Zest & Aplomb

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Janice Gali –– A Daring & Intoxicating Blend Of Fearlessness and Curiosity

Janice Gali, 62, is not just another ‘Rosé All Day’ trendy-T-shirt-clad woman running around town. Instead, this dynamic Gali Vineyards co-founder is ‘pouring’ all day, and she wants you to enjoy their excellent coastal wine varietals in their casual new tasting room in downtown Los Gatos, California.

You and your husband just opened a new tasting room for your wine label Gali Vineyards. How did this journey begin?

I enjoy investing in real estate, and Joseph is a pediatrician. In his spare time, he loves to garden and is excellent at growing all things. We combined our interests and, in 2003, bought acreage in Corralitos, California, which is in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA. Grapes piqued our interest, but the market wasn’t lucrative at the time. After considering different options, we planted blueberries and enjoyed that very much. A few years later, we bought our neighbor’s land to merge with our own, which now comprises 46 acres. By then, the grape market had rebounded, and we decided to pivot.

In 2012, we ordered our first rootstocks. A vintage takes four years to grow and produce. Our original intention was to make wine for other wineries and keep a small amount of wine for ourselves, family and friends. We grow Pinot Noir, Syrah, Tempranillo, and Chardonnay varietals. More recently, we have added Albariño grapes, which like our Tempranillo, is another Spanish cultivar. At about the same time, I also joined wine associations, took viticulture courses, started pouring our estate wines at local Bay Area events, and even got jobs at other tasting rooms to learn that side of the business.

September 10, 2021 by Gwen Dawkins

Lifestyle

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

By Cheryl Ryan

From the garden this Labor Day: This year’s new, best discovery is Shishito chili peppers. They are a mild green pepper (best harvested before they turn red) that continues to produce as you pick them! You cook them like poppers in a little bit of olive oil and salt for about 3 minutes on each side. They are delicious and create a colorful splash on any summer plate.

Eyebrow update: You may remember that I did an eyebrow grooming post a while back and I’ve substantially updated that process. Now I just fill in any shape gaps with this pencil and use this Boy Brow by Glossier. It just goes on like mascara. It literally takes less than 30 seconds and works great.

This hat clip purse holder is so smart! I really like wearing hats now to keep the sun off of me but I’m not a fan of carrying it around. Enter the hat clip purse clip. Honestly, brilliant.

September 3, 2021 by zestandplomb

Wellness

Getting Zen(ish) During Difficult Times

By Shana Moore

I can’t be the only one who has greatly adjusted my view of what constitutes a workout.

A former version of me scoffed at any exercise that didn’t end with someone asking me if I was okay. Beet-red face, drenched in sweat, an exhausted yeah would fall out of my mouth with a chuckle. In my view, if it wasn’t balls-to-the-wall, it didn’t even count.

Then, at age 35, along came a back surgery and a year of mourning about my new physical limitations. I took up walking and begrudgingly made peace with what was. I walked the neighborhood daily with a good friend and ultimately found joy in chatting with neighbors along our path.

August 29, 2021 by Contributing Authors

Travel

Whitney, Whitney, Whitney –– I Came, I saw, I conquered Mt. Whitney — Actually ‘Conquered’ Is A Strong Word

By Gwen Dawkins

In the iconic 1971 episode of The Brady Bunch, “Her Sister’s Shadow,” middle sister Jan laments that everything comes so easily to her older sister Marcia. She asserts, “Marcia makes such a big deal about everything. Every time Marcia turns around, someone hands her a blue ribbon….I’m tired of being in Marcia’s shadow.”

While her parents try to counsel Jan on Marcia’s hard work and merits, Jan finally blurts, “Well, all I hear all day long at school is how great Marcia is at this or how wonderful Marcia did that. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!”

That’s how I feel about my recent trek up Mt. Whitney. Only, I’m not whining!

Every day and in most conversations since completing this endeavor, I somehow namedrop my Mt. Whitney feat. It really has been, “Whitney, Whitney, Whitney!”

August 22, 2021 by Gwen Dawkins

Relationships

Selecting A Wedding Venue is Hard Enough – Now Add Camping to That

By Cheryl Ryan

And that’s a wrap. We drove home from our youngest daughter’s wedding yesterday. I’m not going to lie, I’m getting too old for this. I feel fortunate that all the kids are married now and I never collapsed, causing an unsightly scene and the need for photo editing. But the good news is that this weekend was magical. A word used by many of the attendees. And I must confess it really was.

Like any good event, a lot of effort goes into making it that way and that can go double for weddings. There’s the complication of deciding on a location that meets the vision of the couple. Then there are the unexpected emotions that come with a major life event, the melding of families and the desire by everyone for this day to be special. Even my daughter was taken aback by the amount of work that goes into all those weddings she’s been partying at for years.

August 18, 2021 by Cheryl Ryan

Lifestyle

I Hope You Are All Doing Great!

By Cheryl Ryan

We’re in that busy time of year. No, it’s not the holidays but it is busy. It’s that time when everyone is scheduling those final end-of-summer events and we’re all trying to squeeze in those activities that we didn’t get to before school and fall sets in. And we here at Zest & Aplomb are no exception.

Gwen Dawkins is just wrapping up her epic Mt. Whitney hiking adventure and I cannot wait to hear all about it. She will be sharing with all of us soon.

I just finished my first ever backpacking trip and am heading to my daughter’s wedding. I hope to share that with you all as well.

August 9, 2021 by Cheryl Ryan

Lifestyle

Hurry Up And Live Your Summer – Before Fall Comes Knocking

By Cheryl Ryan

I hope your summer is going swimmingly! Speaking of swimming, the Olympics are happening. I was getting impatient looking for my favorite events and then I found this live event schedule with daily highlights so that I can get right to the good stuff that I want to see.

I may be the only one that didn’t embrace the redecorate your home during the COVID movement. I actually took the opportunity to do nothing since nobody was coming into my house anyway. But now my house is in desperate need of some care before the holidays hit. As inspiration, I’ve been checking out these 2021 colors trends. And while searching for colors I stumbled upon this cool list of Etsy home decor and antique suppliers. I’m especially smitten with the Retro Daisy Girl and White Wall Sconce shops.

July 30, 2021 by Cheryl Ryan

Wellness

Hiking In The City — Sightseeing And Exercise All In One

By Gwen Dawkins

Hopefully, you read my previous post about my Prepping To Hike Mt. Whitney. We are less than a month away from our trek up the highest peak in the continental US, and we continue to hike, hike, hike. Most of the time, we are out in nature, climbing hills and mountains. But somebody made the suggestion of “hiking” around San Francisco. We LOVED it!

In fact, this was the only long hike we’ve done (20-ish miles) that seemed to fly by. We decided that it must be because there was something new and exciting to see around every corner. We also ditched our hiking poles and stuck to sneakers instead of hiking boots. As a result, we were lighter on our feet and minds.

We absolutely wanted to include some of San Francisco’s famous staircases in our route and some tourist stops like “the most crooked street in the world,” Lombard Street.

July 23, 2021 by Gwen Dawkins

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