Wine and shrooms in Old Los Alamos

 

I believed that I had lost my muse after a long bout with … that flu. So I ambled somewhat aimlessly down Bell St. in Los Alamos, only to be sucked into the door of the Bedford Thompson wine tasting establishment.

Having found a muse in many such establishments, ranging from Napa to the Santa Rita Hills, I was at ease, and it was a pleasure to know that I didn’t have to go far to acquire some really good Cabernet Franc.

 

Stephan Bedford, the winemaker, has been making wine since the mid-’70s. His résumé includes winemaking at such wineries as Mt. Eden Vineyards and Rancho Sisquoc. His expertise shines in his Cabernet Franc 2001.

This is a surprising wine, the grapes for which are grown in the Los Alamos Hills. It has a luscious blackberry and blueberry aroma and flavor, followed by a toasty spice that lingers on a vanilla finish. And I mean a warm, rich finish, which required lengthy research to enhance my muse — a muse that’s spent 20 months in new French oak and now in the bottles that crowd my cellar.

 

Bedford’s wines are just one answer to those Los Alamosans who complain that our grocery stores don’t sell local wines. Stephan also makes and sells Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah.

For the Jan. 26 Mushroom Festival in Los Alamos, Bedford Thompson will be just one of the local establishments participating. It will offer a Wine and Mushroom Admiration Reception from 2 to 5 p.m. For reservations call 805-344-2107.

Another Mushroom Festival host will be Twin Oaks, which outdid itself last year with a pan-roasted Pacific halibut with wild mushrooms. Is your mouth watering, yet?

If American Flatbread holds true to its usual gastronomic form, its tables will be filled with the usual fungus-devouring patrons, just as it was last year. And don’t wear tight jeans, ’cause Charlie’s Restaurant will be cookin’ up his famous mushroom burger with to-die-for fries. This will be a true button-popping, waistline-expanding experience for any fungi-loving family.

 

Be sure to call all restaurants for times.