Let us begin, dear sisters in food and wine, with an age-old question? If your purveyor of delicious stone fruits offer you a tequila shot at 11 in the morning, do you accept? Discuss.

The Girl in the Valley and I decided that we should take a journey upvalley from the Clubhouse on Friday am to visit the famous Chef's Market in St. Helena. Our mission was to report back to you what's hot in the world of fruit and veggies here at the end of July 2010 here in our little corner of the world.

In Napa Valley, as we're sure is the case in your part of the world, famer's markets take place throughout the growing season. We especially love the October markets with their piles of pumpkins, but every month brings its own delights. 

Friday seemed a fine day to check out what's local, fresh and in peak of season. We hadn't been to the St. Helena market lately so we decided to get in line with rest of the tourist and head north.

At our very first table stop, the GITV spied a box of pretty green tomatoes and bought a pound for $1 (bargain at NV prices) The plan was to rustle up some delicious Fried Green Tomatoes over the weekend. 

So the GITV has her sack of Green Tomatoes and was content until we ran into a Famous Napa Valley Chef who gave us the down low on the whole Fried Green Tomato situation (are you sisters from the South just laughing right now?) 

Apparently, the best FGTs are made from not-fully ripened tomatoes fresh off the vine in the Fall, the ones that didn't have a chance to go all red and pretty before it gets frosty. These GT's, apparently, have a texture-acid-sugar balance that makes them the ones you want to use.

But because peoples just love the dish and are dying to serve them in the middle of summer with their grilled whatever, farmers will just pick some green tomatoes off a producing vine and sell them to unsuspecting foodies. Like us. Sigh. In any event, we had already spent our dollar and the plan to fry those puppies up and serve them for Sunday dinner remained in place.

We visited other tables and were overcome with the loveliness of the seasonal fruit. One stand, in particular, from Winters, CA (east of Napa Valley) is devoted to heirloom stone fruits. Roving asked about Tiger Peaches, a rare variety of singular taste. The ladies replied that thay didn't have any today, but to check back in the near future. Roving recalled that her family, who farm cherries and almonds in the CA Central Valley, had a Tiger Peach Tree when she was growing up. But Tiger Peach got so old and tired that one day he just fell down. Roving jotted down (typed in her Iphone) the name of the nursery who could provide new Tiger Peach tree stock and she made a note to order one to give to her dad for Christmas.

As we roamed the market, taking a million I-Photos of cute little buches of radishes and such, we were beginning to get a little worried about our state of mind (OK some girls like Louboutins, we like beets). Luckily, that passed quickly, and we got to thinking about wine pairings.

Say, you want to fry up a batch of not-chef-approved August Fried Green Tomatoes as a first course or appetizer In terms of food pairing, the word Green guides us. 

Look at a light white wine. Have you ever gazed closely at an unoaked Pinot Grigio, White Blend or Sauvignon Blanc? (when you're not thinking about the loser you just broke up with--that's a different blog). 

We think you may will see some ever-so-faint green tints in your glass. Flashes of the fresh summer vegetable and herb colors you'd see in your own home garden or in the baskets at the Famer's Market.

Any of these wines, such as PromisQous White (Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer) or Middle Sister Wicked White (similar White Blend), Middle Sister Drama Queen Pinot Grigio, Middle Sister Surfer Chick Sauvignon Blanc. Kate and Cassie Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay or Middle Sister Smarty Pants chardonnay have that ever-so-subtle tinge. What's more, they have acidity (think lemon squeeze) to balance the richness of pan-fried goodness and significantly, they are oak-free.  

Oak, found in many Chardonnays (but not in the ones mentioned above), adds a definite caramel, vanilla, buttered toast flavor. The color of these wines tends more to golden hues. We love oak; it adds complexity, and it's perfect with creamy, rich dishes, but  it might not be the best complement to Fried Green Tomatoes, Zucchini Fritters with Green Goddess Dressing and other vegetable dishes--unless, as we mentioned, you choose an Unoaked or very-ightly oaked style. 

We were thinking we would do an aioli of some sort to serve the the tomatoes, but on our way out of the market we found these incredible organic jams, jellies and marmelades. They are hand-made by The Wild Pear Co. from Tomales out on the coast and are truly exquisite.  We picked the Jalapeno & Garlic Jelly for our tomatoes, but couldn't resist the Peppered Pomegranate Jelly (brush on salmon and grill) or the Pink Grapefruit Marmalade (Fresh Buttermilk Scones, anybody?). The sweet and savory jellies are also wonderful as as effortless appetizer. Spoon over cream cheese and serve with an assortment of crackers or a  crusty baguette. 

P.S. We politely refused the offer of Tequila shots saying those were reserved for the evening-time, preferably 10pm or later. Our farmer friend insisted it was evening-time somewhere in the world...he had twinkly brown eyes and a rugged three-day beard, but we resisted. We are, after all, professionals. And seriously, it wasn't even lunch-time!

Welcome to your summer, wine sisters. Time to get on the bus headed for Camp Wine. Hope you didn't forget your toothbrush and bug spray!

Oh, and of course, the wine. We have some recommendations for wines that pair well with summer. Specifically, we want to tell you about our brand new releases, Haute Red and White Haute. Not only seriously fashionable, but elegantly pairable with your fave summertime foods.

Let's talk Haute White. It's our new California Riesling. Riesling is an ideal choice for summer. It's is a light, crisp white varietal orginally cultivated on the steep river vineyards of Germany. 

With aromas and flavors of white peach and apricot with a floral note, it has a crisp acidity that makes it totally refreshing well-chilled on a hot summer day. 

Reisling can serve you throughout the meal, as an aperitif to the dessert course. Think Peach Cobbler or a cheese plate with soft, young cheeses and summer fruits.

Because it's moderate in alcohol and fuity, Riesling is bright and refreshing with main course fare such as salads and seafoods. Try our White Haute Riesling with spicy dishes such as an Asian Chicken Salad or Grilled Fish with Spanish Spices.

Summertime may seem like the season to leave the reds in the cellar, but for those of us who love red, we just might not want to wait until the frost is on the pumpkin.

Red Haute Pinot Noir is a good choice. It's a lighter style Pinot Noir, fresh and lively. Here's a tip: don't be afraid to put your reds in the refrigerator to chill them off. The recommendation of "room temperature" for red wine service doesn't mean a room in the middle of a summer heat wave.  Red wines shoud be served at cellar temperature--55 degrees. If that means sticking a bottle in ice before you pop it open--no worries.

We like Haute Red Pinot Noir with all things on the grill. That includes everything from fresh farmstand grilled veggies to burgers, "haute dogs", chicken and ribs. Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein, author of many food and wine books including his most recent, "Perfect Pairings", used to call Pinot Noir "liquid chicken", meaning it's a wine immensely adaptable to pairing with a huge variety of foods because of its balance and flavor profile. If you're looking for a red wine, and don't know where to turn, turn to Pinot Noir. It's a slam dunk choice. (another "Evanism").

Our Haute wines are newly released and coming to stores near you soon. If you simply can't wait, visit our Wine Shop--you can buy them there.

So stay cool, sisters. Take a swim. Roast a weenie. Sing a campfire song. And for goodness sake, have a glass of wine!

It's that time again, sisters. Time for our new monthly survey party. July is the month we decided to get nosy about your wine buying habits. 

Just six quick questions to help us make sure we get our wines where you like to shop. And remember, one lucky survey-completer will be selected at random to win a cool prize!

We are busy tallying the results of our June survey where we asked how you stand on Moscato. We'll let you know the results shortly...but here's a hint, maybe you'll get a sneak peak on the next Middle Sister!