vivant—or anyway, he certainly doesn’t resist playing it up with the winery’s image. Hart’s Desire bottles bear labels by the artist Loreta Hornall, depicting bedroom-eyed women and amatory couples in the midst of a toast, or an embrace, or both. Does an appeal to wine’s historic affinity with sensuality influence one’s enjoyment of said wine? I don’t know, but releases are limited to a few hundred cases each, so it’s all about enjoying it while it lasts.
Hart’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc, Ritchie Vineyard ($20), is a classy Blanc that sings out of the glass with candied-lime and tropical fruit. It’s crisp, acidic zip is nicely counterbalanced, and softened by aging in neutral oak barrels, so that the sensation on the palate is like a fat raindrop on an outstretched tongue. Only four barrels were produced, but it’s typical of what a few other Russian River Valley vintners are doing with this varietal: both roundness and liveliness without the heaviness and heat more typical of, you know, some other valley. It would certainly influence the enjoyment of crab cakes, in the best way.
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Crabby Crab Cakes 
From the kitchen of LindySez
Ingredients
1 pound Dungeness or good quality lump meat crab, picked over for shells
1/2 of a red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
3 whole green onions, white and green parts, finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon fresh dill weed or 1 teaspoon dry (or to taste)
2 teaspoons Old Bay Seafood seasoning
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs, divided
Oil for frying, I use grapeseed oil
Lemon Mayonnaise for serving
Directions
Place the crab in a large bowl (I like to use a large metal bowl, then I shake the bowl and listen for pings which indicate there are still shells in there to find and remove)
In a small sauté pan, heat the oil and sauté the peppers until soft. Allow to cool. When cool, add to the crab along with the green onion, mayo, parsley, dill, and the old bay. Mix gently until combined (try not to break up all the pieces of crab). Add about 1/2 of the panko, mix gently. The crab cakes should just hold together, add panko until they do.
Put the remaining panko on a large plate. Take about a 1/4 cup scoop of crab mixture, form a ball, roll in the panko, then flatten to form a disk. Set aside as you make the remaining crab cakes.
Heat oil about 1/4 inch deep in a large skillet, add the crab cakes, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding, and cook until browned on one side, carefully turn and cook the other side. Serve with some mayonnaise with a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest mixed in to taste.