
We salute you!
Earlier this week we listed out a few of our favorite online resources for planning a memorable and delicious Thanksgiving meal. When we opened up our email this morning we found some more recipes from Sunset Magazine.
Source: Sunset Magazine Sunset always does an extraordinary job highlighting the West Coast lifestyle, from great culinary influences to travel destinations to wine recommendations. It's the best from the West!
Check out their 13 Thanksgiving Day Recipes.
Can you believe we're only 10 days away from Thanksgiving? With little time left for planning, we wanted to share a few of our favorite recipe websites! They all have some great tips and ideas for making a memorable meal for your friends and family.
- Epicurious.com: Website home for Bon Appetit, Gourmet, SELF, PARADE and other great magazines. Visit their special Thanksgiving section
- FoodNetwork.com: If you watch Top Chef or Iron Chef as much as we do, then you already know that Food Network develops some amazing dishes. Visit their website to review the latest Thanksgiving recipe suggestions.
- Food & Wine: We always have a copy of Food & Wine on hand to help us create the right wine and food pairings. Take a look at their Slideshows of slideshows of amazing recipes, including one to help you create a delicious holiday breakfast.
- Fine Cooking: This magazine has a great feature that allows you to create your own menus that will help you organize, create a shopping list, and cook your Thanksgiving dinner.
Hopefully, these sites will help you plan the best Thanksgiving meal EVER. Stay tuned for our wine pairing picks...
Now that the kids are back in school, it's time for for us to enrich our education of wine. There are a lot of great resources to help us understand wine better, including info on wine regions, varietals, food pairings, entertaining, and more. Here are some links to help you in your wine education. Learning never tasted so good.
- Free Wine Course: a great online wine course http://freewinecourse.com/
- Wine Spectator Online: This leading wine magazine offers some impressive online wine tutorials, from the ABC's of wine tasting to more advance lessons on varietals and regions. There is no fee if you're a subscriberto the magazine. Check it out at http://www.winespectator.com/school/courseList
- U.C. Davis or Sonoma State University: In our backyard, there are some night class and weekend programs at the local universities. Everything from sensory evaluation of wine to Wines of California. These are a great way to meet fellow wine lovers and learn everything you need to know about wine from the experts, including winemakers.
- Regional Wine Schools: There are a lot of great local wine schools throughout the country, including Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, New York, and Dallas. Maybe take some classes while the kids are at school!
- Wine Tasting Events: Wine tasting events such as ZAP (San Francisco), Russian River Wine Road's Barrel Weekend, and the Wine Riot (Boston) are all great ways to taste a large collection of wines and learn which qualities you most enjoy or not. It's also a great way to discover new wineries.
- For the Serious Wine Lover: The Society of Wine Educators offers a certification program for wine. Check it out at http://www.societyofwineeducators.org/certification.php
