September 17, 2009 Our 4th Wine Exploration Dinner with Bluff Dale Vineyards

David & Theresa Hayes make one of the few sweet white wines I will drink, Sweet Caramella. This golden wine has a heady floral bouquet with just enough citrus to balance the sweetness. The finish is what does me in on most sweet whites, no cloying finish there, just a saweeet snap! Great ice cold on the patio with apple pie for two or a good Texas cheddar made by our friends at Veldhuizen.

The veranda at the Bluff Dale Winery tasting room has a view of the beautiful vineyards and the Hill Country of Bluff Dale. It is located between Stephensville and Granbury on 377.

Menu

Cabernet Sauvignon - Beef Tournado
- green peppercorns, foccacio crouton

Chardonnay - Pan Seared Ahi Tuna
- Asian greens, wasabi cream, pickled ginger

White Cliff - Peking Duck Salad
- pulled duck, Asian vegetables, glass noodle, sweet sesame vinaigrette

Nexus - Rosemary Garlic Seared Pork Tenderloin
- roasted garlic whipped potatoes, french beans, mango chutney

Lenoir - Caramelized Peaches

For tasting notes visit Bluff Dale vineyards wine list.

Jazz on The Patio Sept 11 and Sept 26, 2009

Enjoy a relaxed balmy evening on the new patio behind The Turtle Enoteca catching the groove of The Heartland Jazz Combo. The band will play two sets on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 26, 2009. There will be two shows each day starting at 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm. The Heartland Jazz Combo was founded in 2004 by Brownwoodians, Stephen Cox, Gannon Phillips, Mathew Ramirez and Kristopher Redus, with the mission to bring their love of Jazz music to the surrounding area. Since then the ensemble has played at local weddings, celebrations, and the Brownwood Reunion. Members of the band have performed and won awards in various jazz festivals including the Temple Jazz Festival, the North Texas Jazz Festival, the North Sea jazz festival in France, and for the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The Combo plays a variety of jazz music styles including swing, be-bop, and latin styles such as the bossa nova and samba. They are excited about bringing life and music to downtown Brownwood, especially on September 11. As jazz great, Steve Toure says, "A musician is like a doctor, he's supposed to heal people and make them feel better."

Cover charge is $7.00 seating on the patio or $5.00 (bring your own blanket) on the grass in the Event Garden behind the Turtle Restaurant. Enoteca Menu or Brown Bag Picnic in the grass available. The Turtle Enoteca is located at 510 Center Avenue, Brownwood, Texas The Event Garden and Patio is directly behind the building. For reservations call 325-646-820.

Picture left to right: Stephen Cox, Gannon Phillips, Mathew Ramirez, Kristopher Redus

Photo Exhibit and Reception - Eric McNatt - The Character Project Sept 18-20, 2009 in the Turtle Enoteca

The Turtle Enoteca is hanging Eric McNatt's Photos for viewing by the public in the wine bar during the city of Brownwood's Feels Like Home Festival. Eric McNatt is an Austin Texas native with roots in Brownwood.

He has been living and working in New York as a photographer since 1996. He holds a degree from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where he graduated with distinction. To date, Eric's work has been published in The New York Times Style Magazine, ESPN -the magazine, Vogue, Entertainment Weekly, New York Magazine, Fortune, Wired, Interview, Paper, Flaunt, Spin, and People, as well as many others. His commercial clients range from A & E Entertainment, The History Channel, Sony/Columbia BMG, The USA Network, and EURO SCG to book projects for Galerie LeLong in New York City. He splits his time between his 1970's A-Frame deep in Ulster County, surrounded by trees and deer, and his East Village apartment with a garden view and old men arguing on the stoop.

Hours of Exhibit are: Friday September 18 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Saturday September 19 11:00 am - 10 pm
Reception 2:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Sunday September 20 Noon - 5:00 pm

This will be an opportunity to buy photos taken for the Project directly from the photographer and talk with him about his experiences photographing the citizens of Brownwood, Texas. Eric will be signing his book which will be available for sale. The framed photos in the exhibit itself will be sold through a silent auction.

And if these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it’s this: I was here. I existed. I was young, I was happy, and someone cared enough about me in this world to take my picture.

- One Hour Photo

August 20, 2009 - Alamosa Wine Cellar Showcased at our 3rd Wine Exploration Dinner

If you intended to go to July's wine Exploration Dinner you missed a good time, great food and some of the best wine the W.O.W. Wineries has to offer. It's going to be difficult to top July's experience but we'll give it our best effort. So...what's on our plate this month?

• Amuse Bouche: pan seared sea scallop with braised leeks golden chanterelle mushrooms
• Appetizer: beef carpaccio extra virgin oil, cracked pepper, lemon juice, capers
• Salad: Windy Hill organic greens, anjou pears, candied walnuts, Pure Luck goat cheese, raspberry vinaigrette
• Intermezzo: pear and grappa - sorbetto
• Main course: dijon crusted lamb chops, wilted spinach and wild mushroom napoleon
• Dessert: french apple tart

We will post the tasting notes for this dinner from Alamosa Wine Cellars soon. Watch this space!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile we serve Alamosa's Texacaia in The Turtle Enoteca - A blend of Sangiovese, Syrah and Tempranillo, Texacaia is our Super Texan! Pronounced: Tex-uh-ki-ya Look for the contributions from all three grapes: the cherry of Sangiovese, the blackberry and pepper from the Syrah and Tempranillo’s blueberry and leather. Great with a variety of foods…true to Sangiovese’s versatility, but try with Italian dishes with tomato and meat sauces or smoked pork with mushrooms.

Scissortail - Roussanne, Viognier, and Marsanne from Cherokee Creek Vineyards, High Valley Block, comprise this unique (for Texas) blend. A typical combination in the Rhone Valley, this wonderful wine reflects our limestone soils and sun drenched vineyards. It has a tribute to the Scissortail Flycatcher bird on the label…the latest in their Texas Icon series of wines.

El Guapo - Tempranillo Blueberries, juniper, chocolate and leather with rich fruit and supple tannins. This is ALamosa wine Cellar's most talked-about wine, written up in Wine Spectator, Gourmet, Saveur and others. Serve it with a grilled steak and portabellas, a rack of lamb, beef tenderloin or game. Follow up with flourless choclate cake or dark chocolate gelato and continue with the El Guapo for a perfect match.

So don't miss out make your reservation here. Fill in the date August 20, 2009 7:00 p.m. and indicate the number of guests. The cost is $65.00 per person. A round of tastings is included. Additional glasses of wine are $8.00 each. Oh.......and tell your friends!!

Meet Your Local Bird Banders - Public Presentation Saturday July 25 3:00 pm

Every summer interns from various parts of the world visit our Gelateria and restaurant from the MAPS Program. I knew they were studying our bird population but never had a chance to interact with them or understand what it is that they do here other than catch birds in nets and band them. This year three young women are in Brownwood from the Institute for Bird Populations and they are going to present an informational program on the MAPS Program and birds found at Camp Bowie. Camp Bowie is one of 500 banding stations through out the US. monitored by the Institute for Bird Populations.

"The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program was created by The Institute for Bird Populations in 1989. This program was designed to assess and monitor the vital rates and population dynamics of over 120 species of North American landbirds in order to provide critical conservation and management information on their populations through various publication. The MAPS Program utilizes constant-effort mist netting and banding at a continent-wide network of monitoring stations."

Read Stephanie's Blog Birdy Words and Whims for the gorgeous pictures and descriptions of our local birds or

Meet Your Local Bird Banders at:
The Turtle Restaurant
514 Center Ave
On Saturday July 25
Public Presentation 3:00PM

July 16, 2009 The Second Edition of Wine Exploration Dinners at The Turtle Restaurant: Red Caboose

Mark your calendar on July 16, 2009 then climb aboard for the second edition of our Wine Exploration Dinner with Red Caboose Winery and their vintner Evan McKibben. Red Caboose Winery is the newest winery in the Northern Growing Region of Texas and the very first winery in Bosque County. Red Caboose uses the latest energy-saving technology: geothermal cooling and chilling, PV arrays for generating clean electricity and rainwater collection are only a few features that make Red Caboose green.

Evan will be presenting his Cabernet 07, winner of a Grand Star and Gold medals in the 2009 Lone Star International Wine Competition and his Merlot 06, a silver winner at the 2009 Dallas Morning New Wine Competition. Plus, we will be making something desserty with his sweet Blanc du Bois. For reservations go to www.theturtlerestaurant.com and enter July 16, 2009 7:00 pm on the reservation form.

Menu

Panzanella

Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass - parpadelle, farm vegetables, lemon, capers

Asian Greens - bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, daiko, pine nuts, sweet sesame vinaigrette

Steak Au Poivre - chateau potatoes, baby carrots

Red Caboose Cheesecake

The first four courses will be served with 2oz tastings of Tempranillo Syrah blend, Viognier, Blanc du Bosque and their gold medal Cabernet Sauvignon.

$65.00 per person additional glasses of wine $10.00 each

Chicken Purses and Hearses Too

On the 21st of June, we hosted Wine Enthusiast writer Lisa Rogak and State of Texas Wine Marketing Director, Bobbie Champion as they toured the Way Out Wineries in our neck of the woods. I suffer a little fear and trepidation when meeting the unknown. I was the kid who worried about flunking out of kindergarten before the first day. I wondered, "will we meet their expectations? Will we be good enough?" We are self conscious knowing we are new at this wine gig. Our wine storage room is unfinished with boxes on the floor and my grandchildrens' toys strewn about. So my staff and I waited anxiously, ready or not, for their arrival.

We laid out a spread from our Enoteca menu on the bar including all of our pizzas, Al Diavalo, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese, Quattro Fromaggi, Mellanzanna, Prosciutto and Rocket, Margarita and held our breath as they tasted each one, chose their wines and declared their favorites. As they explored our food, I tried to explore our guests. Lisa is effervescent, overflowing with ideas and bizarre interests like funerary museums. She is someone who loads her hearse with musical instruments - the accordion and double bass. Michelle, my head waitress, coveted Lisa's rubber chicken purse. This lead to the discovery that Lisa is a fan of the hilarious Wallace and Gromit cartoons, owning a Shaun the Sheep purse as well. We gave Bobbie and Lisa the Grand Tour of the property, I wished we had more time and lived next door.