: October 2008

She's a delightful person as well. A while back I introduced you to Laura Vecchione.

A Breath Of Fresh Air - At Hurricane Force!

I woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning - an email from Laura telling me she was in town. We arranged to meet for coffee and then she let me hear a rough mix of "Tell 'em About The Dream", a song she has written for Barack Obama.

We had a great visit. It's fun to sit down with someone you admire artistically and have a chance to visit with them. The new song is amazing. She recorded it Friday in New York, went to a studio in Boston over the weekend to add the background singers and then flew out here to have it mixed. As soon as it's finished, I'll share it with you. In the meantime, meet Laura...

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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I had the pleasure of meeting Robert Renzoni a while back at Francesca's Italian Kitchen in Temecula. He told me to come see his winery and this past Saturday, I did. Word has gotten out as the tasting room was packed, and I'm not surprised. Robert makes several outstanding wines and also makes visitors to his winery feel right at home.

Laura and I tasted several of his wines including chardonnay, rose, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and his newest addition the 2006 Super Tuscan blend "Fiore di Fano". It hasn't been released for sale yet as he is waiting for the labels to arrive, but we purchased a bottle that he signed for us.

If you haven't visited the Temecula wine country lately, come see some of the newer wineries. You'll be very glad you did. Here's a picture of Robert with his dad Fred and Elitania from the tasting room.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    

Active Rain Ambassador   (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Here's a single story pool home with the majestic Cleveland National Forest out the back. This is an ideal home for entertaining with tons of room for all of your toys!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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Today is Blog Action Day. So what, you might ask? Today's the day you can begin making a difference in  the war on poverty. Wherever you live, you can make a difference.

Where I live, the Community Action Partnership is making a difference in a multitude of ways. CAP provides community cool centers during extremely hot weather to provide safe, cool places for people to escape the heat. Their vision is to end poverty in Riverside County in thirty years. You can join their fight by calling (951) 955-4900.

The California Food Policy Advocates is "dedicated to improving the health and well being of low-income Californians by increasing their access to nutritious and affordable food." According to CFPA, Riverside County ranks 35th out of 58 California counties in poverty and 38th in child poverty. Check their website to see how you can become an advocate.

The Blog Action Day site lists 88 Ways To Do Something About Poverty. What will you do?

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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You never know where inspiration will strike. When I posted about Briar Rose Winery recently, someone suggested I visit Oak Mountain Winery. Never one to back down from a challenge, Laura and I paid them a visit. We're very glad we did.

Steve and Valerie Andrews started the Temecula Hills Winery in 2000. Three years ago they opened Oak Mountain. Both wineries are still going strong and you can sample the "goods" from each winery at Oak Mountain. Steve and Valerie and tasting room manager Annie made us feel very welcome. We tasted wines from both wineries and were intrigued when we came upon red and white wines called For Pete's Sake.

Their dog Petie was diagnosed with diabetes last year. He needed extensive and expensive veterinary care which left him blind, but otherwise very healthy and happy. Seeing other families struggling with having to choose between saving their pets or staying afloat, they decided to launch cause fur paws. The Andrews hold an annual Cause For Paws benefit in July, and 100% of monies earned goes towards helping families pay vet bills they otherwise could not afford. I opened my billfold then and there.

We are now wine club members and look forward to next year's benefit. If you're in the area, try some great wine and help a pooch in need.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

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If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know music is one of my passions. I've written before about two of my favorites - Little Feat and Paul Thorn. Just the other day I heard a singer on XM Cross Country who knocked me on my ear. Her name is Laura Vecchione.

The song I heard that day was Fly On Flag Boy from her new CD  Girl In The Band. It's bluesy, gritty, funky and just plain great. Check her out. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage – Active Rain Ambassador  (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

 Subscribe in a reader

We are abundantly blessed in the Temecula Valley. Our climate provides ideal conditions for growing fruits and vegetables and wine grapes are no exception. Our wine country continues to draw tourists and rave reviews. One of the newest additions is the Briar Rose Winery, open for tasting by appointment only.

Laura and I were anxious to pay them a visit having heard rave reviews. Jay Leno I was told stopped by one day and left with a case of their Cabernet Sauvignon. We arranged a visit recently and were delighted by what we saw and tasted. We were led to a table for two and greeted by the sommelier Gabriel.

We tasted several wines, all delicious, and learned a lot about wine and the reputation Briar Rose has earned. There are only a handful of restaurants that serve their wine, and it is on the menu at the Vice Presidential estate in the nation's capitol. We had a delightful time there and had a brief visit with Dorian, one of the winery owners. We plan many return visits!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    

Active Rain Ambassador   (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

I love finding good new places to eat. Now that they've celebrated their first anniversary in Temecula, Francesca's Italian Kitchen may not be exactly new, but they sure are good. Laura and I stopped by on September 21st for the 1st Anniversary dinner and came back the following night for a cooking class with Alessio.

                          Alessio & Francesca

We learned to make a delicious salad with radicchio, arugula and candied walnuts, a rolled pasta with ham and cheese and panna cotta for dessert. Alessio is an excellent teacher with personality to spare. I can see him with his own show on the Food Network! He had a different sous chef from the class help him with each dish. The best part was getting to eat the food he showed us how to make!

There's another cooking class coming up later this month and we can't wait!

EDIT 10/06: The chef pictured with Alessio is Omar. The main dish was Rotelle Napoletane, rolled pasta with smoked ham, mozzarella, parmesan, marinara and heavy cream... yummm!

Murrieta Real Estate Expert – Tom Plant, REALTOR® - Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage    

Active Rain Ambassador   (951) 907-9701

It would be my honor to show you the incredible Temecula Valley, a place I’m very proud to call home.

Subscribe in a reader