THE TWISTED FOLK AT TWISTED OAK

A dead chicken can be transformed into a thing of... well... not exactly beauty. Ahm, stark raving lunitic works. This is the downtown tasting room crew for Twisted Oak Winery during Friday's Murphys Christmas Open House. I never asked owners, Mary and Jeff Seith, why they moved a beautiful old barn from Murphys downtown, to the highway edge of their property and hung a bunch of dead rubber chickens on it. Now the rubber chicken has become a lively trade item. I swear he must have had them made to order.
Mary Seith helped Bev Bennedetto squeeze every chicken in the place. They all have different voices. It may help to imbibe a bit before you start squeezing.

If you are served a bit of Murgatroyd by a cat in a hat? Smile, you're at Twisted Oak. In fact, this red with flavors of currant and nutmeg will keep you coming back.

I've eaten chicken nuggets before and I've seen some gold nuggets in my time, but this one...I mentioned lunitic didn't I? At no other winery in the Mother Lode is there more fun than a visit with the twisted folk at Twisted Oak.

MICHAL HOUSTON, HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS

Michal Houston graciously invited Jim and I for dinner at her lovely home in Murphys. I've known Michal to invite people she'd just met a couple hours previously for dinner. Everyone is welcome at her table and what an elegant table it is. Making people welcome is part of her Southern heritage. Jim lit the candles and played engineer with her recalcitrant icemaker. I focused on her latest piece of art work, the decorated chair painted and festooned by artist Lori Kelly. It was auctioned off by the Calaveras Arts Council to support the council and a local charity. Its a beauty and I'm ravenously jealous that I couldn't attend that auction.
Jeff, owner of Twisted Oak Winery, welcomed Jim to Murphys on Jim's blog. Michal let us know that Twisted Oak has be our next stop, and when the weather clears, it will be. Murphys is such a nice place to live. Thank you Michal and Jeff.