How is your Palate?


At the vineyard this past weekend, someone asked me what food I’d pair with our very lemony Citron. I had to be honest….I love it with a very plain-jane type cookie, a sugar cookie without much sugar. That cookie softens the citrus blast slightly, and doesn’t throw in any additional strong flavors to the mix. Actually, my shortbread with fresh herbs is an amazing match for Citron. This also leads me to tell you that a chocolate shortbread goes so very well with our Tawny Port. Desserts can be so simple, yet hit your palate with a bang, or end the meal with a mellow caress. The choice is yours!

While we are on the subject of desserts and shortbread, I am about to introduce my
            Somerset Ridge Fresh Rosemary Shortbread
for sale at the vineyard. In the Tasting Room, we have been offering a sample of the shortbread to our visitors for over a month now, and it seems most people want to buy it! So, it will be for sale in the Tasting Room by Art in the Vines, June 11th. We are waiting on packaging, and then we are in business! I have a wonderful commercial kitchen for the baking, thanks to my dear friend, Donna Nagle.

So, here is your plan for June 11th….Art in the Vines, wine, shortbread and paintings!

I want you to meet all of the painters….there are 26 of us. Each one of us has their own style, their own way of seeing things. Chat with them, they would be delighted to tell you why they do what they do!

The Painters of Art in the Vines, 2011 are…..


The 9 Somerset Ridge Painters:
Ada Koch, Audrey Benskin, JoAnne Carlton,
Kristin Goering, Maria Johnson, Patsy Brown,
Vicki Johnston, Winnie Davis, and me

Our list of wonderful, All Local Guest Artists : Becky Pashia, Samantha Buller, Marcia Streepy, Anne Garney, Anita Toby, Claudia True, Nancy Beaver, Rosemary Begley, David Gross, Claud Davis, Peter Brunke, Melanie Nolker, Mimi Taylor, Emily Uhlmann, Jenny Meyer McCall and our 2 junior painters, Ana Welch and Sarah Koster.

Count them! 26! I hope you noticed, we have some pretty big names in that list!


We are so excited to have this opportunity to hang our paintings in the vines! It is such a beautiful place and the paintings add so much fun to the day!

There will be food for sale also, so come and spend some time with us. Stroll through the vines with someone you adore, sharing a bottle of wine! It is going to be an amazing day!