#Lion Ranch Vineyards and Winery | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mariacallous · 2 months

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He dreamed of a career in the Israeli military. Instead, ironically, he co-created an iconic cereal brand which bears a distinctly military name and rank — Cap’n Crunch. The man behind the cereal is food technologist Chaim Gur-Arieh. He not only was on the laboratory ground floor bringing Cap’n Crunch to supermarket shelves, but Gur-Arieh brought us multiple other blockbuster brands and products — Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, Tiger’s Milk Bar, single serving pudding and gelatin cups, and wine coolers.

Ninety-year-old Gur-Arieh is a non-stop innovator not only of foods, but of himself. He’s lived on three continents and pursued three distinct careers. Born in Istanbul, Turkey to a family that traces its roots there to the 1500s, he moved on his own at 14 to Israel. A high school dropout, his hopes of a life in the Israeli army ended when an explosion caused a hearing loss. Undeterred, he returned to school and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering.

In Israel, Chaim changed his last name from Mizrachi, a common name there, to Gur-Arieh, meaning “lion cub.” But this wasn’t the only change he made. After working at a rubber factory, Gur-Arieh decided chemical engineering wasn’t for him, he explained in a recent interview. So, he reinvented himself once more. He moved to the U.S., earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Food Science at the University of Illinois, and became a food technologist.

His first job was at Quaker Oats Company in the Midwest. It was there Cap’n Crunch was born. At the time, Quaker Oats had another cereal on the market. It also had a problem. That cereal, Life, was infringing on a patent owned by Ralston Purina Company, according to Gur-Arieh. So, Quaker Oats needed an alternative manufacturing method, and while working on one, came the idea of developing a sweet cereal for children, namely Cap’n Crunch.

While Cap’n Crunch is famed for its sugary taste and distinctive cartoon character, Gur-Arieh’s contribution was technical and industry trend setting. He co-developed the cereal’s manufacturing process called extrusion, the mechanical process when grain is forced to flow — under one or more varieties of conditions of mixing, heating and cutting — through a mold which shapes and/or puff-dries the grain. Before extrusion became the most common method of processing cereal, grains were typically rolled.

In the six decades since its introduction by Quaker Oats (now a subsidiary of PepsiCo), the popular corn and oat cereal has spun off into numerous flavors and seasonal variations, including ones with berries, “vanilly,” peanut butter” and “choco.”

As for Gur-Arieh, he too spun off into multiple ventures. He worked for Del Monte Foods and a company developing food for astronauts. After that, he ran his own companies and along the way hit another gastronomical home run — developing Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing or more accurately the dressing as we dip and devour it today. Years before, ranch dressing had gone to market in dry mix packets, but Gur-Arieh created the bottled liquid formula convenience-loving consumers didn’t know they craved.

About this time, Gur-Arieh took on a partner-for-life, his wife Elisheva. After 35 years in the food business, at an age when many people might consider retirement, Chaim and Elisheva opted to fulfill a longtime dream of opening a winery. Their Di Arie Vineyard & Winery, located in the Sierra foothills outside of Sacramento, CA, grows 11 varietals of grapes. In addition to the vineyard, there’s a tasting room and a wine club. Chaim makes the wine, while Elisheva, a nationally exhibited artist, oversees sales and marketing.

Now, 24 years into operating the winery and having just celebrated his 90th birthday, you might ask when does the man behind Cap’n Crunch start resting on his laurels — or at least on his vineyard? The answer: Not yet.

Since COVID, the vineyard faces new challenges and Gur-Arieh is innovating once again to meet them. Sales are down and consumer tastes are changing, he explained.

“First, there’s a general decrease in the amount of wine people are drinking. It’s partially an economic decision, but it’s also generational,” he said. “Younger drinkers are turning away from wine and back to hard liquor and that’s having an impact.”

To combat the downturn, this nonagenarian inventor has created three wines that pair with sushi. This new Hikari line is being marketed to money-spending younger foodie fans to win them back to wine. It has three offerings including a specially formulated chilled red wine blend and comes in bottles and cans – again, a nod to a younger demographic. Hikari is already sold in supermarkets in the West and Gur-Arieh is negotiating with a major Midwest chain to place Hikari there.

And with that update on his business, our interview concluded. The man who never lost his stride, be it during relocation from country to country (or continent to continent) or industry to industry, put on his floppy hat and headed out the door. There were grapes to tend to, watered and watched. Another day of work for this constantly innovating continually enterprising food scientist-turned-vintner.

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travelregistry · 8 years

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Cape Town

There are few cities in the world that have more to offer than Cape Town. While it’s not biggest city, or the most international, or even prettiest, there is just so much on display that it easily emerges as one of the best cities in the world to visit.

Cape Town is located on the southwestern coast of Africa, flanked by the vast Atlantic to the north and west and the warmer Indian to the south. Rising above the glass buildings and colorful homes in downtown Cape Town is the stunning Table Mountain, an enormous flat-top mountain that is quite literally in the middle of the city. An offshoot of Table Mountain, very aptly named Lion’s Head, juts perfectly in between city center and the ritzy Camps Bay area, home to the most expensive real estate in all of South Africa. This unique convergence of sea and mountains not only makes Cape Town breathtakingly beautiful, but allows visitors to wake up in the morning and climb a legitimate mountain, before spending the afternoon relaxing at the beach, all without skipping lunch.

The view from Lion’s Head toward Table Mountain, with the downtown area to the left and Camps Bay to the right.

In additional to its natural beauty, Cape Town has a great deal of historical significance. Any visitor to South Africa is inevitably confronted by the country’s dark apartheid past, and I found it very valuable to learn about that history and how it has shaped the country today. A great way to do this is to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. A half-day tour begins with a ferry pickup from the Victoria and Albert Waterfront, followed by a rather lackluster bus tour of the island itself. The real highlight of the trip is the walking tour of the prisoners’ cells, guided by an actual former prisoner. Additional walking tours (or self-guided tours) through the city can help visitors peel back some of the complex layers of the country’s racial dynamic.

Cape Town is also the undisputed gastronomical capital of Africa, boasting a number of the continent’s best restaurants. There is no shortage of cutting edge fine dining, with the #22 restaurant in the world, The Test Kitchen, and its slightly more casual sister, The Pot Luck Club, leading the way. (Note: These restaurants are very popular, so make your reservations early.)

Just a few excerpts from our delicious 7-course tasting lunch at The Test Kitchen (might I add that, with drinks, the entire meal for 2 cost approximately $100 USD, thanks to an exceptionally favorable exchange rate).

Beyond central Cape Town are a number of equally interesting options for day or weekend trips. If you have time, do all of them - or if your time is limited, pick a few that speak to your interests. There is truly something for everyone.

Cape Peninsula

A true must do day trip from Cape Town is a loop around the Cape Peninsula directly south of the city. Many people choose to hire a guide or join an organized tour, but we preferred to rent a car and visit the many stops along the way at our own pace. Our first stop was Simon’s Town, home of Boulders Beach and its adorable colony of African Penguins.

Who knew penguins enjoy sunbathing in 75-degree summer heat as much as humans?

After exploring the beach and penguin boardwalk in Simon’s Town, we continued south into a lush green wonderland of rolling hills and rocky cliffs until we arrived at Cape Point. From the parking lot, there are several trails that lead to various viewpoints and even down to a secluded beach. Make sure to lock any food items in your car, as the area is frequented by aggressive baboons who love nothing more than to steal human-food.

Another short drive from Cape Point brought us to the Cape of Good Hope, styled (much to my husband’s chagrin) as “the most south-western point of the African Continent.” Another short hike to the top of Cape Point brought us to a pretty interesting view of the collision of two oceans.

How exactly does one measure the most “south-western” point? What if a point is further south but less westerly? What if a point is further west but less southerly?

After looping around the tip of the Cape Peninsula, we slowly meandered our way back towards civilization. The western coast of the Cape boasts a few world class beaches that no one has ever heard of. Chief among them is Noordhoek Beach, #2 on my personal (and very biased) list of the Top 5 Beaches in the World. Flanked to the north by the renown Chapman’s Peak Drive (a highly regarded sunset-viewing spot), it’s hard to imagine a prettier setting to lay down a towel and catch some rays.

Noordhoek Beach stretches for a massive 5 miles, with very few people. Don’t be surprised if you run into horses, as a couple local ranches offer horseback rides across the beach.

We rounded out a lovely (if not slightly tiring) day trip around the Cape Peninsula with a quaint dinner at the famous (and original) Harbour House restaurant overlooking Kalk Bay. Our table by the window brought us within a few feet of some ornery seals being slapped by the rising evening waves, and the food in Cape Town continued to impress.

Wine Country

Another popular getaway from Cape Town is the Stellenbosch - Franschhoek wine route. There are numerous options for guided wine tours based out of Cape Town (including bike or horseback tours), but many people opt to spend a night or two in wine country. Because we only had about five days in Cape Town, and because I am not a heavy drinker, we decided to keep our rental car and do our own wine route as a day trip.

You can easily find a list of recommended wineries in the Stellebosch area, but part of the fun is just driving around and popping into random places. Don’t forget to bring a few bottles of wine home with you - South African wine, though highly regarded and very good, is not particularly popular in the United States, and the few vintages I’ve stumbled upon at Binny’s have been priced more than triple what they sold for locally. A bottle or two make an economical and delicious souvenir of what is sure to be a memorable trip.

The view from the elegant veranda at Delaire Graff Estate, a massive property overlooking rolling vineyards and surrounded by mountains.

The Garden Route

Now here I might be a bit out of my element, as we unfortunately did not have time to explore the beautiful coastline east of Cape Town; however, the Garden Route is a very popular multi-day road trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. There is no requirement to finish the lengthy route, and many people stop as early as Hermanus, a lovely coastal town famous for being the starting point of many whale watching adventures, or Gansbaai, the shark cage diving headquarters. If you decide to go further, stop into Knysna Elephant Park near the pretty town of Plettenberg Bay to visit its herds of rescued and relocated elephants, or Tsitsikamma Reserve to explore some treacherous gorges or even zipline from the treetops.

In sum, of all of the cities I’ve seen in the world, it’s difficult to imagine one that offers more than Cape Town. From the sea to the mountains, from the wineries to the restaurants - this city truly has it all.

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