Wine and Dinner of the Month Club – November 2011

This month’s meal was a simple affair, but no less tasty.  The wine was a Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon which said on the label it was good with grilled rib eye or braised lamb shanks.  We had braised lamb recently and I wasn’t really in the mood for a big rib eye, but some strip steak fit the bill.  I don’t really have any recipes this month except for the dessert, but I think it’s mostly self explanatory.

Menu

• Mushroom Bruschetta with Parmesan Cheese
• Grilled Strip Steak with Sautéed Mushrooms, Turnip Puree and Purple Broccoflower
• Green Salad with Walnuts and Steamed Beets
• Apple Fritter Rings

Wine

• 2006 Kunde Family Estate Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

I started out early in the day by marinating the steaks in olive oil, garlic and a little salt and pepper.  When I was ready to start dinner, I baked a small baguette and sautéed some chopped mushrooms.  I sliced the baked bread and brushed olive oil on both sides of each slice.  I rubbed some garlic on each side as well and then topped the bread with the mushrooms and a little parmesan cheese.  I put these in the oven and let them bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melted thoroughly.  I had already decanted the wine and Christine and I sat down for the appetizers.

After the appetizer, I started the main course.  First I started boiling the potatoes and turnips for the puree.  After these were cooked, I put them in a food processer with a little butter, buttermilk, salt and pepper.  You really just have to experiment to get the right consistency.  Mine was a little loose, but it worked out okay.  I threw the steaks on the grill since they did not need a lot of time to cook and started steaming the broccoflower.  Once I brought the steaks in and the broccoflower was ready, I sautéed some more mushrooms and plated it all up.  Now, you may ask yourself, what is broccoflower?  Well, it’s a cross between broccoli and cauliflower.  I was planning on having broccoli as the side, but when I was in the grocery store I saw the broccoflower in purple and orange and green and decided to have a little fun.  I think it added a nice and unusual splash of color to the entrée.

After the main course, we had a green salad with lettuce that Christine grew in our community garden, steamed beets from the local farmers market and walnuts from our local…grocery store.  Okay, so the walnuts probably weren’t that local.  In America the salad is usually before the main course, but Christine likes to have it the Italian way after the entrée as a little bit of a palate cleanser, particularly with a nice vinaigrette dressing.  I agree that it does make for a nice transition.  Give a try sometime to mix things up.

Finally, I prepared the dessert.  This recipe actually came from the December issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food magazine.  We had some Northern Spy apples from Hidden Valley Fruit Farms near Lebanon, OH that are delicious cooking apples.  I first cored, peeled and sliced two apples to make little apple rings.  I dredged these in a batter and dropped into 350 degree vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet.  They cook really quickly with one turn half way through.  After they had a chance to dry a little on some paper towels, I tossed them in a little cinnamon/sugar mixture and served them warm.  The batter gives them a nice crispy texture and the cooked apples inside are like apple candy.  And the best part is that they actually came out looking like the picture in the magazine (well, enough of them did for this picture).

As far as the wine, it was an excellent pairing with the bruschetta, the steaks and salad.  The richness of the wine nicely balanced the earthiness of the meat, mushrooms and the root vegetables.  However, as you might expect, it did not go so well with the apple rings.  They were far too sweet to go with the dryness of the wine.

Wine and Dinner of the Month Club–October 2011

After being chastised by my editor for tardiness last month, I made sure to get this entry written in time. I did; however, my lovely assistant had a month of intense work and travel and in her not-so-usual way, submitted the article late. She also thought she deleted the photos, but happily found them included with the Hallowheeling “Pollination” photos.

In early October Christine and I were in Washington, DC and went to dinner with her parents at Taste of  Morocco in Arlington.  After enjoying all the great flavors, I decided that this month’s dinner would be a Moroccan feast.

Menu

• Dates Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Almonds
• Date and Celery Salad
• Lemon Couscous
• Moroccan Bastilla (Chicken)
• Moroccan Orange Cake

Wine

• 2007 Wild Horse Central Coast Chardonnay

Though it looks involved, the entire dinner was really pretty easy.  There was some prep time involved, but once you got past that it all went quickly and a lot of it could be done ahead of time.  I was home for the day so I was up early working on the meal.  The first thing I did was bake the cake to get that task out of the way.  Next I prepped the salad ingredients which involved slicing dates and pealing and cutting up the celery.

It was helpful that this step could be done ahead of time and the ingredients stored in the refrigerator until dinner time.  Next I started on the bastilla.  The ingredients for this dish can be prepared ahead of time as well and assembled later.  After preparing everything and putting it in the refrigerator I even had a little extra time to go outside and work on the deck.  Who says I can’t multitask?

About half hour before we planned to eat, I started cooking the bastilla, placing sheets of phyllo dough in an oven proof pan, adding the filling, and cooking it for about 15 minutes.  While it was cooking I stuffed the dates with goat cheese and almonds and started cooking the couscous.  You may remember the stuffed dates from an earlier dinner.  At that time I stuffed the dates with parmesan cheese and walnuts.  This time I switched to goat cheese and almonds for a more Mediterranean twist.

After we had the stuffed dates, I assembled the salad by mixing the celery in with coarse salt, shaving some parmesan cheese on top and sprinkling it with balsamic vinegar.

I served the warm bastilla with the couscous on the side.  The bastilla was filled with an egg and chicken mixture surrounded by an almond, cinnamon and sugar mix.  Additional sugar and cinnamon is sprinkled on top creating a delicious combination of savory and sweet.  I have to admit, when I researched bastilla, chardonnay did not come up as the best pairing, but we thought it actually went very well.  The chardonnay was crisp with a bright acidity that complimented every course.

We ended the night with a slice of orange cake before heading off to our local theater company to see Debbie Does Dallas the Musical.  But that’s another story.

A Chill in the Air, Some Reds for your Glass

Can you feel the cool on the underside of the breeze? It’s a’comin, folks. Real fall weather. Red wine season. I personally go through a lot more white wine in the spring and summer, but when the leaves start to change – I load up on the rouge.
Recently, my wine-pal Danny and I led a wine tasting. Since autumn is descending, and many stores are already hanging their seasonal decorations, we thought we’d get a jump on the holiday season and do a full spread of red. We wanted to provide a few suggestions for the upcoming dinner party (and party in general) season. Whether you’re stocking the cellar or stuffing the stockings, snagging a case of most of the wines we poured wouldn’t set you back too far. All of them fall squarely into the “flexible food wine” or “slurpable party wine” categories. (Well, there was one deliciously notable exception…)
Have at ‘em:
Vina Borgia 2008 Garnacha – I’ve long been a big fan of this wine. It’s one of my go-to inexpensive bottles. It’s 100% Garnacha (or Grenache, if you prefer) from the Aragon region of Spain. You won’t find anything overly complicated here. You’ll pay six or seven dollars for a bottle and be rewarded with a nice nose of blackberries and spice, a body that’s medium weight with a good balance of dark fruit and pepper, and a nice firm finish. For the price, it’s one of the best balanced reds out there. It’s perfectly drinkable on its own or a good accompaniment with flavors from chicken to grilled meat. I think it’s great wine choice for a holiday table when you’re buying in bulk. The Vina Borgia is also available in a 1.5 liter bottle for around $12 or a 3 liter box for $18. Can’t beat it.
Vinterra 2010 Pinot Noir – One of the things I love about pinot noir is that the grape has a real sense of “place.” If you pour a California pinot, you’ll usually get bigger fruit flavors and higher levels of alcohol. Burgundies will be lighter and earthier tasting. New Zealand pinots, like this Vinterra, tend to be light, delicate critters. It’s a very pretty smelling wine – flowers, cherries, and strawberries are prominent. The body is extremely light for a pinot. By way of comparison, I’d put it at the same weight as a Beaujolais. This is another wine with very nice balance, giving you flavors of strawberry and cherry cola. The finish is gentle, drifting away on a mist of cherries. Like most pinot noirs, this wine basically goes with any food, and it’s a great wine to pull out if you have someone around who “doesn’t like red wine.” It’s almost impossible to find pinot noir this good at $15, but here you have it.
Ocaso 2008 Malbec – I wouldn’t want to write a column that extended through football season and the requisite manly grilling without throwing a masculine malbec in there. As I always say about malbec, anything you can drag across fire –veggie burgers to grilled mushrooms to a big ol’ ribeye – will snuggle right up to a tasty malbec. Argentinean wines remain some of the best values out there. As Danny said, “Take most wine from Argentina and double the price. That’s what you’ll pay for a comparable red from France or California.” Blackberries and coffee were my first thought when I got a slug of this one. It’s tannic, but not overly so, and it’s nice and muscular if you’re in the mood for something along those lines. I’ve read that it actually goes well with vegetables, too – but that wouldn’t be my first choice. You can find this for around $10-12. Ocaso also makes a malbec rosé that I poured next to the aforementioned Vinterra. The rosé ($8) is actually heavier, believe it or not.
Elvio Cogno 2007 Dolcetto D’Alba – If you’re looking to step outside the Chianti world for a relatively light Italian red, Dolcetto is a very nice alternative. Dolcetto translates as “little sweet one,” although this is hardly a sweet wine.. I thought this was a wine that was basically built to be passed around a dinner table – like most good Italian wines are. It’s got a fair amount of acidity, which allows the flavor to cut through almost anything with a red sauce, be it pasta, chicken parmesan, or brasciole. I recently poured this next to a roasted eggplant-and-red-pepper soup and it was simply divine. If you don’t like the “chalky” flavor that Chianti sometimes have, but you like the acidity and the full fruit flavors, this is a great choice. It’s around $15 and worth every penny if you’re cobbling together a little feast for friends.
Chateau de Bel 2009 Bordeaux – Bordeaux is one of the more vintage-dependent wines out there. Bordeaux from an “off year” can be overpriced and uninteresting. The 2009 vintage, however, apparently has the potential to be one of the great vintages in Bordeaux (and in much of the rest of France, as well). The quality even trickles down to the more inexpensive bottles, like this one from Chateau de Bel. This 90/10 merlot/cabernet blend is an impressive bottle, especially for $15. Intense fruits and a nice dose of the “old world funk” that I like so much in Bordeaux. A little tannic, a little oaky – it’s just a very solid all-around wine. For the Francophiles out there, consider squirreling away a few bottles of for five years or so. I’m very interested to see how this one develops over time. Or just lay out some rich cheeses, grilled pork chops, or some good stew. You’ll thank me later.
Domaine La Roquete 2007 Chateauneuf-de-Pape – Danny couldn’t resist being a showoff. He pulled this little gem to put the rest of our selections to shame. He said that if he were forced to only drink one kind of wine for the rest of his life, he’d choose Chateauneuf-de-Pape – which is a predominantly Grenache/Syrah blend from the town of the same name in the Rhone valley. This is one damned delicious wine. You may have heard wines described as “elegant.” This one falls squarely into that category. It’s a deeply layered wine. As you take successive sips, you’ll find different flavors emerging: currants, cherry, nutmeg, blackberry, and a backbone of nice earthiness. Chateauneuf-de-Pape is an expensive wine. You’ll often see this wine start at around $50-60 and go up from there. This one was under $40, and for my money – if you want to impress – this is a nice selection to have in your arsenal. Or have this one the day after your dinner party as you’re relaxing the next evening. Be selfish. You deserve it.

Massandra 1931 Ai-Danil Tokay...and Happy Birthday, Dad!

I could devote many column inches on the enormous impact my father has had on the fabric of so many people’s lives over the years (Google “John Rosenberg AppalRed” or “John Rosenberg civil rights lawyer” for a taste), but that’s for another venue. What’s the wine connection?

What do you get the man who doesn’t need anything? He’s happy, healthy, and still doing the work he loves. A milestone like an 80^th birthday deserves an appropriately celebratory gift. After some pondering and a little poking around online, I was able to locate (via Sotheby’s Wine – a New York offshoot of the London auction house) something appropriate. Ladies & Gentlemen, let me introduce:

Massandra 1931 Ai-Danil Tokay

The wineries in Massandra were built during the reign of Czar Nicholas II. During the process, wine caves containing thousands of bottles were constructed beneath the city. This “personal wine cellar” of the Czar contained tens of thousands of bottles. These caves survived the Russian Revolution, both World Wars, the fall of Communism, and Yakov Smirnoff. In 1990, about 13,000 of these bottles – never before available in the West – were put to auction. (Read more about the auction here: http://goo.gl/B86Uc) A couple of decades later, FedEx brought one of those bottles to me.

The bottle itself was quite a sight. Standard sized wine bottle, green glass, no label. The Sotheby’s wrapper had the identifying information. The wrapper was necessary for cleanliness purposes, as the bottle was still caked somewhat with the Crimean cave dirt in which it had rested for about sixty years. Wax seal, still mostly intact, over the cork.

Tokay (or Tokaji), in case you’re wondering, is a dessert wine originating in the Tokaji region of Hungary (the wine is mentioned in the Hungarian national anthem). During the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ukraine was part of the Tokaji region, so those wines maintained the moniker. The wine is made from grapes affected by “noble rot,” like French Sauternes. The result is a golden-colored, fragrant, sweet wine with enormous aging potential. As the wine ages, the color changes like a sunset – from gold to increasingly deep red. The complexity of flavors follows.

I consulted with a couple of sommelier friends of mine to get some pointers on handling such an old bottle. The short version of said advice: “Keep the bottle as still as you can so you don’t disturb the sediment, and be careful decanting it.” Later in the evening, my brother-in-law said that he thought there was either something alive or explosive in the box, since I was handling it so gingerly.

The potent fear when opening wine this old is that it might not be wine anymore. It doesn’t take much going wrong over the course of 80 years to complete a wine’s journey to Vinegar-land. After Dad had a chance to see the bottle, the moment of truth was at hand. I slowly started extracting the cork. I immediately saw that there was only about a quarter inch of dry cork left. I’ve seen two-year old bottles with similar looking corks be utterly shot. Butterflies were cutting complex maneuvers in my gut. The cork came free.

My nose met a blast of honey, fruit, and flowers. Intact! The relief and excitement evoked a long-ago summer camp memory of a brown-haired girl’s smile as she whispered, “You can kiss me if you want.”

Grinning and trembling a bit, I decanted the Tokay. All things considered, I did a pretty good job. I was able to keep almost all of the sediment in the bottle. The wine had continued its darkening over the years and was now a deep reddish-chestnut. I poured small amounts for everyone and we toasted my father.

How’d it taste? Unbelievably good. One of the most “layered” wines that I’ve ever tried -- rich, full, and sweet without being cloying. Each sniff and sip yielded something a little different. The notes I managed to scribble (which really don’t do it justice): “Nose: honey, prunes, sunshine, violets. Body: raisins, caramel, honey, peach, pear. Back: spice, honey, little lemon zest. LAYERS. 3 minutes of finish. Stupendous, worthy, rich. Wine for a king’s table.” (Or, as I learned above, a czar’s.)

Since very little of the wine had evaporated over the years, we had enough to actually brave a food pairing. The suggested  pairing with Tokay is pears and blue cheese. Lovely. The pears amplified the fruit in the wine. The creamy funk of the Roquefort shook hands and gave the honey a warm hug. Stunningly tasty.

We continued with the birthday celebration, and I managed to slyly move the decanter from the table so that the Sweet Partner in Crime and I could have a nightcap. Not surprisingly, the soul of the wine, preserved so long, left quickly. The wine was still

drinkable a couple of hours later, showing some of the same flavors, but the bouquet and layers of wonder and complexity had flattened. No matter. This wine lived 80 years and shone brightly for we who were lucky enough to be around when it was opened…like my Dad.

 

 

 

 

Technorati Tags: Tokay,Tokaji,Hungary,Crimea,wine,wine pairing,Nicholas II

Wine & Dinner of the Month Club – September 2011

[Ed. Note -- Jeff was a wee bit late this month, but we won’t hold it against him...]

For September, I took a different course in preparing the meal. I used the slow cooker. I always forget about the slow cooker, and when I use it I wonder why. It’s a simple matter to put the ingredients into the pot in the morning and when you are ready for dinner everything is cooked to tasty perfection. I highly recommend you give it a try.

Menu

• Cheese Plate Appetizer
• Braised Lamb Shoulder with Luscious Legumes
• Pop-Tarts (The Homemade Kind)

Wine

2006 Marques de Caceres Rioja

For some reason, we had a lot going on in September so I was looking for a meal that could be prepared with a minimum of fuss. A slow cooker recipe was a natural fit. Generally Rioja goes well with roasted meats such as lamb or duck so I opted for a lamb dish. The recipe originally called for lamb shank, but when I went to the grocery store they were out of the shank so I opted to use some shoulder cuts. It worked out to be a perfect substitution. I figured the beans, mixed with some spices, onion, carrot and celery would make for a good savory accompaniment.

One thing to remember about dry beans, which I prefer to the canned variety, is that you will probably have to soak them overnight. If you remember that tip, it will save you from scaring your wife to death when you jump out of bed at night shouting, “I forgot to soak my beans!!!” With the beans appropriately soaked, the next morning was a breeze. I coated the lamb shoulders with a mixture of flour, salt and pepper and browned them lightly on all sides. They went into the cooker on top of the beans with a sprig of rosemary tucked underneath. I then cooked the vegetable mixture which included onions, carrots, celery, garlic, the zest and juice of an orange, some beef broth and a little red wine. After this mélange softened I poured it over the lamb and beans and set the cooker on low. Here’s a little tip I like for celery or some other vegetables: if you need just a little bit and don’t want to buy, for example, a whole stalk of celery, pick up just what you need at the salad bar if your grocery store has one. [Ed. Note -- For this tip alone, we forgive his tardiness...]

While the lamb was cooking I rolled out the dough for the pop-tarts, which I had prepared the night before and stored in the refrigerator. The tarts are simple to assemble by cutting out rectangles of dough and putting strawberry jam inside. Once assembled the pop-tarts went into the freezer until ready to bake.

At dinner time I put out a cheese plate of crackers and a couple cheeses, including a delicious goat’s milk Gouda.

After the appetizer, I dished out the lamb and beans and served them with the wine and some crusty bread. The lamb was fall off the bone tender and the juices from the lamb and the vegetable mixture had combined with the beans to create a deliciously savory and hearty meal that paired well with the fruity dryness of the Rioja.

While we ate dinner, I had the pop-tarts baking. After taking them out of the oven and letting them cool, I sprinkled them with confectioner’s sugar and served with fresh strawberries. My only problem was that I forgot to cut slits in the pastries to let out steam and the filling overflowed out of the crust. They were still tasty and I heard no complaints.

This was a delicious meal and very easy. I can certainly see doing more slow cooker recipes, particularly during the cold winter months ahead.

Naked Vine Live!

Howdy folks! Wanted to give you a heads up -- Danny Gold of the Party Source and I will be leading a wine tasting this Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30 pm. We're going to line up a bunch of quality, affordable reds to give you an early jump on the holiday season.

Click here for more info!

Cerruti Cellars/Tudal Family

Thanks again to our Friends of the Vine at Balzac for passing along this pair of bottles from Tudal Family Winery in St. Helena in Napa. They’ve recently started Cerruti Cellars for their “second label wines” in, of all places, Oakland (across from the very cool-sounding. soon-to-be-opened Jack London Market). Cerruti makes a couple of red blends, a zinfandel, a rosé, and a sauvignon blanc. Tiffany sent along the first and last of that list.

The first one I had a chance at was the Cerruti Cellars 2010 Napa Valley “Honker Blanc” Sauvignon Blanc. This white’s moniker comes from a flock of Canada Geese that use their vineyard as a stopping point on their annual migration. Their way station is apparently just behind the Tudal crush pad. (I sincerely hope that they clean the crush pad not long after the geese move along…) The bottle is adorned with a picture of these geese and a “subliminal message.”

The Honker is quite a full bodied sauvignon blanc, bordering on overly thick. The nose is pretty – floral with a little bit of citrus and spice. The flavors I found were largely green apple and lime with a wee undertone of residual sugar. It passes into the distance slowly with lime and honey flavors that turn slightly bitter at the end. If you’re a fan of slightly heavier sauvignons, this a decent choice at $15.

The other bottle was the Cerruti Cellars 2009 “Tractor Shed Red” Red Blend. The Tudal Family winery uses a ’47 Massey Harris tractor as one of its prominent symbols, and this piece of equipment is predictably emblazoned on this red. It’s an interesting blend of Sangiovese, Zinfandel, and Merlot. (Again, glad to see more California winemakers doing Sangiovese!) At first sniff, the zinfandel through strongly with nicely balanced plum and wood flavors. It’s lighter bodied than I expected, and I could really taste the Sangiovese. There’s even a nice hint of the Italian “chalk” mouthfeel that makes it such a nice pairing with red sauces. There’s also a Chianti-ish cherry base for the flavor, along with plums from the merlot and pepper from the zin. The finish is dry with more of that chalkiness and a little lingering fruit. If you’re a fan of Italian wines, I’d certainly give this one a run alongside any meal with which you might pour a decent Chianti or Barbera. (I put it next to pasta in a sausage & mushroom marinara. When I looked up the price, I was taken a bit aback. For your red sauce pleasures, this is a steal at $11.

 

BuzzNet Tags: California,Wine,wine reviews

The Alphabet Soup Project – I is for “Inspiration”

Hope folks didn’t mind bit of a pause while the Sweet Partner in Crime and I were vacationing (well, I was – she had to work for a few days...) in Amsterdam. If you’d like to take a gander at our pictures...

Like my travels, one of my great wine tasting joys is discovery. That’s the kind of experience that made me start writing this crazy thing to begin with. This bolt from the blue can take lots of different forms. I might be impressed by someone’s advice on a wine; I could find a random pairing that works; or I could run into into something unexpected. Let me share a few of those fun times with you…

My newly-certified sommelier buddy James V. turned me on to the Domaine Sautereau Sancerre. This is a French sauvignon blanc from the eastern part of the Loire. He gave it two thumbs up and I trust his palate, so I gave it a run. This is simply a pretty smelling wine. "Flowering cantaloupe" was my first thought. Yes, I know – that’s an odd description, but I like it better than "floral with melon undertones." The flavor was intriguing. Like most Sancerre, this is a light bodied, acidic, minerally wine. This one, however, had a wonderfully balanced creaminess that I had never tasted before in one of these wines. Made me light right up.

When James first tried this wine, he had the good fortune to visit the property. He told me that they served it with chevre (goat cheese) and hard salami on crackers, so I tried to duplicate the experience. I was initially a bit skeptical. With the cheese alone, the wine developed an odd flavor, but adding the crackers and meat -- unearthly good as a pairing. I experimented by replacing the water crackers with a rosemary-flavored Triscuit -- and it turned into one of the best "appetizer pairings” I’ve had. The wine is into the 2010 vintage now. It’s $22 from Bond Street Wines (http://www.bondstreetwines.com), and I highly recommend it.

Another day, the Sweet Partner in Crime and I cooked up a pot of turkey chili, which was an interesting concoction. I ran out of cumin, one of my base spices, so I substituted garam masala, an Indian spice blend, and a little bit of coffee. (Rule of good chili: Just keep throwing things in until it tastes right.)

With this amalgamation. we were at a loss for a wine. After reviewing our on-hand options, I rolled the dice and cracked the Bodegas Salentein Killka Collection 2008 Malbec – a $12 Argentinean number I’d picked up on a whim. I love it when a plan comes together. The Killka turned out to be a fruity, fairly complex wine that went down nicely on its own. It had plenty of blackberry and vanilla to start, and its flavor stays quite smooth throughout. There’s that yummy smoky quality a good malbec has, but it lingers in the background and stays subtle on the finish – a finish with a good, firm fruity flavor and enough tannin to be interesting.

Alongside the chili, the malbec’s tannins worked nicely with the spices, revealing some very interesting complementary flavors. The Indian spices deepened and the chili powder had a “fuller” flavor. Also, since tannin is an acid and capsaicin (the molecule that makes chili hot) is a base, the malbec tamed the fire a bit. I don’t know if I could duplicate it, but we sure liked it.

Trips to the wine store occasionally shoot a bolt of inspiration. K2, one of my wine pals, recommended the Highflyer 2009 Grenache Blanc, saying it was his “favorite white wine of the moment.” The Highflyer is a Napa Valley creation. I don’t think I’d ever tried a white Grenache that didn’t come from the Rhone or Spain, so I was, on one hand, really looking forward to the experience . That said, I was also somewhat wary of a white wine from Napa, since I’m not usually a big fan. I had the heavy oak and heavy butter of Napa chardonnay in my head, but I was trusting. I poured and swirled. Bottom line? It’s a tasty, tasty bottle. My first reaction was, “This is California chardonnay, dialed way back.” Sure, there’s oak and butter, but that’s nicely balanced with some prominent pear and berry flavors. The body is medium with am evenness of oak and pear. The finish is oaky and softly lasting. Very enjoyable. It also turned out to be a killer choice with some spice rubbed, grilled chicken breasts and a green bean salad. The Highflyer will run you around $20, but it’s worth it.

Every once in awhile, I even get a little twinkle of inspiration from something utterly mundane. It’s not always tasting central around Vine HQ. Sometimes, one of us just needs a glass of wine to throw down without thinking. We usually have a box of white wine lingering in the fridge for just such a purpose. I’d snagged Big House Wines “The Birdman” Pinot Grigio at around $18 for 3 liters. I was aware of Big House red & white, but I hadn’t tried one of their “single varietals” before. In past experiences, box pinot grigio is normally one step above flavored water. The Birdman was a very pleasant find. (Somewhere, Chris Anderson is smiling…) Light and pleasant with actual structure in its pear and lime flavors, it’s a simple, easy quaffer that’s certainly not the flabby, watery mess you might expect. For a box wine, that’s pretty much all you can ask for.

 

Technorati Tags: wine tasting,wine reviews,wine

National Tempranillo Day

The joys of social media continue. I learned that tomorrow, September 1, is National Tempranillo Day from my new friends at TAPAS – The Tempranillo Advocates, Producers, and Amigos Society. They invite everyone to open a bottle of Tempranillo on that date, drink up, and share the experience on Facebook and on Twitter at #TempranilloDay. They were also kind enough to send along some samples of Tempranillo grown in the good ol’ USA for me to try.

I’d not heard much about North American tempranillo. It’s a grape indigenous to Spain. It’s the main grape used in Rioja and Ribera del Duero wines. There’s also plenty of relatively inexpensive Spanish tempranillo out there. I’ve always found it to be an incredibly flexible food wine. It’s a good summer red option as it’s usually not overly heavy. It’s one of my favorite alterna-reds.

I’d long wondered why this grape isn’t grown in many US wine regions, especially some of the warmer, drier regions of California. It’s a grape that thrives on big temperature swings and dry weather. (I’d enjoy seeing what tempranillo would do in Temecula, outside of San Diego, for instance.) A growing number of winemakers have decided to take a swing at it and I was interested to try this new bounty.

I wanted to spread the wealth, as well. Our friends Milwaukee Mike and @gourmetgroup were hosting a “wine club” gathering at their place. This was our first ever visit to this gathering. The samples showed up just before the scheduled date, so I offered to bring the wine for the group to sample. I didn’t have to twist arms too far. (Also, we discovered were were the lone childless couple, so the Sweet Partner in Crime and I concluded that the club made an excellent excuse to go somewhere after dinner and extend the evening if a sitter was already lined up…)

While high-end Rioja and Ribera del Duero can run into the triple digits, much Spanish tempranillo you’ll find in your local wine store will probably be under $15. Since there’s not a huge amount of tempranillo grown in the US, the prices tend to be a little bit higher. The retail on these samples were between $15-30. I cracked the wines and let the assembled folks have at it. A few decided to play along and help me with tasting notes. Milwaukee Mike, who spent much of the evening wrapped around a bottle or other of Rivertown Brewery Hop Bomber Ale (a Cincinnati concoction which my beer drinking readers need to check out!), gave this helpful note: “They all taste like red wine.”

We had six tempranillos to try – five from California and one from Washington. @gourmetgroup laid out some delicious tapas (the manchego/prosciutto fritters were divine!) and we set to it:

Duarte Georgetown 2007 “Georgetown Divide” Tempranillo – When all was said and done, this wine from Modesto, CA was the big winner of the evening. This wine had little other than positive comments all evening, especially once it had opened up a bit. “Not too fruity,” said the Sweet Partner in Crime, “with some nice mineral on it. Tastes like a European wine, which I like.” @gourmetgroup enjoyed the balance – as did I. My tasting sheet has “Balance!” double underlined. Big cherry notes and a long finish on this. It was the most expensive of the group, retailing at $29.

Pomum 2008 “Tinto” Tempranillo – from Yakima Valley in Washington comes this one, also a crowd favorite. It’s made mostly from tempranillo with some Grenache and merlot thrown in for good measure. It’s a very “solid” wine. @gourmetgroup described it as “tight” and “bracing” – by which I think she meant that you get a whole lot of flavor all at once. Jammy was her thought. An easy drinking, all around quality wine. $25.

Ripken Vineyards 2008 “El Matador” Tempranillo – This wine from Lodi, CA won the award for the best comment of the evening. “This smells like dirty bulls’ balls” said @gourmetgroup. The assembled, for whatever reason, did not press her on how she had definitive evidence of this, but we digress. “Inoffensive but not interesting,” said the SPinC, “Not doing much for me.” I noted that it was a bit funky and earthy, but only stays with you for a moment. I described it as a “hi/bye” wine. At $22, not our favorite.

St. Amant 2008 Amador Tempranillo – Also from Lodi, CA, but the response from the assembled was the other pole from the Matador. The Fat Bastard chimed in with, “This is very easy to drink and goes with every bite of food I’ve tried,” he said, “I can’t say this so much about the others, but I would buy this wine.” This was my favorite of the bunch. I thought it tasted a little like a pinot. Nicely complex, balanced, and just downright tasty. @gourmetgroup wasn’t quite as hot on it, thinking that it needed food. The SPinC thought it was the easiest of the bunch to “just drink” – meaning that it didn’t cry for food. A number of other folks thought so too – it was the first bottle to bite the dust. It’s perfect for parties where folks are just drinking and socializing while nibbling on lots of different foods – like…say…tapas. $23.

Stein Family 2007 “Just Joshin’” Tempranillo – From Napa, CA. This wine with the joker on the label drew decent reviews. I thought it was straightforward and a bit tannic. “Decent, but that’s as far as I’d go,” said my note. The SPinC really liked that it wasn’t a fruit bomb – which is a bit surprising in a wine from Napa. She thought it was a bit “thin,” but that was OK with the profile. @gourmetgroup said that it was “friendly, not aggressive” and “pleasant but with some depth.” At $15, the least expensive of the group.

Tejada Vines 2005 Reserve Tempranillo – “Bring on the funk!” exclaimed @gourmetgroup as she hoisted the last wine of the evening. The SPinC, always a fan of “dirty wine” (as I put on my tasting sheet) wrote, “This is great, IMO. Low fruit, funky but not heavy, but still with a full flavor. Would be so, so yummy with food.” I concurred. I thought that its funkiness (“it’s Parliament, not Prince,” I’d written for some reason) screamed for a steak. This wine also came in a heavy, industrial strength bottle. By “heavy,” this bottle weighed more empty than many bottles of pinot grigio weigh full. Or at least it seemed that way by that point in the evening. Milwaukee Mike considered keeping the empty bottle by the bedside for home defense. “That’s quite a punt,” said @gourmetgroup with a look in her eye that frightened me a bit. $25 and worth it.

I’ll be interested to watch the tempranillo market over the years ahead. If these wines are any indication, there’s an opportunity for U.S. winemakers to make a broad range of styles up and down the west coast, much as they’ve done with shiraz/syrah and merlot. It will certainly be fun to follow.

On a personal note, a big thank-you to our hosts and the other members of the wine club for being such good sports about my little tempranillo experiment. Good fun.

 

Technorati Tags: California,Washington,tempranillo,social media,wine

Wine and Dinner of the Month Club – August 2011

August brings us a very local based meal with fruits and veggies from our garden and a couple farmers markets. The wine is a nice sparkling wine with a twist – it’s a rose. The recipes this month, with the exception of the tapenade which I just made up on my own, are from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook Third Edition (© 2010 by The Editors at America’s Test Kitchen). Enjoy.

Menu

• Sweet Pepper and Tomato Tapenade with Goat Cheese
• Baked Ratatouille with Rice
• Baked Bourbon Peaches with Raspberry Sauce and Ice Cream

Wine

• Gruet Rose Brut

What I had planned for this month was a Mexican inspired meal using dried hibiscus flowers in all of the recipes. Do you know how hard it is to find dried hibiscus flowers in Cincinnati, particularly on short notice? Not that easy. I’ll have to plan for this meal a little better next time. Fortunately, Christine was in the mood for a less exotic meal made with some of the local goodies we had in our garden and from other local sources. I started the ratatouille by chopping the vegetables and mixing them with olive oil and some spices. The tomatoes and squash for this dish came from our garden and the eggplant and onion came from McGlasson’s Farm, a farm with a produce stand along the Ohio River about 13 miles from our house (http://www.mcglassonfarms.com/). Everything went into a baking pan and into the oven.

While that was baking I prepared the appetizer. We had a lot of little cherry tomatoes and some sweet peppers and I was wondering what I could do with those. In this situation my motto is “olive oil and garlic to the rescue.” I cut up some tomatoes and the peppers and blended them in the food processor with some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. It made for a yummy spread on crackers with a little goat cheese.

 

Since the ratatouille was still baking, I got started on the rice for the side dish. We recently acquired a rice cooker and if you follow the directions correctly it makes pretty good rice rather flawlessly. The key phrase here is “follow the directions correctly.” I thought I had done just that, but it turns out I did not add nearly enough water for the amount of rice I was cooking. Is rice supposed to be crunchy? I don’t think so. Christine, who is more adept with the rice cooker, pointed out the error of my ways and we made another batch that turned out perfect – firm but tender and nice and fluffy. I plated this up with the ratatouille and we sat down to dinner.

The wine went well with both the appetizer and the main course, which you would expect from a very food friendly sparkling rose. There was not a lot of fat in either dish so the wine didn’t have to compete against that, and the sweetness helped offset some of the acidity from all the tomatoes.

Finally, we had dessert of baked peaches. The peaches for this dish came from McGlasson’s as well. I also made up a raspberry sauce to go over top of them, creating a type of Peach Melba. Pouring a splash of bourbon over the peaches gives them extra flavor and creates additional sauce in the pan to put on them. They were great with just a little vanilla ice cream. If I had it to do again, I would change two things. First, I would not make the raspberry sauce. The sauce from the baking pan is enough to
give the peaches some additional moisture and I thought the raspberry sauce rather overwhelmed the peach flavor. Second, even though the recipe did not call for it, I would peel the peaches. Even after baking the skins were a little tough and hard to cut through with a spoon, particularly since the peach
flesh was so tender.

 

43 Things Tags: recipes,naked vine

Pinot Smackdown!

While I may never get the hang of the full-on Twitter tasting, I’m certainly enjoying the benefits of the integration of social media into the wine tasting experience. I received notification that August 18^th was the “2^nd Annual Pinot Noir Smackdown.”

According to the release, this day-long event was an online competition among the pinot noir growing regions. Participants tasted pinot, tweeted (or Facebooked) their reviews, and voted for the region they felt was superior. Ed Thralls, marketing manager for Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Windsor Vineyards, and Windsor Sonoma, was good enough to send along a few samples from Sonoma County for the occasion.

I had three bottles to check out:

• Sonoma Coast Vineyards Freestone Hills 2009 Pinot Noir ($45)
• Windsor Sonoma Russian River Valley 2009 Pinot Noir ($30)
• Windsor Vineyards 2010 Pinot Noir ($25)

We started with the Windsor Sonoma. At first pour, even after being allowed to breathe for 45 minutes and aerated, it tasted a little harsh and heavy on the fruit. We split a glass, and we were a bit confused by it. I think we expected a softer profile. This was initially a fruit bomb of a pinot. We finished a glass, recorked it, and decided to try it again in a day.

That next day, we opened the Sonoma Coast Vineyards and poured it side-by-side with the W-S. The Windsor Sonoma had mellowed a bit. It still had a bit of a “spiky” flavor. What’s “spiky?” You’d get big fruit, then an acidic bite, then some smoke. The flavors were all there, but they just didn’t balance as well.

The SCV was a better wine. The flavors were much more integrated initially, but we had to give this one the same treatment. The fruit on the front was just too strong, washing out much of the subtlety usually found in a pinot. After a day, the wine mellowed considerably. It was still fruit forward with lots of cherry and cola flavors, but there was at least a silky smokiness to back it up. I think I liked it more than the Sweet Partner in Crime, who is a huge fan of Burgundy (French pinot noir) which is much more earthy and is a lighter-styled wine.

This lends itself to the idea of terroir. Terroir is the term for the location where a wine’s grapes are grown. More specifically, the climate and the soil where grapes are grown. Sonoma does a lot of things well. Some of our all-time favorite cabernet sauvignons and zinfandels hail from Sonoma. Those wines are big, fruit-forward, and high alcohol. Pinot noirs from Sonoma tend to have that sort of flavor profile, which isn’t generally the characteristics we’re looking for when we crack a bottle of pinot.

Interestingly, our favorite of the three was the least expensive. The Windsor Vineyards was ready to drink right out of the bottle. Even though it was still “Sonoma-ish” with a strong fruit flavor, the cherry and smoke balanced exceedingly well. We tried it with a chicken souvlaki, which had a range of flavors – grilled chicken, lemon, cucumber, yogurt – and it held up extremely well. It was just a plain ol’ nice wine.

Based on these wines, my vote in the Smackdown went to my old standby. I still think that Burgundy makes the world’s best, most consistent pinot noir – my 1^st place vote went to the French. The worldwide smackdown winner? New Zealand. I just so happen to have a few bottles of New Zealand pinot down in the cellar. Perhaps next year…

 

 

43 Things Tags: pinot noir,reviews,California

Repurposing Wine

You may have seen “repurposing” cropping up from time to time in various contexts. First time I saw it, I thought it was first simply a synonym for “recycling,” but I came to understand that it means “converting something for other than its intended use.” For example, if you take an length of old copper pipe, cut it into different lengths, attach it to a piece of scrap wood with fishing line and put a hook on top, you’ve “repurposed” a bunch of junk into a windchime.

Can someone repurpose wine? Sure, I suppose. I guess folks have been doing this for millennia. Vinegar, after all, is just wine that’s gone bad. (the word “vinegar” is actually from the French “vin aigre” – “sour wine.”) But I don’t want to wait until wine is over to repurpose it. For our purposes, why not think about repurposing wine in terms of pairings? When the “traditional” pairing doesn’t work, why not think outside the box?

One evening, The Sweet Partner in Crime and I had a hankering for pepperoni pizza. We ordered one from Newport Pizza Company ( absolutely top notch ‘za, by the way!). We figured we’d crack open an Italian red to go with it. Of course, after we placed the order, we discovered that we didn’t have any Italian reds in the homestead. (Egads! How could this happen?) After an initial panic, we regrouped.

I’d seen a couple of cab francs described as “good pizza wines” recently. I was a little skeptical. I’d thought about it as more of a lighter wine to go with red meat or grilled pork – something to use in place of cabernet sauvignon if that sounded too heavy. We opened the Steele 2006 Lake County Cabernet Franc as a stand-in for our missing Italian.

This turned out to be a good decision on our part. The Steele has a fruitier nose than many Italian wines, but the body and flavor is relatively Chianti-ish. It’s more fruit-forward, but the flavor profile more or less holds – cherries and chalk. The finish has some minerality to go with the tannin. With the pizza – quite excellent. The wine was big enough to stand toe to toe with the meat and come away mostly unscathed. The extra tannin in this wine also helped cut through the inevitable grease. $14-16.

A couple of weeks later, we were at the end of a long weekend and we found ourselves with a bunch of veggies (again from The Chad), a bag of frozen shrimp, and a pack of lo mein noodles tucked away in the back of our pantry. Stir fry time. I cobbled together a spice sauce, so I figured I’d go for a Riesling alongside. Alas, again embarrassingly, there was none to be had in the household. What we did have, however, was a Doña Paula 2009 Torrontes. I’d picked up this Argentinean bottle on a whim. I figured I’d use it for a grilled chicken or fish pairing, but Asian spice wasn’t close to my mind.

Why did I choose to crack it? To be honest…it’s a screwtop, so I didn’t have to think much or go fetch a corkscrew. (Worst case scenario? I get the opener and find another bottle.) The Doña Paula turned out to be a very nice substitute. Rich apples on the nose along with some floral fragrances. The body is a little on the heavy side, but there’s a good amount of apple and lemon flavors. The finish is long, floral, and a little sweet. That sweetness, however, made for a nice match with my spicy lo mein throw-together. The wine had enough weight to be interesting and was firm enough to handle the power of srirachia as a condiment. Certainly a workable choice. $13-15.

I started thinking more about this repurposing thing. Could one go earlier in the winemaking process and repurpose grapes? Turns out the answer is a big ol’ yes. For instance, consider the Rua 2010 Valdeorras. This Spanish white is a blend of Palomino, Dona Blanca, and Godello grapes. While I wasn’t at all familiar with the last two grapes, I’d heard of Palomino. It’s one of the primary grapes in sherry. I’d not tried it in a still wine before. (much like the Pedro Ximenez I mentioned a couple of entries ago). A pretty decent repurposing. It’s got a very light nose of flowers and lemon zest. The body’s of medium weight. It’s got a little bit of glycerin (instead of sugar) thickness there with some minerals at the back. It finishes crisp and dry with plenty of pineapple-citrus flavors. A great summertime white. Had it with some fish tacos. Tasty, tasty. Great deal at $8-10, too.

Since I’ve been stretching the definition a bit here, I’ll close out with an actual repurposing. Perhaps you’ve had a party recently and one of your “friends” brought (and left) a bottle of white zinfandel. You see it every day, sitting forlorn on the bottom of your wine rack. If you’re in this situation, you can make killer Sangria from a white zin:

Cut up a bunch of fruit. I like apples, pineapples, sliced grapes, and strawberries. Put these in a bowl. Pour about a cup of inexpensive brandy over the top. (E&J works well.) Sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar. Stir this up and put the bowl in the fridge for an hour or so. When you’re ready (since your friends have shown up to drink), get a large pitcher. Add ice. Add the fruit/brandy mixture, the bottle of white zin, a couple of cups of club soda, and three shots of peach schnapps. Stir. Pour. I’m not responsible for what might happen afterwards, but I think you’ll thank me.

 

LiveJournal Tags: wine,wine reviews,repurposing

Wine & Dinner of the Month Club – July 2011

It’s July and that means parades, flags, fireworks and RIBS! This year Christine and I were visiting her sister Vida and brother-in-law (and my doppelganger) Rob and their two boys Orion and Jonas. They live on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington, so we got to spend time with them and experience some of the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Since we were going out there, we decided to take the Wine and Dinner Club on the road. With luck and plenty of bubble wrap in the luggage, the wine made it in fine shape, supplemented by some Washington state wines that Rob picked up for the occasion. Enjoy.

Menu

• Barbecued Baby Back Ribs
• Sweet and Sour Slaw
• Coconut Grilled Corn on the Cob
• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Wine (We had a GOOD TIME!!)

• 2008 Owen Roe Ex Umbris Columbia Valley Syrah
• 2007 Dominio IV Columbia Gorge Syrah/Tempranillo
• 2008 Sagelands Columbia Valley Red Wine
• 2004 D’Arenberg The Love Grass McLaren Vale Shiraz (Naked Vine Recommendation)

We started with some cheeses and cured meats as an appetizer. The cheeses were a manchego and a herbed goat cheese, and the meats were a spicy cured Italian salami and some thin prosciutto. They were served with a sourdough baguette and the first of the Washington state wines, the Ex Umbris. We had asked Rob to pick up another bottle of The Love Grass for the meal, but his local wine shop did not have it in stock and would have had to order it in special. When asked about an Australian wine, the person at the shop said, “Well, that’s one way you could go.” According to Rob, he then went on to espouse the superior quality of Washington state wines and pelted Rob with granola until Rob relented and bought the local fare. (That last part may have been a little exaggerated.) As I recall, and since there were four bottles of wine I don’t recall much, nobody was really bowled over by the Ex Umbris. It had a little spice to it, but not enough to stand up to the spicy salami. I thought it went well with the manchego and would probably be good with a simple piece of grilled meat. Thus, we decided it was a good M&M wine (Meat & Manchego).

After the appetizer we had the main meal which included the slaw, corn and ribs that had been cooking low and slow in the oven at 225 degrees Fahrenheit for about five hours. We did two racks. One I dry rubbed with Southside Market & Barbecue Premium Original BBQ Seasoning from the Southside Market in Houston, Texas and the other with Colonel’s Smoky Rub from Colonel De Gourmet Herbs and Spices at Findlay Market in Cincinnati, Ohio. To cook the ribs you just wrap them in aluminum foil, sealing it tightly, and put them on a baking sheet to catch leaking juices. You don’t even have to watch them and they come out supper moist and tasty. I always put a little barbecue sauce on them and put them under the broiler for a while to give them a nice glaze. Oh, and did I mention Rob is the source for my rib recipe? The other key is to wear an orange shirt!

The ribs were delicious and between the four of us we finished both racks. The slaw was tangy and a little sweet and was a cool contrast to the spiciness that the rubs imparted to the ribs. Of the two, the Southside rub was spicier with more pepper in the mix, while the Colonel’s Smoky Rub was just that, smoky. The coconut basted corn was sweet and was a great accompaniment to the meal as well. By this time we were well into the Dominio wine. It was good, but again, nothing really outstanding. We liked saying that the Syrah was tempered by the Tempranillo, but that was probably just the second bottle of wine talking. Before we finished the meal, we broke open The Love Grass. We thought this one was a lot different than the others and much better with more flavor and good tannic structure (take that granola boy). Or so I recall. Hey, give me a break - this was the third bottle of the night!

After the ribs came out of the oven and while we were eating, I put the pie in to bake. We took a long break after the dinner waiting for the pie to finish cooking and then let it cool while we cleaned up the kitchen. The pie was delicious with the sweetness of the strawberries offsetting the tartness of the very rhubarb, and the filling could not have been more local with both the strawberries and the rhubarb from Vida and Rob’s garden behind their house.

We finished The Love Grass and opened the Sagelands, which was good, but not too complex. It was a nice sipping wine to finish up the evening. Thank you to Vida and Rob for a great July 4^th getaway!

Rucking the Right Bank

Hand it to the folks at Planet Bordeaux. They’re a creative bunch.

As I’ve mentioned before, Planet Bordeaux is the marketing arm of the winemakers who produce Bordeaux and Bordeaux Supérieur wines. These are the wines that often get lost between the more inexpensive “vin de pays” table wines and the “classified growth” wines that can go for hundreds of dollars apiece. These mid-priced Bordeaux (which actually aren’t much more expensive than the vin de pays) are designed to be solid, everyday values. The Planet Bordeaux folks were looking for spokesmen. They found a bunch of unexpected takers – a bunch of loud, muddy, sweaty, normally beer-swilling men and women:

Planet Bordeaux is now an official sponsor of USA Rugby.

The Rugby World Cup will be held in New Zealand in September. Planet Bordeaux decided to support the Eagles (the US team, currently ranked 17^th in the world) on their path to the event. I was fascinated by this choice of sponsors, largely because after my remarkably brief and utterly unimpressive career as a rugger, wine was just about the last thing I associate with rugby. Beer, blood, public nudity, beer, and beer…sure.

Apparently, however, the Bordelais are absolutely bonkers about their rugby and at least some of them are willing to trade national loyalty for commerce and visibility. “Planet Bordeaux and the Eagles are both dedicated to excellence and contributing to the game of rugby beyond the field. The partnership will help to prepare the Eagles for their build up to the world’s largest rugby stage in September,” said USA Rugby CEO and President of Rugby Operations, Nigel Melville.

In celebration of this partnership, the good folks at Balzac sent me another set of Planet Bordeaux samples. My enthusiasm for these bottles was much greater than my desire to put on my old kit again. I’m much better gallivanting in front of a wine tasting than I am running for my life as an overmatched outside centerback.

Here’s the latest rundown:

Chateau Raynier 2006 Marc Lurton Bordeaux – This is an exceptionally easy-to-drink Bordeaux. It has the requisite earthiness and “vegetal” nature, but for the most part, it’s just smooth and balanced. The merlot and and cabernet grapes strike an accord, and you can uncork this one with any number of foods. In our case, we had it with some beef kabobs, also skewered with pineapple, tomato, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers. Also, a salad of greens and basil leaves with balsamic vinaigrette. At 12.5% alcohol, nice and light -- just uncomplicated, friendly, and pleasant. About $14.

Chateau Le Grand Verdus 2009 Bordeaux Rosé – The English translation of the back of the label reads: “Crisp, voluptuous, aperitif, fruity, femininity, passion, lustrous, relaxation, pleasure, fragrant, candy, warmth, temptation, intensity, seductive, summer, modern, raspberry, aromatic, energy…” (Jeez…I need a smoke…) While I won’t cop to every term on that list, I will say that this is an exceptionally pleasant rosé. Made from cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot – this is a hearty rosé with plenty of fruit and a pleasant minerality. We grilled turkey burgers alongside some mushroom and parmesan couscous and it went splendidly. Also was quite tasty on its own. An absolutely smashing deal at $9, as well.

Chateau Ballan-Larquette 2009 Bordeaux Blanc -- This one takes a hard but not unpleasant turn when you get to sipping on this one. It starts out with a very tart lemony zing, but quickly mellows into a nice balance of mineral and fruit, which further mellows and finishes creamily instead of acidically. Medium bodied for a white Bordeaux so it can handle some richer foods easily enough. We did mustard-and-pretzel crusted chicken breasts with some new potatoes sautéed with pancetta. Very tasty. Very interesting value and an excellent dinner white at $10-14.

Chai de Bordes 2008 Bordeaux Rouge – Cracking this one, the nose was floral, almost lavenderish to go along with some light berry scents. It’s light bodied and fairly acidic with a cherry and mineral flavor. The finish is quite dry –tannic, but not harshly so. Reminds me a little of a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, actually. A very pleasant and approachable Bordeaux. $15-18.

Chateau du Cros 2009 Bordeaux Sauvignon – They call this a “field blend,” which is a blend of two grape varieties planted together in the same vineyard. In this case, it’s largely Sauvignon blanc with a little Semillon and Muscadelle thrown in. It starts you with a fairly strong nose of apples and lemons. I found it to be minerally and sharply acidic, like a shot of “lemon juice light.” Finishes slightly astringent. To me, it seemed like a Bordeaux winemaker was trying to make something that tasted like Italian pinot grigio and just missed. It’s a decent quaff and would go well with shellfish, especially raw ones, but at around $16, you could likely find a better sipper.

Chateau Le Calvaire 2007 Bordeaux Superieur – I didn’t really care much for this one at first sip. I opened it about three hours in advance and was hit with an “alcohol and grape”. As a little of the alcohol dissipated, however, the wine opened quickly. The Calvaire had a really interesting nose of graphite and blackberries. Fairly full-bodied. On the tongue, more of that mineral to go with a substantial dose of dark fruit and some tannins that linger for a half minute or more. A good, big choice for Bordeaux if you’re looking for something with a little more punch. It does seem to call for bitter and dark flavors alongside – grilled meat, dark chocolate – that kind of thing, especially after it’s been open for awhile (a day wouldn’t be bad, if you can wait that long). Pretty good deal at $16.

 

 

 

del.icio.us Tags: wine,USA rugby,Bordeaux,wine tasting

The Pizza Wine Showdown

Oh, do we love ourselves some pizza around the household. Pizza’s so deliciously egalitarian. Make it however you like it. Toppings, your choice. Thickness, your choice. Vegan, Vegetarian, Carnivore – there’s a ‘za out there for everyone. For us, it can range from indulgence to “don’t feel like cooking tonight…what can we throw on a crust?” Yep. Put pretty much toppings on a well-covered crust and I’m signing up.

If you’ve poked around this space for any amount of time, you know my usual recommendations for pizza. I either crack a medium-bodied Italian red or some kind of sparkling wine when the disc of deliciousness emerges from the oven. I swear by them both. After receiving a “come hang out and we’ll order pizza” invite from some friends of ours, the idea hit me – why not try a side by side of Italian wine and bubbly. Cage match. Vino a Vino. Or something.

Regardless, it made for the perfect excuse to kill a couple of bottles.

We’re pretty lucky. About five minutes from us (and a block from our pals) is Buona Vita -- a pizzeria owned by a third-generation Italian family. They make a tremendous Southern Italian, stone oven-baked thin crust pie. We ordered two to sample – one pepperoni, one Margarita. For those not familiar, Margarita (or Margherita) is fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, & basil. If you haven’t given such a pizza (or Buona Vita, for that matter!)…do so. Perhaps now.

We packed up the beagle and headed over to their place. While waiting for our pizza, we enjoyed a delicious antipasti provided by Chris, frontman of local rockers Brewer’s Tongue, and Sunshine Rei, his lovely wife. A sufficient amount of time passed. No need for delivery. A block’s not too far to stroll, after all. Pizza retrieved, we opened the two wines for the evening:

• Freixienet (NV) Extra Dry Cava
• Capestrano 2008 Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

The Freixinet is a Spanish sparkling wine I’ve used as a fallback basic bubbly for eons. It’s very flavorful and crisp. If you remember your sparkling wine terminology, among commonly available wines, one labeled “brut” will be the driest. “Extra dry” means that there’s a hint of residual sugar left in the wine. With something like pizza, an ever-so-slight amount of sweetness can make the wine pair a bit better, in my opinion.

The Capestrano is a very decent Montepulciano. It’s easy to get confused with this wine. You may remember: a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, like the one here, is made from the Montepulciano grape in the region of Abruzzo. It’s a medium bodied, relatively smooth red. You might also see “Rosso di Montepulciano.” This wine is from the Montepulciano region in Tuscany and is made from Sangiovese grapes, as is Chianti.) For a general “drinking with anything” role, I think Montepulciano d’Abruzzo is generally a very solid balance of value and flavor. Both these wines are around ten bucks.

We fell to eating. We tried our best to do the 2x2 comparison, taking detailed notes and really tasting – but as is so common when we all get together, we got to chatting about everything from the Women’s World Cup to T.Rex to Amsterdam (In my mind, a logical progression). After several slices and a few refills, however, consensus formed in a surprising manner.

The preferences broke along gender lines. Chris and I preferred the Cava with the pepperoni and the Montepulciano with the Margarita. We thought that the sparkler cut the fattiness of the sausage and let the flavor (and they use good pepperoni) come through. We thought the red wine pointed up the red sauce and the basil on the other.

Sunshine Rei and the Sweet Partner in Crime went the other way. They thought that the cava went better with the Margarita, since the bubbles cut the mozzarella and let the fresh basil reign. They also both thought that the depth of the Montepulciano was a better complement for the meat.

Thanks to a surprise from Chris, we got to do one additional comparison. A good friend of his, Blake, is in the Navy Reserves and is deployed in Italy, where he’s actually working for the Army. He sent Chris a “share package” not long ago. Within were a couple of traditional Italian aperitifs/digestifs: Limoncello and Crema di Limoni from Limonoro, a liqueur maker in Sorrento. We decided to open them. Chris also had some homemade limoncello crafted by his bass player Dave – so we needed to do a side by side of those in the interest of science, of course.

There was a distinct difference between the Limonoro and the homemade. Dave’s limoncello had a slightly sharper flavor. We could taste a thread of bitterness from the rind and the tartness was sharper. The Limonoro was smoother. Chris and I split on this one. Brewer’s Tongue loyalty won out for him. However, with the Crema di Limono, I thought I was going to lose Chris – I think he discovered his touchstone after-dinner drink. “This blows my mind!” he exclaimed. While I wouldn’t go that far, I thought it was pretty darned tasty, and made a good closer for our evening’s experiment.

So, what did we learn? Our beagle can co-exist quite easily with a cocker spaniel and a collie. You can’t go wrong with either Italian reds or sparkling wine if you’re throwing down a pizza. And palates may be gender-specific. We’ll have to come back to the last for further examination.

Especially if there’s more pizza involved.