Boonville Bouquet

Kristy Charles at Foursight Wines tasting room in Boonville.

Valentine’s Day calls for something extravagant. Fresh-cracked crab with Pinot Gris or Riesling has more appeal more than a heart-shaped box of chocolates. And long-stemmed roses fade much faster than the memory of a perfect pairing.

Hwy. 128 in northern California is an ideal route du vin for such a quest. Anderson Valley produces world-class Alsace-style white wines and the winemaker dinner for the Alsace Festival features the winning chef from the regional crab cake competition.

Anderson Valley is a far cry from Alsace: the valley between the Rhine River and the Vosges mountains. But tasting the wines at the Alsace Festival fuel a fascination with Gerwuztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Riesling.

Boonville is no Colmar or Riquewihr, yet it offers a compelling tableau of rural life. In late afternoon near closing time, friends stroll into the tasting room for a glass of Semillon or Pinot Noir. They pet the winery dog. The owner appears clad in field clothes with pruning shears in a back pocket. The danger of frost is passing and the vines are pruned so why not call it a day and pull up a chair.

I witnessed this scene of friends through the front window of the Foursight Wines tasting room. Dexter, a black-and-white McNab Shepard, bounded out to meet me. Kristy Charles poured Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Pinot Noir from the family vineyard across the lane. Her father Bill Charles joined us, waving a glass of Pinot Noir as he recounted the family’s history. His parents ran a mill during the lumber boom. In the rowdy 1950s, fights broke out at a dozen bars, one of which earned the name Bucket of Blood in Boontling, an invented local language. When the mill closed, the Charles family turned to agriculture. The complexity of the wines tell me that Charles Vineyard is meticulously cared for and harvested.

With the festival and Foursight Wines as the prelude, I arrived at Scharffenberger Cellars for Rocco Hanson’s winemaker dinner primed and ready. The chef kindly sent out a second portion of crab gateau, because the Rieslings I tried with the first serving weren’t working. The crab was perfect with La Rochelle Vineyards 2009 Pinot Gris, because of the saffron cream and microgreens.

The foie gras tartlet arrived next. It came with a filling of caramelized onions and Oma cheese. Another revelation. Vermont cheesemakers are to be praised: The von Trapp Farmstead makes a cheese that complements foie gras. The late harvest Riesling from New York ’s Sheldrake Point Winery was a light gold counterpoint to the savory dish.

Add to your special-occasion list the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival May 20-22. Foresight Wines is co-hosting the winemaker dinner. The details of this small extravagance will be posted online.

Text and photography by Donna Peck.